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Bell Curves Blog
B-schools, the GRE, and you
BusinessWeek, which does a stellar job reporting on most b-school issues, turns in another solid article concerning schools and their acceptance of the GRE. Not only could this change the way applicants are chosen, but also the way the GMAT itself is run.
Reassessing your GMAT study strategies
Below is a letter from a test-taker seeing advice for GMAT preparation (some names have been changed to maintain the person’s anonymity):
Hello Akil,
My name is Nunya and I am currently a MLT MBAPrep fellow. I am struggling with the GMAT and am looking for any suggestions on study strategies that you may have to offer.
Last year, I took a six week GMAT prep course that the University of Malawi offered through their College of Continuing Education program. The course ended on July 19 and I took the GMAT on August 30. I will admit that my study schedule between the last class and the day of the test was not consistent and I could have devoted more time to it. My overall score was a 530 with a 32 in Verbal and 31 in Quantitative. (more…)
The business of business ethics
Check out this story in the Boston Globe – http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/07/22/boston_business_school_offers_masters_in_ethics/
With MBAs getting a lot of heat for supposedly unethical practices leading to our current financial situation, it was only a matter of time before business schools began to place a greater emphasis on business ethics. The New England College of Business and Finance has upped the ante with an actual degree pertaining to business ethics. The main question is – what do you do with this degree?
Student debt forgiveness you can believe in.
Check out this article in the Washington Post that discusses new programs aimed at relieving debt-addled students. With job prospects extremely limited, these programs are becoming a crucial part of students’ post graduation plans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071901748.html
Should business schools depend on student equity?
Check out this interesting article on business schools in the Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pablo-triana/apply-debt-for-equity-to_b_231597.html
This recent article by Pablo Triana on the Huffington Post proposes an interesting plan for business school students and their financial burdens. Triana suggests that b-schools offer free tuition (and possibly room and board) for an equitable stake in each student’s future salary. Each graduate would kick back a certain percentage of their earnings for a period of time to the business school. The crux of the idea is that students would be able to avoid the trappings of student debt while b-schools would be forced to become learner and meaner.
Triana’s argument is extremely intriguing, given the current environment surrounding both the market and b-schools. The financial crisis has brought MBAs and their contribution to companies into focus. Graduates, students, and prospective students now face intense scrutiny as many people have begun to take aim at MBAs for perceived slights in the market. (more…)
Coming to terms with your GMAT score.
So you took the GMAT and are not happy with your score.
First and foremost, you should not be feeling depressed by your score, even if that score is not what you wanted or what you expected. The GMAT is often difficult to do well on. Take the next few days to assess what you did to prepare, whether you did as much as you could or should have, and how you could have done more to ensure you have the score you wanted. Assess whether the course you took or tutor you worked with was really in line with your learning style and whether you should have recognized that earlier and done something to make the course or tutoring more effective. Finally, stop beating yourself up if you did not get what you wanted or expected. It often takes a couple stabs at the test before you settle down enough to achieve your best score. To provide you some perspective, the arithmetic mean (a little GMAT speak for you) score is 538.5 and 79% of test takers score below 650, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council. (more…)
The value of an invaluable education
While not explicitly about business schools, this article on CNN/Money.com is a must read. Could educational insitutions really become accountable for the chances their students have of succeeding? Why shouldn’t schools be evaluated like any similar expense. It would make sense for one of the major school reports to factor in return on investment (ROI). It’s not far fetched to think that students would be attracted to a school that maintained a high ROI.