Best MBA-Related Reads for the Week ending 2004.12.17

An Unbiased Way to Rank Schools (Blog: Clear Admit) - I'd seen the original research upon which this story was written about a month ago, but that was before Knowledge @ Wharton picked it up, and that was before I started up this blog, so I forgot all about it until my newsreader picked up the above-linked analysis of the research. Though Clear Admit doesn't come out and name schools, we all know that Columbia's school of business uses Early Decision as a way to manipulate its standings in the rankings and to achieve much, much higher yield numbers than it would have naturally. This is no knock on Columbia--people and institutions should be expected to manipulate any rankings system that is so easily manipulable--but rather a weakness in the construction of the "popular" ranking systems.

Scary HBS Rumors (Wharton S2S) - A business school applicant wrote, "I've heard several scary things about HBS and I wonder whether they are really true." An HBS student (who blogs--a real rarity) quickly jumped to defend the school with a comprehensive, myth busting rebuttal. (And another HBS blogger jumps to the rescue as well.

For and Against Zero Work Experience B-School Students (MBA Game Plan.com) - The principals of MBAGamePlan.com take up an issue and debate the pros and cons of the issue. Most recently, they choose to debate whether the trend of encouraging undergraduates to apply to business school is a good thing.

Lessons Learned in Business School (Blog: Dan Rosenberg) - Finally, a student gives us something other than the tired and cliched line that has become all too common on the blogs of hopefuls and students. You won't find any "Woe is me, I am so busy, I have 14 finals and 23 recruiting sessions to go to and I'm not getting enough sleep" junk on Dan Rosenberg's blog. Instead, he writes about some real lessons that he's learning as a student at HBS.

Colleges Tell Applicants Fate on the Spot (AP) - How long will it be before business schools start offering this sort of service? Quote from the article: "Credit card and mortgage companies promise customers an answer "while you wait" on loan applications. Now, more and more colleges are doing the same -- visiting high schools and letting applicants know their admissions fate right on the spot."

Married and Applying to Business School (Wharton S2S) - Some applicants and Wharton students share their thoughts on what it means to be married as a Wharton applicant and student. Quality discussion. Quote: "Sometimes trying to explain the benefits of going to Wharton is more difficult that it may seem to most of us - while I see the potential and want to leap at the opportunities, she sees the comfort of our current situation and asks why I'm not happy to just join a part-time MBA program such as Temple or Drexel's."

Looks in the Post-MBA World (Business Week Forums) - A poster asks whether looking good matters for post-business school success. Business Week forum readers respond "yes" showing that there really is no chink in the armor of their superficiality. Alex Chu, a Wharton MBA graduate and admissions consultant, does manage to bring a new angle to the discussion by noting that, "weight matters much more than raw beauty. Carrying a few pounds is one thing, but being obese can be a huge (no pun intended) challenge in the workplace. Consciously or unconciously, discrimination against the obese is common."

Take This Job and Shove It! (Wharton S2S) - A perennial favorite topic of successful business school students everywhere: what to do after getting in? Continue to slave away at a job you dislike in order to help take the edge off of the substantial debt you're about to incur, or travel the world? One applicant gripes, "I cannot work here any longer. I need a break! And when else will I be able to take a few months off work?" What are your plans?

Education of an Applicant (Business Week Forums) - Avaricious Asian-American asks the Business Week forums for advice on his situation and is deservedly ridiculed. Quote: "I have a question. I recently took my GMATs and scored a 730. I am an Asian male that worked in a boutique consulting firm for a year and a half and then worked at a startup for 6-7 months. I will be working for another consulting firm starting in 2005. I am looking to apply to UPenn - Wharton, Stanford, Chicago, and Columbia for MBA for Fall 2006. I graduated undergrad from Columbia with a 3.5 GPA. Should I retake my GMATs to increase my chances of getting accepted?"

PS: Comments on ... just in case I missed anything. Please post links to great MBA-related reads from the week ending today.