The Most Popular MBA Stories Of 2018 - Poets&Quants

In many newsrooms, clicks is a dirty word. Some journalists consider it to be a form of selling out, snapping up the low-hanging fruit and appealing to the lowest common denominator. ‘We’re not salespeople,’ they think. ‘We don’t measure our worth by hitting some outlandish quota.’

There’s some truth there, but clicks bring value beyond hooking advertisers. They are a reflection of which stories strike a nerve. Sometimes, this stems from flushing out an original topic or taking a unique slant. Most times, the most popular stories answer the questions that are on everyone’s mind.

When it comes to MBA programs, that means comparisons in one form or another. This may range from GMAT scores and pay packages to school finishes on various rankings. This year, Poets&Quants decided to look at the most popular stories a little different. To compile our 2018 list, we pitched the data dumps and ranking box scores (for the most part). What remained? Think student and faculty profiles and inside looks at the application cycle. In other words, the most popular stories often share two underlying themes: who gets into business school and how they were able to do it.

Want to answer these questions yourself? Here are a list of P&Q’s dozen most-read articles of 2018 (along with a link to read them).

Best & Brightest MBAs: Class Of 2018

The ‘Best & Brightest MBAs’ has emerged as P&Q’s signature story. Published each May, the piece highlights 100 second-years from over 60 business schools who set the tone and reflect the spirit of their schools. This year, P&Q received 240 nominations, with schools choosing their standouts based on criteria such as academic prowess, extracurricular achievements, innate potential, and inspirational life journeys. From there, P&Q selects the Best & Brightest (with another 100 receiving an MBAs To Watch designation).

In his story, Jeff Schmitt describes these students as “the leaders who rally; the mentors who champion; the visionaries who awaken; and the volunteers who shoulder the heaviest burdens.” That’s the beauty behind the Best & Brightest MBAs: The story features an in-depth profile for every student. Notably, readers can learn why they chose a particular school; how they got accepted into their programs; and what advice they’d give to MBAs who follow in their footsteps. It is truly a feel-good feature, with recipients paying tribute to the professors and classmates who supported them – and faculty, in turn, sharing what made these students so special.

In short, the Best & Brightest is more than just a look at the students who’ll set the bar for business in the years to come. It also acts as a look into the cultures that define individual MBA programs, offering a template for making the most of your time in business school.

10 Business Schools To Watch In 2018

Who’s hot and who’s not?

That’s a popular question in everything from pop culture to politics. Fact is, people naturally want to know who is trending and who possesses momentum. The same is true in business schools. Unfortunately, school branding and educational metrics are lagging indicators. That’s why P&Q created the “Business Schools To Watch,” an annual feature that focuses on what’s really happening on campus and why it matters to applicants, students, and alumni alike.

Last year, P&Q reviewed 10 MBA programs that were poised to make the proverbial ‘dent in the universe’ in 2018. They included standard-bearers like the Wharton School, Berkeley Haas, and Michigan Ross, along with upstarts like Ohio State Fisher, Rice Jones, and IE Business School. These were the programs that were opening buildings, rolling out revamped curriculum, enjoying swelling enrollments and pay growth, or beefing up resources or technology. In other words, they were raising the standard for what’s possible – and increasing expectations for what’s needed.

Meet The MBA Class Of 2020: Profiles In Courage

Ever wonder if you’ll fit in with a given business school? Wish you know the types of students who’ll ultimately be your classmates and mentors? Those questions rest at the heart of P&Q’s “Meet the MBA Class of 2020” series. Started in 2015, P&Q now profiles over 45 incoming classes at the world’s top MBA programs.

The series serves two purposes. First, it acts as an introduction to the cultural mores, advantages, traditions, and unique wrinkles that differentiate business schools. What’s more, the Class of 2020 series provides a look into the types of students who are ultimately accepted into these programs. Each story includes a dozen student profiles, with students chosen by school administers to reflect the program’s offerings and diversity. Here, first-years answer the three ‘how’ questions that bedevil many applicants: how did you know it was time to pursue an MBA; how did you calculate the degree’s return on investment; and how did you determine whether a school ‘fit’ with your personality and ambitions. Better yet, students list the schools they considered, providing readers with an inkling of which programs may align with their particular interests.

Each August, P&Q kicks off the series by looking at the class as a whole. After reviewing over 250 first-year profiles, one theme came across loud-and-clear. The Class of 2020 is packed with students with the enthusiasm to dream, the patience to experiment, and the courage to act.

“They are risk-takers who’ve started – and shuttered – businesses. They’ve launched departments and opened markets where no one had dared venture before. Some have even launched relief efforts in troubled areas like Puerto Rico. Overall, they reflect the spirit of their MBA programs, whether that be principle-driven, academically intensive, or team-oriented.”

10 Movies Every Business Student Must Watch

Audrey Hepburn was fond of saying, “Everything I learned, I learned from the movies.” Chances are, MBAs absorb plenty from cases, projects, extracurriculars, and networking. Based on the ongoing popularity of this story, movies can bring the most important business lessons to life. Even more, they give them a certain urgency – or what Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange, calls color.

“It’s funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you watch them on a screen,” Burgess once wrote.

Published four years ago, the story was a contribution from Aditya Singhal, a serial entrepreneur and P&Q reader. A stripped down throwback, the story follows a simple formula: a short paragraph outlining the lesson and a pull quote from the movie. The result? Call it journalistic magic: a story trending towards a million page views by the end of 2019. From Wall Street to Citizen Kane, Singhal’s selections are a critical reminder of the long-standing truths that can sometimes be obscured by technology, ambition, and growth.

McKinsey consultants gathered after training.

Best Consulting Firms To Work For In 2019

Who wouldn’t want to work in consulting? There is the exotic travel and the lavish pay. You avoid the hum-drum routines and learn something new every day. Yeah, consulting is an ego boost too, a chance to be an expert – a big shot – rubbing shoulders with company elite. That know-how and network makes for a smooth exit ramp to the c-suite.

Alas, every consulting firm has different tradeoffs. Those six figure salaries and coveted bonuses come with 80 hour work weeks in some organizations. In others, consultants are locked in place, with little mobility to move up. Let’s face it: for every firm that offers on-going formal training, there is another that simply toss their consultants into the ocean and pray they can navigate through the whitecaps (and Great Whites).

How do you know which consulting firms are best for you? That’s the motivation behind Vault’s Consulting 50, an annual survey of 17,000 practicing consultants that measures the leading firms in everything from prestige to practice areas to quality of life benchmarks. Not surprisingly, the holy trinity – McKinsey, Bain, and BCG – ranked as the top three firms (in that order). The real beauty of this piece is the explanations, as P&Q takes a deep dive into the data to show which firms are flourishing and floundering – and explaining the where and why behind it. Technically, the Vault 50 is a ranking. However, it also delivers unfiltered employee sentiment about their firms – and their competitors.

Read Three Harvard MBA Essays

Anyone can tell you how to write an essay. Those lessons rarely sink in until you see an actual example. That’s exactly what P&Q delivered in 2017, when we posted successful essays from applicants in the Class of 2019. Pulled from Harvard Business School’s annual MBA Essay Guide, the story featured three examples, which came from an American soldier, a manufacturing engineer, and a healthcare consultant. Ranging from 937-1,358 words, the essays answer the most deceptively simple of all questions: “As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?”

Sure enough, each applicant approached the question in a different manner. The engineer, for example, opened up about his failures, outlining what happened before sharing what he learned and how he applied his lessons to later efforts. In contrast, the consultant laid out an example of how her leadership turned a fledgling project into a success. Two formulas, but the same result: an acceptance letter from HBS. As a bonus, the applicants revealed the process they used to write their essays too.  Here is one example from the engineer:

“The essay took eight drafts over two months. I thought about what personal traits I wanted to share with the ADCOM and identified stories from my past that identified those traits. After two or three drafts, I’d figured out the right narrative and kept refining it, taking as much as a week to finalize each draft. My best advice is to be honest, start early, and have someone who knows what the ADCOMS are looking for to read.

The Jane Hotel bar (photo courtesy of the Jane Hotel)

A Columbia MBA Says She Was Drugged & Raped By A Classmate

Katie Brehm doesn’t really remember what happened on October 22nd. That night, she joined her Cluster A classmates at the Jane Hotel. It was supposed to be a celebration, a chance to blow off steam after mid-terms. After a Bulleitt Bourbon, the night became a blur for Brehm. Suffering a concussion after a fall – an experience shared by two female classmates – Brehm knew something had gone horribly wrong. Two days later, a medical exam confirmed her suspicions: she had been sexually assaulted.

Worse, her assailant was, she believes, one of her classmates.

It hasn’t been an easy time for Brehm, who came to Columbia Business School looking to transition into a luxury marketing career. Now, she has withdrawn from classes, risking her scholarship. While she has received an outpouring of support from classmates, the response from administration has been cautious and muted – a sign to her that the school may be more intent on protecting its brand than removing a sexual predator.

“In all likelihood,” she tells P&Q, “nothing will happen. It makes me want to try to change how rape crimes are investigated and prosecuted because victims are set up to fail.”

Meet McKinsey’s MBA Class Of 2017

The McKinsey brand conjures up a lot of images. For most, it is the gold standard of management consulting, the birthplace of quantitative analysis and the training ground for CEOs. They are the oldest and most prestigious of the ‘Big Three’ consulting firms – and often depicted as the thought leaders where the Fortune 500 head for advice. Their secretive nature only adds to their mystique of power and privilege.

Behind the brand, you’ll find the people – some of whom are just starting out in their careers. They aren’t the buttoned-up contrarians you might expect. They hail from locales as different as San Salvador, Manila and Charleston – and studied disciplines ranging from neuroscience to chemical engineering to political science. Outside work, they’ve hiked Mount Kilimanjaro, chauffeured around Ludacris, and maintained an unquenchable thirst for…miniature golf. In a nutshell, they are the MBAs who joined McKinsey after graduating in 2017.

In March, P&Q profiled a dozen of these former students, covering everything from why they chose McKinsey to interview advice they’d give to prospective hires. Of course, they divulged their most “McKinsey moment” since joining the firm. The biggest takeaway: McKinsey is even more diverse than you might imagine – and far less top-down than you might be led to believe.

“No boss, no org chart, no problem,” jokes Farah Dilber, a Berkeley Haas MBA in the San Francisco office. “Even as an associate, we’re encouraged to have an ownership mindset – to pursue our passions, build out leading edge capabilities, or start a new venture.”

2018-2019 MBA Applications Deadlines

It’s that time again! Come January 4th, your 2nd round application will be due at Harvard, Columbia, and Emory Goizueta. Next week, the deadlines for Northwestern Kellogg, Stanford, Dartmouth Tuck, and Michigan Ross hit home as well.

Of course, you probably already knew that – especially if you’ve been tapping into our annual deadlines listing. Boasting over 40 schools, this story is the market’s one-stop source for deadlines covering every round, not to mention interview and acceptance notification dates (and links to application requirements). If you’re considering applying in the third round, you may want to bookmark this story. These deadlines are coming up in March!

Harvard Business School

You’d Never Believe These MBA Applicants Were Just Rejected By Harvard Business School

Didn’t get into your dream school? Don’t feel bad. Neither did the South African financier with the perfect 780 GMAT. How about the pro soccer player with a 770 GMAT? Not even an interview. Surely, a McKinsey consultant with a 750 GMAT and a perfect quant score got in, right? Not a chance.

Yes, HBS is America’s largest MBA program, receiving more applications than anywhere else. Still, candidates only have a 1-in-10 shot of getting an acceptance letter. That means a slew of valedictorians, class presidents, and corporate HiPos are going to fall short – maybe for the first time in their lives.

What went wrong for these applicants? That’s where Sandy Kreisberg comes into play. The self-proclaimed “HBS Guru,” Kreisberg delivers the goods, placing hundreds of clients in programs like Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, and Booth. For those who believe feedback is a gift, Kreisberg is a Godsend, delivering his critiques in a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred manner that leaves little room for interpretation.

No, Kreisberg doesn’t hedge or hold back. He doesn’t shy away from sharing what candidates get right…and where they’ve gone oh-so-wrong, either. At the same time, he is brimming ideas on what candidates can do to improve their positioning – or which programs might be better-suited for their talents.

Wondering what red flags or gaps that an adcom might see in your applicant profile? Just take a look at how Kreisberg picks apart the applications of 11 of the most impressive MBA candidates around.

HBS Guru Sandy Kreisberg & P&Q Editor John A. Byrne

Handicapping Your Elite MBA Odds: A Hedge Fund Analyst

Speaking of Kreisberg, another installment of his handicapping series just missed P&Q’s 10 Most-Read. As expected, this column features Kreisberg at his salty best. Here is a sampling of his advice to prospective applicants:

“At Harvard, you’re competing with people who go to schools like Michigan and schools that are better than Michigan. You also are competing with people who also have 760 GMATs and may have a cleaner work history. Their first job could be with Goldman Sachs and then a second job at a premium feeder private equity firm. The question is how many of those candidates are there and are there enough of them who are better than you? Harvard could say, ‘No thanks, we have our 30 guys like you and they are more interesting and better.’”

“Let me make this real clear: to an adcom someone with real, real solid academic and work experiences in Life Science is more attractive than someone with no retail experience who wants to, out of the blue, work in “disrupting the retail landscape (think Warby Parker/Harry’s Grooming/AWAY).”

The adcom will not be thinking “Harry’s Grooming/AWAY.”
The adcom will be thinking WTF????”

The 40 Best Business Professors Under 40

P&Q readers love to learn about the culture carriers at their favorite MBA programs. That includes faculty too. First run in 2012, ’40 Under 40’ has emerged as a P&Q staple, celebrating teaching excellence and research prowess from up-and-coming faculty members with a penchant for bringing out the best in their students.

As inspiring as they are compelling, the 40 Under 40 are nominated by students and evaluated by P&Q staff. How popular has the feature become? This year, P&Q received a record 800 nominations, nearly double the total from the year before. Overall, 91 professors were nominated, with Imperial College Business School’s Ileana Stigliani receiving 135 nominations alone! It is also a diverse list; a quarter of the 40 Under 40 was comprised of women, with another 40% of the faculty hailing from MBA programs overseas. While the list is peppered with the usual teaching schools – Virginia Darden, Dartmouth Tuck, and Northwestern Kellogg come to mind – it also features promising professors from lesser-known programs like Rutgers, Miami, and Kellstadt.

Want to know what students can do to truly impress faculty? Wondering how the business school of tomorrow could look? Curious as to how the top business minds would reform business? Those are just a few of the topics addressed by our 40 Under 40 faculty in their profiles. They’re a great read!

DON’T MISS: MEET THE CLASS OF 2020: THE COMPLETE SERIES

2018 BUSINESS SCHOOL RANKINGS: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

THE MBA STATS THAT MATTER: P&Q’S COMPLETE COLLECTION OF 2018 DATA

 

 

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