'HBS' tagged blog posts in Betsy Massar's Blog

If you know anyone who is applying to business school for the class of 2014, you may have heard them muttering to themselves, “What does matter most to me and why?” (Stanford GSB) or  “Have I ever learned anything from a setback?”  (Harvard Business School). They may be victims of an energy-draining syndrome that shows itself every year about this time called MBA essay nightmare.  It’s a regular sinkhole of drafting,...

A lot of clients ask: How much do business school rankings matter?  Are they accurate?  How should I use them to help me figure out what schools to apply to?  If you’ve had any of these questions, you are in very good company.  Figuring out how to interpret the rankings can be confusing.

Enter Tuck’s...

As we come up to the business school application deadlines, thousands of aspiring MBA students are asking their bosses, former bosses,  senior colleagues, and even clients for recommendations to business school. Some might argue that it’s already too late to hit up a busy executive for a b-school recommendation, but if you plan and execute right, the amount of time remaining should be reasonable.

More and more business schools are accepting the GRE in lieu of the GMAT these days. In response to a query I received from the academic adviser to students at one of the world's top undergraduate schools, I thought I would put together a handy table for you to identify which schools accept either the GRE or GMAT. Below you can see that many do, ...

It’s funny, but almost everyone I know is a non-traditional candidate for their MBA. And it scares them.  They think everyone else applying to business school comes from consulting or finance, and those not from those fields should just give up. We all know a few consultants, investment banking types, and more than a few engineers at business school. And indeed, if you look at the...

It’s an annual event. Harvard Business School kicks off the touring season, offering potential MBA candidates insights on the school, tips on applying, and chances for successful matriculation.

It’s a good show. I am even more impressed this year than I was last year, which I wrote about here on 85 Broads. Amazingly, it’s one year later. Dee Leopold, head of admissions, is the best. She has been on the...

Look at any business school’s website and you will see that the school’s primary goal is to teach leaders. “We educate leaders who make a difference in the world,” proclaims Harvard Business School’s mission page. Stanford’s leaders are “innovative, insightful, and principled.” Wharton says its leadership programs are “the heart of MBA life.”

Business schools want leaders coming in, and even better leaders coming out.
The good news for...

About a week ago, I gave an MBA essay workshop to about 25 aspiring students and each one was remarkable. I don’t think they all would have agreed with my statement until they saw it with their own eyes.

To start the evening off, we went around the room, and each person gave one true and one false statement about themselves. You can guess how it turned out—everyone’s...

This is more a long tweet than a blog post, and I apologize up front. But for all those who are anxious about Harvard Business School's first-round interviews, Admissions Director Dee Leopold says invitations will start trickling out October 16 to Dec. 15.

HBS Round 1 Update

She writes:
Round 1 Update
Date: October 09, 2009

Greetings. We're already deep into round 1 applications. As the leaves begin to turn colors (shameless plug for...

Last night at the high-ceilinged corporate offices of the Gap in San Francisco, Dee Leopold, head of the Harvard Business School admissions committee, held court with about 150 eager and aspiring students. Dee is particularly impressive, not only because she is head of admissions at HBS, but because she has been in this position for nearly 20 years.

The messages were clear, and she laid out a very specific lesson...