Transcend Admissions Consultants 2010 Results

* 96% client interview success rate
* 91% client admission success rate

Many thanks to our clients for their trust and support this application season!

	MBA Programs	Status
Ms. L.	IESE Business School	Accepted
	NYU (Stern) Business School	Waitlisted
	London Business School (LBS)	Waitlisted
	INSEAD	Pending  Accepted!
Ms. R.	Rochester (Simon) School of Business	Accepted	Scholarship
Mr. K.	Georgetown (McDonough) School of Business	Accepted
	Duke (Fuqua) School of Business	Waitlisted
	USC (Marshall) School of Business	Waitlisted
Mr. S.	Washington University (Olin) Business School	Accepted
	UNC (Kenan-Flagler) Business School	Accepted	scholarship
	Georgetown (McDonough) School of Business	Accepted
	University of Illinois College of Business	Accepted
Ms. C.	Rochester (Simon) School of Business	Accepted
	Michigan Ross School of Business	Accepted
	Purdue (Krannert) School of Management	Accepted
Mr. A.	Arizona State (Carey) School of Business	Accepted	scholarship
	Ohio State (Fisher) College of Business	Accepted
	Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) School of Business	Waitlisted
	USC (Marshall) School of Business	Waitlisted
	Washington (Foster) School of Business	Waitlisted
	Washington University (Olin) Business School	Waitlisted
Ms. P.	Michigan (Ross) School of Business	Accepted
Mr. L.	Boston University School of Management	Accepted
	Michigan Ross School of Business	Accepted
Mr. L.	Thunderbird School of Global Management	Accepted
	Case Western Reserve (Weatherhead) School of Management	Accepted
	University of Pittsburgh (Katz) School of Business	Waitlisted
Mr. S.	Penn State University (Smeal) College of Business	Accepted	Full scholarship
	GISMA Business School	Accepted	Full scholarship
	Notre Dame (Mendoza) College of Business	Waitlisted
Ms. E.	University of Toronto (Rotman) School of Management	Accepted
	UNC (Kenan-Flagler) Business School	Accepted
	USC (Marshall) School of Business	Waitlisted
Ms. S.	Boston University School of Management	Accepted
	Rochester (Simon) School of Business (MSF)	Accepted
	Washington (Foster) School of Business	Waitlisted
	USC (Marshall) School of Business	Waitlisted
Mr. S.	Hult International Business School	Accepted
	Hong Kong University Faculty of Business and Economics	Waitlisted
Mr. C.	University of Illinois College of Business	Accepted	scholarship
	University of Maryland (Smith) School of Business	Waitlisted
Mr. C.	USC (Marshall) School of Business	Accepted	scholarship
	Hong Kong University Faculty of Business and Economics	Accepted
	Northwestern (Kellogg) Graduate School of Management	Waitlisted
Mr. J.	University of Illinois - Chicago Graduate School of Business	Accepted
Ms. T.	Washington University (Olin) Business School	Accepted	scholarship
	Indiana University (Kelley) School of Business	Accepted	scholarship
	USC (Marshall) School of Business	Waitlisted
Mr. D.	Georgetown (McDonough) School of Business	Accepted
Ms. I.	UC San Diego (Rady) School of Management	Accepted
	UC Irvine (Merage) School of Business	Accepted
	UC Davis Graduate School of Management	Accepted
	Master of Science Programs	Status
Mr. J.	Harvard Graduate School of Design (MUP)	Accepted
	Michigan (Taubman) College (MUP)	Accepted
	Duke (Nicholas) School of the Environment (MEM)	Accepted
	Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (MSCP)	Accepted
	Cornell Department of City and Regional Planning (MRP)	Accepted
	UPenn School of Design (MCP)	Accepted
Ms. A	ESCP Europe Master in Management (MSc)	Accepted
Mr. A.	Boston College (Carroll) School of Management (MSA)	Accepted
	University of Pittsburgh (Katz) Graduate School of Business (MSA)	Accepted	scholarship
Mr. M.	University of Illinois College of Business (MSF)	Accepted
	Rochester (Simon) School of Business (MSF)	Waitlisted
Ms. C.	University of Illinois College of Business (MS in Technology Management)	Accepted
Ms. S.	Northwestern University (Medill) (IMC)	Accepted
	Texas A&M (Mays) Business School (MS in Marketing)	Waitlisted
Mr. K.	Tulane University (Freeman) School of Business (MSF)	Accepted
	George Washington University School of Business (MSF)	Accepted
	Illinois Institute of Technology (Stuart) School of Business (MSF)	Accepted
	Rochester (Simon) School of Business (MSF)	Waitlisted
	Purdue (Krannert) School of Business (MSF)	Waitlisted
	Law Programs	Status
Mr. R.	American University (Washington) College of Law (LLM)	Accepted
	University of Maryland School of Law (LLM)	Accepted
	Tulane University Law School (LLM)	Accepted
	Cardozo School of Law (LLM)	Accepted

Consulting Industry Hiring Increases in 2011

The consulting industry, a major recruiter of MBA graduates, has bounced back in 2011 from the dismal days after the economic crisis in 2009 when the global consulting industry contracted by 9.1%.  The research firm Kennedy Information reported that 2009 was the worst year for the consulting industry since 1982. 

The projects that consultants are working on this year are more profit-oriented as well.  In 2009, 87% of projects were aimed at cutting costs, while in 2011, 53% of project spending for consultants will be focused on business growth plans. 

Not all consulting sectors are expected to grow at the same rate though.  Growth for spending on strategy consulting is forecasted to expand by only 1.1% a year between 2011 and 2014, while consulting on operations management will grow by an annual average of 5.1% and IT consulting by 3.9% a year to 2014.   

Of the elite strategy consultancies, BCG had the best 2010 with 12% growth.  But the major players are getting more and more competition by the Big Four audit firms that continue to aggressively expand and mid-sized firms that offer experienced independent consultants at lower rates.  

Guidance for Younger MBA Applicants

There is a trend of younger applicants (with three years or less of work experience) applying to MBA programs.  In recent years, many of the MBA programs in the United States have shown a willingness to accept less experienced applicants who have a great deal of potential.  However, MBA admissions committees will take a cautious approach and very closely scrutinize a younger applicant’s background and knowledge.  If you are a younger applicant how can you maximize your limited experience and gain acceptance?  The key will be generating application materials (essays, letters of recommendation and resume) that contain the following information:

Maturity. You must show that you are mature beyond your age and experience level, that you are poised under pressure and will add value to group projects.  To do so, your essays and recommendation letters must clearly display that you have sound judgment, that you view mistakes as learning opportunities and have exceptional analytical and interpersonal skills which will allow you to easily blend in with more experienced MBA students.            

Why MBA, Why Now?  Admissions committee members may agree that you are very intelligent and have great potential, but they must be convinced that you can benefit more from the MBA experience now and not in the future.  To handle this tricky issue it is essential that your essays lay out your motivations for needing an MBA – affirmative reasons that are practical and based on concrete goals.  Your career goals should serve as the pivotal reason for needing an MBA; then you must persuasively illustrate why these specific goals make it necessary to get an MBA at this time. 

You are a natural leader.  Although you did not achieve the title manager at work there are still many other ways to reveal your management potential.  To do this, young candidates should display leadership qualities and an extraordinary impact made on an organization.  For example, you could mention innovative ideas you devised and implemented, or a solution you tailored for a client that was initially rejected by management, but that you were persistent and convinced them to go forward and eventually the idea was extremely effective.  You could also detail fundraising, organizational and promotional activities or creating new initiatives in college organizations.  Regardless of your experiences, when talking about leadership, you must tell a memorable story that gives concrete examples of your ability.

You have high-quality professional experience.  The shorter your professional experience, the more important it is to emphasize the quality of the experience, your extensive personal growth and the ability to learn a great deal in a short period of time.  There are many ways to show that your work experience was short yet outstanding, such as working with important clients, assignments involving complex analysis, or rapid promotions earned.  To drive this point home it will be crucial to highlight that your experience was unique in your organization as your managers did, in fact, recognize your advanced abilities.    

You can make a tremendous impact.  Admissions committees are searching for results-oriented people who are likely to be very active both during the program and upon graduation.  Therefore, after stating that you know exactly why you need an MBA, you must demonstrate why your unique background and skill set will allow you to make a meaningful contribution to the program inside and outside the classroom.  If you can convey compelling reasons why you can add significant value to the MBA program in your essays, letters of recommendation and resume, you will take a big step towards being admitted.

International Applications Decrease in Some Major U.S. Business Schools

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that there was a 4% decrease in Fall 2011 international student applications to the 25 United States business schools that normally award the largest number of degrees to international students.  The reason for this trend is thought to be increased competition from business schools in Europe and Asia that have invested significant resources in business programs in recent years.  While international applications increased by 4% overall to all U.S. business schools, this is significantly less than the 12% growth in international applicants in engineering and science programs, and the 8-9% growth in education, arts and humanities and life sciences programs.

I got into the Northwestern IMC Program!

from: XXX@gmail.com
to: Transcend Admissions Consultants <transcendadmissions@gmail.com>
date: Tue, May 31, 2011 at 3:41 PM
subject: IMC Application follow-up

Dear David,
It has been awhile since we last talked.  But I am happy to finally tell you that last Thursday I received the offer of admission from the Northwestern University (Medill) Master in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program!!  Actually, they gave me a deferred admission - which requires me to work for a year, so I'll be joining their class in 2012.  Therefore, lately I have been busy looking for a perfect job :p

Anyway I think it is a perfect result. I don't need to worry about reapplying and at the same time can get a full time work experience. You have given me a great deal of help to achieve this.  I think your waitlist and interview strategy worked perfectly in this case.  Million thanks!!!!  I'll definitely recommend Transcend Admissions to my friends and schoolmates.

Anyways, thank you so much for your help and support. We will keep in touch!!!

Sincerely,
H.I.

Kellogg EMBA Program - GMAT Not Required!

Going forward the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business Executive MBA program will not require a GMAT score to be submitted as part of the application.  The program is geared towards working professionals with little time to prepare for the GMAT exam (the EMBA requires a minimum of 8 years of work experience, and the average student has 12-15 years of work experience), and therefore Kellogg has decided that they will primarily evaluate candidates based on their career progress.

Harvard Professor Becomes Dean at Georgetown McDonough School of Business

David A. Thomas, professor and former associate dean at Harvard Business School will become the new dean of Georgetown University McDonough School of Business as of August 1st, 2011.  Thomas is a professor of Business Administration and directs Harvard's Organizational Behavior Unit; he was also a former professor at the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.  Thomas holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Yale and Columbia Universities, respectively.

Thomas is now the third high profile HBS professor to take over the top position at prominent business schools over the last several months, as professor John Quelch became the vice president and dean at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Dec. 2010, and long-time HBS finance professor and social entrepreneur Peter Tufano became the dean at the University of Oxford, Said Business School in Nov. 2010.   

MBA Internship Hiring Has Increased in 2011

This article reports that many of the top business schools in the United States, including Northwestern (Kellogg), Cornell (Johnson), Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) and the University of Minnesota (Carlson) have showed a significant increase in hiring for MBA students who had internships in the summer of 2010.  Employers in the consulting, banking, consumer packaged goods and energy industries are driving this growth as they look to fill their talent needs.

Many MBA career services directors are cautiously optimistic about these positive figures, and note that many employers are waiting longer to extend offers and hiring interns year-round, instead of in the fall as was more common in the past.  MBA career services offices have also shifted their focus to instruct candidates how to best leverage their network to aggressively find internships, instead of waiting for employers to recruit on campus.    

Georgetown MBA - Finally!!!!

陳 冠甫 souloriginxxx@yahoo.com.tw
to: Transcend Admissions Consultants <transcendadmissions@gmail.com>
date: Mon, May 23, 2011 at 2:13 PM
Dear David,

I would like to tell you that after a long, long wait I FINALLY received the offer of admission to the Georgetown MBA program!!!  Thank you for all the hard work and support you put in on my applications - especially finishing many last minute essay edits and helping me create an effective waitlist strategy that eventually led to this acceptance.     

I am very excited to become your Georgetown University 学弟 and for all the possibilities this MBA degree will bring. :) 

Lets plan a dinner soon to celebrate, and I would love to hear your insights on living and studying in Washington D.C.! 

Yours Truly,

Kory Chen

Positive Hiring Trends for 2011 MBA Graduates

The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) (the company that brought you the GMAT) has recently reported that the job market for the class of 2011 MBA graduates has significantly improved from 2010. 

In a GMAC survey from March 2011, 54% of MBA class of 2011 respondents indicated that they have already received at least one offer of employment, up from 32% just one year ago as many employers seek to expand operations.  Average salaries for MBA graduates are also on the rise, as annual salaries for job-seekers in the United States and Europe are now over USD91,000.

This is very positive news for current MBA students and future applicants, and is strong evidence that the global economic situation is steadily improving. 

In Many Asian Countries, Women GMAT Testtakers Outnumber Men

This recent Bloomberg/Businessweek article notes that the number of women taking the GMAT exam from China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand is now greater than men.  Last year, 57% of all examinees from Taiwan were women.  These Asian female applicants to MBA programs are likely the reason female enrollment in many programs has increased in recent years.  Ten years ago MBA programs generally had about 25% female enrollment, but now in many programs female enrollment accounts for over 30% of all students.   

Should I Take a Break to Prepare for the GMAT?

A common question we receive at Transcend Admissions Consultants is whether applicants should quit their jobs in order to prepare for the GMAT and create their graduate school applications.

There is no doubt that preparing for the GMAT and producing high-quality application materials is very difficult and time-consuming, especially when you have to balance your time with a very demanding job.  Because of this, many applicants believe that they must quit their job to effectively complete these tasks.   However, before leaving your job you must carefully consider the implications of this decision.  For a Fall 2012 graduate school applicant that quits their job in May 2011, there will be a 16 month gap before the programs begins, which is a considerable amount of time.  During this period you may be giving up potential promotions or management/leadership experiences that could be keys to your success in graduate school.  In addition, if you are not accepted by the schools you apply to you may face a difficult and uncertain job market.   

The applicant must also consider the fact that thousands of graduate school applicants have been able to successfully manage studying for the GMAT and preparing their essays while still thriving at work.  Those applicants who leave their jobs will certainly be at a disadvantage to applicants with similar credentials who continued to work during the application process.  The admissions committee will wonder why the applicant could not balance their job and GMAT preparation at the same time and may decide that they do not have the determination necesary to be a leader.  The admissions committee may also assume that the applicant lacks organizational ability - a key skill for graduate school.       

If you do decide that you must leave your job in order to prepare for the GMAT and do your applications, you should also find something else to work on in the meantime that will show skill development and enhances your resume, such as community service involvement.  In the admissions interview you will definitely be asked about an employment gap, and should be ready to discuss your recent activities, and how these experiences have made you a stronger candidate that can add uniqueness and value to the class. 

An alternative to consider is requesting a leave of absence from your employer.  This can give you the valuable time you need to prepare for the GMAT, but will allow you to return to work so you can continue to enhance your knowledge and skills.  We have found that many employers are open to this type of arrangement.

Paying The Deposit - Then Changing Your Mind

Many graduate school applicants face a dilemma when they are accepted early by a school and asked to quickly pay a deposit before they have time to receive the final decision from the other schools they have applied to.  This becomes even more difficult when the school that has accepted them is not their first choice.

First of all there is nothing wrong with politely asking for a payment extension by explaining to the school that you would like to evaluate all of the offers from the schools you have applied to before paying the deposit.  Many schools will appreciate your honesty and grant such an extension for a limited period of time.

However eventually you may have to make the decision whether or not to pay the deposit while you are still waiting to hear from your dream school.  So what should you do if you eventually receive an offer from your dream school - is it okay to back out and reject the first school?  Here are some points to consider when making this decision:

Monetary consideration.  The deposit will almost certainly not be returned if you back out so you will need to consider whether you can afford to lose this amount of money.

Inspiration and enthusiasm.  Does the first school inspire you to learn and are you extremely enthusiastic about studying there?  If the answer to these questions is no, then you probably should not attend the school, whether you paid the deposit or not.  Graduate school is a huge investment of time and money - this is a decision you must be 100% certain about.  You may regret it for the rest of your life if you go to the wrong school.  Also, the school only wants students who really like their program to attend.  So if you are not enthusiastic about the program in the end it is also better for the school if you do not enroll.       

Ethics.  There is an issue about whether accepting the offer of admission from a school and paying the deposit and then backing out is unethical.  Some people might persuasively argue that this is unethical behavior.  However one can also argue that paying a deposit is simply a monetary issue, not an ethical issue.  If you paid a deposit for a hotel and then decided not to stay there most people would certainly not consider this an unethical decision.  The school still gets to keep your money, so they have gained something.  In addition, many graduate school programs put hundreds of applicants on the wait list for precisely this reason.  Rest assured if you back out, the school will be able to find a qualified and eager candidate to take your place.    

In the end we advise applicants to follow their instincts and go to the school that they like the most.  It is a very personal decision, but foregoing your deposit may be worth it in the end.