Transcend Admissions Consultants 2011-2012 Results

* 97% client interview success rate
* 89% client admission success rate

Thanks to the Transcend Admissions team and our clients for another highly successful application season!

school name / program	number of clients admitted	scholarships
United States MBA
Penn (Wharton)	1
Northwestern (Kellogg)	3
Chicago (Booth)	1	1
Michigan (Ross) MBA	4	2
Michigan (Ross) GMBA	4
Cornell (Johnson)	3
Duke (Fuqua)	4
Duke Cross-Continent MBA	1	1
UT Austin (McCombs)	2
Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)	1
UNC (Kenan-Flagler)	1
Georgetown (McDonough)	4
Emory (Goizueta)	1	1
USC (Marshall) MBA	4
USC IBEAR	2
Indiana (Kelley)	2
Minnesota (Carlson)	1
Washington (Foster)	1
Boston University	1	1
Boston College (Carroll)	1	1
University of Illinois (UIUC)	3	2
Maryland (Smith)	2
Purdue (Krannart)	1	1
Johns Hopkins (Carey)	1
UT Dallas	2	2
UC San Diego  (Rady)	1	1
Non-US MBA
IESE	1	1
Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)	1
CEIBS	2
National University of Singapore (NUS)	1
Master in Management
London Business School (LBS) Master in Management (MIM)	1
Duke (Fuqua) Master in Management (MIM)	1
University of Illinois (UIUC) Master in Technology Management  (MTM)	1
Master in Finance / Accounting
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (MSc in Accounting and Finance)	1
George Washington (MSF)
UT-Dallas (MSA)	1
University of Illinois (UIUC) (MSA)	2
University of Virginia (Darden) (MSA)	1
Michigan State (Broad) (MSA)	1
Washington University (Olin) (MSA)	1
SUNY Binghamton (MSA)	1
Master in Marketing / Communications
Northwestern (Medill) Master in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)	3
NYU Master in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)	1
USC (Annenberg) MA in Global Communication and LSE MSc in Global Media and Communications (dual degree)	1
Imperial College MSc in Strategic Marketing	1
Master in Tourism / Hospitality Management
NYU MS in Tourism Management	1
Cornell/Nanyang Master in Hospitality Management	1
George Washington Master in Tourism Administration	1
PhD
University of South Carolina PhD in Business Administration	1
University of Houston PhD in Finance	1	1
University of Cincinnati PhD in Finance	1

Free MBA Information Session!

Free MBA Application and Essay Strategy Information Session

免費課程: MBA申請及Essay撰寫技巧

時間：6/23 (Sat.) 14:00-15:30  &  6/30 (Sat.) 14:00-15:30

地點：A2 GMAT 教室 台北市大安區信義路四段6號13F-7 (捷運共構大樓)

主講人：創陞教育顧問公司 (Transcend Admissions Consultants) 創辦人David Johnston 及 2012 Top MBA 學生

人數限制：30名

報名截止時間6/21 (Thur.)  報名信箱A2gmat@gmail.com

課程內容

June 23^rd – Getting Started – Planning and Executing Your Strategy

-          Understanding how Adcom will evaluate you

-          Addressing weaknesses / improving your profile

-          Gathering information and school selection

-          Determining your application strategy

Special Guest: Transcend Admissions client admitted to Penn (Wharton), Northwestern (Kellogg) and Chicago (Booth) will explain how she successfully navigated the top MBA application process.

June 30^th – Essay Writing Strategies

-          Brainstorming and organizing your ideas

-          How to analyze essay questions

-          Outlining

-          Example: analyzing a real MBA essay

Special Guest: Transcend Admissions client admitted to Michigan (Ross) and Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) will share his challenging waitlist experience!

Darden Now Offering Feedback Sessions

If you applied to the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business MBA program in the 2011-2012 application cycle and were rejected, you can now schedule a feedback session with a Darden admissions committee member.  15 minute feedback sessions will be available until the end of June and are limited to those people who plan to reapply this year.  Instructions on how you can schedule a feedback appointment can be found here. 

The feedback session is a valuable opportunity for a reapplicant to assess the situation and understand some of the reasons why they were not selected for admission, thus allowing them to strengthen their candidacy going forward.  It also offers a chance to establish a stronger relationship with the school.   It is important to make a positive impression on the admissions committee member as they will likely add remarks about the feedback session in your admissions file. 

To prepare for the feedback session, make a list of important questions you want to ask and think about any other statements you want to make about actions you plan to take to improve yourself or your commitment to the MBA program.  Maintain a positive tone during the conversation and listen closely to what they tell you.  Being fully prepared and having positive interactions with the admission comittee member will ensure you maximize these 15 minutes and shape their opinion of you before the next application season begins.  After the feedback session, consider occasionally corresponding with the admission committee member giving them updates of your progress and restating your interest to the program.

Having a productive conversation with the admissions committee member and taking action based on their advice should go a long way to turning that rejection into an admission in 2012-2013!    

GMAT Test Takers Increasing in China, Decreasing in Taiwan

The GMAC 2007-2011 Asian Geographic Trend Report shows a large increase in overall GMAT test takers from Asian countries during this period.  The number of GMAT exams taken by Asian citizens reached an all-time high in 2011, as 85,551 people sat for the exam; an increase of 47% since 2007.  In 2011, a total of 289,388 GMAT score reports were sent by Asian citizens to business schools across the world compared to 207,430 reports sent in 2007.  Asian citizens sent 69% of their GMAT score reports to business schools in the United States in 2011, compared to 74% in 2007.

Driving this growth were Chinese GMAT test takers who have skyrocketed from 13,048 in 2007 to 40,069 in 2011.  This large increase has been driven by female Chinese test takers and younger applicants under the age of 25 who are applying to MBA programs as well as specialized master's programs.

Taiwanese citizens sat for a total of 3,449 GMAT exams in 2011, down from 5,218 in 2007.  The number of score reports sent by Taiwanese citizens to global business schools has decreased by 43% during this period.  The percentage of female GMAT test takers in Taiwan continues to be high, at 57% of all test takers.  There has also been a shift in the type of management programs that Taiwanese applicants apply to.  In 2007, 73% of Taiwanese GMAT test takers applied to MBA programs; while in 2011 only 63% applied to MBA programs and 32% applied to specialized master's programs in finance, marketing, accounting and management.

Choosing between one- and two-year MBA programs

The most important initial decision that MBA applicants must make is choosing between a one-year or two-year MBA program.  In the past there was a stark contrast between the American two-year MBA model and the one-year European model.  The American model has traditionally been more quantitative-focused, research-based, U.S.-centric and younger; while the European model focused more on soft skills, global business, leveraging industry connections and more experienced candidates.  U.S. MBA programs have spent much effort on developing industry connections and incorporating global business and soft skills such as leadership and teamwork into the curriculum and therefore these old distinctions have been blurred.  Complicating things further is that more and more business schools in the United States are offering one-year MBA program options. 

People struggling to choose between a one-year or two-year MBA program will want to evaluate the following considerations before making a final decision:           

One-Year Programs:
Advantages:  Less time spent away from work; students can gain high-level skills that can be brought to the job market faster and increase their ROI; total expenses much lower.

Disadvantages:  Fewer elective choices may be offered, short-time frame might not allow adequate time for those with little experience or career-changers to develop the new skills and knowledge necessary to make a major career transition; minimal time to conduct a job search or engage in outside-the-classroom activities.

* Other factors to consider:  As stated above, more and more U.S. business schools are offering one-year options (such as Kellogg, Emory and Cornell) and more are likely to offer one-year programs in the future.  These programs are geared towards people with some business training and a solid understanding of statistics, accounting, economics, etc. Significant differences might exist between U.S. and European one-year MBA programs therefore applicants are encouraged to carefully research these programs before making a decision.

Two-Year Programs:

Advantages:  Offers high interaction with students and professors through numerous courses and projects; opportunity to take part in activities like case competitions, student clubs and consulting projects; the ability to do a summer internship after the first year and extra time to explore career options makes it much more appropriate for younger students and career changers.

Disadvantages:  Expensive and requires more time away from work.

As we noted recently there are impressive job placement statistics for 2011 graduates of both one- and two-year MBA programs, but candidates are advised to carefully consider these choices in order to find the program that is the best fit.

Kellogg to Restructure and Reduce Size of Two-Year MBA

New Kellogg Dean Sally Blount has announced an aggressive restructuring plan that will reduce the size of the two-year MBA program, expand their one-year programs and reshape the curriculum.

Due to falling demand for two-year MBA programs by American applicants, Kellogg will shift its emphasis from the traditional two-year American MBA model and reduce intake for its two-year MBA from about 650 to 530 annually.  In Kellogg's view, people these days want to spend less time on their education and thus Kellogg will expand the size in the one-year MBA, EMBA and specialized master's programs.

Kellogg also plans to overhaul its curriculum and change its reputation as a marketing-oriented business school.  Over the next two years Kellogg will eliminate individual academic specializations like marketing and finance, and focus on broad concepts that cut across disciplines such as innovation and entrepreneurship, markets, customers and growth, how business interacts with government and architects of collaboration which focuses on the new ways companies are organized and operated.  Dean Blount sees these changes as a necessary reaction to the job market and what employers want, and that the new curriculum will add value by giving students a more balanced approach to management.  

Solid Job Prospects for 2011 Business School Graduates

The Graduate Management Admissions Councel (GMAC), which surveyed a large number of 2011 business school graduates for their 2012 Alumni Perspectives Survey, has reported that hiring remained at a robust 84% for management degree graduates three months after graduation.  2010 management graduates had a 96% employment rate 15 months after graduation. 

GMAC's research shows a clear disparity between hiring and salary levels between less- and more-experienced management graduates; as 19% of graduates with less than one year of experience were unemployed three months after graduation with starting salaries ranging from US$40,000-50,000, compared to a 14-15% unemployment rate and starting salares of US$70,000-90,000 for graduates with one to six years of prior work experience.  GMAC's 2011 Corporate Recruiters Survey supported this data as 41% of the worldwide recruiters stated that they planned to hire MBA graduates with three to four years of experience, while only 27% planned to hire MBAs with less than 3 years of experience.  "Proven ability to perform" was the number one quality that global corporate recruiters where looking for in new hires.

100% Admission Rate!

from: fc@gmail.com
to: Transcend Admissions Consultants <transcendadmissions@gmail.com>
date: Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 9:38 AM
subject: summary
mailed-by: gmail.com

Hi David,

I wanted to update you on some exciting recent news: I have been taken off the waitlist and admitted to the Northwestern University Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program!  That means I had a 100% admission rate for the four schools we worked together on (Duke MBA, Georgetown MBA, Indiana MBAand Northwestern IMC)  :)  

I want to express my gratitude for the hard work that you and Frances put in on my case. I could not have asked for a more dedicated and enthusiastic team. My essays were obviously very strong and caught Adcom's attention, and I felt well-prepared for my interviews. The best part is that you kept the original tone of my essays but made them more complete and sophisticated, presenting the “true me” in a much smarter way. I appreciate that a lot! Your constructive suggestions and warm feedback have always been helpful and comforting during the anxious application process. As you know, I was not very confidentat the beginning of the admissions process, but thanks to Transcend Admissions Consultant's support and encouragement, I have truly exceeded my wildest expectations!

Cheers!

F.C.

It's a London Thing!

from: xxx.sf@gmail.com
to:  Transcend Admissions Consultants <transcendadmissions@gmail.com
date:  Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 2:52 PM
subject:  Re: Questions about decision status
mailed-by:  gmail.com

Hi David,

After a long and grueling application period I have some good news to share with about all the programs I applied to in London: I have been admitted to the London Business School (LBS) Masters in Management (MIM) program; the dual degree, London School of Economics (LSE) MSc in Global Media and Communications and USC Annenberg M.A. in Global Communication and the Imperial College MSc in Strategic Marketing!!  (and the Duke MIM as well ;) )

I had no idea how challenging balancing a full-time job and completing my applications would be.  Thanks you very much for helping me create a unique application strategy, and making sure my essays displayed my passion, creativity and key skills.  Because of your support, I survived this incredibly difficult period and now I am preparing to live my dream of studying in London at the top business school in Europe!

Good luck to you and Transcend Admissions in the future - will definitely recommend your service to my friends!

Sincerely,

W. Chuang

The Second Time was the Charm!

from: xxx7799@gmail.com
to:  Transcend Admissions Consultants <transcendadmissions@gmail.com>
date:  Sat, Mar 31, 2012 at 1:14 PM
subject: The Second Time was the Charm!
mailed-by:  gmail.com

Dear David, 

I want to give you a quick summary of my results and to say thanks!
I was interviewed by the UC Berkeley (Haas) UT-Austin, and Michigan (Ross) MBA programs and have already received offers of admission from UT-Austin and Michigan with a generous scholarship!

I want to thank you for the strong support you provided to me during the application process.  When I applied last year, and again this year, I thought that I needed to use the essays to tell an amazing story, and highlight every single accomplishment and key skill that I have in order to stand out.  I think the problem was that I was trying to say too many different things while crafting a unique and interesting story and I struggled to market my most important selling points.  

I truly appreciate the efforts you spent in ripping my essays apart (many times), and helping me to create simple and clear essays that contained persuasive statements about my motivations, important qualities, ambitions and why I needed an MBA.  I realize now that I didn't have to try so hard to stand out - but just needed to respond to the essay questions in a thoughtful and direct way and paint a complete picture of myself.  You really simplified the writing process for me, and the results, well, they speak for themselves!  

Thanks again, 

A. Lee