How B-Schools Detect Plagiarism? And How You May Unknowingly Plagiarise?

You’re working on essays of your target MBA programs for the last three weeks, often struggling for good, punchy lines. Sometimes, you face blank laptop screen, when you can barely write two sentences in thirty minutes. You struggle for words, impactful lines, and, sometimes, even ideas.

Then you come across a sample essay on the internet which has stuff similar to what you want to write. It has great, articulate lines too, and you think your essays will get a touch of class if you use a sentence or two from this essay.

Or it could be just a sentence or two from the school’s website itself.

Jul102016

4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Take Yield and Acceptance Rate at Face Value

2 Comments MBA Admissions Anil

Acceptance rate and yield of an incoming MBA class are considered two of the most authentic parameters reflecting the popularity of a program. But even they need to be sometimes interpreted with caution, or else you might arrive at erroneous, even surprising, conclusions.

Jun192016

Applying to MBA programs? Which test to take – GMAT or GRE?

5 Comments GMAT, GRE Anil

Are you facing the dilemma as to which test – GMAT or GRE – to write when applying to MBA programs?

It was a straightforward choice – GMAT – before 2009, as GRE wasn’t an accepted test for admission to MBA programs then. In the initial years of its existence too, GRE didn’t pose much of a dilemma to the applicants, as not too many programs accepted GRE score.

But it has changed dramatically in the last few years: according to Kaplan 2014 survey 85% of MBA programs accepted (at the time of survey) both the scores in contrast to only 24% in 2009. 85% practically covers any MBA program of repute, and hence the problem of some of your target schools not accepting a GRE score, for all practical purpose, is gone now.

So, which of the two to write when you’re applying to MBA programs? Here are few broad guidelines that you can evaluate your decision against:

May292016

Why Stanford’s Yield, Despite Being Lower, Is Better than That of HBS?

3 Comments MBA Admissions Anil

No doubt, this is a controversial topic.

Traditionally, HBS has had the highest yield (88-90% range) of all MBA programs, followed by Stanford (78-84% range).

(Yield of an incoming class of an MBA program is the percentage of accepted applicants who join the program, and it’s one of the best market-driven statistics that reflect reputation of a program.)

Then, how does such bold, cold statistic lie?

It doesn’t.

But it doesn’t reveal the entire picture, either.

Mar272016

Do I need to send official GMAT score to my target school if …? [FAQs]

2 Comments GMAT Anil

“I’m a reapplicant. Do I need to send official GMAT score again this year?”

“I took GMAT three years back, but I’m applying only this year. Do I need to send my official score again to the schools which I selected while taking the test?”

These are some of the questions regarding reporting of official GMAT score that bewilder applicants to MBA programs. This post tries to clarify most such questions.