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Color In Your Social Enterprise Goals Whether you’re applying for an MBA, a PhD in Public Policy (or many other doctoral fields), or a Masters in Social Work, you’re likely to talk about social enterprise, or community service, goals. For some, this will be your primary objective—those of you seeking careers in non-profit, for example. For others, community service may be secondary, but you’re likely to mention service-related goals in the context of how you’ll contribute to the program or in outlining your post-degree volunteer/philanthropic efforts. Regardless, you should follow a simple piece of advice: use rich specifics to bring your social enterprise goals to life. I can’t tell you how many essay drafts I’ve seen with something like “. . . and I look forward to giving back by helping those in need in my community and addressing major global issues like poverty and global warming.” You may as well write, “I’m a good person, I swear.” It would have about as much impact.   Instead, use powerful details to paint the picture of your goals. For those of you whose careers will focus on social enterprise, this is especially important. If your future path is related to microfinance (i.e., managing micro-loans to entrepreneurs in emerging economies), on top of the places where you would seek employment talk about the specific countries on which you would like to focus (e.g., India, Mexico, African regions), the target segments and types of entrepreneurship you would seek to fund (e.g., women selling handiwork), and the partnerships you would try to forge (e.g., with banks and NGOs).   Okay, you may say, but my social enterprise goals are harder to define because they’re not in a well-established field like microfinance. For example, you may be an IT engineer who wants to use technology to improve the lives of those in underserved rural regions of a country like India. In that case, do your best to specify how you’d like to do this, including by using statistics on relevant trends. You may point out that though Internet use is still minimal in rural India, the mobile phone subscriber base has grown by 70% a year (made-up stat; you should use a real one), representing a great opportunity to . . . whatever it is you’d like to do.   Hold on, you may say, what if I don’t know exactly what I want to do within social enterprise? Well, you should probably have some idea, but it needn’t be highly specific. This is where you can rely on existing examples to lend richness to your essays. Remember, the majority of successful people didn’t reinvent the proverbial wheel; they just figured out new and better uses for it. So find examples of people doing the kinds of things you’d like to do, and (briefly) tell their story to support yours. For example, the December 2008 issue of Esquire Magazine profiles Tapan Parikh, a UC Berkeley computer scientist who has designed cell phone applications to help manage microfinance-related paperwork in India using a simple barcode-reader and voice prompts for illiterate users. His technology has improved record-keeping, transparency, and loan success rates. That example covers both scenarios I’ve mentioned: microfinance and using IT for social enterprise in rural areas. Another example is the One Acre Fund, non-profit organization started by Kellogg MBA alumnus Andrew Youn that is attacking Africa’s hunger problem by providing individuals seed and fertilizer on credit, weekly on-site agricultural training, and improved market access, with all operations and results assessed with quantitative measures.   It’s ideal to paint your own vision of your career path, but it’s wise to use such examples when you’re venturing into new territory or truly don’t know exactly what you want to do. Many of my clients have used this approach successfully at top programs.   And remember: those of you for whom social enterprise will be a sideline or something you do primarily while in the program (e.g., all top business schools have multiple community service clubs and activities), you’re still not exempt from using specifics. Point out how you’ll build on past community service activities with specific efforts at the school and beyond: “At Kellogg I’ll build on my hospital volunteer work with Lion’s Club by driving healthcare initiatives for the Social Impact Club. Post-MBA I look forward to joining NGO X to drive AIDS awareness efforts in rural India.” You get the idea.   So while community service goals are admirable, they won’t have much impact unless you use strong specifics to paint their picture. My fellow editors and I would be happy to help you do that.   By Dr. Sachin Waikar, Accepted.com editor.   Posted by Sachin Waikar on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:00:39 +0000 | Permalink | Post a comment

MBA Admissions Q&A Transcripts for MIT, USC; Upcoming Consortium Chat We had two informative chats last week and one coming up this week. The transcripts from this weeks events are already up! 2009 MIT Sloan MBA Application Tips with Jennifer Burke Barba. A few excerpts: torruda(Jan 5, 2009 12:16:04 PM) Jen: How does the importance of the cover letter compare to that of the essays for the admission decision? JenniferBurkeBarbaMIT(Jan 5, 2009 12:16:28 PM) Torruda, we consider the cover letter to be another essay. It's equally important to essays. londaizy(Jan 5, 2009 12:16:32 PM) Jen: What are the top qualities you look for in the admission essays? Is it personality, work experience, or a combination? Any tips on how to make our essays more powerful? JenniferBurkeBarbaMIT(Jan 5, 2009 12:17:33 PM) Londaizy, there are no specific top qualities we look for. Each applicant is different and hopefully their different personalities, work experiences and academic background will come through. The best thing to do is answer the questions we are specifically asking. We use a method of evaluation that looks at past performance as an indicator of future success. So in the essays, it is best to stay away from hypothetical responses, and talk about the actual events. ALIGHT(Jan 5, 2009 12:27:03 PM) Jen, can you share an anecdote about a memorable essay or cover letter from years past? Is there something that you have read which sticks out in your mind as an effective way an applicant told his or her story? JenniferBurkeBarbaMIT(Jan 5, 2009 12:28:09 PM) Alight - the best essays /cover letters are those that tell the story of what happened, including information about how the decisions made impacted both the applicant and other people involved, and end with the end result, not lessons learned. JonasDivine(Jan 5, 2009 12:38:38 PM) Jen: In Essay 4, is the admissions committee looking for something specific such as clubs, honors etc. or is this meant to be totally open-ended?   JenniferBurkeBarbaMIT(Jan 5, 2009 12:39:38 PM) Jonas - E4 is meant to be totally open-ended. Use your best judgment, this is a chance to share with the Adcom something about you that you could not share in the other JenniferBurkeBarbaMIT(Jan 5, 2009 1:04:03 PM) I'd like to offer some overall advice. Your essays are the piece of the application that you have the most control over at this point -- focus your time on making them great. You want to come alive on paper, and have members of the admissions committee dying to meet you in person! myildirim(Jan 5, 2009 1:04:41 PM) Easier said than done Jen :-)   2009 USC Marshall MBA Admissions Chat with Kellee Scott Linda Abraham(Jan 7, 2009 12:02:07 PM) Janice, How much is the financial crisis affecting full time hiring this year? JaniceNishiyamaUSC(Jan 7, 2009 12:04:39 PM) Linda, we are slightly below our percentage from last year for "employed" second year students. We are finding that companies are generally decreasing the number of full-time hires for this year, but are still actively recruiting interns. vmuth(Jan 7, 2009 12:05:03 PM) Hi Veronica, with the increase in applicants and as we are entering later rounds, have you noticed any significant difference in the class profiles thus far compared to previous years? VeronicaHoUSC(Jan 7, 2009 12:06:33 PM) Vmuth: Well, our largest round is usually Jan. 15 (Round 2) which has not yet ended, so we are still yet to see the majority of our apps. However, so far, the apps are on par with previous years with a slight increase, and they are competitive Neda(Jan 7, 2009 12:12:34 PM) Kellee: How open is USC to admitting students who very recently graduated from undergrad? KelleeScottUSC(Jan 7, 2009 12:13:39 PM) Neda, we prefer that candidates have at least two years of full-time post undergraduate work experience before they start. Our average is 5 years. However, candidates who demonstrate a strong case for doing the MBA earlier have a chance. Next week Accepted is hosting its last Consortium chat for this application cycle. During the "Ask Consortium Alumni Q&A" alumni members of the Consortium will be available to answer your questions about researching schools, the advantages of the Consortium’s extensive network, and perpetuating the Consortium’s mission of enhancing diversity in business education and leadership. Don’t miss this great opportunity to obtain tips from those who have experienced first-hand the many benefits of and MBA degree and Consortium membership.The chat will take place in the Accepted chat room on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET/1:00 AM GMT. Please feel free to join us.   Tell Your Twitter followers about this post: http://is.gd/f4gF Source: USC Marschall MBA Admissions Chat Transcript Source: MIT Sloan MBA Admissions Chat Transcript Posted by Linda Abraham on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 21:16:51 +0000 | Permalink | Post a comment

2009 Application Deadlines - Nov 15, 2008; Jan. 5, 2009
Consortium Admissions

Consortium MBA Application Tips

Date Title 1/14/2009 2009 Ask Consortium Students Chat with Jackie Olden 10/23/2008 2009 Consortium MBA Application Strategies with Jackie Olden 2/5/2008 Consortium with Jackie Olden 12/11/2007 Consortium MBA with Jackie Olden 11/13/2007 Consortium MBA with Jackie Olden 12/6/2006 Consortium with Jackie Olden 10/25/2006 Consortium with Jackie Olden 9/27/2006 Consortium with Jackie Olden 1/11/2006 Consortium MBA Admissions Chat 12/10/2001 Consortium Chat

The following editors have had clients accepted to this school:

Paul Bodine Sonia Michaels Robbie Walker Natalie Grinblatt Epstein

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