List Of MBA Admission Consultants & Cost
MBA admission consultants list with the cost:
- Accepted
Cost - $250 per hour on many services.
- Admissions Consultants
Cost - $200 per hour on many services.
- hbsguru
Cost - hbsguru/prices,
FROM SCRATCH EDITING --$2600 (per school), ONE-TIME SANITY CHECK--$900.00 PER SCHOOL , THE DING REPORT--$300.00, INTERVIEW PREP -- $300.00,
- Clear Admit
Cost - clearadmit.com/pricing,
1 Hour = $275
5 Hours = $1,250 ($250/hour)
10 Hours = $2,300 ($230/hour)
15 Hours = $3,300 ($220/hour)
- essayedge
Cost -

MBA Personal Statement — Samples — Graduate School Admission Essay Editing — EssayEdge.com via kwout
- essaysolutions
Cost : Per Essay Fees: $1000 for a single essay, $700 each additional essay
- expartus
Cost of Initial Consultation: $299
- manhattanreview
Cost : http://www.manhattanreview.com/mba-admissions-consulting-elite-package/

Elite MBA Admissions School - Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, LBS, INSEAD | Manhattan Review via kwout
- maxxassociates
Cost : US $250/hour.
- mbamission
Cost :
Application 1: $3000
Application 2: $1750
Application 3+: $1000
Three-School Package: $5250*
Four-School Package: $6150
Five-School Package: $6950
Six-School Package: $7650
- mbaapply
Cost : 1- school $2250, 2- School $4000
- mbaexchange
- mbagameplan
- mbaprepadvantage
Cost: $250 per hour
- mbastudio
- stacyblackman
Cost: Pricing
- veritasprep
Labels: Consultants, links, list, MBA, Price, websites
written by Kalyan @ 8:50 PM,
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MBA Financial Aid & Scholarships Websites List
Here is grand list of MBA Financial Aid & Scholarships websites:
- FinAid Guide
- IEFA
- London Business School
- Military Benefits MBA Scholarships
- SalliMae
- Online Guide Book from UKCOSA - PDF file
- Podcasts
- Free Scholarship Search.
- Fundsnetservices
- Gradloans
- Cornell loans
- Financial Resources for Students of DiverseBackgrounds
- Financing Your BSchool Degree
- Studentawards
- usajobs.gov/studentjobs/ - Federal government student Jobs.
- collegescholarships
- Stanford drops tuition for some students - Check Stanford if it applies for MBA programs.
- most-expensive-colleges-for-2009-2010 (This is for undergraduate schools)
- VERY SCARY Student Loans by the Numbers (GRAPHIC)(Courtesy - Mint)

Investment help from Mint.com
Labels: Education, Financial Aid, links, list, MBA, Tuition
written by Kalyan @ 11:24 AM,
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List Of Top MBA School Magazines With Links
Here's an essential checklist of must-have Business school magazines from Top US schools. Note: Some of the magazines may not be updated regularly but still has valuable info that is archived.
Chicago Booth School of Business
- Chicago Business - The newspaper of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
- Chicago Booth Magazine
Columbia Business School
- Bottom Line
The Bottom Line is a bi-weekly newspaper run by and for Columbia Business School students. It is published bi-weekly on Wednesdays during both the fall and spring semesters and contains news, editorials, and opinions pertaining to careers and academics at the school as well as features on life in New York City. It is read by faculty, students and alumni of Columbia Business School - About Bottomline
- Columbia Daily Spectator.
The Columbia Daily Spectator, which has operated independent of University funding since 1962, is completely written, edited, and published by a staff of over 300 Columbia and Barnard students. Every day, arts reviews, sports coverage, opinion pieces, provocative editorials, and a wide range of news issues reach the community through the Spectator - About spectator
Cornell University
- The Cornell Daily Sun
The newspaper serves the Cornell campus and its surrounding community in Ithaca, New York.The Sun is entirely student-run, publishing Monday through Friday during the academic year, with special Graduation and Freshman issues during the summer.
- Cornell News
Cornell Chronicle/Chronicle Online (formerly Cornell News Service) is part of the Division of University Communications and serves as the primary source of news about Cornell University. Its publications include Chronicle Online (updated daily), the Cornell Chronicle weekly e-newsletter and the Cornell Chronicle print-on-demand digest (published 35 times a year). Chronicle Online also offers full text of stories by e-mail in 17 subject areas and nine RSS feeds - About Cornell News
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
- The Dartmouth
The newspaper is published daily, Monday through Friday, from September to June, except during examination periods and vacations. In addition to the regular newspaper, The Dartmouth publishes two weekly supplements, Big Green Sports Weekly on Mondays and The Dartmouth Mirror, The D’s weekly magazine, on Fridays. The print edition is free to students on campus.
- Tuck Today
- Tuck Today Twitter.
- Tuck Video Magazine.
Duke University
- Duke University Campus News
- Haas School of Business, Berkley, California
Harvard Business School
- HarBus
Welcome to The Harbus Online, your connection to Harvard Business School news and community! The Harbus Online delivers all of the great sections of the weekly newspaper - About Harbus.
- Harvard Gazette
- harvard-magazine
Sloan
- MITSloan
Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan
- The MSJ
TheMSJ.com is the online edition of The Monroe Street Journal, the official newspaper of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan - About MSJ
McCombs School of Business
- McCombs Today
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Michigan Daily
NYU - Stern School Of Business:
- Sternopportunity
The Opportunity is published bi-weekly and is made available to the community throughout the school and on-line. Authored contributions are accepted from all members of the community and everyone is encouraged to let his/her voice be heard - About SternOpportunity
- UCLA Anderson School Of Management
- University of Virginia:
- Wharton School of Business
Yale
- Yaledailynews
- Yaleherald
written by Kalyan @ 1:02 PM,
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List of MBA GMAT Test Prep companies
Here are highlights -
Kaplan
Smart feedback from the practice exams.
Simulated real time test taking practice.
Cost - The classroom and live online course each cost $1,449. The price for 35 hours of private tutoring is $4,649, and Kaplan books can cost as little as $17.
KNewton
Only online courses
Cost - 40 hours $890
MANHATTAN GMAT
Nine-week course that is now available in 15 different locations,
live online course with two lecturers, private tutoring, Manhattan GMAT books, or a guided self-study course.
Prices range from $200 for the books and materials to $1,490 for the traditional course.
MANHATTAN Review
intensive one-week course, a weekend course, four- and eight-week classes, six weekend sessions, nine live online sessions, and a self-study option.
Prices range from $675 for the self-study package to $1,650 without the early-bird special for the one-week course.
PRINCETON REVIEW
Students can choose from a line of books, an online course, online tutoring, a seven-week classroom program with 21 hours of instruction, and in-person one-on-one and small group tutoring. Course prices range from $132 for the GMAT Express Online course to up to $6,750 for private tutoring. But the traditional seven-week course costs $1,249 in most markets.
VERITAS PREP
Besides the full course, students can sign up for a 36-hour course that is held over two weekends, an intensive course that will have you in class six hours per day for seven days straight, an online course, and Veritas on Demand, which is a self-guided, online course. The price ranges from $1,600 in some markets for the full course to $850 for the online options
Source : BW GMAT Test Prep.
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:18 AM,
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MBA Podcasts by topic - GMAT, Online, PartTime, Fulltime, Executive MBA Programs
Here are some of the podcasts by topic that I like -
General MBA - Part Time vs. Full Time - MBA , MBA Salaries,
, Online MBA Programs, Executive MBA, Tips for International students seeking MBA
GMAT - About the test, B-Schools that don to require GMAT , Compare GMAT Test prep Companies
Explore more from MBAPodcater which will help you in your MBA pursuit.
Labels: GMAT, MBA, MP3, Podcasts
written by Kalyan @ 1:05 AM,
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Increase Verbal vocabulary for Free - Helps in GRE, SAT, ACT & GMAT tests
VerbaLearn is an online learning system for students to build their vocabulary skills. Students learn improved word usage and pronunciation. Here is video demo of Free "verba Learn".
written by Kalyan @ 1:08 AM,
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Indian MBA 2008 placements & Salaries - IIMs and others
If you are MBA graduate or an a student deciding to join B-schools in India, this analysis gives some idea of what schools to join based on the salaries or placements or the industry wise.
Here are my few observations :
Salaries
> Except IIM-A, The highest Indian salaries rose for all B-Schools meaning MBA grads got paid highest record salaries in year 2008.
> The highest salary of Indian 70 laks and US- $360K is paid to IIM-A graduate
> The average salaries in all top Indian B-Schools were around 17 laks where as US is around $80K
Placements in US companies
> One in four students placed at overseas
> IIM Bangalore tops the list with 52% placements overseas.
Note : The data is from May 2008. I'm looking forward to see what happened to MBA placements data when the financial meltdown happened around July/August of 2008.
written by Kalyan @ 1:46 AM,
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Going Back to B-School during Recession
These are some goodies from my B-School experience :
- No shortcuts, Going to B-school is a long term commitment
- School gets added to "Life - Work" balance. Be prepared and make spouse (family) understand and ready for 2, 3 year long B-school process.
- Weigh-out options - time and money. Money can be earned but the time is referred as most valuable of two. "Opportunity Cost" - Time one spends in MBA class may be put to better use by doing something useful. That's why they say MBA is expensive.
- Education (or a degree) is never a waste.
- Networking, Helps a lot as you team up with different background professional in doing MBA class projects
- Career Counselors at MBA schools - It depends on school but would give some direction towards job hunting
- Change in thinking. As most individuals are pigeonholed in the same vertical Industry knowledge , B-School gives you fresh horizontal view of industry wide knowledge.
These are some of beneficial psychological things. I'll take time to cover some material things ("Show me the money") like MBA placements and salaries in different industry.
If you have tips to share, please do so via comments.
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 7:55 PM,
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India IIM-A Sets Record for Highest Average GMAT scores ever in EMBA admissions
For 2008-2009 batch, The IIM Ahmedabad Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX) has set a record of average GMAT score of 728 - the highest for any one-year management executive programme in the world (see table). Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad's one-year programme ranked #3 with GMAT score of 714.
written by Kalyan @ 8:12 PM,
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Free Executive MBA EMBA Admission tips & preparation material
This I believe will help to get started with GMAT and other basic stuff and then plan seriously in getting admission into one of Ivy League EMBA program.
Here are the descriptions for six day email course -
# The Expanded EMBA Profile.
# Sponsorship & the GMAT.
# Program Variety.
# Employment & Career Services.
# Qualifying Factors.
# Differentiating Yourself.
written by Kalyan @ 2:49 PM,
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Technology company layoff numbers tracker
Here is the list of top tech layoffs in September, October, November months of 2008.
| Company Name | Layoff Number | Date | Source Link |
| Hewlett-Packard | 24,600 | 15-Sep | mercurynews.com |
| Sun Microsystems | 6,000 | 14-Nov | AP |
| Motorola | 3,000 | 1-Nov | PC World |
| Gannett | 3,000 | 28-Oct | NYTimes |
| Xerox | 3,000 | 23-Oct | reuters.com |
| Micron Technology | 2,850 | 9-Oct | The AP |
| Virgin Media | 2,200 | 11-Nov | Worldscreen.com |
| Nokia | 1,850 | 11-Nov | Reuters |
| Applied Materials | 1,800 | 12-Nov | PC World |
| Yahoo | 1,500 | 21-Oct | wired.com |
| Nortel Networks | 1,300 | 10-Nov | Vancouver Sun |
| eBay | 1,000 | 6-Oct | wired.com |
| Yahoo | 1,000 | 29-Jan | Cnet |
Other similar tracker for tech layoffs -
> CNET Tech layoffs scorecard
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 7:36 PM,
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Free IIT Bombay Engineering Video Courses
IITs are India's premier graduate , post graduate engineering and sciences schools and consistently ranked above other engineering colleges in India in engineering education surveys. From Wikipedia- The THES (Times Higher Education Supplement) also ranked 5 IITs in the top 100 globally for technology with IIT-Bombay ranking the highest at 36th.
Notable IIT Bomaby alumni is Nandan Nilekani - an Indian software entrepreneur. He is currently the Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, of which he is also a co-founder, along with N. R. Narayana Murthy and others.
IIT Bombay is webcasting their courses for free. The Spring (January-April) Semester 2009 will start on January 2, 2009. If you are interested then you can see the class schedule and the courses offered for the spring 2009 semester at this location.
The only requirement for receiving these courses is to have a personal computer with 100 kbps bandwidth. View these live courses absolutely free of cost at the schedule time.
Previously : Free-online-university-courses-list
written by Kalyan @ 9:14 PM,
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False MBA degree of Mirage CEO caused his resignation ?
MGM Mirage owns casinos including the Bellagio and the MGM Grand.MGM Mirage is the largest landholder on the Las Vegas Strip, with significant undeveloped landholdings in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Some other notable things of Mirage casino - Roy Horn was attacked by one of the white tigers used in the show. The Mirage was the first casino to use security cameras full time on all table games.
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 9:25 PM,
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Top 10 international MBA schools Rankings - 2008
Here is top 10 list :
> Queen's: Canada
> IE Business School: Spain
> INSEAD: France
> Western Ontario (Ivey): Canada
> London Business School: Britain
> ESADE: Barcelona
> IMD: Switzerland
> Toronto (Rotman): Canada
> IESE: Spain
> Oxford (Saïd): Britain
None of the top Indian business schools like ISB and IIMs did not get into even second tier b-schools in BW's rankings
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 9:08 PM,
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MBA : University Of Chicago name changed
Booth is a value investor who made money invested in group of individual stocks that represent overall market. As all funds in this troubled economic times Dimensional has mixed returns as noted in WSJ article. The strategy for Dimensional funds are ideas based Chicago Alumni - Fama and French finance models.
How University of Chicago is using these funds ?
According to their press release -
The school plans to use the money for several new initiatives, including aggressively attracting and retaining star faculty. Other uses being considered include developing new faculty groups in academic areas not normally associated with business schools, expanding existing research centers, and launching ambitious programs to better leverage the school’s intellectual capital.
The gift may also be used to expand the school’s international presence beyond its existing campuses in London and Singapore.
Labels: MBA, University Chicago
written by Kalyan @ 1:08 PM,
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Top 10 MBA Undergraduate rankings list for 2008
No. 1: University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Philadelphia
No. 2: University of Virginia (McIntire), Charlottesville
No. 3: University of Notre Dame (Mendoza), South Bend, Ind.
No. 4: Cornell University Ithaca, N.Y.
No. 5: Emory University (Goizueta),Atlanta
No. 6: University of Michigan (Ross),Ann Arbor
No. 7: Brigham Young University (Marriott), Provo, Utah
No. 8: New York University (Stern), New York
No. 9: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan),Cambridge, Mass.
No. 10: University of Texas (McCombs), Austin
Some surprises compared to 2007 list and many that made it to top 2007 slide in their 2008 rankings.
Labels: list, MBA, Rankings, undergraduate
written by Kalyan @ 9:21 PM,
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$200 worth Google AdWords free for students - Google Online Marketing Challenge
As the website notes :
The Challenge works like this:
1. Students divide into groups of 3-6, and then receive free online advertising vouchers for Google AdWords worth US$200.
2. The groups recruit a small-to-medium business, under 100 employees, who has a website but doesn’t currently use AdWords.
3. Each group works with the business to set up an AdWords account and structure an effective online marketing campaign.
4. During a 3-week competition window, the groups optimize and refine their campaigns. They must submit two competition reports – one before they begin and one after the campaign ends.
5. Google and a panel of independent academics from all over the world select the winning teams based on the success of their campaign and the quality of their competition reports.
For Google this is like promoting their advertising cash cow to the heights. For students FAQ suggests that in order to choose business - "If you have a local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Development Office, they always have businesses looking for assistance from smart people like you" . Professors will mentor and work with students and make them understand in online marketing and the Challenge.
To Sum up, I feel this is good project at Google expense for students who want to have web presence for their own business or the business they work for.
Labels: Advertising, AdWords, free, Google, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 10:22 PM,
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Free online university courses list
Interested addition lately is of India's #1 engineering schools IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and IISc (Indian institute of Sciences, Bangalore) in association with GOI (Government of India) started their online offering for free. Here is IITs Free Online course link
LectureFox is worth mentioning here as it is kind of aggregator of all free online universities course offerings with links to videos, mp3 podcasts and notes. A very good easy to use website with simple design and good search functionality available for faster access to study material. One drawback or advantage as you see it, the lecturefox covers ONLY physics, chemistry, computer science, mathematics
Here is list of all free online courses
IIT
Lecturefox
MIT
Stanford
Yale
UK Open University
Carnegie Mellon University
Tufts University
University of California, Berkeley , Berkeley You Tube Channel
Utah State University
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Southern Queensland
Irvine
Do you have any other free online courses from other universities that I missed in this post ? Please share them with other users via comments.
Labels: free, list, MBA, online
written by Kalyan @ 1:06 AM,
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India MBAs concerned Lehman Brothers & Merrill Lynch meltdown
Here is CNN IBN Video of MBAs getting effected because of Lehman's collapse.
Needless to say there are number of H1-B employees at their US location whose jobs are in danger now. Times of India ran a post highlighting the Lehman's employees troubles here.
Hope the situation stabilizes soon.
Labels: Job Growth, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 1:04 AM,
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Duke Fuqua opens India New Delhi business school campus
Image via WikipediaDurham, North Carolina US based MBA school Duke Fuqua business is prestigious institute with its MBA rankings below 20 in almost all major US publications that ranks b-schools. Fuqua announced its global expansion plan and New Delhi will be one of its five satellite campuses. This is good news for India MBA applicants who will have option to go for Delhi campus besides IIMs and ISB.Fuqua global expansion news :
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University's Fuqua School of Business will announce on Monday an innovative expansion plan that will establish a network of campuses around the world to conduct research and deliver programs.
This network will embed and connect Duke's research and teaching activities in key economic and cultural centers of the world: New Delhi, India; St. Petersburg, Russia; Dubai, UAE; London, UK; and Shanghai, China, as well as on Duke's campus in Durham.
US News reports that the five sites (New Delhi, India; St. Petersburg, Russia; Dubai, UAE; London, UK; and Shanghai, China) will be part of Duke's Cross-Continent program, which will send M.B.A. students starting August 2009 to each of the five sites for a week or two at a time as part of their business school education.
2009 India MBA applicants can start applying for this new school in India.
Labels: Duke University, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:26 AM,
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Dubai work permit MBA degree attestation process
Here are some of highlight's from Pradeep's blog to get work permit in Dubai.
Getting attested the original MBA certificate -- Done by UAE consulate. a) Notarize the MBA graduation certificate. b) Authorize the notary signature from notary organization . c) Justice ministry authorizes notary org. signatures. d) External affairs ministry approves Justice ministry authorization. e) Finally UAE consulate attests MBA degree certificate.
Wow !! what a cumbersome process to get a work permit in Dubai but I guess it pays off well with the salaries that MBAs earn in rich city like Dubai . Looks like concept of transcripts are not used which is universal I thought all these days. But most of this procedure we will not know if we apply for H1-B visa as all the degree attestations are done by employers for us with the help of their lawyers. US Consulates (say in India) have extensive shared university databases that will make it easy for them to verify and grant visas on the spot.
Labels: Dubai, IESE, MBA, workpermit
written by Kalyan @ 4:58 PM,
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GMAT Tutors from EduFire charging $69 - $12 hourly
The tutoring rates for GMAT as of writing this post varied from $12 to $69. The fee is based on hourly rate. After a session (may contain multiple hours) is finished, a student will receive an invoice to pay the tutoring fee. Student pays EduFire, and EduFire send the funds to tutors via PayPal within 48 hours.
How good the service will be compared to that offered by Kaplan or Princeton Review ? My opinion EduFire needs more time to build a database of tutor ratings as students take these lessons. Once this model catches up I feel it will compete strongly against Kaplan, Princeton Review, GMAT Manhattan and Veritas in online GMAT tutoring space. One more observation I have is when GMAT tutors compete among themselves in EduFire then there is a good chance that hourly rates may come down drastically.
Business Model is good that a medium/channel is provide by Edufire to bring tutors and students together. It is just not GMAT they have other tests too -- ACT, CPA, DAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, NCLEX, PSAT, SAT, TOEFL and TOEICIf it clicks or disappears in vacuum is to be seen.
Labels: Education, Edufire, GMAT, Kaplan, MBA, online, PrincetonReview, SAT, Tutor, Veritas
written by Kalyan @ 4:08 AM,
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DePaul MBA Entrepreneurship ranks #2 in Entrepreneur rankings
In Undergrad programs University of Houston is #1, Babson college is #2 and DePaul is #6.
The rankings are based on these surveys and graded accordingly -- Enrolled students, % of them who started a business, Percentage still in business, Faculty who are entrepreneurs, Recent grads who started a business, Percentage still in business,Scholarships,Number of entrepreneurship clubs, Mentorship programs and Business plan competition
Here is how Depaul University fared from the survey results :
Here is the top 10 list from both the programs as ranked by Entrepreneur
Undergraduate:
1. University of Houston
2. Babson College
3. Drexel University
4. University of Dayton
5. University of Arizona
6. Temple University
7. DePaul University
8. University of Oklahoma
9. University of Southern California
10. Chapman University
Graduate:
1. Babson College
2. DePaul University
3. University of Southern California
4. University of Arizona
5. University of South Florida
6. University of Illinois, Chicago
7. University of California, Los Angeles
8. Drexel University
9. Chapman University
10. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Labels: Depaul, DePaul University, Entrepreneurship, list, MBA, Rankings
written by Kalyan @ 12:34 AM,
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GMAC completed Scoretop.com GMAT test takers investigation
GMAC in its FAQ web page clarified many questions that was bothering GMAT test takers.
1) More than GMAT test compromise, GMAC stressed that ethical behavior of the canceled scorers is taken seriously in the whole process.
2) GMAC went to extent of comparing the questions posted by canceled scorers on Scoretop.com and the GMAT questions they answered when taking the test.
3) It is not just US test takers all geographic areas are affected.
4) GMAC has completed and suspended its initial investigation. The users who are in doubt of their possible score cancellations can relax.
5) For further questions contact Ashok Sarathy, director of the GMAT Program, at asarathy@gmac.com.
6) GMAC has sent letters on Friday, September 5, 2008. to all the affected test takers informing them the cancellation decision.
Related articles from kalyansuman.com
-> GMAC sues GMAT forums/Users over "live" questions
Labels: cancel, Cancellation, Controversy, GMAC, GMAT, Graduate Management Admission Council, Graduate Management Admission Test, MBA, scoretop.com, Test, US
written by Kalyan @ 3:12 PM,
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Doing MBA Free from Ivy League business schools tips
Business schools are an expensive affair with students taking loans and pushing themselves into serious debts of $100,000 and more in the economy where jobs are uncertain after an MBA.
Tips to get free MBA:
1) Students who start their own business and have shown excellent community outreach programs.
2) Some schools automatically select students for scholarships.
3) Think ahead (2 or 3 years) before you start your MBA.
4) Apply for scholarships in the first round of MBA applications.
5) Target scholarships that aim for only Women, country based, and diversity.
6) Demonstrate leadership and highlight the cause.
7) Write out Fellowship that you are seeking.
8) Go to business school where your grades and GMAT score is above average that other students. And
9) Do part time MBA where your employer sponsors Tuition reimbursements. (Remember this type of free MBA comes with a price that a) Some corporations require that employee stay one-year with them after completion of MBA or pay back the tuition. b) May not be getting the full tuition reimbursement and have to pay taxes.
Any other tips you know of to do MBA for free and avoid huge debts ?
Labels: Business school, BusinessWeek, free, GMAT, Kellogg School of Management, MBA, tips, United States, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
written by Kalyan @ 10:58 AM,
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Harvard Business Publishing interviews Life Hacker Gina Trapani
The advice I like is how to choose from multiple productivity systems ? Choose one system that best fits you and stick to it.
Question #4 about working in teams is the best answer I feel Gina gave :
I think there can be a huge amount of value in cross-pollinating people's work styles. A few years back I did a fair amount of pair programming, and while it was at times frustrating and awkward, I learned a lot from seeing how someone else does things and thinks.
The key is finding and working with the people who help you and don't slow you down. My racquetball coach always told me to "play up" -- meaning, always try to play against an opponent who's better. No matter how bad getting beaten by that person feels, it still raises your game. I think that's true at work as well.
Labels: Case study, Colleges and Universities, Education, Harvard University, Lifehacker.com, Massachusetts, Master of Business Administration, MBA, United States
written by Kalyan @ 1:49 AM,
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2008 MBA applicants number highest in five years
The 2008 Application Trends Survey includes responses from 521 graduate management programs at 273 educational institutions in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. About two-thirds of the respondents are U.S.-based.
Here is GMAT trends from GMAC survey :
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is administered by GMAC and is used
by approximately 4,000 graduate management programs at some 1,800 business schools around the world to screen MBA applicants.
Labels: Applications, GMAC, GMAT, MBA, United States
written by Kalyan @ 12:06 PM,
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Google "App"titude challenge for India's Engineering and MBA colleges ends September 15'2008
From India's GoogleApp team :
1. Sign up for the challenge by September 15, 2008.
2. Get approval from your college's administration to implement Google Apps by October 15, 2008.
3. Work with your IT department to implement Google Apps by December 15, 2008.
4. Achieve the highest level of Google Apps usage amongst all participating colleges by January 31, 2009 to be declared the challenge winner!
Here is video of Kellogg ( Northwestern University, Chicago, US) director of technology talks about how they have benefited using Google Apps for their intranet IT solutions:
This in my opinion is good for colleges as Google will assign one Google employee to each team to help answer questions through out the challenge. Drawback is that they are targeting only Engineering and MBA colleges. Google is trying hard to push collaboration tools like its "Google Talk" , "Google Mail" to compete with "Microsoft Instant Messenger", "Outlook" as Microsoft dominates the corporate as well university accounts.
To learn more about GoogleApps watch this video from google - Googleapps Youtube video:
Labels: Gmail, Google, Google Apps, Google Talk, Googlemail, India, MBA, microsoft, Northwestern University
written by Kalyan @ 11:35 AM,
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GMAC sues GMAT forums/Users over "live" questions for MBA preparation ?
R.P Singh - young Indian cricket bowler wants to do MBA : "He must be careful with GMAT forums and test preparation centers :-)". Source RP Singh's MBA plan video
This poses a risk to some students' scores and their careers though there is no fault of their own as they were allowed to practice on a test questions with other students in the forums. These kinds of actions of copyright infringement may divert all the attention to the growing GMAT test preparation online centers. This is a good move and I agree it gives some back door test preparers an unfair advantage on GMAT.
As a general thumb of rule If GMAT questions are from material approved by GMAC that's either in a book or some other form, then it's probably OK. Remember as a test taker one agrees that they will not disclose GMAT questions after the test. It's not a good idea to disclose questions from actual GMAT's and they may have some dire consequences.
One forum posted on this topic back in 2007 :
GMAC is also threatening to (a) find out who posted the live questions, ban them from taking the GMAT, AND reporting the names to b-schools, and (b) potentially finding out who looked at or discussed items labeled "live" (that is, people who knowingly looked at live questions) and doing the same to those users."
Here are some forms of GMAC copyrighted material reported in one test prep forum.
GMAT Sets these are upto 20 plus sets that seems to be having live test questions, Gmatter Software has software download that reportedly uses some "live" questions, 1000SC is related to sentence correction part of GMAT which is popular and heavily circulated over internet for practicing sentence correction part of GMAT. Similarly there are 1000RC - Reading Comprehension packages and finally Official Guide or OG is official GMAT tests and practice tests that is bit vaguely mention not to discuss or distribute such material.
GMAT official guide is available for purchase from popular book stores and is a must-have if you prepare for GMAT.
To Sumup all this information is from some forums and websites and though their validity is in question but every test taker signs an agreement not to post exam questions this is just not with GMAT tests but take for example Microsoft certification tests too.
sources:
Don't post copyright questions
Don't post scoretop questions
Labels: GMAT, GMAT TEST RESOURCES, MBA, OG
written by Kalyan @ 11:30 AM,
,
Using SCAMPER business creativity tool
SCAMPER: This tool helped me to think of changes I can make to an existing problem ( What to do with my MBA?) to create a new/modified one. I used these changes either as direct suggestions or as starting points for lateral thinking. Using SCAMPER here has helped me define new possible career paths. Many of the ideas may be impractical or may not suit the career in Entrepreneurship. However some of these ideas became good starting points for finding solution to my problem.
Demonstration of SCAMPER:
SCAMPER gave me this summary of good points:
• Substitute - use of internships, substitutes experience? Prior-Experience? Domain Knowledge?
• Combine - integrate MBA and previous technical degree? Career plus promotion (combining purposes)? New Business or Acquisitions? Assortment of Industries – Tech, Manufacturing and Banking?
• Adapt – Copy what other my school Entrepreneurs are doing? Is my company R&D best fir for my entrepreneurial career? Emulate Technological evangelists?
• Magnify – Become a CEO? Unique skills? Use MBA School’s rankings reputation card? Duplicate successful entrepreneurial CEO’s resumes?
• Modify – To fit my personality traits? Income stream from many sources? Convert passions into income?
• Put to another use – Copy one passion idea to other ideas? Name, Recognition, Create jobs for others?
• Eliminate - Eliminate the BIG ideas, start with small ideas? Simple ideas break it into small ideas?
• Rearrange – Get degree first and launch career later or vice versa? One idea implementation per day?
• Reverse – Positive – autonomy with ladder of success, Negative – Bankrupt, Stress and No life?
Labels: Entrepreneurship, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 10:25 AM,
,
Using Mind Map creativity business tool
Reasons for choosing this creativity methods:
Mind Mapping - By using Mind Maps, I can quickly identify and understand the structure of a subject and the way that pieces of information fit together. Mind Maps also provide a structure which encourages creative problem solving, and they hold information in a format that my mind will find easy to remember and quick to review.
Also Mind Maps are more compact than conventional notes, often taking up one side of paper. This helps me to make associations easily. Also If I find out more information after I have drawn the main Mind Map, then I can easily integrate it with little disruption.
Mind Maps are also useful for:
* Summarizing information;
* Consolidating information from different research sources;
* Thinking through complex problems; and
* Presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of my subject
Remembering the shape and structure of a Mind Map can give you the cues you need to remember the information within it. As such, they engage much more of your brain in the process of assimilating and connecting facts, compared with conventional notes.
Demonstration of Mind Mapping:
Hope this helps some one who is struggling to decide what to do with their MBA.
Labels: Entrepreneurship, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 11:30 AM,
,
Free web Bibliography : Easybib
PC Magazine selected EasyBib as site of the week in August'2007, EasyBib is a website dedicated to helping writers create bibliographies. Students provide the easybib.com site with information about sources, and with a couple of clicks, the site automatically creates a bibliography in the correct format and it quickly turns out accurate citation lists.It takes the info and puts it into MLA format for you? A huge help for students or researchers.Moreover Easy Bibliography is free and most used advanced bibliography maker on the Web.It cuts down bibliography creation time from one half to two thirds.All in all, Easy Bib is very useful, you can format any MLA bibliography, whenever you want for free.I was happy to come across Easybib Pro an internet based tool that will format my references, export them as a word document, and has a handy wizard to help with in text citation.
Other Free Bibliography products and info:
Bibliography info
BibMe is another web 2.0 style cool free bibliography generator, offering citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.
Bibdesk: A free bibliography management application.
BibBuilder 1.3 (Free MLA-Style Bibliography Builder)
written by Kalyan @ 8:06 AM,
,
Entrepreneur career : Defining "How my MBA in Entrepreneurship can prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship?"
Problem or Opportunity Identification
Generic Problem Statement:“I wish I knew how my MBA in Entrepreneurship prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship”
Now to choose Entrepreneurship career I may think I need to start my own business. The most significant reason I believe for considering a career in entrepreneurship is the personal satisfaction that often comes with owning your own company, right? Starting ones own business is how to start career in Entrepreneurship? Well, I think I better look a little more deeply at this problem before I instigate a huge effort requiring lots of resources to start a business because I’m going to be very disappointed if that’s not the solution.
Forming a Problem Statement:
Answering the following questions will help me look at my problem more deeply, and will probably help me get at the root causes.
Who? [People who currently are facing this problem or been in this situation before] – Those who wish to start a business and to implement decisions about their Entrepreneurship career. People who create new opportunities that generate benefits for the organization. Entrepreneurs who are likely to be involved in novel startups, and with fast-growing businesses. A student who wants to capitalize on their accumulated skills and experience. A hobby driven student: to enable them to keep doing the thing they enjoy most. A student who wishes to stay in a specific geographic area, or to have flexible hours. A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture. Individuals who score highly on these measures - need for achievement, need for autonomy, drive and determination, creative tendency and risk taking.
When? [Timescales to start a career in Entrepreneurship] Start a business straight after graduating or later in the career when I have built up more knowledge, skills and credibility?
Where? [Where to start a career as Entrepreneur?] With Current or New employer, Self start or Franchise a business, Existing or in New technology, Targeting Niche or Industry wide markets, or in an early stage venture.
What? [What can I do with a degree in Entrepreneurship?]
Entrepreneurs recognize and evaluate opportunities and thus become venture capitalists, investors, attorneys and marketing specialists.
Why? [Why a career in Entrepreneurship?] Become part of the decision-making and empowerment, it's about following ones passion and doing something to make the world a better place, It is feeling of greatness to know that my contributions have a positive impact on the company.
The answers generated make me reconsider the problem. After I look more closely at the issue, it appears that just starting a business is not one of the main options for starting career in Entrepreneurship. This makes me think that starting own business and succeeding is not easy: Risk is bigger (about 70% of new businesses close down within 3 years. Risks are higher ). I think the problem can be found in the where and the why. Start off in employment to build experience. It is possible that one problem has multiple roots. Fortunately, I don’t have to make that decision just yet. The information gathered now will prepare me for applying creative tools later on.
New Problem Statement:
“I wish I knew how my MBA in Entrepreneurship prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship” “I wish as an MBA student in Entrepreneurship I was more aware of the challenges in creating my own business to succeed , starting off in employment to build experience and networking to increase skills and knowledge, when combined may help me in preparing my career in Entrepreneurship” My new problem statement will help me come up with solutions that address the root of the cause not just the symptoms.
I'll discuss in future articles of how to apply creativity tools to this problem and solve the question in hand "How my MBA in Entrepreneurship can prepare me for a career in Entrepreneurship"
Labels: Entrepreneurship, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:03 PM,
,
Finding math factors of 121 - Do you know what they are?
Finding factors:{If you are preparing for GMAT this should give you a quick review of what factors are?}
One easy way is through prime numbers as they make it easy to find the factors of a number.
What is a prime number : A number is prime if it cannot be divided evenly by anything except itself and 1. For example, 5 is a
prime number, because the only factors of 5 are
1 * 5 = 5
Let's consider a number like 121:
how many factors does 121 have?
121 = 11 X 11, 11 is prime number
So prime factors of 121 are 1, 11 and 121
Let's consider a number like 72 that you want to find factors of It's even, so it's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 36
Now, what about 36? That's also even, so it's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 2 * 18
What about 18? That's divisible by 2:
72 = 2 * 2 * 2 * 9
What about 9? That's not divisible by 2, but it is divisible by 3:
72 = 2 * 2 * 2 * 3 * 3
And 3 is prime. So what we've done here is find the 'prime factors' of
the number 72.
How does this help us find all the factors of 72? Well, if a number
is a factor of 72, and it's not one of these prime factors, then it
must be a product of two or more prime factors. So we can find all the
factors of 72 by looking at all the ways we can group these prime
factors:
2 * 2 = 4 pairs
2 * 3 = 6
3 * 3 = 9
2 * 2 * 2 = 8
2 * 2 * 3 = 12 triplets
2 * 3 * 3 = 18
2 * 2 * 2 * 3 = 24 product of four prime factors
2 * 2* 3 * 3 = 36
So the factors of 72 are
1 A factor of everything.
2, 3 The distinct prime factors.
4, 6,9 Products of two prime factors.
8,12,18 Products of three prime factors.
24,36 Products of three prime factors.
72 Product of all the prime factors.
Now
1,2,3,4,6,8,9,12,18,24,36,72
Factors vs Multiples basics
Factors
Finite number of factors for any whole number
Most factors are smaller than number – largest is number itself
Multiples
Infinite number of multiples
Most multiples larger than number, smallest is number itself
Here are some online links you can use some of the Math formulas
Finding prime factors online
Online Math calculators - A very good resource for all math calculations online.
Labels: MBA
written by Kalyan @ 12:27 AM,
,
Book Review : Myths of innovation by Berkun, Scott
![]() | In the book ‘the myths of innovation’, Scott Berkun debunks common myths about innovation. This book opens with a chapter that talks about - "Is it really that Newton found 'laws of gravity' when he saw apple falling to the ground" - Author gives explanation of why this is a myth that sold very well for ages.These myths are mostly human short cuts or quick fixes our minds take to help to transmit (promote) the information to other people. Innovation is not something that can be processed and manufactured and I felt Berkun did a great job in describing these realities in the book.This book should not take you long and can be finished in one sitting of 3 to 4 hours. Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun |
Some of the Book’s key messages for managers:
Decision making: How does a manager know whether a hot new technology will succeed or fail? How managers commercialize an idea? These and other questions essential to producing thoughtful marketing/new product decisions and approaches are considered in the history of innovations and most importantly how they became successful. Examples come from the history of technology, business and the arts and tell how knowledge/ideas convert to commodities. Business managers will find this an important key to understanding and aids them in their decision making.
Collaboration: Good managers facilitate collaboration that has a huge impact on the success of innovation in the corporations. The best ideas derive from a mix of self-awareness and the ability to recognize and explore opportunities when they arise. Berkun talks about how good managers set up an environment which fosters creativity and innovation, how innovators are able to build off their prior experiences and a number of other critical factors. Political shielding: the appropriate role of managers in innovation; in the chapter #7, "Your boss knows more about innovation than you", Edison provided his team of researchers with the political shielding they needed in order to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
How does this can book help you plan or reconsider your own personal creative journey in your work or career?
Whether we work or not at creative companies like IDEO or Google, myths described in the Berkun’s book provides a set of practical insights that will help anyone come up with ideas or combination of ideas that can be applied to one’s own settings. I always thought creativity is something to be born with but Berkun has done a great job by debunking many of cherished myths that hold many people like me back from innovating. This book made me rethink and question the stories of innovation that have become part and parcel of our culture and society. Once we solve this riddle, then I believe it's possible to truly understand how innovation occurs, and how we all can play a part in that.
Two significant “take-aways” from the book.
Berkun captures thought provokingly the difference between what we've been led to believe about innovation as opposed to how it actually works. For each myth, Berkun uses the actual stories behind a variety of innovations, using innovations whose stories we think we know. The examples I took away from the book include the following:
Edison and the invention of the light bulb: Berkun uses Edison and the invention of the light bulb throughout the book to support several points. In the chapter #9, "Problems and solutions", Berkun points out that city had just invested millions of dollars in gas lighting. Realizing this, Edison did not frame his problem as "make a working light bulb," but "make an electricity system that cities can use to adopt my lights.” Framing the problem in this way properly identified the challenge that Edison needed to overcome to make the light bulb successful and that it's rarely a single person that is the source of innovation. In chapter#5 - "The lone inventor" Berkun points out that many inventions are created by different people relatively simultaneously. Edison was not, in fact, the first person to invent the light bulb. Two other lesser known inventors have that distinction.
Newton and his inventions in field of physics: Newton is credited for many advances in the field of physics. But he's as much a product of his location and time as he is of his studies. Born in a different country or 100 years earlier, Newton doesn't exist as the key figure. But that's not to say that his ideas would have never been uncovered. Others working in the same field with the same surroundings could likely have traveled the same path. Innovation is hard work, and it's a process, not a moment in time.
Summary:
Innovation is unpredictable. Berkun suggests ways that it might be cultivated. One should strive to define a problem precisely. Perhaps advantage is that no one else sees it as a problem or where it is believed that a solution exists for the problem. Then, try to tackle it. How some inventors got their ideas? As Berkun puts it, sometimes, clarifying a problem starts you on the road to innovation.
Click me Myths of innovation text book
Video: Book Author Berkun talks about his latest book
Much of what we know about innovation is wrong. That's the bet this talk takes, as it romps through the history of innovation, dispelling the mythologies we've constructed about how we got here. This talk, loosely based on the upcoming O'Reilly book (May 2007), will help you to recognize the myths, understand why they're popular (even if you don't believe in them), and how to use the truth to help you innovate today.
Labels: Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, MBA
written by Kalyan @ 11:02 AM,
,
10 best MBAs read magazines for business and finance
Here is top 10 best magazines:
1. Money
![]() | Description - Combines practical personal finance advice, calculators and investing tips with business news, stock quotes, and financial market coverage from the editors of CNN and Money Magazine. Website - money.cnn.com Alexa Rank: 84 (This is CNN rank) |
2. The Economist
![]() | Description - Authoritative weekly newspaper focusing on international politics and business news and opinion. Website - economist.com Alexa Rank: 3668 Notes : Chicacgo Tribune says : The Economist - The no-nonsense font and rigid layout style make it look like a class handout on the first day of an MBA program, but don't be dismayed. This magazine features the most succinct, globe-encompassing wrap-ups of politics and economics on the market. Even often overlooked cultural features such as book reviews glisten with insight. |
3. BusinessWeek
![]() | Description -A renowned business publication. Business news, trends and profiles of successful businesspeople. Website - BusinessWeek.com Alexa Rank: 1352 Notes : Business Week. Consistently the best business magazine, more timely than the biweeklies Forbes and Fortune. One strength is international reporting, as in the cover story on India and outsourcing. Click me for audio version of Business Week - Audio version I found useful in long commutes where all of BW can be downloaded to MP3 player. |
4. Fortune
![]() | Fortune magazine's home page with current business and finance news. Website - Fortune.com Alexa Rank: 51815 |
5. Consumer Reports
![]() | Information, ratings, and advice on products, services, and decisions. Website - consumerreports.com Rank : 5329 |
6. Entrepreneur
![]() | Description - Online and print small business publication. Information to help start, grow or manage a small business. Web Site - Entrepreneur.com Rank : 3894 Notes: Check out top 10 colleges at http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges/ It has much information for those looking to start their own business. Entrepreneur publishes the “Franchise 500”, which lists the top franchise opportunities for business people.Each issue offers numerous articles presenting the guidance you and your business need. Monthly columns in the technology department include “Digital Edge”, “Net Profit” and “Snapshot.” The financial section consists of columns including “Dollar Signs”, “Raising Money” and “Tax Talk.” Other regular features include “Sell”, which deals with marketing, and “Money”, which deals with financial management. Additional columns include “Breakthrough”, “Sales Force”, “Smart Moves”, “Insurance”, “Capitol Issues” and “Staff Smarts.” |
7. Kiplinger's Personal Finance

8. Forbes
![]() | Notes : Information about companies and the people who run them. Forbes success lists including the Platinum 400 best-performing U.S. big companies, the Private 500 largest U.S. private firms, and the world's richest people. Website: Forbes.com Alexa Rank - 484 |
9. SmartMoney
![]() | Notes:Offers daily stock and mutual fund recommendations, hourly market updates, personal finance investing research tools and advice. Website : SmartMoney.com Alexa Rank - 15461 |
10. The Wall Street Journal
![]() | International and national news with a business and financial perspective. WallStreetJournal.com ALexaRank - 1096 |
written by Kalyan @ 1:54 AM,
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