languid
Definition: (adjective) without energy; slow, sluggish, listless.
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Problem
A palindrome is a positive integer that reads the same forward as it does backwards. If neither the first nor last digit of a palindrome can be zero, how many three-digit palindromes are there?
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Overview
Business school admissions was fiercely competitive. Last
year, an enormous number of students applied to a relatively
stable number of first year spots; applicants had more
impressive credentials; and students migrated toward e-business
concentrations.
While dot-com fever struck recent college grads over the past
years, many still consider an MBA criticial to business
success. MBAs join dot-coms with invaluable knowledge of the
business world, giving viability to the intense creativity
spawned by the Internet. Companies often require execs to hold
MBAs.
Below you will find further information on the top business schools of last year, competition among applicants, business
school applications, financial aid, and student take
on the MBA advantage.
The Schools
Wharton, Harvard, Kellogg and Stanford are traditionally
known as the top business schools in the country. The
popularity of other schools, however, has increased due to the
addition of ecommerce courses, geographical considerations and
the sheer number of people who want to attend business school.
Note the rise of lesser known schools in the Business Week top 25 Business Schools (listed from 1 to 25) shown below:
- University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
- Northwestern (Kellogg)
- University of Chicago
- University of Michigan
- Harvard
- Columbia
- Duke (Fuqua)
- Cornell (Johnson)
- Stanford
- Dartmouth (Tuck)
- University of Virginia (Darden)
- UCLA (Anderson)
- NYU (Stern)
- Carnegie Mellon
- MIT (Sloan)
- UC Berkeley (Haas)
- Washington University (Olin)
- University of Texas at Austin
- UNC, Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)
- Yale
- Indiana University (Kelley)
-
University of Maryland (Smith)
- University of Wisconsin at Madison
- IPurdue (Krannert)
- USC (Marshall)
Admission Stats
- In last year's admissions cycle, the acceptance rates
of the top schools remained very low. Stanford was in the
single digits, accepting only 7% of its applicants (7,047
students applied for 364 slots).**
- The Ivies remained intensely competitive, with
acceptance rates of 11% for Columbia and 13% for Wharton,
Dartmouth and Harvard. Last year Dartmouth received 14 to
15 applications for every first-year spot. Wharton and
Harvard had the greatest number of applicants--just over
8,400 for both schools.
- Wharton, Dartmouth, Stern and Michigan had the largest
"yield"--the number of accepted applicants who
enrolled.
- Kellogg, University of Chicago and Michigan had the
largest full-time enrollments. (NYU's Stern school had the
most overall enrollments, but over two-thirds enrolled in
Stern's part-time program.)
- Michigan had the largest first-year class among the
public schools in the top 25.*
- A dramatic 25% increase in applicants to Washington
University in St. Louis demonstrates Wash U's tremendous
popularity.**
E-Commerce Programs
Although the most prestigious MBA programs remain some of
the most competitive, more students considered lesser-known
programs last year. Reasons varied from cost to location to
competition, but an important trend was the e-business program reputation. Highly qualified candidates
chose schools such as Vanderbilt (http://mba.vanderbilt.edu),
Maryland and Carnegie Mellon over Harvard and Wharton because
of the excellent reputation of their ecommerce programs. For
instance, Vanterbilt jumped on the ecommerce bandwagon early
and last year offered 19 ecommerce courses. Carnegie Mellon
launched the first-ever M.S. program in ecommerce and was
deluged with applications (over 3,000 for 36 slots).**
The top schools rushed to accommodate the demand for dot-com
expertise. Wharton created a new ecommerce major and Stanford
plans to spend a whopping $20 million for research in
e-business. Most schools altered their curricula to include
e-business in traditional finance, marketing and management
courses.
Last year, the demand for e-business courses reeked havoc on
business school campuses. Last fall, the University of Chicago
had to post monitors at the door after 225 students tried to
register for an e-business strategy class that only had room
for 65. UC Berkeley had to call in the fire marshals for a
similar stampede. At MIT, one third of MBA students enrolled in
the new ecommerce track.**
Flexible Programs
Business schools are becoming more flexible,
understanding that irresistible opportunity might knock in the
middle of an MBA program. Wharton, Harvard and Kellogg offer up
to 5 years off (so you can go join a dot-com and finish your
degree later). At Wharton, 25 of the 765 members of the class
of 2000 did not return to finish their last year, and at
Kellogg, 8 students out of 617 dropped out of the class of
2000.**** Last year, a larger number of accepted students than
in years previous deferred admission, mostly taking advantage
of opportunities in high-tech ventures. 20 out of the 189
students accepted into Dartmouth, class of 2001, deferred
admission. Some students also switch from full time to part
time status to fulfill their desire to become budding
moguls.**
The Competition
Last year, applicants were highly qualified, older
and fiercely competitive. Even as some business schools saw
declining numbers of applicants, the qualifications and
credentials of accepted students magnified. Both average GPA
and average GMAT* scores of applicants increased. The average
GPA for the top schools hovered around 3.5, with UCLA on the
high side (3.6) and Stern on the low side (3.4). The average
GPA of first year MBAs at Harvard last year was 3.5.* The
average GMAT* scores among US citizens rose more than five
points last year, and twenty points since 1995. (See more on
GMAT scores below).
The average first year business student is older than medical
and law school students. The average age of the entering class
at the top business schools is 27 years old, as first-years
worked an average of four to five years before attending
business school.* (Note that the average is slightly misleading
because it consists of many 26 year olds and significantly
fewer 30-, 40- and 50-year olds who skew the average upward.)
An influx of international students in American MBA
programs and the increasing popularity of an MBA among
Americans combined to dramatically increase the number of
business school applicants throughout the 90s, although last
year,numbers fell slightly. An American MBA is one of
the most respected degrees in the international business world.
International students accounted for more than 40% of all GMAT
test-takers last year, demonstrating the trend toward more
diverse, international student bodies.
As has been typical, more men than women applied to business
school, with approximately 18,000 more men than women taking
the GMAT* last year.*
The Application
An increasing number of schools last year offered online
applications, making the process more efficient and convenient
for schools and applicants. MIT required you to apply
online--no paper accepted.
The GMAT*
Although official numbers have yet to come in, data
suggests that the number of GMAT* test-takers last year
increased for the first time since the 1995-1996 admissions
cycle. 98% of GMAT* test-takers last year were 22 or older, and
more than half of test-takers last year were over 26.
GMAT* scores have increased steadily throughout the nineties and
scores at the top business schools are up significantly from
1996. How competitive are the top schools? Although, just 2
percent of all GMAT* test-takers scored a 725 on the GMAT*, that
score was the 1999 average for the incoming class at Stanford
Business School!*** A sample of average GMAT* scores from top
business schools*:
School GMAT* Score
|
Schools
|
Score
|
|
Stanford
|
725
|
|
Columbia
|
725
|
|
MIT
|
700
|
|
Wharton
|
691
|
|
Chicago
|
690
|
|
Harvard
|
690
|
One important piece of advice from GMAT*
takers last year: remember to figure out the admissions calendar far in
advance. It is easy with the computer adaptive test to put
it off until it is too late to retake the exam if you
do not like the score. Plan ahead! For information on
registering for the GMAT*, go to:
GMAT* Online
.
Paying For School
Business school was extremely expensive. Tuition for the
top schools hung just under $30,000 per year. The Stern
tuition bill topped the others last year--the school charged
$29,800 for tuition. The cost of tuition at Columbia, Duke,
MIT, Wharton, Chicago and Kellogg is only a hundred dollars or
so less. (Do not forget to budget for room and board and
personal expenses. MIT, for instance, recommends an annual
budget of approximately $50,700!*)
FINANCIAL AID
Last year, two thirds of MBA students required loans.
Students often took out loans averaging as much as $50,000 in
total.* Aid does exist. GMAC, the company that administers the
GMAT, sponsors "MBA Loans". It is also important to keep
up to speed on the changing federal and state regulations that
affect financial aid. New tax creditsinclude the Lifetime
Learning Credit which applies to tuition and fees for
undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education coursework.
As the demand for MBAs increases, employers have expanded their
tuition reimbursement programs. Since most MBA candidates have
had a few years of work experience, it is easier to research
such corporate programs.
There are billions of dollars available to support graduate
study. Last year, MBA students found an incredible amount of
financial assistance in a variety of places. The challenge is
to identify those opportunities. Selection criteria varies for
fellowships and grants-- some based on financial need, grades,
test scores and/or personal characteristics. The best way to
find new and old financial aid opportunities is research,
research, research!
The MBA Advantage
Everyone and their brother are joining dot-coms.
What is an MBA worth anyway?
First of all, SALARY. We have seen dot-com mania slow down
and salaries slowly drift back to earth, leaving MBAs with the
big bucks. It is a hot job market, and employers fall over
themselves to hire top MBAs. At UVA, 80% of students returning
for their second year already had job offers. Companies
increasingly offer "exploding" bonuses that are only open for a
certain time--sign with us now or lose a huge bonus.** Last
year, the graduating class at Stanford had a median base
salary of $87,500. When you add in bonuses, starting salaries
can jump an additional 40-50%. At Wharton, median total
compensation for MBAs last year totaled $159,000.*
These salary figures increased significantly over the past
three years. A sampling of median starting salaries at some of
the top schools*:
|
School
|
Salary
|
|
Harvard
|
$90,000
|
|
Stanford
|
$87,500
|
|
Columbia
|
$89,000
|
|
MIT
|
$85,000
|
|
Kellog
|
$82,000
|
|
Wharton
|
$80,000
|
Where did Harvard MBAs go last year?****
|
Industry
|
Percentage
|
|
Consulting
|
29%
|
|
High Tech
|
18%
|
|
Investment banking
& management
|
16%
|
|
Venture Capital
|
12%
|
|
Other financial
services
|
2%
|
|
Health
care/biotech
|
4%
|
|
Consumer products
|
3%
|
|
Entertainment/media
|
2%
|
|
Nonprofit
|
2%
|
|
Real estate
|
1%
|
|
Other
|
11%
|
Advice From MBAs
"When applying, applicants need to "have a story" on why
they need to go to a particular school. Schools aren't looking
for a well-rounded person, but rather a well-rounded class.
Applicants with unique experience (i.e. starting an Internet
company in Poland) are more valued than those with a
traditional backgrounds (i.e. banking, consulting, marketing,
etc.) In the end, the "story" needs to make sense."
Becca
Columbia MBA Class of 98
"The biggest challenge facing start-up dot-coms is neither
finding a good idea nor raising money to fund it. It's
developing a management team that is long on skill, experience
and leadership. What makes the business work on a day to day
basis are all the soft skills. So among writing business plans
and theorizing on the nature of eCommerce, take time to learn
and practice your management and leadership."
Tim
Wharton MBA Class of 97
President, allowanceNET.com
"Business school was an enormous gift that exceeded my
expectations. I was able to meet people from all over the world
and to build a great professional network. I feel so fortunate
that I went into it with enough experience to really focus on
my industry and my function and I'm a better manager and
problem solver as a result. My advice to others is to make a
point of enjoying your experience and of learning from your
professors and your classmates. It's a once in a lifetime
opporuntity."
Cathleen
Harvard MBA, Class of 98
President, fashion industry start up
Sources:
*Business Week
**US News & World Report
***Graduate School Admissions Council
****Kaplan/Newsweek How to Use the Internet to Choose of Change
Careers
Summing Up
That's it for this year's B-School Admissions Report. For
more guidance, remember, Kaplan also offers admissions services
to help you get into the business school of your choice.
Live GMAT* Course
Online GMAT* Course
Business School Admissions Consulting
Business School Books and Software
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*Test names and other trademarks are the property of the respective trademark holders.
Copyright © 2004 by Kaplan, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
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