University
of Michigan Business School Admissions Interview
The
Michigan Business School
has received many accolades over the years. It is one of only 4 business schools
consistently ranked in the top 10 by BusinessWeek since the publication first
began tracking business school rankings in 1988. It is also ranked number 2 by
BusinessWeek in general management and it can very arguably be considered the
best public graduate business school in the country.
The University of Michigan Business School is
situated in Ann Arbor, a town consistently ranked amongst the best places to
live in the United States. Ann Arbor has numerous public parks and is
conveniently located only 30 minutes from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The
opportunity to take in a Wolverines game in the nation's largest football
stadium is also something that many applicants find enticing.
As nice as the rankings and quality of life are, the most impressive aspect
of Michigan Business School is how well the school differentiates itself.
The school's unique approach - action-based learning and interdisciplinary,
team-oriented situations - develops leaders and ideas that change the way
business is conducted. Additionally, the school's curriculum allows for a
highly-customized education through an extraordinary range of options and
attributes.
The fall application is expected to be released in early August.
Below is the three-page transcript of our
interview with Kristina Nebel, Director of Strategic
Planning and Outreach, on
July 19, 2004.
What
new changes are occurring on campus and how is the Michigan
Business School evolving?
At Michigan Business School the feature of
how we approach management education surrounds a philosophy
of action-based learning. We have been developing our
Multi-Disciplinary Action Projects (MAP) for about 10 years
now. MAP might mean working internationally with a business
incubator in Israel on a market entry strategy into Europe or
America, or with a non-profit
organization in the Dominican Republic which works for
servicing children with HIV. This approach gives students
practice with business strategy and organizational structure
relative to their core curriculum. Students spend the last
seven weeks of their first year on a MAP team focusing on
this in-action learning. MAP is a very unique experience to the
Michigan School of Business.
What general advice would
you like applicants considering Michigan Business School's MBA to know?
When
considering a business school, you should really think about
what you are looking for from the experience and in terms of
your professional and personal development. First of all, is
an MBA the right degree for you? Presuming it is, what do
you want to gain from this experience? What are you trying
to develop in yourself: overcoming weaknesses, developing
strengths, pursuing challenges, etc. Which schools match
best with your objectives and in what type of environment do
you thrive? At Michigan, we expect our students to actively
engage with us in creating their educational experience.
Initiative and active participation is a pre-requisite. I
recommend a visit to our campus to get a feel for what the
University of Michigan is all about. As you evaluate various
schools, be sure to understand each program's philosophy,
how students achieve their MBA objectives, and determine if
it is the right fit for you.
Does
your Admissions Department provide profile feedback for
individuals considering the MBA program at the University of
Michigan?
We
offer counseling appointments by telephone or in person.
This is not so much a screening of prospective applicants,
but more of a dialogue, addressing one's interest in the
program while addressing
a prospective student’s questions about the MBA path in
general, as well as the Michigan experience overall.
When do you encourage applicants to apply?
Michigan
Business School has three decision rounds. They are
November 1, January 7, and March 1. We encourage students
to apply in the first two rounds. Because we conduct many
recruiting events in the spring, a lot of interaction will
be missed if the student applies in the last round.
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