Business School

Are law schools and business schools, as well as applicants, obsessed with interdisciplinary education? In my experience, yes, and I have cautioned against what Judge Easterbrook called "Cyberspace and the Law of the Horse" ("put together two fields about which you know very little and get the worst of both words"). Getting interdisciplinary education right is hard.

Now Jeff Lipshaw, a professor at Suffolk Law School and all-around smart guy, has published a paper arguing that interdisciplinarity isn't enough anyway, because someone has to make the judgment call about what goes into that intersection, and how to solve those complexities:

The relationship of pure and mixed business and legal judgment can be modeled in a Venn diagram. The question is who is capable of making judgments in the overlap. Businesspeople are not competent to assess the legal implications, and not inclined merely to trust the decision to lawyers. Lawyers, on the other hand, are usually successors to a particular method of organizing the world, and members of a closed discipline. By nature of the very concept of a judgment, it must occur privately in a single conscious mind, no matter how the judgment is ultimately communicated, shared, or adopted by others. The implication for lawyering and legal education is that some of the old canards about leaving business judgment to the business people must fall away....

Business judgment depends far more on the argument from merit, versus legal judgment, which depends far more on the argument from authority, and a particular kind of authority at that. What, then, does it means to be an expert in the overlap of the diagram? We need to define a new professional discipline: the field of metadisciplinarity. Being a metadisciplinarian takes one to a higher order skill than mere interdisciplinarity: it means being an expert in the making of interdisciplinary judgments.... 

Read more here.

For more casual readers, I asked Jeff how this all boils down, and here's what he said:

There's a skill in deciding things you don't know much about.  Unfortunately, it's not a skill taught much in law school, nor anywhere in academia where strong disciplines govern.

Your point is correct - getting the second degree doesn't help much.  You also have to jump across the divide to make good business/legal judgments, whether you have the second degree or not, just as doubling down in academic disciplines doesn't do much except co-opt you in both orthodoxies!

Those of you who work or teach in one or the other discipline, or at the intersection of both, we'd love to hear your thoughts. Please share.

How much do things like determination and grit correlate with future success? It's a big question, and one that intrigues me as a former admissions officer. After all, the gatekeeping function of admissions is to scour all these imperfect proxies (some might say tea leaves) to try to predict the future success of all those wonderful applicants.

On that subject, a recent article by Amanda Ripley in the Atlantic Monthly caught my eye. Many of my blog readers have heard of Teach for America, the non-profit that sends talented and eager college graduates into inner-city and rural schools to teach disadvantaged students. It's a very competitive admissions process to join the "corps" (as they're called). Last year, Teach for America chose 4,100 out of 35,000 candidates, and during the 2008-09 school year, 11 percent of Ivy League seniors applied. It's a very popular career choice for college seniors.

So Teach for America has all this mad talent to choose from. Over the decades that their own researchers as well as outside researchers have been measuring their teachers' success in the classroom, some interesting findings have emerged. The factors that correlate most strongly with great teaching (which they measure very scientifically) are:

• a previous track record of perseverance and passion for long-term goals, or "grit"
• "life satisfaction" (measuring how content they are with their lives) and
• two kinds of performance in college:
  
  • GPA and
  • leadership achievement, a "record of running something and showing tangible results"

Another fascinating finding: an applicant's overall GPA wasn't as good a predictor of success as the GPA from the last two years of college. It turns out that hitting some speed bumps the first few years and being able to get your act together the last two years demonstrates something important about you. That's the kind of thing one may have already suspected intuitively, but it's great to have some data to back up the intuition.

While those findings relate to success as a classroom teacher in particular, they do strike me as having wider applicability that college and grad school applicants might find interesting. What's the take-away? You should still treat your GPA and test scores as paramount -- those are the indicators that will matter most. But if you can also demonstrate perseverance and stick-with-it-ness (whatever your particular challenges might have been), and you are the kind of student who has seized leadership opportunities outside the classroom, you have a lot of great qualities to show off besides the numbers.

So if your applications are still a ways away, think about the choices you can make between now and then that will let you show off these kinds of qualities. And if your applications are starting to sneak up on you, take inventory of your achievements. What concrete achievements can you highlight to demonstrate perseverance and leadership? How are you going to showcase them? It's not enough to say you are a leader and someone who perseveres. You'll need to back it up with a track record proving those things.

This Atlantic article has so much interesting data and examples to chew on, with implications far beyond teaching skills. Take a look, and please leave a comment with your thoughts.

In a previous post we discussed the general rules to follow when assessing when and how to disclose a criminal issue in your background. Even with those rules in mind, however, you might find yourself struggling with how to answer a "disclosure" question on an application (whether law school, business school, etc.) because you aren't familiar with the terminology.

Criminal disclosure questions often include terms that may seem familiar to you, but have specific meaning in the context of an application (e.g., arrest, charge, adjudication, conviction, "no contest," expunge, etc.).

When you are being asked to disclose information as part of your application, it is your responsibility to know which terms apply to your situation and whether disclosure is required. You may feel comfortable remaining blissfully ignorant now (after all, if you don't know what the terms mean, how can you be held accountable if you make a mistake?), but as we discussed in the previous post the repercussions of a "mistake" in your disclosure can be far reaching.

The best way to guarantee that you are fully informed before answering a disclosure question is to speak to an attorney who practices criminal law in the jurisdiction where your incident took place. Then, and only then, can you be certain how to classify your situation before answering the application question. The descriptions below should not in any way be taken as legal advice. Instead, they provide a general overview of the terminology you might find on applications, a basic glossary to consider before you seek further assistance in addressing your concerns.

 

Was I Charged with a Crime?

Applications may ask if you have ever been "arrested, cited, or charged with any criminal violation." Generally speaking, a charge is a formal accusation of a crime. A charge is usually brought by way of some "charging document." Charging documents include criminal complaints, indictments, or an information. It is not essential that you know the definitions of complaint, indictment or information. The important thing to determine is whether one of these documents was ever filed accusing you of a crime.

The best way to determine this is to order any paperwork related to your criminal case. In most states you have a right to order your criminal record (it may cost you a little bit of money and it's possible that you will have to appear in person to receive the copy). You can also request copies of the court file (sometimes called a "docket") relating to your case. This can sometimes become more complicated if the incident took place when you were a minor. Once you have gathered all of the paperwork you can consult with an attorney to see if there is a charging document accusing you of a crime.

For the vast majority of applicants, the information and indictment will be inapplicable. That is, few applicants will have been charged with a crime by an information or indicted by a grand jury for a criminal offense. If this happened to you, chances are that you are well aware of the circumstances of your case.

For most applicants who have a criminal disclosure issue, the criminal charge will come by way of a "complaint." A complaint is a document that someone files accusing you -- literally "complaining" -- that you have violated the law in some way. Police officers usually apply for complaints, thus you may see a police report filed among court papers in your case or attached to an application for a criminal complaint.

But civilians may also apply for a criminal complaint. This is important to remember because it is possible that you were "charged" with a crime even if you were never arrested.

If you were charged with a crime, it is possible that you were "arraigned" on the charge. An arraignment is a formal proceeding in court where the charges are read aloud (or presented to you in hand), you enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, and bail (if applicable) is argued. You may also be appointed an attorney or asked to hire one yourself. If you recall going through this process in front of a judge or magistrate then chances are you were charged with a crime.

It is also possible, however, that you were charged with a crime but did not have to appear in court. In some jurisdictions, a person can have an attorney appear on his or her behalf to respond to a criminal charge. Thus even if you never appeared in court to enter a plea or to have charges read to you, you may have been charged with a crime.

 

FAQ about Being Charged With a Crime:

1. Can I be charged with a crime without being arrested? → YES. The police or a civilian can accuse you of a crime and file a criminal charge against you even if you were never arrested.

2. If I receive a ticket from a police officer is that a criminal charge? → MAYBE. Police can give you a ticket for some offenses and then file documents afterward that accuse you of a criminal offense. It is important to request all paperwork related to your incident in order to determine what happened. For example, you may be pulled over and given a citation from a police officer and then later have charges filed against you relating to your driving in that case.

3. If the case was dismissed when I first went to court was I still charged? → MAYBE. It's possible that you had your case dismissed when you first appeared in court either by agreeing to some minor punishment (dismissal in exchange for community service, for example) or because the attorney convinced the prosecutor or the court that the case should be dismissed. But it is possible that you were formally charged with the crime and then the charges were dismissed; this may still count as being "charged" for purposes of the application question.

4. My case was "expunged" - doesn't that mean I was never charged? → NO. Whether you were charged has little to do with the outcome of the case. Even if the matter was dismissed, expunged, or sealed, it is possible that you were still "charged" with a criminal offense. For more on this see the section below on "sealed" or "expunged" cases.

5. A spouse / family member / significant other had me arrested and then "dropped the charges" in court before anything happened. Was I charged with a crime? → MAYBE. The actions of your spouse / family member / significant other regarding the resolution of the case are irrelevant. If a charge was brought against you by an acquaintance, the police, or some other authority - even if the charges were "dropped" or the party "refused to press charges" later on - it's possible that you were still charged with a crime.

 

Was I Arrested?

For most people, a formal arrest is an event that sticks in their mind and requires no further explanation. In some cases, however, confusion, intoxication, or the complexity of a situation will leave someone uncertain as to whether he was arrested.

An arrest is a seizure - usually by police officers - that is often accompanied by a prolonged detention and/or the filing of criminal charges. The stereotypical arrest involves the use of handcuffs, verbal warnings about an individual's rights, traveling to a police station or some other detention facility, and often a post-arrest processing (booking). There are other types of detentions that may apply to law school applicants, and it's important once again to research your particular situation to figure out if you were actually arrested.

 

FAQ about Being Arrested:

1. I was never put in handcuffs - was I still arrested? → MAYBE. Police can arrest you without handcuffing you (for your safety, for health reasons, etc.) so don't assume you were not arrested just because you were not handcuffed.

2. I was handcuffed - does that mean I was arrested? → MAYBE. Police can handcuff you for a number of reasons. Just because you were handcuffed does not mean you were necessarily arrested (although you might also have been arrested).

3. I was handcuffed, brought to jail, fingerprinted, and booked - but then they dismissed the charges. That's not an arrest, is it? → MAYBE. That situation has all the hallmarks of an arrest; whether you were charged with a crime has nothing to do with whether you were arrested.

4. I was drunk and was brought to the police station overnight to sober up - is that an arrest? → MAYBE. Some law enforcement agencies will place people in what's called "protective custody," an event that involves detention by the authorities without the additional characteristics of an arrest (handcuffing, reading of rights, booking, etc.). However, in some cases police do make a formal arrest in order to place you in some form of temporary detention. If you believe you fall into this category, consult with an attorney to determine how to classify your situation.

5. I was caught by store security for stealing and then police came and took my information before releasing me. Was I arrested? → MAYBE. Store security can effect an arrest and often assist law enforcement authorities with formal arrests. If you believe you fall into this category, consult with an attorney to determine how to classify your situation.

6. I was handcuffed, brought to the police station, fingerprinted, and booked - but no one ever said "you're under arrest." Was I arrested? → MAYBE. There are no magic words that indicate an arrest. While most arrests include a police officer telling you what's happening, you can still be arrested even if no one says the word "arrest."

 

Was I Convicted or did I Plead "Nolo Contendere," "No Contest," "Admit to Sufficient Facts," or "Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal"?

 

Some disclosure questions will ask if you have ever been "convicted of a criminal offense." What is a conviction?

A conviction is a finding (or judgment) by a judge or jury that a person is guilty of a particular crime or charge. This judgment can come by way of a plea of guilty or a finding after a trial. If you'd stood trial as a defendant in a criminal case, it's a good bet that you had legal counsel, know the outcome of the case, and remember the details of the event.

For most applicants, the issue of criminal convictions arises if they have been charged with a criminal offense and resolved the case in some way short of going to trial or pleading and being found guilty. While some applicants may have plead guilty to a criminal offense (and therefore were "convicted" of the charge), a number of applicants have resolved a criminal matter by some other method that involves a combination of punishment and a partial admission of responsibility.

The nature and circumstances of those resolutions varies considerably among states. Pleas can include:

• "Continuance Without a Finding" (aka CWOF or "admission to sufficient facts")
• "Nolo Contendere" (aka "no contest plea")
• "Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal" (aka "ACOD," "pre-trial diversion," "pre-trial probation," or "Probation before Judgment")

Each of the terms above involves a different set of circumstances and is defined by the law of the state where the incident took place. In some cases, such as a plea to "sufficient facts," the defendant must make an admission or acknowledgment before the court that he has done something wrong. In other cases, including some forms of pre-trial diversion or probation, no such admission is required.

These types of adjudications often involve a nominal punishment of some kind, including a fine, a diversion program (most often for driving offenses or incidents involving alcohol or drugs), community service, or a probationary period.

Applicants are often confused or ill-informed about what these terms mean. Because the terms vary so much among jurisdictions, you should gather the relevant documents from your case and seek legal advice about how to classify your situation.

 

FAQ about Convictions, Probation, and Pre-Trial Diversion:

1. My lawyer told me that if I admitted what happened and did community service, the case would get dismissed. Is that a conviction? → MAYBE. In most cases, if a charge was dismissed then there is not a conviction for that charge. However, in some cases a person can admit to doing something, sustain a conviction, and be placed on a period of probation, after which the case is dismissed. Depending on the jurisdiction, this can amount to a conviction. You should consult an attorney if you admitted to wrongdoing as part of your case.

2. I was given pre-trial diversion and stayed out of trouble for some period of time. I was not punished in any way (no community service, no fine, etc.). Is this considered probation? → MAYBE. Being placed on pre-trial diversion, pre-trial probation, or some period of supervision - without more, such as an admission of guilt or responsibility - is usually not considered probation. However, these pre-trial diversion programs may qualify as "probation" in the jurisdiction where the incident took place. You should read the paperwork from your case very carefully and then consult with an attorney to see if your situation qualified as "probation" in that jurisdiction.

3. I don't remember what happened in my case but I know it was eventually dismissed and my attorney said it would never appear on my record. So I was never put on probation, right? → MAYBE. Just because a case ended in dismissal does not mean that you avoided probation. In some jurisdictions, a case can be continued, deferred, or stayed for a period of time, after which the case is dismissed. However, the period during which the case was continued or stayed may qualify as a probationary period. The laws of each jurisdiction determine whether this period of adjournment or continuation was considered "probation," so once again, you should receive legal advice if you have a question about classifying your case.

 

My Case was Sealed / My Case was Expunged

Many jurisdictions have a process for "sealing" a criminal record, an act that closes the criminal record from public view unless it is sought by a court order. In other places a record can be expunged from the public rolls. This is considered more permanent than "sealing" a record, and has the effect of eliminating or eradicating the record (with a few exceptions).

Sealing or expunging a record is usually done by either (1) the passage of time or (2) a motion or request by someone made before a court or magistrate. The laws of each jurisdiction determine if, and how, records are sealed or expunged in that jurisdiction. For some jurisdictions, juvenile cases are expunged after a set period of time, such as when the defendant reaches the age of 18. In other cases, a person can move to seal his or her record after a set number of years passes from the date the case concluded.

There is great confusion surrounding the notion of sealing or expunging a record, and many people believe - incorrectly - that if their case resulted in something short of a conviction, it was automatically sealed or expunged. Unless you have a document from a court indicating that your case was sealed or expunged, you should assume that neither applies to your case. Expungement and sealing of a record is not the default status for a case that has been concluded (even if the charges were dismissed).

Even if your case was sealed or expunged, you may still have to disclose the incident on your application (and, for future lawyers, for admission to a state bar). Sealing or expunging a criminal case can prevent it from appearing on a standard criminal record check, but by applying to school you likely waive any protection of that information because you agree to be honest on your application.

 

FAQs about Sealed / Expunged Cases

 

1. My case was dismissed prior to trial in exchange for 20 hours of community service, so my case was expunged, right? → MAYBE. The outcome of a case (in terms of guilt or innocence, or the disposition of the case) has little effect on whether the case is expunged or sealed.

2. My case happened when I was a 14-year old kid, so it's sealed now because it's a juvenile case, right? → MAYBE. The sealing or expungement of juvenile records varies from state to state. Do not assume that a juvenile case is automatically sealed. Order your paperwork from the case and consult with an attorney from the jurisdiction where the case took place.

3. I was on probation, but my attorney said that if I didn't get into trouble again I would not have "a criminal record" - so I don't have to disclose anything at all? → MAYBE. A "criminal record" is a general team that has many meanings. You can have a "criminal record" even if you've never been convicted of a crime (but have been arrested and charged with one). Law enforcement and the courts have records of prior arrests and criminal charges, even if the person was not convicted. This would be the broadest definition of a "criminal record."

The term could also be interpreted to mean that unless a person was convicted of a crime, he has no criminal record. Under that narrower definition, you might not have a "criminal record," and you would need to get clarification on what, exactly, the application is asking for.

However, few schools will ask if you have a "criminal record." Instead, they'll be much more specific in the inquiry, asking about arrests, charges, convictions, etc. Instead of guessing about which definition is being used by the school and whether you have a "criminal record," read the instructions on the disclosure question very carefully and consult an attorney if necessary.

 

Questions? Comments? We want to hear from you!

Gregory Henning is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Virginia Law School. After graduating from law school, he clerked for Judge R. Lanier Anderson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and then became an Assistant District Attorney in Boston. As part of the Ivey Consulting team, Greg works with law school and public policy school applicants.

When you sit down to write your “Why MBA” application essays this year, there’s a big rule to keep in mind: tell us your back-up plan. That’s the advice we heard over and over again from top MBA admissions officers who met with us at our annual AIGAC conference in June.

Why? Because the world has changed, and times are tough. Round 1 applicants who sat down to write their essays in August and early September of last year lived in a different world, one in which they weren’t too worried about finding jobs after graduation. All that changed in mid-September 2008, and since that first lurch towards economic meltdown, applicants no longer have that luxury. As a result, one of the phrases we heard over and over again from admissions officers was: “Have a plan B.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Jon Hodge is the owner of Strictly English TOEFL Tutors.

I ask all our clients when they begin studying for the TOEFL, "what schools are you applying to?" I ask this because we need to know from the start what TOEFL score the student will need. If they want to attend Harvard Business School, they will need a 109, but if they want to attend Suffolk for an MBA, then they will only need an 80. Obviously, this will change the amount of time they need to prepare and the way we customize the student's course of study.

One answer to this question always surprises me. Every once in a while I get a student who says, "I'm not deciding on what schools to apply to until I get my TOEFL results." The applicants then explain that they will apply to the schools that have TOEFL requirements equal to their scores.

Let me make this very clear: This is a very bad way to choose the schools you will apply to.

First of all, a large part of your admissions file is your personal statement or statement of purpose that explains, among other things, why you want to attend the school you're applying to. Schools use this part of the essay to determine if you're serious about their program specifically. If the only reason you've chosen their school is because it matches your TOEFL score, then you will have nothing substantial to say about their program and why you like it better than other programs. Sure, you could invent some reason by looking at their website and finding something to talk about, but admissions offices can always tell when a student doesn't have a genuine passion for the school they are applying to.

Second, keep in mind that you'll want to be working on all of your admissions materials at the same time. You should be studying for the TOEFL while you're also working on your letters and other standardized tests. If you are waiting for your TOEFL results before applying to schools, you will most likely be left with very little time to prepare the rest of your materials. Especially because the students who decide to let their TOEFL score determine the schools they apply to are also the students who keep taking the TOEFL over and over again until the last minute. And this leaves them no time to craft powerful resumes and statements of purpose.

But let's stop here for a minute and think harder about the fact that applicants who want their TOEFL score to pick their schools are also the people who keep taking the TOEFL. Why take the TOEFL over and over again if you don't care what school you go to? Repeatedly taking the TOEFL suggests that these people really do have a goal they are trying to achieve, a school they passionately want to attend, but they are afraid to admit it, or they are afraid of failure.

If it were really true that they didn't mind that their TOEFL score would determine the schools they were going to apply to, then they would simply take the test once and, with their results in hand, they would pick their schools. In fact, they would be the first to complete and submit their applications! But this is not the case.

Therefore, I encourage everyone who picks their schools based on their TOEFL scores to question this decision. What might really be behind this presumably "practical" choice? Most likely, you do have a school that you feel passionate about. Don't be afraid to go for it! Work hard to raise your TOEFL results to the score you need for the school you love. You'll need this kind of dedication and perseverance once you're in graduate school anyway, so it's a good thing to begin training yourself now to achieve your goals. With the right support, you can achieve anything, even a high TOEFL score! 

Continuing my Q&A with colleague Marlena (see also Parts I and II):

Anna: We hope this series is helping you get ready for Round One. But how do you decide where to send your applications?

As Part II of our series "Rescue Your Round-One Application," Anna Ivey and Marlena Corcoran continue their Q&A. (Read Part I here.)

Couldn't people put this all off for a while, and apply in Round Two or Round Three? Do they really need to go for Round One?

Marlena: Round One, hands down. Admissions officers who are asked this question are quick to say, "Apply when you are truly ready." Well, sure, but my advice is, "Get ready for Round One."

Just think about it. If enough great candidates apply in Round One, a lot of slots are filled. We're not just talking absolute numbers, but kinds of applicants. A committee cannot accept a class composed entirely of, say, engineers. And if they already accepted a large number of engineers in Round One, you may apply in Round Three with engineering qualifications that are just as good, but you're going to need some major sparkle to make the committee say, "Move over, we've got another great engineer."

How about schools like LBS and Columbia that have rolling admissions?

Marlena: If you're applying to a school that has rolling admissions, bear in mind that with every week that passes, you must be more impressive than every candidate they've seen so far—and distinctive enough to create a slot for yourself.

Now, I did not say that every program has a quota. I am saying that the next time you listen to an admissions committee member waffle on this one, you should put on your common-sense spectacles.

But what about European MBA programs? Aren't they geared toward a more leisurely schedule?

Marlena: There's no need to glorify procrastination by dubbing it "Euro-chic." If you're putting off the GMAT now, you may find yourself putting it off six months from now.

Yes, it is worth noting that INSEAD admits two classes per year. Also, INSEAD has three rounds for the January intake and four rounds for the September intake. You may have overheard the INSEAD rep at the AIGAC [Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants] conference in New York last week sigh, "There is never a time when we are not reading." This is a lifesaver for applicants!

But remember: INSEAD is the exception. "Rescue Your Round-One Application" is a series for applicants who are aiming at the top U.S. MBA programs. I think you would agree, Anna, that when it comes to those schools, there is no doubt about it: Submit your application in Round One.

Not only will you be on time for the U.S. schools, but you might make the first-round deadline at INSEAD, too.

 

Dr. Marlena Corcoran studied for two years at the École normale supérieure in Paris and holds a Ph.D. in English from Brown University. She has held research appointments at Harvard, Princeton, and Brown Universities, and at Wolfson College, Oxford. She has many years' experience teaching and has also worked in the business world. In 2004, she published two novels designed to help non-native speakers improve their English. In 2003, she received an award from Brown for her work with the international community. Marlena speaks fluent German and French in addition to her native English.

Marlena works with college applicants, applicants to masters and PhD programs, international LLM applicants, and MBA applicants. 

I did an online Q&A recently with Dr. Marlena Corcoran, one of our educational consultants who counsels international MBA applicants. Marlena is based out of Boston, Massachusetts, and Munich, Germany.

Marlena, what's the biggest mistake you see non-US applicants make in applying to the top U.S. MBA programs?

They do not allow enough time to compose a convincing application. If your goal is to start at a top U.S. MBA program in the fall of 2010, I sincerely hope that you began preparing your application last winter. If you didn't, this newsletter is for you! Please remember that we will not be discussing an ideal scenario, but how to rescue your round-one application.

That sounds dramatic. Just to put this in context, how do non-U.S. applicants fall into this predicament?

Here in Germany, the problem arises from the difference between the general university admissions processes in Germany and the United States. German secondary-school students must wait until they have their diploma, or Abitur, before they can apply to university.

So that means they apply in, say, July, to begin their bachelor's studies in the fall?

That's right, Anna. And from the German point of view, it is just as startling to hear that the American admissions process is so complicated—and so long. In Germany, it's pretty much point-and-click. Unless you want to study, for example, medicine at a popular location, you can expect to be accepted at the university you designate. People will tell me smugly, "I want to do my MBA at Stanford." They assume that all they need to do is let Stanford know they are coming.

Do MBA-hopefuls still have a chance to prepare for Round One, if they begin today?

Yes. Sit down right now and make yourself a schedule for the next months. Fill in the big rocks, such as:

• take the GMAT
• take it again
• research programs
• draft your essays
• choose and approach your recommenders
• submit transcripts
• enter program deadlines

You'll be surprised at how few weeks are left in which to accomplish all of this before the October deadlines are upon us.

They had better start practicing for the GMAT soon . . .

Today would be good. Go to http://www.mba.com/mba/thegmat and download the free test preparation software. Set aside time to complete a full-length test. The full test is more grueling than you think. It's not only about content. In fact, a large part of success on the exam is developing habits of delivering consistently correct responses over a long period of time and under a great deal of pressure. This can be trained! As one of our GMAT trainers, a brilliant woman from Beijing, says: "I have been taking tests all my life." No wonder she has nerves of steel! You should start training today.

(Read Part II of our Q&A here and Part III here.) 

Marlena Corcoran studied for two years at the École normale supérieure in Paris and holds a Ph.D. in English from Brown University. She has held research appointments at Harvard, Princeton, and Brown Universities, and at Wolfson College, Oxford. She has many years' experience teaching and has also worked in the business world. In 2004, she published two novels designed to help non-native speakers improve their English. In 2003, she received an award from Brown for her work with the international community. Marlena speaks fluent German and French in addition to her native English.

Marlena works with college applicants, applicants to masters and PhD programs, international LLM applicants, and international MBA applicants.

Last week, 900 students gathered on a sunny day in Boston, 100 years after the founders of Harvard Business School determined that they would create a school to professionalize the art of management.  It was an honor being among those who received a diploma, but the afternoon session the prior day offered a different kind of special feeling.  After the class heard Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, talk about life lessons and a greater responsibility to local communities and society, several hundred graduating students gathered in the business school auditorium to take an oath to live up to a higher standard as managers.

My experience with business ethics started during my undergraduate years at the University of Notre Dame.  There, the faculty and administration were among the leading proponents of business ethics, not least because of the Catholic nature of the school.  As I was preparing to enter the working world, I wondered how all of this ethical focus was going to tangibly affect my decisions.

I got a clearer answer when I sat for the CPA and CFA exams, which each have a large ethical component as well as a code of conduct by which members are expected to act in their professional and personal lives—if these are broken, the penalties are severe, and can lead to loss of credibility and accreditation.

So, after several years in the management consulting world, I came back to graduate school to study business and public administration at Harvard.  While I was surrounded by both capitalistic and public/non-profit peers and inundated with businesses cases across sectors, I have always wondered how the lessons we learned in my classes would bear on our day-to-day actions.

That is why I was so enthused when a classmate of mine told me about an idea he had for a ‘hippocratic oath’ for MBAs, just like doctors take.  In my mind the idea of both having an ethical framework as well as adding professionalization and accountability to the MBA graduate cohort was a great thing. 

Twenty-five of us have been working on this for the last month, and we have received a huge response from the current HBS graduating class (more than 50% signed the oath), graduating students at other business schools, alumni from several business schools, as well as several national press outlets.  While the press coverage and blogs have ranged from completely against/skeptical of the Oath to completely backing the effort, it has been a great thing to get a balanced discussion going on business ethics and how we as a profession and as a society need to learn from the current financial crisis.

A couple of the highlights from the Oath include:

Goal: Our long-term goal is to transform the field of management into a true profession, one in which MBAs are respected for their integrity, professionalism, and leadership. We hope to see hundreds of thousands of MBAs take the MBA oath, or something like it, as a step towards realizing this vision.

Preamble: As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can build alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face difficult choices.

So, what does this mean for all of those folks out there preparing to apply to schools this fall.  There are several questions you should consider and attempt to answer:  What am I expecting to garner from a prospective business school in terms of business ethics education and institutional knowledge about the causes of the financial crisis or business failures in general?  Do I see a value in having accountability for my actions as an MBA?  What sort of ethical code to I live by and aspire to?  Knowing that the Oath and its tenets are top of mind for many business school professors (and likely admissions committees), how can I relay these thoughts successfully in my applications?

While many bloggers have criticized the Oath for lacking teeth or any process for accountability, I am confident that this aspirational first step has been necessary to get the word out there.  I see a strong possibility that, like an MD, JD, or CPA, the MBA will begin to take on a stronger meaning and will embrace accountability standards that will reward and punish ethical and un-Oath-like behavior, respectively.

To learn more about the Oath, go to http://mbaoath.org.

Below is a selection of national news media on the Oath:

New York Times – “A Promise to be Ethical in an Era of Immorality”

Financial Times – “Harvard MBAs Pledge to Do Good”

The Economist – "Forswearing Greed"

CNN - “MBA Students Pledge to Serve the Greater Good”

BusinessWeek – “MBAs – First, Do No Harm”

Please share your thoughts and comments! 

 

Originally hailing from the Midwest, Paul Buser attended the University of Notre Dame for his undergraduate education. There he studied Finance, Accounting, and Public Policy while tirelessly cheering (in vain) for a Notre Dame football championship. After graduating summa cum laude in 2003, Paul worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago and Thailand, specializing in operations and strategy. He has also directed a non-profit consulting team in Cambodia, Kosovo, and the U.S. through the International Business Council. Paul is a CPA and holds a CFA charter, and he just graduated with combined degrees from Harvard Business School (MBA) and the Kennedy School of Government (MPA). As part of the Ivey Consulting team, Paul works with business school and public policy school applicants.

Just two weeks ago (a Tuesday to be exact), I was in my law school class, constantly stealing glances at my computer screen to check if there were any new messages. I was anxious.

"Any news?" I typed, then clicked send.

"Nope, not yet."  Rohini replied within seconds.

Rohini and I are part of a five-person team. Earlier in the Spring Quarter, we had decided to participate in a venture capital competition sponsored by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business - the "New Venture Challenge" (NVC).

"I just got asked how we spell our company name. That might mean we're in…?" Rohini was hanging out near the Polsky Center, where the judges were finalizing their results; she too was obviously anxious.

The suspense was driving me crazy, so I turned off my laptop, and tried to keep my mind focused on my law professor. I didn't turn on my computer again, until after class. When I open my email inbox, I found a message from Ravi (another team member): "WE'RE A FINALIST!"

Business Plan Competitions

Practically every big name business school in the nation hosts some form of annual business plan competition. Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of entrepreneurially minded students from all walks and disciplines submit their ideas in hopes to get a chance to stand before venture capitalists, who may invest in their ideas and help them realize their dreams.

Some of the representative business competitions out there, by region, are:

West Coast
E-Challenge: Stanford's Business Plan Competition (see here)
UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition (see here)

East Coast
Harvard's Business Plan Contest (see here)
MIT Entrepreneurship Competition (see here)

The South
Moot Corp Competition McCombs School of Business (UT) (see here)

The Midwest
New Venture Challenge (NVC) (see here)

NVC Selection Process

There are essentially three levels in NVC: Phase I, Phase II, and Final Round.

During Phase I, hundreds of entrepreneurs from all across the nation submit a feasibility summary (basically, a brief summary describing the business concept, financials, and management) to the business school. 29 teams are selected to move onto Phase II.

During Phase II, the selected teams have the opportunity to create their business plan (a document introducing the business concept, marketing strategy, management team, and financial milestones) and practice pitching their slide decks before a panel of venture capitalists. Based on the business plan and pitch, 10 teams are selected to move onto the Final Round.

During the Final Round, selected teams submit their business plans and pitch their ideas to 30 high profile venture capitalists. One winner is chosen. The winner gets a cash prize. But the real prize is the glory that follows from winning and the invaluable investment relationships built throughout the process.

But it’s probably best to think of the competition as something akin to American Idol. There is only one winner, but many participants, especially those in the Final Round, get noticed and "picked up" by some investor. In short, just because a team doesn't win, doesn't mean it won't get financed; many losing teams from the past are now extremely successful businesses.

The Beginning of NVC

My team consists of 3 MBAs and 2 JDs. It's quite an amazing bunch. Collectively the team has experience in virtually every single industry imaginable (e.g., i-banking, IT consulting, law, restaurant management, etc.)

I personally have no background in finance or economics. But long before attending law school, I was fascinated with venture capital ("VC") financing. Venture capitalists ("VCs") basically invest in ideas. An entrepreneur who approaches VCs needs to convince them that his/her business plan (a.k.a. the idea) is worth the VCs’ time (~5 years) and money (millions of dollars).  The thought of being funded to realize an idea as well as investing in the next brilliant idea (not stocks, bonds or real property) is so exciting to me.

Because of that long-standing interest, naturally, during the beginning of my 2L year, I took a law school course called "Entrepreneurship in Practice" with John Rodkin. The class was basically a course on how to successfully obtain venture financing. As an experienced entrepreneur and venture capitalist, John made a point to help us experience the VC world by running through case studies. These case studies often forced us to role play and act as either the entrepreneur's lawyer or as the VC. The final exam was to conceive a business, draft a business plan, and present the business.

After my classmates and I finished presenting our businesses, John encouraged us submit our business plans to NVC. That was the beginning of my NVC journey.

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is basically the blueprint of the business. The objective is to draft a persuasive and easy-to-read document that will convince anyone reading the plan to agree that the idea proposed in the plan is a sure winner.

But the process of drafting a good business plan is long and arduous. First, for my "Entrepreneurship in Practice" final exam, my teammate and I had to find a venture-finance worthy business proposal. Most VCs invest only in easily scalable business models that will bring huge returns in fewer than five years (e.g., Google, Facebook). After bouncing ideas back and forth, we eventually found an entrepreneur in Florida who had developed "Peelable Paint." Although I can't discuss the details due to privacy concerns, suffice it to say that my teammate and I were convinced that this cutting-edge paint would have any VC going gaga.

Now that we had an idea, we had to create our pitch deck (= PowerPoint presentation). Writing a great business plan is a lot like drafting a great legal brief: the writing has to be clear, concise, persuasive, and to the point. The process of creating a pitch deck forces people to focus and clarify their thoughts. Guy Kawasaki, a VC godfather, preaches the 10-20-30 strategy for creating a successful pitch deck:

1. No more than 10 slides;
2. No presentation more than 20 minutes; and
3. No font smaller than size 30.

My teammate and I faithfully followed Kawasaki's advice. The most difficult aspect, for me, was creating financial projections: cash trough, earnings, growth in EBITDA, etc. This is where it helped to have an MBA teammate.  

After creating the pitch deck, we finally got down to writing our business plan. We stayed up many a night - one night we worked 20 hours straight - drafting the "perfect" business plan.

To make the long story short, we received very high marks on our final exam. My teammate eventually submitted the business plan to Tuft's business plan competition, where it won a cash prize.

Tune in for Part II tomorrow! Please share your comments, reactions, and experiences.

David Yi attended Middlebury College and graduated with a degree in Political Science and Chinese. A Peace Corps volunteer in the People's Republic of China, he also acquired extensive experience teaching and training college and post-college level students in China and Korea. David then returned to the United States, where he founded oneAsia, a non-profit organization committed to encouraging unity and volunteerism among Asian nations. He soon had two jobs: running a non-profit by day and teaching the LSAT by night. David is currently a 2L at the University of Chicago Law School and works with law school applicants as part of the Ivey Consulting team.