A New Twist on An Old Game

I'm sure everybody knows how it happens. A donor makes a very large contribution to a school, and in return, the school gets named after that donor. Standard operating procedure. In fact, that kind of thing happened not too long ago with the University of Washington.

However, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is experiencing something a bit different. A group of alumni all chipped in to donate $85 million to the business school with the caveat that the school would NOT be named after any entity for the next 20 years.

What I find so cool about this is how it changes the game a bit. Normally, after such a large donation to a school results in a name change, that name is going to stick. Schools aren't going to be changing the name of their business school every 20 years, after all. But in Wisconsin, they have this $85 million donation, and in 20 years, there will be an incentive for people to donate more, because the school could still be named. Or, even better, they could make another similar donation, and prevent naming for another 20 years.

Genius!

Source: Wisconsin Business Alumni

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Proper Dress for a Business School Interview

As an MBA admissions consultant I often have to take a step back with my clients. Over the years I have learned a lot from my clients and have come to realize that the definitions of proper interview dress or attire varies by region, country and even culture.

This is the deal, and I dissuade anyone from thinking anything to the contrary:

1. Wear a dark colored suit (Grey, Black, Charcoal) with a white or light blue shirt.
2. Wear a tie that has as little design or pattern in it at possible. Solid colored ties are good.
3. Wear shoes that are polished with dark socks. By shoes I mean dress shoes with dark laces, not “comfort” shoes, timberlands or Uggs. By dark I mean dark blue or black.
4. Do not wear anything that is tight-fitting or shows body parts excessively. This is an interview not a club.
5. Cut the tags off your clothing. Nothing says Men’s Wearhouse $199 special than tags still sewn onto the sleeve of a jacket. Don’t laugh too much, I have seen this as an MBA admissions interviewer. It tells me the applicant is clueless at worst or knows a good sale when he sees one at best.
6. Get a shave and a haircut……shower.

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Economist Top 20 Business Schools

The Economist Business School rankings for 2007 have been released. The Economist rankings are determined by a combination of four factors: recent alumni, increase in salary/networking potential, new career opportunities, and personal development/educational opportunities. What's really cool though is that they have an interactive list on their site (link below), which allows you to sort the schools by various categories and/or regions.

For example, which American school will provide you with the highest final salary? A quick selection from the drop-down menu will provide you with the result (it's Stanford, for those interested).

Economist Top 20 Business Schools

1. University of Chicago
2. Stanford
3. IESE Business School
4. Dartmouth (Tuck)
5. IMD
6. Berkeley (Haas)
7. University of Cambridge (Judge)
8. NYU (Stern)
9. IE Business School
10. Henley Management College
11. Cranfield School of Management
12. University of Michigan (Ross)
13. Harvard Business School
14. Northwestern (Kellogg)
15. London Business School
16. MIT (Sloan)
17. INSEAD
18. Columbia Business School
19. Ashridge
20. Hong Kong University: School of Business and Management

Note: For some reason, UCLA: Anderson was not included in the rankings at all. There were other schools not included, but since Anderson is a consistent Top 20, I feel it's worth mentioning.

Source: Economist Rankings

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