MBA Admissions

A To-Do List for Your Personal Statement: Don't Avoid Fear

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Check back frequently as we’ll provide one key area of focus each day this week. 

Show fear when it's applicable. Similarly, the "show no fear" image people often want to flaunt in their applications doesn't seem authentic because it isn't. You have many terrific qualities; being 100% fearless isn't one of them. You've experienced fear, whether it was about not finishing your Honors thesis on time or confronting a colleague about a sexist comment. Good. Fear helps you assess a situation, prepare yourself to address it properly, and take (sometimes very cautious) action. Addressing a fear can be quite humbling—it's another way to show vulnerability in your application. And fear can be a pathway to courage.

A To-Do List for Your Personal Statement: Show Self-awareness

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Check back frequently as we’ll provide one key area of focus each day this week. 

Show that you're self-aware. Many of our clients shy away from sharing examples of their weaknesses or times they've made mistakes in their Personal Statement. But replaying a fumble is an opportunity to then share actions you took to remedy a situation and lessons you learned. That said, not every issue you present must be one that you've fully resolved. For example, say you're great at presenting ideas on paper but you have a hard time speaking up in professional settings. Likely, one beautiful, clarifying moment didn't change that forever. That's something you work on over a long period. You may share an anecdote where you spoke well in front of an intimidating group and how you prepared to do it. Then say how you will continue improving your verbal communication skills and how you plan to exercise that muscle regularly in the future. That's a stronger, more realistic take than "I will never have this problem again!”

A To-Do List for Your Personal Statement: Remember what Resonates

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Check back frequently as we’ll provide one key area of focus each day this week. 

Remember what resonates most with reviewers. Passion. Depth of Impact. Potential. We probably don't need to explain passion to you. Depth of impact means expressing how much an experience and your actions during it changed things within you and/or outside of you. Potential is you exemplifying one or more qualities that medical, law, or business schools admire: Leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, etc. You know these from your brainstorm “buckets."

Related:

Your Med School Application: Build a Brainstorm Document

Your Law School Application: Build a Brainstorm Document

Your MBA Application: Build a Brainstorm Document

A To-Do List for Your Personal Statement: Emphasize Past Experiences

This week on the blog we’re providing you with a to-do list for your personal statement and school-specific essays. Check back frequently as we’ll provide one key area of focus each day this week. 

Emphasize past experiences. Focus on what you've done more than on what you want to do. So many of our clients think their essays should exclusively be about their fantasy future. But this isn't a magic carpet ride. Your rug must be on the ground. What you have accomplished and learned is the only proof that you are committed to the study and practice of medicine, law, or business. (We use that phrase a lot because you should be reinforcing this commitment throughout your application.) 

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia

UVA’s Darden School of Business has released its 2024-2025 application deadlines and required essays. 

Round Application Deadline   Decision Notification

Early Action 05 September 2024       16 October 2024

Round 1         02 October 2024       11 December 2024

Round 2         07 January 2025         12 March 2025             

Round 3         02 April 2025               30 April 2025

The essay prompts at UVA’s Darden showcase the value the school places on understanding the student as a full person. Rather than just focusing on career goals, the required essay prompts seek out insights into an applicant’s personality and ability to contribute to an inclusive and cohesive class. Darden calls out the importance of responding to the prompts with writing that is “authentic and genuine,” cautioning students not to attempt to write to please the admissions officers. “We want to get to know you,” they write, “not us.” 

Community of Belonging: What would you want your classmates to know about you that is not on your resume? (100 words)

It’s time to show some personality! Darden is looking for students who will be collaborative and form lasting personal and professional relationships, so exposing a bit of vulnerability to show a quirky or sentimental side is a good idea. You could also write about how you will contribute to the diversity of the class and what you will offer your classmates. Are you a passionate environmentalist who spends weekends leading group hikes? Do you organize food drives with a local non-profit? Do you spend all of your vacation time traveling to a specific region of the world? Are you an avid guitar player? Show the admissions committee and your future classmates who you are and what you are most passionate about.

Inclusive Impact: Please describe a tangible example that illuminates your experience promoting an inclusive environment and what you would bring to creating a welcoming, global community at Darden. (300 words)

Show Darden’s admissions officers how you will contribute to building an inclusive community by anchoring your response in an experience from your past that will inform and invigorate your plan. It may be something on a large-scale: Did you start a pro-bono consulting group at your current employer, bringing together representatives from various practice areas, and you’d like to partner with a local organization to offer similar services alongside a group of your Darden colleagues? Or what about steps you take on a weekly basis to include others? Do you regularly invite new coworkers to lunch with you to welcome them to the team? Or serve as a mentor for team-members as they get up to speed on new projects? Once at Darden, perhaps you could serve as a tutor to classmates struggling in finance or technology courses. In linking your past actions to your proposed contributions, you will demonstrate to the admissions directors that you are the kind of collaborative, community-minded, and determined student they are looking for.

Required Essay 2: Careers With Purpose. 

At this time how would you describe your short-term, post-MBA goal in terms of industry, function, geography, company size and/or mission and how does it align with the long-term vision you have for your career? (200 words)

You’ll want to state a clear post-MBA goal that makes sense given your previous professional post-baccalaureate experiences. A common mistake we see in MBA admissions is applicants who, unknowingly, position themselves as an employment risk by articulating a goal set that is too vague or unrelated to what they’ve done before. You will also want to clearly show how your short-term goals will set you on a path to achieving your long-term vision. 

Related:

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University

HBS to Require GMAT Focus Test-Takers to Submit Additional GMAC Writing Assessment

Harvard Business School has announced that MBA applicants who submit a GMAT Focus score and advance to the interview round will also need to take the GMAC Business Writing Assessment. MIT Sloan, too, is now going to require some MBA applicants who apply with a GMAT Focus score or test waiver, to take the writing assessment upon advancing to an interview. 

These programs’ decisions are the result of GMAC removing the writing section from the GMAT Focus, just as the value of a third-party validated writing sample increased due to the proliferation of AI and ChatGPT. 

GMAC’s Business Writing Assessment is 30 minutes in length at a cost of $30, which brings the GMAT’s total length to two hours and 45 minutes and total cost to $305. GRE test-takers, who will not need to submit additional materials as the shortened test has retained the writing component, will face a total test time of one hour and 58 minutes, at a total cost of $220. 

Related: Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University

The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University recently released its 2024-2025 application deadlines. The required essay prompts are unique in nature, and prospective students will benefit from getting started with brainstorming and drafting early. 

Round Application Deadline   Decision Notification

Early Action 04 September 2024       18 October 2024

Round 1         01 October 2024       12 December 2024

Round 2         09 January 2025         14 March 2025             

Round 3         20 February 2025   04 April 2025 

Round 4 03 April 2025               08 May 2025

The essay prompts at Duke showcase the value the school places on creating a diverse and cohesive class. They emphasize the importance of admitting students who are a good fit for the program, with the website calling out that “Finding the right fit is important—for you, and for Fuqua—so the admissions process for each of our programs is designed to ensure we learn about each other.” A significant portion of the essay word counts are in service to learning about the applicant as a full person and to understanding how the applicant would fit into and contribute to the student body at Fuqua. 

Required Short-answer Essay: What are your post-MBA career goals? Share with us your first-choice career plan and your alternate plan. (100 words)

Don’t overthink this question. State a clear post-MBA goal using straight-forward terminology that a fellow MBA would understand. A common mistake we see in MBA admissions is applicants who, unknowingly, position themselves as an employment risk by articulating a goal set that is too vague or unrelated to any of their past experiences.

Required Essay 1: 25 random things about yourself.

The 'Team Fuqua' spirit and community is one of the things that sets the MBA experience apart, and it is a concept that extends beyond the student body to include faculty, staff, and administration. Please share with us “25 Random Things” about you. The Admissions Committee wants to get to know YOU - beyond the professional and academic achievements listed in your resume and transcript. Share with us important life experiences, your hobbies, achievements, fun facts, or anything that helps us understand what makes you who you are. (750 words maximum. Please present your response in list form, numbered 1 to 25. Some points may be brief, while others may be longer.)

Duke believes that their program is best-served by putting together a diverse community from each applicant class and that “different types of people, points of view, and experiences bring out the best in everyone.” 

For this one, you will be sharing your outside-of-work self, and you can get quirky. You don’t have to relate everything to MBA-ready qualities that you have—though it’s great for some entries to speak to your values and skills. 

When it comes to this prompt, nearly everyone ends up writing something about a travel experience, a story about childhood ends up in the mix, as does a mention of time spent on an extracurricular team or in a club. That’s all fantastic. But after this, some folks hit a wall and don’t know what else to include to strike the right balance and tone. Twenty-five is a large number, so really do a wide search of yourself: Have you written a poem you’re proud of? Were you an Eagle Scout dropout? 

You also want these entries to be illustrative. So, not just, "I love dumplings." But, "I'm on the hunt for the best dumplings in NYC. So far, my favorite spot is White Bear in Flushing." Instead of writing, "I love non-fiction.", you might write, "I love non-fiction. I'm currently reading The Black Count, about Alexandre Dumas's father." You have 750 words to work with, so you have room to share more info in your favorite entries. So, does making Italian food bring back fond childhood memories of your grandmother’s kitchen? Details like this not only show admissions counselors your love of chicken piccata but also of family and your heritage.

Required Essay 2: The Fuqua community and you.

Fuqua prides itself on cultivating a culture of engagement. Our students enjoy a wide range of student-led organizations that provide opportunities for leadership development and personal fulfillment, as well as an outlet for contributing to society. Our student-led government, clubs, centers, and events are an integral part of the student culture and to the development of leaders. Based on your understanding of the Fuqua culture, what are 3 ways you expect to contribute at Fuqua? (500 words maximum).

Show Fuqua’s admissions officers how you will be a valued member of their community by anchoring your response in experiences from your past that will inform and invigorate your plan. 

Are you a passionate environmentalist who has spent your career in corporate social responsibility and hopes to spearhead a new student-led sustainability case competition for full-time MBA students? Did you start a pro-bono consulting group at your current employer, and you’d like to partner with a local organization to offer similar services alongside a group of your Fuqua colleagues? Consider also some of the clubs and activities that already exist at Fuqua. How will you get involved and contribute? In linking your passions and expertise to your proposed contributions, you will demonstrate to the admissions directors that you are the kind of collaborative, community-minded, and determined student they are looking for. 

Optional essay: Tell us more.

If you feel there are circumstances of which the admissions committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g. unexplained gaps in work, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance). Note that you should NOT upload additional essays nor additional recommendations in this area. The Optional Information section is intended to provide the admissions committee with insight into your circumstances only. (500 words maximum)

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster GMAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities?

If you are going to address a low grade in an analytical course or a low GMAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or professional environments by using specific examples. Provide information on similar classes in which you achieved excellent grades or give details about a professional pursuit that resulted in success.

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or legal issue that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Do not make excuses, simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Remember, everyone makes mistakes, taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Related:

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School 2024-2025 Round One application deadline is among the earliest. Let’s get started!

Round Application Deadline   Decision Notification

Round 1         04 September 2024       10 December 2024

Round 2         03 January 2025         21 April 2025             

Round 3         02 April 2025   13 May 2025 

*Deferred        23 April 2025               01 July 2025

*Deferred applicants apply during their final year of study at an undergraduate or graduate institution. They are expected to pursue quality work experiences for two to four years and then enter into the Wharton MBA program.  

The founding vision of the Wharton School was “using analytical expertise to produce well-rounded leaders to drive societal progress,” and Dean Erika James states that this remains the school’s ethos. A review of Wharton’s strategic plan, The Wharton Way, also identifies three strategic areas of focus for the school. These include: Elevation of its research; Pedagogical innovation; and Collaboration across divides. Understanding the school’s strategic direction will assist you in making a strong case that you belong there.  

Wharton receives a large number of applicants each year, most of whom have excellent undergraduate transcripts, post-baccalaureate work experience, and standardized test scores. Because of this, key points of differentiation for the Admissions Committee are applicants’ essay responses and their performance in the team-based interview. 

The 2024-2025 Wharton essay prompts are the same as last year. 

Essay 1: How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

This prompt asks you to explain how a Wharton MBA will bridge your past accomplishments and your future goals. To do this, you will want to anchor this essay in the past. Because what you’ve already done, learned, and achieved is far more important than what you haven’t—what you say you want to do in the future. In order to fully satisfy the objective of this prompt, go into your backstory and detail the key moments that influenced you and the formation of your goals. Then transition into what you have yet to learn, and why a Wharton MBA is your next step. Prove to them that their program is the perfect intersection between where you’ve been and where you want to go. Which courses, professors, experiential learning opportunities, etc. are most interesting to you? Choose three or four that differentiate Wharton from other business schools you’re considering and explain why you’re so eager to engage and participate. This essay is about connecting the dots; once the reader has taken the trip to your past, your proposed path forward will make much more sense.

Essay 2: Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

Show Wharton’s admissions officers how you will be a valued member of their community by anchoring your response in experiences from your past that will inform and invigorate your plan. Are you a passionate environmentalist who has spent your career in corporate social responsibility and hopes to spearhead a new sustainability case competition for full-time MBA students? Were you part of a years-long organizational behavior research study in undergrad and hope to find a research mentor in that department at Wharton? Did you start a pro-bono consulting group at your current employer, and you’d like to partner with a local organization to offer similar services alongside a group of your Wharton colleagues? In linking your passions and expertise to your proposed contributions, you will demonstrate to the admissions directors that you are the kind of collaborative, community-minded, and determined student they are looking for. 

Required Essay for all Reapplicants: Please use this space to share with the Admissions Committee how you have reflected and grown since your previous application and discuss any relevant updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, and extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)

Use this essay prompt to show Wharton’s admissions officers how you have grown over the past year. Describe the experiences you have engaged in, since your last application, and how they have driven professional and/or personal growth. You will also want to explain the reasons behind your re-application and reiterate why Wharton is the MBA program for you. Ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and polished. 

Optional Essay: Please use this space to share any additional information about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application and that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee. This space can also be used to address any extenuating circumstances (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, areas of weakness, etc.) that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider. (500 words)

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster GMAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities?

If you are going to address a low grade in an analytical course or a low GMAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or professional environments by using specific examples. Provide information on similar classes in which you achieved excellent grades or give details about a professional pursuit that resulted in success.

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or legal issue that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Do not make excuses, simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Remember, everyone makes mistakes, taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Related:

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

HBS has released its updated application requirements and deadlines for their full-time MBA. 

Round       Application Deadline           Decision Notification

Round 1       04 September 2024             10 December 2024

Round 2       06 January 2025                26 March 2025

This year’s application features significant updates from previous years, asking applicants to respond to three short essay prompts on business, leadership, and growth rather than submitting one open-ended personal essay.

At HBS the essays are a critical component of your application and provide an opportunity for you to show those character traits that Harvard values. HBS puts a strong emphasis on character and service, with a longstanding mission “to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.” The program also expressly calls out community values including, “trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning.” Dean Srikant Datar describes one of his aspirations for the school as “...stretching HBS and its learners beyond notions of merely personal success toward becoming, collectively and individually, driving forces in redefining the role of business in society around the world—addressing inequality, exclusion, climate change, and other intractable problems.” 

Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)

You will want to anchor this essay in the past to show the admissions committee what you’ve already done, learned, and achieved and how those experiences have prepared you to do what you say you want to do in the future. To fully satisfy the objective of this prompt, go into your backstory and detail the key moments that influenced you and the formation of your goals. Your resume will provide a general overview of your professional path to date, but this is your chance to provide a deep dive into your most pivotal experiences. Once the reader has taken this trip to your past, your proposed path forward, which will include your career goals and the impact you plan to make, will make much more sense.  

Take a look at our writing process to help you craft a strong narrative.

See also: Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Meaningful Professional Experience

Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)

This essay asks you to share how experiences from your past have influenced your current views on leadership, but you only have 250 words, so it will be more impactful to focus on just one. Which experience prompted the most significant evolution in your perspective on leadership? How did your views change as a result? What have you determined matters most when empowering and inspiring others? 

Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)

Don’t be afraid to show a little personality as you respond to this prompt. While you can focus on an aspect of your professional life, this is also an opportunity to discuss a topic you feel passionately about outside of work. 

To get started, think about instances when you have entered a flow state or gone very deeply into a subject matter. Keep in mind that the topic or activity itself matters less than the personal growth that has resulted from your experiences. So choose something you feel authentically passionate about rather than what you believe the Admissions Committee wants to see.

Once you feel confident with what you want to write about, take a deep dive into one specific instance in the topic or activity. Then explain its role in your life. What has it taught you about yourself, about others, about the world? How does your ongoing curiosity and exploration in this area continue to inspire your growth? 

Related:

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Overcoming Loneliness

In our next Emotional Intelligence (EI) Friday blog series, we will examine loneliness by considering research on social isolation in the workplace. We will discuss who is affected, the psychological effects of prolonged loneliness, and how you can support yourself or others who may need your help. We hope you enjoy this three-part series.

Click here to read Part 1 of this series. 

Click here to read Part 2 of this series.

So, what should you do if you are experiencing loneliness? Being aware of the dangers of prolonged loneliness is a starter. Below, we have also compiled suggestions for keeping loneliness at bay, for yourself or within your workplace or network.

  1. Take cues from your loneliness. If you feel lonely at work or in your personal life, act on the emotional prompt! Do not ignore the feeling or focus on work to the detriment of your own professional, social, and physical well-being. Consider how you can find more consistent person-to-person interaction. If you work remotely or travel frequently, think about facilitating work discussions over video conference or the phone rather than relying on email or instant messaging.

  2. Form personal relationships. While you’re at work, speak to people and don’t allow yourself to rely solely on emails or other technology to communicate. Ask people about their lives outside work and tell them about yours. Leave your desk to have lunch and invite someone to walk and/or eat with you. Take the occasional coffee break with peers. Join office committees or participate in community service activities. In the Work Connectivity survey, almost three-fourths of Gen Z and just under 70 percent of Millennials say that they would be more inclined to stay with their company if they had more friends. As a manager working to staunch loneliness on your team, Barsade and Ozcelik warn against falling into inauthentic means of relationship-building such as holiday parties or company picnics. Relationships are built in small groups by people sharing about their lives. Large parties often result in people feeling more isolated as they witness the socially connected enjoying the event.

  3. Find shared meaning. According to a Harvard Business Review study, finding shared meaning with colleagues—understanding the meaning that they derive from the work and connecting it with the meaning that you find in the work—creates meaningful “social cohesion” and insulates team members from feeling isolated. This also addresses Barsade and Ozcelik’s point about the meaning and identity that younger generations are looking for in their careers. Younger generations are seeking to be part of something bigger, not just to receive a paycheck. This may also provide a way to connect with others when there are not obvious shared interests or a foundation for a relationship.

  4. Work for companies and managers who take their emotional culture seriously. Some companies have cultures that are more prone to driving isolation than others. Consider this as you look for jobs. Do the employees seem connected beyond meeting corporate goals? Do they seem to know and care for each other on a more personal level? “Mandy O’Neill (management professor, George Mason University) and I have done some work in emotional culture—the norms around what emotions you’re allowed to express at work and what you’re better off suppressing. We found that in emotional cultures of companionate love [that include] care, compassion, and tenderness, even lonely employees were more likely to be perceived as approachable and committed to the organization… Anything that a manager can do in terms of creating a culture that sends out cues that are supportive is helpful,” Barsade said. When interviewing, look for signs that your manager and co-workers will be interested in forming real relationships with you that extend beyond your work together.

Top Qualities Business School Admissions Committees are Looking for in Your MBA Application

At Apply Point, we often remind our applicants that MBA programs are looking for individuals, not just resumes. Admissions committees want to understand the full spectrum of experiences that have led you to this point of your life and career, and have informed your future goals. But while you brainstorm, in addition to poignant personal experiences, be sure to keep in mind the key tenets of the business school application: leadership, teamwork, innovation, and integrity. 

Leadership. Throughout your application, you will want to showcase your ability to influence a team in order to accomplish a common goal. And keep in mind that there are many ways to demonstrate effective leadership. You don’t need to be the captain of a sports team or a club president to be an inspirational and persuasive leader. 

In what meaningful experiences did you show your leadership abilities? Did leadership come naturally to you, or did you work to get to this place? (Both things are great!) How did you support your team? Did you encourage collaboration or independence? Did you feel supported by your team? Did you experience any pushback, and how did you handle that if you did? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? What did you learn that you will incorporate into your leadership style in the future?

Teamwork. Conducting business is a team endeavor. Accordingly, business school is a highly collaborative place where you will spend a lot of your team working together with your classmates. Highlight instances where you have shown humility and elevated the voices of others. 

During what meaningful experiences did you work with a team or collaborate with others successfully? Were you working with people unlike yourself? Was there a struggle for balance in the beginning? Any confusion? What did you appreciate about your team members? How did they influence and impact you and your actions? Did one or two team members step up in a way you admired? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? Have you had experiences with teams that were unsuccessful? What did you learn (remember: failures can provide great insight too!)?

Innovation. The pace of change in business continues to speed up and business schools are looking for students who demonstrate skills in both critical and creative thinking and problem solving. 

In what meaningful experiences did you utilize critical thinking and problem-solving skills? How did you determine the best course of action? Did you approach something one way at first and then correct yourself? What did you think about these things at the time? What did you learn? How did you feel?

Integrity and a sense of community. Many leading business schools have missions that include educating principled leaders who will make a positive difference in the world. Business schools are, now more than ever, highly-attuned to applicants’ integrity and sense of civic responsibility. 

In what meaningful experiences did you elevate a community that you were a part of? What effect did you have on others? What effect did they have on you? What have you learned about finding common ground with those who are different from you?  What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

The Loneliness Epidemic

In our next Emotional Intelligence (EI) Friday blog series, we will examine loneliness by considering research on social isolation in the workplace. We will discuss who is affected, the psychological effects of prolonged loneliness, and how you can support yourself or others who may need your help. We hope you enjoy this three-part series.

Click here to read Part 1 of this series. 

The reasons for the rise in workplace loneliness are many, and in some ways, apparent. Technology has allowed us greater efficiency in reaching out to coworkers and peers, without truly interacting with them. The Work Connectivity study found that, “almost half of an employee’s day is spent using technology to communicate versus in-person.” Additionally, working remotely and having constant access to emails has not only decreased our likelihood of forming meaningful relationships with our co-workers, but also can negatively impact our relationships outside of the workplace. Consequently, based on the nature of the work, different professions have greater rates of reported loneliness. Lawyers, doctors, engineers, and scientists are the most lonely while those with more social jobs such as sales and marketing report lower levels of loneliness.

Sigal Barsade and Hakan Ozcelik, management professors at California State University, Sacramento, point also to the importance that careers have in shaping Millennials’ identities and creating relationship opportunities, in an interview with knowledge@Wharton. “I think employees have an increasing level of expectations from their organization simply because our professions make up a huge component of our identity. We are not doing our jobs just for a paycheck; we want to be a part of the group. We want to be respected. We want to feel that we are having a good quality of life. I think this is getting more profound with the new generation. They might be more relationship-oriented than we are, so it’s important for companies to take that into account. They need to create that relational environment and provide opportunities for employees to build relationships,” Ozcelik said.

Moreover, Barsade and Ozcelik observe that loneliness begets loneliness, meaning that prolonged feelings of isolation harm an individual’s social behaviors and impact their networks. Theoretically, loneliness should serve as a signal. It can and should be a transient emotional state that motivates a person to seek out connections with others, particularly useful when a person is in a new environment. However, prolonged loneliness causes behavioral changes that deter interactions. 

“What the psychology literature has shown is that once loneliness is an established sentiment—you’ve decided you’re lonely—you actually become less approachable. You don’t listen as well. You become more self-focused. All sorts of things happen that make you less of a desirable interaction partner to other people. We found that was one of the things that explained the lower performance. The co-workers of lonely people found them less approachable. Because of that, they didn’t share things and didn’t get the resources they needed. By the way, the literature showed it’s not that they have lower social skills. Loneliness makes it happen,” Barsade said.

Barsade and Ozcelik also point out that existing research shows that loneliness can be “contagious,” afflicting networks and driving negative changes in employee behaviors and interactions throughout teams and organizations. 

Learning to Value the Personal Side of Your Professional Life

In our next Emotional Intelligence (EI) Friday blog series, we will examine loneliness by considering research on social isolation in the workplace. We will discuss who is affected, the psychological effects of prolonged loneliness, and how you can support yourself or others who may need your help. We hope you enjoy this three-part series.

Being single. Living alone. Moving to a new city. Working remotely. Frequent work travel. Sound familiar? While Millennials and Gen Z are generally thought to be the most socially connected of generations, the truth is more nuanced. Many characteristics of the young professional lifestyle are triggers for loneliness, or “the distressing experience that occurs when one’s social relationships are perceived to be less in quantity, and especially in quality, than desired.”

A 2018 study by Cigna and Ipsos found that while most American adults are lonely, Generation Z and Millennials report higher levels of loneliness than older generations. Similarly, data collected by The Economist and the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that in the U.S., the majority of those between 18 and 49 were classified as lonely (59 percent) compared to less than half of those over 50 (41 percent). And, the negative effects of loneliness have been well-documented. In 2015, UCLA researchers found that social isolation triggers a physiological response causing chronic inflammation, which increases the risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. A 2015 meta-analysis out of Brigham Young University, which included 70 studies, found that lonely people have a 26 percent higher risk of dying, controlling for age and health status. Other studies have linked loneliness to eating disorders, drug abuse, sleep deprivation, depression, alcoholism, and anxiety.

But loneliness isn’t just a personal problem. Sigal Barsade, a Wharton management professor who researches workplace loneliness, says, “People tend to think that if you’re lonely, you’re lonely everywhere. But that’s not true. What research has shown is that you can be lonely in your private life, in your family life, in your romantic life—it depends on the place.” Certainly, you can be lonely in your professional life. And, just as loneliness is harmful to your health, it is also harmful to your career. 

Recent research on the effects of loneliness in the workplace show that loneliness brings detrimental consequences to an individual’s job performance, satisfaction, likelihood of promotion, and engagement and tenure with a company. And, not surprisingly, loneliness is pervasive amongst the youngest members of the workplace. The Work Connectivity study, published by Future Workplace in partnership with Virgin Pulse, surveyed 2,000 managers and employees and found that just over half feel lonely always or very often. At 47 percent, Millennials were the loneliest followed by Generation Z (45 percent). Generation X and Baby Boomers fared better at 36 percent and 29 percent, respectively. While loneliness can affect any demographic group, the survey found that men were more likely than women to report being lonely (57 percent versus 43 percent) and introverts were much more likely than extroverts (63 percent versus 37 percent).

Listening to Connect

We’re excited to introduce “Emotional Intelligence (EI) Fridays” on the blog, where we will hone in on how to develop and implement these softer skills. 

Our first topic of focus will be listening, a critical skill for doctors, lawyers, and (future) CEOs alike. We hope you enjoy this three-part series.

Click here to read Part 1 of this series. 

Click here to read Part 2 of this series. 

Learning to listen, as with any skill, takes practice and time. Julian Treasure in his Ted Talk on Conscious Listening, spoke compellingly on the power of sound to connect us to our world, and to each other. “I believe that every human being needs to listen consciously in order to live fully—connected in space and time to the physical world around us, connected in understanding to each other, not to mention spiritually connected, because every spiritual path I know of has listening and contemplation at its heart,” he said. 

Treasure recommended daily listening exercises, which may help to attune you once again to listening, to hearing the noise in your environment (much of which, you’re likely tuning out) and to promoting your ability to be mindful and connected in a loud and busy world.

  1. Sit in three minutes of silence to “reset your ears and to recalibrate.” This will allow you to pay more attention to sounds that you do hear afterwards. Treasure notes that if silence is impossible (for you NYC residents!), quiet is good too. 

  2. In a noisy environment with competing sounds, try to differentiate the sounds that you are hearing. Treasure uses the example of a coffee bar. Listen for the “channels” of noise: people having conversations, the grinding of the coffee, the door opening and closing, typing sounds, ringing of cellphones, shoes squeaking on the floor, etc.

  3. Listen for and try to take pleasure in everyday sounds that you may routinely tune out. The dryer, birds chirping, kids playing in the park. Instead of filtering out sounds as you go through your day, seek to savor a few. 

  4. Each day you use “filters” in your listening to pare down the multitude of sounds in the world to those which you give your attention to. For example, you may opt for passive listening at the beach to take in the many pleasant sounds: the ocean, birds, people laughing, etc. Alternatively, when your partner joins you, you may focus on their voice over the waves crashing. Similarly, when listening to others, we can choose different filters. A friend may garner empathetic listening with your focus on emotion and connection, while a coworker may receive a more critical filter where you seek to assess and validate their ideas. Treasure, who calls this exercise the most important, challenges you to become aware of the filters you use and when, and to proactively adjust them. Filters, he says, “actually create our reality in a way, because they tell us what we're paying attention to right now.” 

More MBA Programs Abandon Test Waiver Policies

A recent analysis by Poets & Quants found that many MBA programs will bring back standardized testing requirements for this year’s admissions cycle. Among the U.S. News Top 25 ranked schools, 18 are requiring applicants to submit test scores, two are not, and just five will offer test-waivers. In the last year, NYU Stern, Virginia Darden, Carnegie Mellon Tepper, Emory Goizueta, USC Marshall, and Indiana Kelley have reversed their test-waiver policies in lieu of a standardized testing requirement. 

USN Rank & School Name % GMAT 2023          % GRE 2023          Tests Required?

1 Stanford GSB 61% 39% Yes

1 Pennsylvania (Wharton) 67% 37% Yes

3 Chicago (Booth) 63% 32% Yes

3 Northwestern (Kellogg) 67% 29% Yes

5 MIT (Sloan) 54% 34% Waiver option

6 Harvard 69% 34% Yes

7 Yale SOM 62% 37% Yes

7 New York (Stern) 45% 22% Yes

7 UC-Berkeley (Haas) 46% 53% Yes

10 Dartmouth (Tuck) 61% 42% Yes

10 Virginia (Darden) 35% 34% Yes

12 Columbia 53% 26% Yes

12 Duke (Fuqua) 34% 37% Yes

12 Michigan (Ross) 38% 36% Waiver option

15 Cornell (Johnson) 42% 16% Waiver option

16 Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) 40% 24% Yes

16 Texas-Austin (McCombs) 34% 30% Waiver option

18 USC (Marshall) 36% 33% Yes

18 Emory (Goizueta) 28% 24% Yes

20 UCLA (Anderson) 65% 32% No

20 UNC (Kenan-Flagler) 28% 23% Yes

20 Vanderbilt (Owen) 36% 23% Waiver option

20 Indiana (Kelley) 42% 13% Yes

24 Georgetown (McDonough) 34% 37% Yes

25 Georgia Tech (Scheller) 30% 30% No

Data compiled by P&Q from U.S. News & World Report 2024 MBA Rankings dataset

In addition to many schools bringing back testing requirements, it is important to note that the GRE continues to gain momentum. Below, we show the schools within the Top 25 with the highest proportions of GRE and GMAT submissions. Find the full P&Q analysis, including a view of the GRE’s seven-year trend by school here

Schools with the Highest Proportion of GRE Submissions (Top 25 USN Ranking) 

USN Rank & School Name % GRE 2023 % GRE 2022

7 UC-Berkeley (Haas) 53% 45%

10 Dartmouth (Tuck) 42% 38%

1 Stanford GSB 39% 33%

7 Yale SOM 37% 39%

12 Duke (Fuqua) 37% 36%

24 Georgetown (McDonough) 37% 49%

1 Pennsylvania (Wharton) 37% 30%

12 Michigan (Ross) 36% 30%

Schools with the Highest Proportion of GMAT Submissions (Top 25 USN Ranking) 

USN Rank & School Name % GMAT 2023 % GMAT 2022

6 Harvard Business School 69% 74%

3 Northwestern (Kellogg) 67% 76%

1 Pennsylvania (Wharton) 67% 71%

20 UCLA (Anderson) 65% 77%

3 Chicago (Booth) 63% 73%

7 Yale SOM 62% 58%

1 Stanford GSB 61% 67%

10 Dartmouth (Tuck) 61% 68%

Data compiled by P&Q from U.S. News & World Report 2024 MBA Rankings dataset





Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

And, we’re off! The 2024-2025 MBA Admissions Season has begun! 

Berkeley Haas has released updated application requirements and deadlines for their full-time MBA. It’s never too early to start thinking about your essay responses. 

Round       Application Deadline           Decision Notification

Round 1       12 September 2024             12 December 2024

Round 2       09 January 2025                27 March 2025

Round 3       03 April 2025                     08 May 2025

The Admissions Committee at Berkeley Haas seeks a holistic understanding of applicants, including “all aspects of a candidate’s character, qualifications, and experiences.” The school places a high value on putting together a diverse class that represents a wide array of industries and backgrounds. 

All MBA programs look for applicants to demonstrate their abilities in innovation (critical, creative thinking and problem solving), leadership, and teamwork. In addition, Berkeley Haas defines four leadership principles you should pay particular attention to while brainstorming and writing. These include “Challenge the Status Quo,” “Confidence without Attitude,” “Students Always”, and “Beyond Yourself.” 

Required Essay 1: What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? (300 words maximum)

The Haas Admissions Committee asks this question to get a sense of who you are and what makes you tick. They want to better understand your passion(s) and what qualities and interest(s) you will bring to the program. 

To get started, consider what “feeling most alive” means to you. Is it working towards something meaningful? Overcoming an obstacle? Entering a flow state? What experiences in your past have made time disappear? Then consider your interests, hobbies, work, and volunteer experiences. Keep in mind that the activity itself matters less than the joy and personal growth that has resulted from your experiences. So choose something you feel authentically passionate about rather than what you believe the Admissions Committee wants to hear.

Once you feel confident with what you want to write about, take a deep dive into one specific instance in the activity. Then explain the role of the activity in your life. What has it taught you about yourself, about others? How does your participation in the activity continue to inspire your growth? 

Take a look at our writing process to help you craft a strong narrative.

Required Essay 2 (Updated): What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from Haas help you achieve those goals? (300 words max)

Short-term career goals should be achievable within 3-5 years post-MBA, whereas long-term goals may span a decade or more and encompass broader professional aspirations.

Although this question asks about your short- and long-term goals and how a Haas MBA will help you achieve them, you will want to anchor this essay in the past. Because what you’ve already done, learned, and achieved is far more important than what you haven’t—what you say you want to do in the future. To fully satisfy the objective of this prompt, go into your backstory and detail the key moments that influenced you and the formation of your goals. Your resume will provide an overview of your professional path to date, but this is your chance to provide a deep dive into your most pivotal experiences. Once the reader has taken this trip to your past, your proposed path forward and why Haas will be the perfect fit, will make much more sense.

See also: Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Meaningful Professional Experience

Required Essay 3 (Updated): One of our goals at Berkeley Haas is to develop leaders who value diversity and to create an inclusive environment in which people from different ethnicities, genders, lived experiences, and national origins feel welcomed and supported. Describe any experience or exposure you have in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging whether through community organizations, personal, or in the workplace?

Candidates seeking consideration for mission-aligned fellowships may use this space to reflect on their commitment to the mission of those fellowships. (300 words max)

Berkeley has updated this question from a short-answer response, last year, to a full essay this year.

This question prompts you to explore how you have and will continue to thrive in diverse environments. What have been your most meaningful experiences connecting with those unlike yourself? What have you learned? You should choose one or two anecdotes to anchor your response and explore how these instances impacted your perspective and reinforced your desire to promote a sense of community at Berkeley Haas and throughout your career.  

See also: Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Compatibility in Close Knit and Collaborative Communities

Required Video Essay: The Berkeley MBA program develops leaders who embody our four Defining Leadership Principles. Briefly introduce yourself to the admissions committee, explain which leadership principle resonates most with you, and tell us how you have exemplified the principle in your personal or professional life. (Not to exceed 2 minutes.) 

To start, familiarize yourself with the Haas Four Defining Leadership Principles. Which one resonates most with you? Why? Which of your personal and/or professional experiences will most compellingly show how you live one of these values in your daily life? 

Create an outline of ideas and practice delivering your content aloud. You’ll want to include a brief introduction (~20 seconds), an explanation of why your chosen principle resonates with you (~45 seconds), a deep dive into a specific experience that shows how you live that principle (~45 seconds), and a brief conclusion (~10 seconds). 

In addition to gauging your understanding of the Berkeley Haas’s culture, the Admissions Committee will also look to evaluate your communication skills and poise. 

Tips for filming your video include:

  • Set the lights. Place a light in front of you so that your face is clearly visible on the screen (backlighting will result in shadows). You will be able to test your audio-visual connection before recording. 

  • Dress professionally. Put your best foot forward by dressing professionally, similar to how you would dress for an in-person interview. 

  • Prepare, but don’t script yourself. You’ll want the admissions committee to see the real you. Think strategically about the points you want to highlight in each video, but don’t memorize a script. 

  • Note your pace. When nerves hit, people tend to speak too quickly. Practice delivering your response out loud, and ensure you can get through all of your points at a steady pace within two minutes. 

Optional Information #1: We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achievements.

The Haas Admissions Committee calls out its understanding that not all applicants have had the same opportunities and that they consider the context of an applicant’s environment when evaluating their experiences. They value those who display “maturity, perseverance, and thoughtfulness” in periods of hardship or difficult circumstances.

Use this space to provide any additional context that you would like the admissions committee to keep in mind while reviewing your application. Did you have responsibilities at home that required you to choose an undergraduate institution in your home town over a more prestigious choice farther away? Did you have caregiving responsibilities throughout your junior and senior years that made it difficult to maintain your GPA? Or an extenuating circumstance that impacted your ability to earn a promotion? 

Do not exaggerate your circumstances, but do share any challenges that you’ve had to overcome in your academic and professional pursuits. 

Optional Information #2: This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate.

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster GMAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities? Were you laid off? 

If you are going to address a low grade in an analytical course or a low GMAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or professional environments by using specific examples. Provide information on similar classes in which you achieved excellent grades or give details about a professional pursuit that resulted in success. Similarly, to address an employment gap resulting from a layoff, explain the situation and then share the productive ways in which you filled your time during the gap. 

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or legal issue that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Again, do not make excuses. Simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Everyone makes mistakes. Taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Activate Your Listening Skills

We’re excited to introduce “Emotional Intelligence (EI) Fridays” on the blog, where we will hone in on how to develop and implement these softer skills. 

Our first topic of focus will be listening, a critical skill for doctors, lawyers, and (future) CEOs alike. We hope you enjoy this three-part series.

Click here to read Part 1 of this series. 

To become a more effective listener, keep in mind that listening requires engaging on multiple dimensions. Robin Abrahams and Boris Groysberg described the three components of listening in a Harvard Business Review article: Cognitive (taking in and comprehending the information); Emotional (maintaining calm to receive the information and managing emotional reactions to the information or its delivery); and Behavioral (demonstrating interest and picking up verbal and nonverbal cues). Maintaining awareness and control in these three dimensions promotes good listening. 

In the same article, Abrahams and Groysberg provide a “cheat sheet” of nine actions you can do to improve your listening in the short term. 

  1. Repeat the speaker’s last few words back to them. The authors note that this practice demonstrates to people that you’re listening, keeps you engaged, and can provide moments to “gather thoughts or recover from an emotional reaction.” 

  2. Steer clear of restating or summarizing in your own words what the speaker said— unless you need to. This practice should only be used if you are not sure that you’re understanding. Abrahams and Groysberg suggest that if you do use it, explicitly state that you’re restating to confirm your own comprehension.

  3. Offer nonverbal communication if you are comfortable doing so. If it feels natural, use eye contact and nodding to demonstrate that you’re listening. If not, don’t distract yourself with internal reminders to nod or make eye contact. 

  4. Look for nonverbal communication from the speaker. Take note of the speaker’s tone of voice, posture, facial expressions, and other body language or unspoken cues. The authors note the nonverbal can provide additional insight into the emotion and/or motivation behind the information.

  5. Ask questions—more than you think you need to. Asking questions not only allows the speaker to feel listened to, it ensures that you comprehended the message and are not overlooking aspects of the information. 

  6. Be aware of distractions and try to minimize them. In addition to the digital and workplace distractions we all face, when you’re listening, try to focus on the conversation and speaker, rather than allowing your growing to-do list or another conversation to take over your mind. 

  7. Acknowledge your shortcomings to the speaker. Let the speaker know where you are coming from. Have you been in too many meetings today? Did you not have time to read the pre-meeting brief? Are you distracted by your roommate or kids in the next room? Let them know what you’re dealing with so you can both do your best to overcome existing obstacles.

  8. Don’t rehearse your response while the other person is talking. The authors note that you think faster than others speak, but don’t fall prey to the temptation to prepare your response in advance. Take a few moments after they’ve spoken to compose your thoughts and use any extraneous brainpower to listen fully. 

  9. Monitor your emotions. Emotions can make it difficult to listen. Our brains can quickly engage in defensive behavior, pointing out the ways that the speaker is wrong and we’re correct. So, be aware of your emotions, acknowledge that you’re feeling emotional, breathe through it, and try to stay engaged with what the speaker is saying. 

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Below is a writing process that we recommend. We encourage you to start early so that you have time to work through this iterative process and create your most compelling work. 

Begin with a brainstorm. Do not underestimate the importance of this step. Document your experiences, positive and negative, that prompted an evolution in your perspective—you know, those “ah-ha!” moments without which you would be a different student, professional, and/or person today. Then, record those experiences that will show the reader your abilities in innovation (critical/creative thinking and problem solving), leadership, and teamwork, as well as those experiences that reinforced your interest in business school. Capture as many details as possible, paying particular attention to what you thought, felt, said, and did in each situation. Your focus should be on adult experiences (from the start of college and later), though stories from your youth could comprise up to 20 percent of this brainstorm.

During your brainstorm, don’t limit yourself by worrying about a cohesive narrative, the quality of your writing, and/or the number/length of your stories. Simply focus on collecting those situations that helped to guide your path to this point and impacted your decision to apply to the MBA program.

Craft an outline. Select the key stories you will use to anchor your narratives. Remember that you’ll use your essays to go deep into experiences that demonstrate the traits you want to emphasize. 

Write. Keep in mind that you must be showing, not telling the reader who you are. In contrast to your resume, which provides a general overview of your experiences, your essay responses should go deep into a story that allows the reader to come to their own conclusions about some of your character traits and abilities. Highlight how you’ve struggled, triumphed, learned, and how these experiences have developed you into the person you are now.

Review. Revise. Repeat. Confirm your word count and read your essay aloud noting where you stumble. Make revisions as necessary. Once it reads smoothly, set it down and walk away for at least 24 hours. Then re-read it. Is it you? Is it personal and authentic? You want the reader to see the real person behind the applicant number. While we caution against “oversharing,” being appropriately vulnerable will create connection. 

Let’s Get (Inter)Personal: Hearing and Listening

We’re excited to introduce “Emotional Intelligence (EI) Fridays” on the blog, where we will hone in on how to develop and implement these softer skills. 

Our first topic of focus will be listening, a critical skill for doctors, lawyers, and (future) CEOs alike. We hope you enjoy this three-part series.

In our rushed and noisy daily lives, it has become common to use the words “hear” and “listen” interchangeably. We ask, “Can you hear me?” presuming that if a person can hear us, they’re listening. But, Julian Treasure, author of How to be Heard: Secrets of Powerful Speaking and Listening, provides us with a key point of differentiation between the two in his Ted Talk on Conscious Listening. “My definition of listening is making meaning from sound. All the sound around us. And there are three stages to that process. The first stage is a physical stage: sound waves hit your body. All over. But in particular, they go deep inside your head, and the sound waves touch your eardrums. In the second stage, that physical relationship is translated into neural activity, electrical activity in the brain. In the third part of the process, mental activity takes place and that, I suggest, is when listening really happens,” he said.

This definition is important because it makes clear that listening goes beyond the physical act of hearing. For many, we have so conflated the two that we assume that not only do we know how to listen properly, but that we’re good at it. Yes, we say, I can hear you. But hearing doesn’t mean listening. 

In fact, a good portion of us are not listening much at all, and we don’t even realize it. An Accenture study found that 96 percent of global professionals surveyed believe they are good listeners. But another study, described in Scientific American, found that, directly after listening to a 10-minute talk, about half of adult participants could not describe the talk’s subject matter and after 48 hours that percentage ballooned to 75 percent. In the Harvard Business Review, Tijs Besieux reported that, “Studies show people are distracted, forgetful, or preoccupied 75% of the time when listening.” The magnitude of that 75 percent increases upon consideration of how much of the workday is spent listening. On the Wharton Business Daily podcast, Oscar Trimboli, author of How to Listen: Discover the Hidden Key to Better Communication, said that 55 percent of most people’s workdays are spent listening. And that percentage increases along with seniority. For most managers, listening makes up 63 percent of the day, and for executives, a whooping 83 percent.

Because most people consider listening as a physical sense rather than a skill, it is rare to receive formal training on how to listen. Besieux wrote, “Less than two percent of the worldwide population has received formal education on listening effectively, and research points to a ‘crisis in listening’ as organizations spend 80 percent of their corporate communication resources on speaking.” This lack of instruction becomes more poignant when combined with workplaces that tend to be rife with distractions that make conscious listening difficult—Accenture found that 98 percent of global respondents spend at least part of their day multitasking—and reward decisive action more than mindful listening. 

Regardless of your field, the “crisis in listening” affects you. Dr. Howard Luks, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, wrote in his blog, “Most patients are interrupted by their physicians after 18 seconds. Yes, 18 seconds. Poor communication and listening skills are likely at the heart of this emerging high-tech, low-touch method of treating patients these days. Physicians feel rushed because they’re trying to maintain their income as their reimbursements decline and they need to spend more time filling out reams of paperwork to justify many of their requests or actions.” Fiona Martin, Director and Head of Employment Law at Martin Searle Solicitors, highlighted a similar challenge. “Every lawyer knows that understanding client needs is an essential part of the service. Too often, the process is geared to identifying what legal services can be provided. Instead of really listening to what the client is saying, you’re waiting for them to stop talking so that you can get started,” she told Law Firm Ambition. And according to the Accenture study referenced earlier, 64 percent of global respondents felt that the digital workplace has made listening significantly more difficult, and 36 percent said “the many distractions prevent them from doing their best, resulting in a loss of focus, lower-quality work, and diminished team relationships.” 

Harvard Named World’s Best Business School in QS Rankings

The 2024 QS World University Rankings for Business and Management studies named Harvard University as the premiere institution for studying business. INSEAD (France) and the London Business School followed Harvard, while Stanford University and MIT ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. The top five ranked universities did not change from 2023. 

QS bases its business school rankings on an aggregate of four indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, and H-indices (a measure of the productivity and impact of a university department’s research). Harvard’s top ranking stemmed from a perfect score (100) on the employer reputation indicator, and a near-perfect score (98.4) on academic reputation. INSEAD received a perfect score for academic reputation while London Business School fell just short of perfect with an academic reputation score of 99.1. 

The University of Pennsylvania was the final U.S. school to rank in the top ten, taking the seventh spot. In total, ten of the top 25 programs were U.S.-based programs. Below, we’ve listed the top ten, and the U.S.-based schools ranked in the top 50. Check out the full ranking here.

Top Ten:

1. Harvard University

2. INSEAD, France

3. London Business School, United Kingdom

4. Stanford University

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

6. University of Oxford, United Kingdom

7. University of Pennsylvania

8. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

9. Bocconi University, Italy

10. National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

U.S.-based Schools Ranked in the Top 50:

13. University of California, Berkeley 

15. New York University (NYU)

16. University of Chicago

17. Northwestern University

20. Columbia University

25. Yale University

33. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

37. University of California, Los Angeles

38. Cornell University