Posts Tagged ‘admissions process#8217;

The Forté Foundation has recently published their ten tips for the MBA application process. Among their recommendations are defining your career goals (short- and long- term), doing your research and speaking to people who have gone through the process themselves. A lot of it may seem common sense at first but it’s important that, as the application process becomes more competitive, candidates put in as much effort as possible to ensuring that their application is of the highest standard.  Click here to read the post in full and click here to read about the IE admissions process in particular.

Last weekend, The Spanish national newspaper ABC  published an article about the important steps a student has to complete in order to pass the rigorous admissions process of one of the best business schools in the world.

Julián Trigo, Director of the Admissions Department at IE Business School, and other members of the Admission Committee outlined several important aspects to succeed in this process:

• Due to the limited number of places, it is recommended to start the process several months before the master starts or even a year in advance.
• A candidate must possess a strong academic record and above all a huge personal motivation, to seal a place in a master. In addition, the candidate has to have a good knowledge of the program he/she is planning to study.
• All the documentation that students send will be very useful to know more about the candidate: recommendation letters, plans after the master, language certificates, etc.
• Sit the GMAT, GRE or in the case of IE, the IE Admissions test, which is aimed at an international audience. It is very practical and there is no need to prepare anything beforehand. 
• Get an interview. This is an important part because it is when the schools have the opportunity to meet the candidate and get to know them personally.

If you want to discover more about the admissions process, please click here.

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El pasado fin de semana, el periódico ABC publicó un artículo sobre los pasos más importantes en el riguroso proceso de admisión que hay que superar para poder cursar un máster en una de las mejores escuelas de negocio mundiales.

Julián Trigo, Director de Admisiones de IE Business School y otros miembros del Comité de Admisiones de algunas de las principales escuelas, coinciden en varios puntos esenciales para pasar con éxito éste proceso:

• Debido al número limitado de plazas, se recomienda comenzar el proceso con varios meses e incluso con un año de antelación.
• Tener un buen expediente, formación y sobre todo, una gran motivación personal, para garantizar el aprovechamiento del máster. Además, debe de conocer bien el máster que quieren cursa.
• Toda la documentación que pueda entregar, servirá para conocer mejor al candidato: cartas de recomendación, planes después del máster, certificados de idiomas, etc.
• Presentar el GMAT, GRE o en el caso del IE, también aceptamos la prueba de admisión del IE, la cual está dirigida a un público internacional. Tiene un enfoque práctico y no necesita de preparación previa.
• Realizar una entrevista. Esta parte es esencial ya que es cuando se tiene la oportunidad de tener un trato directo con el candidato.

Si quieres averiguar más sobre el proceso de admisión, pincha aquí.

The Entrance Exam (IE Admissions Test/GMAT/GRE) is one of the requirements of the admissions process for the International MBA program.  Only one exam is required, however, should a candidate sit the IE Admissions Test and also have the GMAT or GRE, it is recommended to present the additional exam.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) has recently been accepted by hundreds of business schools in the US, Europe and Asia. Many students struggle to decide which test they should take given that both tests are accepted by most business schools, however, The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) remains the most popular test. Taking the GMAT or GRE can be time consuming due to the level of preparation required and it might not by feasible for all candidates given their professional and personal commitments. At IE Business School we have developed our own admissions test, offering applicants an alternative to both the GMAT and GRE. The IE Admissions Test is divided into three parts: 1) Verbal, 2) Numerical and 3) Diagrammatical – it’s different to the GMAT and GRE in its practical approach and given that students cannot prepare for it.

For information on the three above-mentioned tests, see the following article on find.mba.com: http://www.find-mba.com/article/510/should-i-take-the-gmat-or-gre

1. Do your homework

The IE interview is our chance to get to know you and to see if you are a good fit for our school and the program. In the interview we are look to see if candidates are aligned to our core values (entrepreneurship, innovation, social responsibility and diversity) and culture. For this reason it is of utmost importance that candidates come prepared to the interview and are able to demonstrate this alignment.

 2. Be yourself

It is very important to be yourself. Don’t present yourself as who you think we would like to see, rather just be who you are. Also, remember that you are representing yourself and you should have a strong sense of self awareness in every interaction with the school.

At IE Business School, we take a holistic approach to evaluating each candidate. We look at every aspect of your application; as such no single element is of unique importance within evaluation, but rather a compilation of all the elements submitted.

Between those submitted elements are the letters of recommendation, fundamental in “adding score points in the path to admission” as Julian Trigo, Director of Admissions at IE Business School explained to America Economía: Tips para gestionar buenas cartas de recomendación para un MBA, November, 2010. He also addressed that ”finding the right recommenders is crucial” to get to know the strenghts and weaknesses of a candidate applying to the International MBA program.

Here are some tips when choosing your recommenders:

1. Select your recommender: who is the right person to write about you? Find someone that knows you, from a professional or academic perspective, who is able to describe your strenghts and weaknesses.

2. Prepare your recommender: ask for the letter with time in advance. Give enough time for your recommender to write a letter with high quality content.

3. The final letter: make sure your recommender writes about your achievements, specific projects, communication skills, etcetera, following the format of IE Business School’s online application format  (www.ie.edu/app)

Something to avoid:

- Do not write the letter yourself, sometimes due to the daily workload, your recommender might ask you to write the letter and sign it. The letter of recommendation is the best way to get to know your strenghts and weaknesses, as well as your closeness and interaction with your recommender. Therefore, the Admissions Committee will verify the information as needed and reserves the right to deny candidates admission at this point in the application process if a discrepancy in the information provided through verification is noted.

For more information about the Admissions Process of IE Business School’s International MBA program, click here.

Para la versión en español del artículo Tips para gestionar buenas cartas de recomendación, haz click aquí.

Last week, Lisa Bevill, Director of Admissions for the International MBA program at IE Business School, responded to questions from prospective candidates at Businessweek.com Live Chat. She addressed questions about the admissions process, postgraduation job opportunities, dual-degree options, etcetera, during the live chat event. To learn more about the conversation, click here.