MBA Training Seeks Creative Applicants
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An unconventional twist is being added to the application process at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. This fall prospective students are being asked to show off their creative side by submitting up to four slides along with their traditional written application. The new requirement applies specifically to those wishing to become full time students in the school's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program beginning in September 2008.
"This is a departure from the text-only application that we used in the past because under the old format we were unable to capture important information showing how prospective students define themselves," explains the school's deputy dean, Stacey Kole.
Slides submitted by the applicants may contain text, pictures, graphs or anything else the students wish to use to convey a message about themselves. It's the schools hope that the use of slides will parallel the type of tools that MBA graduates use in the real world to communicate ideas, sell products and network.
"There is no right or wrong way to satisfy the new requirement,"says Rosemaria Martinelli, associate dean for student recruitment and admissions for the full-time MBA program at the Graduate School of Business, "The important thing is that applicants can express themselves in ways they could not before in essay form."
According to the school, the slides will be judged based on the self-expression that is shown, rather than technical ability, and all the submitted slides will be printed out and placed in the applicants' files. Flashy extras like animation, video clips, embedded music, and hyperlinks will have no effect on the final evaluation, creating a fair playing field between those who have experience creating slide presentations and those who don't.
"Whether it be e-mail, PowerPoint or a two-minute elevator speech, successful businesspeople need to learn how to express their full ideas in very restrictive formats. We feel the new application requirement represents this very common challenge," Martinelli says, "But instead of using this tool to sell a product or request new business, applicants are using it to present themselves."
Along with the slides, students applying for the 2008 MBA program must also tackle two essay topics set by the school. In the first, they must submit 1,500 words on the topic, "Why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career? What are your personal and professional goals and the role an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business plays in your plans to reach these goals?" The second essay topic, which should be approximately 500 words, asks students to explain, "If you could step into someone else's shoes for a day, who would it be and why?"
"Feedback from our current students shows that one of the unique things about our MBA program is that it challenges people to think in different ways and to be prepared for the unexpected," Martinelli says, "We keep that in mind as we select our essay questions. The new requirement for slides just takes that to another level."