I just finished listening to a fascinating radio interview about the future of liberal arts education. The interview aired on National Public Radio (NPR) and featured Rebecca Chopp, the president of Swarthmore College, and Dan Weiss, the president of Haverford College. The two guests on NPR’s ‘Radio Times‘ show offer their views on a residential […]
View PostGMAC EMEA Conference 2013 Recap

Last month I was invited to present the findings of the Southwark Social Media Survey at GMAC’s Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) Conference in London. This three-day event brought together nearly 60 business school representatives from over 30 leading business schools in the EMEA region. There were also nearly 20 panelists ranging from ‘Workplace […]
View Post admissions consultants, Business education, Business school, education agents, female MBAs, GMAC, gmat integrated reasoning, MBA, mba rankings, millenials, MOOCsHow to identify business school applicants that demonstrate empathy, judgment and communications skills.

I recently was invited to speak at the Graduate Management Admissions Council’s Asia Pacific conference (GMAC APAC) in Hyderabad, India at the Indian School of Business – a gathering of faculty and administration from nearly all of the leading business schools across Asia. The theme of the conference was ‘Business School 3.0’, aimed at peering […]
View Post Asia, Business school, India, Indian School of Business, JC Spender, Leadership, MBABusiness Schools: Why Your MBA Admissions Office Matters More Than You Think

In my work with business schools around the world, I often find myself thinking about the factors that determine a school’s brand and reputation. In the MBA ranking universe we hear a lot about the caliber of a school’s students, the accomplishments of faculty, career outcomes for graduates and even the merits of state-of-the-art facilities. […]
View Post Admissions, Business school, Colleges and Universities, Education, Graduate Management Admission Test, Master of Business Administration, MBA, Recommendation letter, Social mediaSocial Media Outreach : Five Questions Admissions Officers Should Be Asking

The goal of this article is to give admissions officers a chance to step back from the ‘day-to-day’ of the various social media channels they are using and to reflect on the overarching social media strategy deployed by their office. Nearly every admissions office makes use of various social media outlets in an effort to […]
View Post Business school, facebook, Internet Marketing, MBA, Social media, Twitter, University and college admissionMBA Applicants with Humble First Jobs

I recently read a piece in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) that is incredibly relevant for MBA admissions officers. The article, titled In Praise of Humble First Jobs, was actually written in response to a New York Times piece about a young woman who spent her summer as a chambermaid at a resort in Maine […]
View Post Business school, Colleges and Universities, Education, Harvard Business Review, MBA, New York Times, WhartonWharton Admissions Director to Step Down

The Wall Street Journal has just reported that Wharton admissions director Ankur Kumar has resigned. Kumar, whose official title is Wharton Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, announced her departure to her staff last week. Her final day will be this Friday, October 4th. Stepping into the Director’s role (presumably on a temporary basis) will […]
View Post Ankur Kumar, Business school, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wall Street Journal, WhartonSouthwark In The News: Wharton Application Volume

The Wall Street Journal published a provocative piece on Friday about the recent decline in Wharton application volume at the school’s full-time MBA program (down ~12% over the past four years). Titled ‘What’s Wrong At Wharton‘ the piece pondered how the prestigious program had lost ground in recent years while competitors like Stanford GSB, Harvard […]
View Post Booth School of Business, Business school, Harvard Business School, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wall Street Journal, WhartonStudy Claims Focus on High GMAT ® Scores Is Bad for Business & Business Schools

There has been a buzz across the web about a recent study published in the Journal of Business Ethics (available on the Social Science Research Network web site). The study in question (or shall I say ‘the questionable study’?) suggests that those who score highly on the GMAT exam tend to come from cultures associated […]
View Post Business school, GMAT, Graduate Management Admission Test, Graduate school, Journal of Business Ethics, MBA, Social Science Research Network, Standardized testWhy You Should Care About Applicants You Reject

At Southwark Consulting, we talk a lot about ‘applicant service’ – which is really just fancy speak for the level of ‘customer service’ business schools are providing to the pool of prospects and applicants. In the early phases of the admissions and recruiting process, all candidates are treated more or less equally – and handled […]
View Post Business school, Customer service, Education, Master of Business Administration, MBA, Southwark Consulting, Wharton, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania