By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. One of the most common sources of confusion in graduate admissions is the application essay. Applicants are often told they need to write a graduate application essay, but when they visit a university’s website, they may instead…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. One of the most effective ways to improve your graduate school application is to study successful personal statement examples. Unfortunately, many applicants review examples for the wrong reasons. They search for a template to copy, a structure…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. A personal statement is one of the most important components of a graduate school application. While transcripts, resumes, test scores, and recommendation letters provide evidence of your qualifications, the personal statement helps admissions committees understand the person…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. The INSEAD Global Executive MBA is one of the most internationally respected Executive MBA programs in the world. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Many applicants assume the biggest challenge is simply getting accepted. In…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. The Chicago Booth Executive MBA is one of the most respected Executive MBA programs in the world. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Many applicants assume Executive MBA admissions are dramatically easier than traditional MBA…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. Executive MBA programs are expensive. Very expensive. At top schools, total Executive MBA costs now regularly exceed $200,000 once tuition, travel, residency expenses, financing costs, and opportunity costs are fully considered. But one of the biggest mistakes…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and former Assistant Director of MBA Admissions. Many Executive MBA applicants prepare for interviews the wrong way. They assume EMBA interviews are primarily: personality tests networking conversations or opportunities to sound impressive. That is usually not how admissions committees evaluate them.…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and former Assistant Director of MBA Admissions. Most Executive MBA applicants misunderstand what executive mba essays are actually for. They assume EMBA essays are primarily: writing exercises branding exercises or opportunities to sound impressive. That is usually not how admissions committees…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and former Assistant Director of MBA Admissions. Many applicants assume Executive MBA programs are easier to get into than traditional MBA programs. That assumption is often misleading. Yes, some Executive MBA programs have higher acceptance rates than elite full-time MBA programs.…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. Many professionals assume they cannot apply to a top Executive MBA program without the GMAT. That is no longer true. In fact, many highly ranked Executive MBA programs now: accept the Executive Assessment (EA) offer GMAT waivers…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. Most applicants misunderstand Executive MBA program requirements. They assume EMBA admissions are mostly about: checking boxes hitting a minimum GPA submitting a resume taking the Executive Assessment reaching a certain number of years of experience But top…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. If you are applying to graduate school with a lower GPA, there is a good chance you have already spent hours searching questions like: Can a high GRE score make up for a low GPA? Can high…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. If you are applying to graduate school right now, there is a good chance you are asking yourself some version of this question: “When should I take the GRE?” And if you search online, most articles will…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. The Oxford MBA acceptance rate is approximately 20%, meaning roughly 1 in 5 applicants are admitted. At first glance, that may not seem extremely selective compared to top U.S. programs. But in reality, the Oxford MBA is…

The Harvard MBA acceptance rate is typically around 10–12%, making Harvard Business School one of the most selective business schools in the world. But that number alone does not tell you how competitive you actually are. MBA acceptance rates help you understand how selective a program is…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former professor and graduate admissions consultant. Applicants searching for MBA statement of purpose examples are usually trying to understand what business school admissions committees expect to see in an application essay. Many applicants assume the statement of purpose for MBA programs is simply…

If you’re a senior professional thinking about the MIT EMBA acceptance rate you’ve likely wondered: What are my odds of getting in? The short answer: better than the full-time MBA — but the competition is far stronger.The longer answer: Sloan’s EMBA isn’t hard to enter because of…

If you’re a senior professional considering the Wharton Executive MBA, you’ve likely asked a deceptively simple question:What are my odds of getting in? The short answer: higher than the full-time MBA — but far from easy. The longer answer: Wharton’s EMBA is one of the most selective…

By Dr. Philippe Barr, former Assistant Director of MBA Admissions and graduate admissions consultant Most Executive MBA applicants misunderstand what their resume is supposed to do. They assume the resume is mainly: a career summary a job-search document or a list of accomplishments. That is usually not…

If you’re a senior professional considering an Executive MBA, you’ve likely asked yourself a deceptively simple question:Is it really worth it? The answer depends — not only on the program, but on who you are, where you are in your career, and what outcome you expect. Because…