How to apply to 1 year programs

How to Apply to "1-Year" Programs

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How to Apply to "1-Year" Programs

One trend we're seeing these days is the desire of
some candidates to dispense with the frills and just
hammer out their MBA in the quickest time possible.
Obviously, this means that we're talking "1-year"
programs a lot.

As is so often the case, we figure we'll bring part of
that conversation online.

MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

Here are some of the things we’re sharing
with clients:

• Defining “1-Year.”
• Finding the Top Accelerated Options.
• Bearing the Burden of Proof, Career Goals.
• Bearing the Burden of Proof, Maturity.


Defining “1-Year.”

Have you ever had one of those debates with someone
about what counts as a year?

In the NBA, a "year" is a nine month season that actually
spans two calendar years, from October to June.

A fiscal year means something different from a calendar
year. The 2012 U.S. News and World Report comes out
in 2011, as does the 2012 Accura MDX.

It's hard to keep it all straight and the same is true for
accelerated MBA programs.


Some are indeed a year. Some are 10 months. Some
are 13. Or 16. But when people say they are looking for
a “1-Year” program, they are often referring to all of
these.

So for purposes of this post and for any discussions you
might have with our first, a “1-Year Program” means a
“program without a traditional summer internship.”

[Updated: We added “traditional internship” to the above paragraph
so as to avoid confusion. Some programs do indeed offer a version
of an internship, but typically not of the length of a more typical
summer internship. For instance, one of the two INSEAD intakes
offers a 6-week internship.]


Finding the Top Accelerated Options.

For whatever reason, gathering together a robust list of
all the top accelerated options is not as easy as you
would think in this Information Age.

I suspect that will change now that so many people are
flocking to such programs and there will be money to be
made for some enterprising soul who will build a website
devoted to accelerated MBA programs.

For now, we encourage people to frame their research
thusly:


Start in Europe.
The culture of European programs is such that 1-year
programs are not uncommon, as they are in the U.S.

INSEAD is well known for featuring a blistering pace as part
of its 1-year program. IE, SDA Bocconi, HEC Paris, Oxford,
Cambridge, and IMD all feature a 1-year option only.

ESADE has the option for a single year rather than two. In
fact, the only popular b-schools in Europe that do NOT offer
a 1-year option are IESE and LBS. All in all, if you want to
move fast through this process, the continent of Europe is
an ideal place to start your search.


Look to the big U.S. players.
Don't get hung up on speed and then sacrifice quality by
choosing a school who has just recently thrown together
an accelerated program as a way to boost applications.

Look for programs in the U.S. that have been doing this
for a while and doing it well. Kellogg's 1-year program is
very good, Columbia's J-Term is a great option, and even
Johnson's 12-month program is a strong bet (although
this one favors candidates who already hold an advanced
degree of some kind).

Emory is probably the only other U.S. program that offers
a one-year option that we recommend.


Florida, Babson, and Arizona are other programs that
might fit the bill if you are really in a jam, but we think that
is where you start getting into trouble.

(If you are deep into your career, you might want to also
consider the Sloan Fellows programs at MIT and
Stanford, but that is a topic for a different post.)


Bearing the Burden of Proof, Career Goals.

We tell all applicants that the bear the burden of proof
when it comes to things like career goals, school fit, and
overall appropriateness of the degree path.

In other words, don't assume everything speaks for itself
and don't ask the admissions officer to play detective -
explain everything in the most detail and in the strongest
terms possible.

This is especially true for 1-year program applicants. By
the very nature of the program, you are saying "I don't
think I need an internship to get where I'm going."


Okay ... why is that?
Do you have special training? A job lined up?
Your own network that will handle the recruiting burden?

You HAVE to give them some sort of certainty that you've
got the job part of this figured out, even as you increase
the degree of difficulty of your own recruiting process.

This is why you often hear that 1-Year applicants are
going back to their current company or returning to their
own business or otherwise not even really going through
the recruiting process. It doesn't have to be that extreme,
but you have to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that you
can take care of yourself out there.


Bearing the Burden of Proof, Maturity.

The other areas where you are guilty until proven
innocent is in the area of maturity.

Blame Generation Y or Facebook or whatever you want,
but the truth of the matter is that b-schools (typically run
by people in their 30s and 40s) think that today's crop of
20-something applicants are lacking in social intelligence
and EQ, which means you have to prove you've got a
good head on your shoulders.

This is exacerbated in a 1-Year program context.


There's no time to sort of feel your way into it or slowly
get up to speed with the culture - it's a sprint to the finish
and they want to make sure the students can handle it.

You often see 1-Year programs favor slightly older
students because those folks typically have more life
and work experience and therefore should be able to
assimilate more easily. But old or young, your job when
applying to a 1-Year program is to show you are friendly,
collaborative, confident, and ready to hit the ground
running.

This is extremely important and we really can't stress
enough how much you need to pay attention to EQ in
your applications.

Overall, 1-Year programs can be a great option for taking a
money-saving, time-saving, no frills approach to an MBA.

But make sure you ask yourself the questions b-schools
will be asking:

•Why are you in such a hurry?
•What about the internship?
• How are you going to land on your feet?
•Are you ready for this?
•Will you miss something important?


If you can be honest with yourself about those questions
and the program still nets out as the right fit, you will know
you are well on your way to satisfying any and all concerns
held by the admissions office. Now go out there and nail
your applications to 1-Year programs before the rest of the
world catches up to you.

If you are interested in a free initial consultation, please email
mba@amerasiaconsulting.com. Our boutique approach pairs you with
one of the principals of our company, meaning you will be working with
someone capable of walking you through the above steps and
perfecting your application.

Finally, make sure to download our free How to Apply to HBS guide.

How to apply to 1 year programs

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