P&Q Must-Read: Top B-Schools Tiptoeing into the Online MBA Market

Hello everyone — Welcome back to Poets&Quants’ Must Reads, a quick and digestible roundup of top business school news, sponsored by CentreCourt, P&Q’s virtual admissions events.
I’m your host, Kristy Bleizeffer, and I’ll highlight the most important P&Q stories you might have missed. So let’s go.
#1: How They Got In
Some of our most popular features on Poets&Quants are stories of how MBA candidates navigated the complicated application process to get into their dream schools. These provide invaluable do’s and don’ts for people who are just starting their MBA journey.
This week we have several such inspiring stories to share. There are this enterprising candidate who has attended six elite MBA programs – including Harvard, Wharton and MIT Sloan. And that first generation studentson of Pakistani immigrants, who just graduated from Chicago Booth at the ripe old age of 22.
You’ll also find plenty of stories from other students in our Friday’s With Sandy series. In these weekly videos, HBS guru Sandy Kreisberg offers tips for aspiring MBAs to get into their dream schools. Find the videos on our homepage.
No. 2: Harvard Portrait Project
For 20 years, Tony Deifell has asked 712 Harvard Business School MBA graduates too Think about a simple question to ask, a little more difficult to answer: “Tell me, what are you going to do with your only wild and precious life?”
Their responses, along with Tony’s striking black-and-white photos, make up the Harvard Portrait Project, a beloved HBS tradition since Deifell started the project in 2002.
According to former HBS Dean Kim Clark, “HBS’s mission is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. That’s what you read when you go through these essays.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the project, we spoke with the creator on the lasting legacy of the project. We also presented 10 portraits and essays from this year’s class. You can find both stories now on our homepage.
#3: News You Can Use
Last week we posted several great stories in the News You Can Use category. If you are at some point in the MBA journey, take a minute to check them out.
First, Melissa Jones of Fortuna Admissions, walks you through the steps to choosing the right one. MBA admissions coach. And the founder of Sia Admissions explains power of stories in your MBA application.
Then, for those at the end of their journey and looking to embark on their new career, P&Q author Greg Lang offers a great collection of tips from the faculty of Harvard Business School.
All of these stories – and many more tips, advice and resources – can be found in our admission centeraccessible from our main menu.
#4: Santa Clara Leavey – The Other B School in the Heart of Silicon Valley
To finish, Poets&Quants editor Marc Ethier take a deep dive into ta Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University – one of three business schools located in the Global Center for Entrepreneurship. The school enjoys some of its best rankings for many of its programs and is looking to capitalize.
“A lot of people call us a hidden gem,” says a senior assistant dean at the school. “I would like to remove the word ‘hidden’ from this. I wish we were just the pearl.
Read the full article in our MBA news tab from our main navigation menu.
And that’s it for this week’s must-read recap. But, before leaving, I want to alert all school seekers of the upcoming CentreCourt MBA Festival events. These events connect prospective students with admissions experts, alumni, and career development teams at the top MBA programs in the country — and the world.
Our next series, MBA Voices, takes place June 7-8, and you can register for free on our events tab on Poets&Quants.com.
For Online MBA applicants, our next Backstage event will take place on July 12. This is your chance to hear from current students, admissions teams, and alumni of some of the best online programs around. Sign up on our events page.
Thank you for your attention. Once again I’m Kristy Bleizeffer with Poets&Quants, and you can join me next week, right here, for a recap of what’s important in the world of business education. Stay informed!