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Financial Times Global 2010 MBA Rankings

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The Financial Times published today its 2010 ranking of global MBA programs. Its ranking attempts to "assess the effect of the MBA on ... subsequent career progression and salary growth." Consequently it draws its data from the schools themselves and from surveys of graduates at least three years after earning their MBA degree. In building its rankings, FT analyzes "alumni salaries and career development; the diversity and international reach of the business school and its MBA programme; and the research capabilities of each school." For complete information on FT's methodology, please see "Getting to Grips with the Method."

The best business schools according to FT:

  1. London Business School
  2. University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
  3. Harvard Business School
  4. Stanford GSB
  5. INSEAD
  6. Columbia Business School
  7. IE (tied with Columbia)
  8. MIT Sloan
  9. Chicago Booth
  10. Hong Kong UST Business School

I have long argued that far more valuable than the overall rankings are the specialty rankings. Here are FT's specialty rankings:

Top for international business
1 Thunderbird School of Global Management
2 University of South Carolina: Moore
3 Georgetown University: McDonough
4 Insead
5 George Washington University
6 Hult International Business School
7 IMD
8 Manchester Business School
9 University of Southern California: Marshall
10 London Business School

Top for finance
1 University of Chicago: Booth
2 New York University: Stern
3 University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
4 Rice University: Jones
5 University of Rochester: Simon
6 London Business School
7 Columbia Business School
8 Macquarie Graduate School of Management
9 University of Iowa: Tippie
10 University of Toronto: Rotman

Top for accountancy

1 Brigham Young University: Marriott
2 University of Chicago: Booth
3 University of Texas at Austin: McCombs
4 New York University: Stern
5 Macquarie Graduate School of Management
6 University of Rochester: Simon
7 Cornell University: Johnson
8 University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
9 Rice University: Jones
10 Texas A & M University: Mays

Top for entrepreneurship
1 Babson College: Olin
2 Stanford University GSB
3 Imperial College Business School
4 UCLA: Anderson
5 University of California at Berkeley: Haas
6 MIT Sloan School of Management
7 University of Cambridge: Judge
8 IMD
9 Wisconsin School of Business
10 Insead

Top for economics
1 University of Chicago: Booth
2 Cranfield School of Management
3 MIT Sloan School of Management
4 Yale School of Management
5 University of Rochester: Simon
6 Imperial College Business School
7 Melbourne Business School
8 University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
9 IE Business School
10 New York University: Stern

Top for corporate social responsibility
1 University of Notre Dame: Mendoza
2 University of California at Berkeley: Haas
3 Yale School of Management
4 Ipade
5 University of Virginia: Darden
6 Brigham Young University: Marriott
7 Esade Business School
8 University of Michigan: Ross
9 University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler
10 Thunderbird School of Global Management

Top for general management
1 University of Virginia: Darden
2 Harvard Business School
3 Ipade
4 Dartmouth College: Tuck
5 IMD
6 University of Michigan: Ross
7 University of Western Ontario: Ivey
8 Northwestern University: Kellogg
9 Stanford University GSB
10 Duke University: Fuqua

Top for marketing
1 Northwestern University: Kellogg
2 Duke University: Fuqua
3 Indiana University: Kelley
4 Ipade
5 Esade Business School
6 Wisconsin School of Business
7 Imperial College Business School
8 University of Michigan: Ross
9 HEC Paris
10 Cornell University: Johnson

Rather than list all my important caveats for using rankings, I'll simply refer you to our MBA Rankings Report.

By Linda Abraham, President and Founder of Accepted.com.


MBA Admissions: Ross and Marketing

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MichiganRossA quick glance at Michigan Ross: Ross currently ranks in 13th place as one of the best business schools, according to US News & World Report (March 2012). It is ranked in 5th place for marketing.

Ross’s Class of 2014
This year’s incoming class had 502 people in it. The average GMAT score was 703, and the class has an average undergraduate GPA of 3.4. The average number of years of work experience for the class of 2014 is 5 years.

26% of class of 2014 students have undergraduate degrees in engineering, 24% in business, 21% in humanities/social sciences, 15% in economics, 5% in math/physical sciences, 5% in computer science, and 4% in other areas.

Ross Academics Related to Marketing

First year students take required core courses during their first 3 terms (each year consists of 4 terms). (See a list of required courses here.)

A highlight of the Ross curriculum (not specific to marketing students) is the Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) course. This required first-year spring semester (term Winter B) course provides opportunities for students to work on collaborative projects for a global, hands-on, action-based, real-life experience.

2012 projects that would interest marketing students include developing or evaluating marketing plans for the Anschutz Entertainment Group (The Grammy Museum); AT&T Inc.; Ballet Chicago; Bharti Airtel; the Blamey Castle & Gardens in Cork, Ireland; Chrysler Group LLC; Delta Air Lines Inc.; FordDirect; Microsoft Corp.; MillerCoors LLC; Viacom Media Networks; Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; and others.

Second year students choose electives in their functional area and in other areas. Electives offered in the marketing subject area include:

MKT 601 Strategic Marketing Planning
MKT 603 Strategic Brand Management
MKT 610 Strategic Sales Management
MKT 613 Consumer Behavior
MKT 614 Social Marketing
MKT 615 International Marketing Management
MKT 618 Marketing Research
MKT 621 Applied Advertising
MKT 623 Service Marketing Management
MKT 624 Co-Creation of Value
MKT 625 Innovation in New Products/ Services
MKT 627 Leveraging Design for Marketing Advantage
MKT 630 Models for Marketing Decisions: Marketing
Engineering
MKT 640 Global Supply Chain Management

Michigan Ross Marketing Clubs and Activities

Luxury Goods & Retail Club
Entertainment + Media Club
Michigan Commodities Group
Michigan Sports Business Conference
Wolverine Sales Club

Marketing Hiring Stats at Michigan Ross

The chart below shows the hiring stats for 2012 MBA careers with a marketing function:

Function Percent Base Salary Range ($) Median Signing Bonus ($)
Product Management 15.1 50,000-130,000 25,000
General Marketing 3.6 94,008-105,000 25,000
Marketing- Sales/Retail 1.6 37,500-118,000 17,500
Other Marketing 1.1 97,000-120,000 22,500

For 2012 interns, the job function breakdown is:

Function Percent Annualized Base Salary Range ($)
General Marketing 13.1 19,392-106,080
Product Management 6.9 60,000-110,004
Other Marketing 3.4 26,880-106,000

Top hirers include:

• Amazon – 14 hires / 17 interns
• Microsoft Corporation – 11 hires
• Google, Inc. – 8 hires / 8 interns
• General Mills, Inc. – 7 hires
• PepsiCo Inc. – 7 hires
• University of Michigan – 9 interns
• Ford Motor Company – 8 interns
• Johnson & Johnson – 8 interns

Are you applying to Michigan’s Ross School of Business? Please see our Michigan Ross B-School Zone and Ross School of Business Application Packages for more information on how Accepted.com can help you get accepted.









Accepted.com

 

 

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

Ross Michigan EMBA 2014 Essay Tips and Deadlines

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Michigan-RossThis set of essay questions covers broad ground, eliciting information that will allow the adcom to get to know you professionally and personally and hence to determine your fit with the Michigan Ross EMBA program. The straightforward, down-to-earth nature of the questions reflects the program’s practical slant, and you should reflect that quality back in your answers – indeed, with 500-word limits, you will have to be succinct and make good decisions about what content to include and what to leave out.

Essays:

1. What has been your most significant professional achievement? What has been your toughest professional challenge and how did you address it? (500 word maximum)

Try to make this essay do “double duty”—while you present an impressive accomplishment and also your effective handling of a tough challenge, through the story you select also try to showcase some differentiating aspect of your profile, such as unique industry or role, important issue engaged, etc. The accomplishment and challenge should be relatively recent. It’s possible to use one experience and show how you turned the challenge into the significant achievement, but discussing two separate experiences allows you to broaden your picture. Answer the question straightforwardly, telling the stories and adding a sentence or two afterward about why you consider the achievement significant and how you grew through the challenge. Also, select an achievement that had a strong external impact – it should not just be about your own growth or development.

2. What are your long-term professional goals? How will a Ross Executive MBA help you achieve your goals? (500 word maximum)

Notice the focus on long-term. Respect that focus. You can and probably should mention short-term goals and possibly pivotal aspects of your career to date, but only briefly, to create a relevant context for your long-term goals. Then detail those goals – include what you’ll do, what motivates those goals, what you want to accomplish and what impact you want to have, and some practical aspects of how you’ll achieve them. You might want to include some discussion of related points about the target industry and/or challenges you anticipate. Your discussion of how the Ross Executive MBA will support your goals should be concrete and specific; avoid generalities and stock phrases (e.g., “renowned professors”). One way to shape this part of the essay and keep the focus practical is to identify your more important learning needs and then discuss how the program addresses those needs.

3. Describe how your professional and personal experiences will contribute to the Executive MBA class and teams. (500 word maximum)

Selecting excellent topics is the key to taking full advantage of the opportunity this essay presents. With 500 words, you have to be selective; you have to choose representative points. I suggest limiting the number of experiences described to three in order to have sufficient space to give a brief anecdote and some detail on each. Therefore, select topics that (a) are relevant to future classmates and the program, (b) complement the preceding essays, (c) round out your profile, and/or (d) portray a relevant and differentiating or impressive aspect of your experience. Convey the points through anecdote and story (succinctly, obviously). A discussion about something as common as playing tennis can become a memorable statement with an engaging, illuminating anecdote. Do try to discuss a mix of personal and professional topics.

Optional question:

Is there anything else you think the Admissions Committee should know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (500 word maximum)

This question’s wording indicates that you can use it not just to explain a problem (low GMAT, employment gap) but also to present new material that you think will enhance your application. However, if you are making the adcom read more than is required, there better be a darn good reason; not just that something is nice to know. First, succinctly explain any points that need explaining. Then, if there is something you feel is important that you haven’t had a chance to discuss elsewhere, write about it, noting why it’s important for the adcom to know.

If you would like professional guidance with your Michigan Ross EMBA application, please consider Accepted’s EMBA essay editing and EMBA admissions consulting or our EMBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Michigan Ross EMBA application

Deadlines:

Priority- April 1 2014

Standard- June 1 2014

Decisions are provided on a rolling basis 4-6 weeks from receipt of completed application.

The website advises, "Applications are reviewed as they are received and admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis. Decisions are typically made within four to six weeks after a completed application has been received. We encourage you to apply early as admission to the Michigan Ross EMBA Program is highly competitive."

You can see the rest of our EMBA admissions essay tips here.







Cindy Tokumitsu By , co-author of The Finance Professional’s Guide to MBA Admissions Success, and author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her last fifteen years with Accepted.

 

 

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

U of Michigan Receives Record Breaking Donation of $200 Million

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MichiganRossStephen M. Ross will donate $200 million to the University of Michigan, with $100 million going to the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and $100 million going to the athletic campus (which will be renamed the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus). This donation, the largest single donation ever received by U-M, will bring Ross’s total lifetime giving to over $313 million.

Some of the new plans for the Ross School of Business include:

• More gathering spaces for students, faculty, and recruiters.

• A new career and recruiting center.

• Career-oriented programs and events that connect applicants, students, and alumni.

• A space for practice-oriented research for local and global firms.

• Advanced technology in classrooms.

• Additional scholarships for Ross students.

For more info on the Ross donation please see the following two articles:

Ross' gift to Michigan could affect Miami stadium (Wall Street Journal)

U-Michigan to receive $200 million from prominent real estate developer Stephen M. Ross (Michigan Ross Press Release)

Check out our Ross B-School Zone for advice on how to get accepted to Michigan Ross.







Accepted.com

 

 

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

Michigan Ross 2015 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

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RossRoss completely redid the essay part of its MBA application this year. Getting rid of its long-standing goals essay, a fairly new "elevator pitch" question, and a question about dealing with frustrating or disappointing situations, it added two questions on achievements. The overall word count is down 150 words.

Since the application is not live, I can't see the short answer questions or the online boxes. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Ross asks about goals in the non-essay portion of the application.

Review Ross' Evaluation Criteria before you sit down to write the essays. And remember: your essays should reveal the qualities Ross seeks -- not just mouth them. Show that you walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Also, read carefully the introductory paragraph to the essay questions. The advice is excellent.

My comments are in blue below.

Essays:

Our goal with these new questions is that we’ll get a sense of who you are, how you think about yourself and how you process your experiences. The range of responses can be quite wide – from an accomplishment to a challenge or difficult situation that you overcame or a characteristic about yourself. There isn’t a “right” or “preferred” type of response. Applicants often ask how they can differentiate themselves. The essays are the best way to do it. Your undergraduate school and major may be similar to another applicant’s. Your career path and goals may be similar to another applicant’s. But your experiences and what you take away from them will be unique.

1. What are you most proud of professionally and why? What did you learn from that experience? (400 words)

The first part of the question is fairly straightforward. What are you truly proud of professionally? The reasons for your pride and the lessons learned require thought and soul-searching. And of course, you only have 400 words.

Good reasons for the choice: Contribution to your team, department, company, or society. Impact on you or others. Try to quantify this part of your answer. Numbers are a great way to show both contribution and impact. However, if your #1 achievement is qualitative or difficult to quantify, don't let lack of numbers stop you from using it.

For the lessons learned part of the question, focus. Choose one lesson that has changed how you think or behave and describe those changes. You don't have room for many lessons learned, so select the most important one.

2. What are you most proud of personally and why? How does it shape who you are today? (400 words)

This response should compliment your response to #1 and obviously it should not be professional. Ross wants to know that you have a life off the job and that you make a difference then too.

What have you done off the job that you are really proud of? Raised money for a favorite charity by running a marathon? Organized a political event? Engaged in interfaith dialogue that broke down communications barriers? Led a sports team to victory?

Any of the above and many, many other non-professional achievements would qualify as a good topic for this essay.

Then what was its impact on you? Please don't write that you learned you can do anything you put your mind to. That response is cliched and not really true. It's a non-answer. A good response will show how your behavior or thinking has changed as a result of this accomplishment.

3. Optional question: is there anything not addressed elsewhere in the application that you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (300 word maximum)

Optional questions aren’t junk drawers or shoe boxes in which to jam “stuff.” Focus on one facet of your life or an experience that is important to you, reveals the human being you are, and isn’t described in other parts of the application.

Of course, you can also use this essay to provide context for a weakness, but I prefer not to end your application on that note if possible. So weigh your options. If you have something to explain, do so. If you can slip in the explanation somewhere else, great. If the best place for the explanation is this last essay, so be it.

If you would like professional guidance with your Michigan Ross MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Michigan Ross application.

Michigan Ross 2015 MBA Application Deadlines:

Round 1
Applications due Oct. 6, 2014 at 11:59 PM (EST)
Decisions posted Dec. 19, 2014 at 12:00 PM (EST)

Round 2
Applications due Jan. 5, 2015 at 11:59 PM (EST)
Decisions posted March 13, 2015 at 12:00 PM (EST)

Round 3
Applications due March 23, 2015 at 11:59 PM (EST)
Decisions posted May 15, 2015 at 12:00 PM (EST)

MBA 5 Fatal Flaws

Linda Abraham By , president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools.

 

 

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

2015 University of Michigan Ross Executive MBA Admissions Tips

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RossRoss Executive MBA students have, on average, about ten years of “progressive work experience” that include about five years as a hands-on manager. Such students are people who know where they’re going and why. So this year the EMBA essays give you the benefit of the doubt in that regard – no goals essays. Rather, the essay questions enable the adcom to get to know you and to assess your fit with the program. In writing the essays, keep on your radar their stated desire for students “whose notion of leadership includes a willingness to be part of something larger than themselves, who are receptive to new ways of thinking, and who bring varied experiences to bear on how they tackle a challenge.”

Essays:

1. What are you most proud of professionally and why? What did you learn from that experience? (400 words)

This essay presents an opportunity to “zoom in” on you tackling challenging issues, having an impact, and succeeding in the workplace. Ideally select a story that is relatively recent, that directly or indirectly reflects at least one of the values quoted above, and that can be told fairly succinctly without a lot of backstory (given the word limit). Also select a story that has an external, concrete impact, to show that you are a doer, who makes things happen. With the short word count, keep the structure simple: tell the story and add a short, thoughtful statement at the end about what you learned.

The essay can also work with a slightly older story, if you have something particularly strong, but in that case add a sentence summarizing how you have actually acted on, and employed what you learned.

2.What are you most proud of personally and why? How does it shape who you are today? (400 words)

In selecting this essay topic, coordinate it with the first essay – ensure that it reflects a fresh point about you. Also select the topic with an eye to where application strategy and your heart converge. The “heart” element gives your essay immediacy and authenticity – things the adcoms are sensitive to. Again, I recommend a simple structure: tell the story, and then reflect on how the experience shaped you, with concrete evidence of the latter.

Deadlines:

Early deadline: February 1, 2015

Regular deadline: April 1, 2015

Final deadline: May 15, 2015

Download your free special report, 'Ace the EMBA.'

Cindy Tokumitsu By , co-author of The EMBA Edge, and author of the free special report, Ace the EMBA. Cindy has helped MBA applicants get accepted to top EMBA programs around the world. She is delighted to help you too!

 

 

 

Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!

This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.

Michigan Ross MBAs, Entrepreneurs, and Founders of Bschool Travel [Episode 295]

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Listen to the show!

Interview with Dale Jarosz & Dhruv Dhawan, MBA Students and Founders of Bschool Travel [Show Summary]

Two Michigan Ross MBA students launched their brand new business, Bschool Travel while attending the Michigan Ross School of Business. Let’s learn how these two very busy MBA’s managed to start and run a business while attending a demanding MBA program. Actually we’ll also discover how the Michigan Ross MBA program and Zell Lurie Institute helped our guests get Bschool Travel off the ground. Listen in for their fascinating story!

Michigan Ross MBA Students Talk About Admissions, Business School Life, and Founding a Company [Show Notes]

Both our guests today are members of the Michigan Ross class of 2019 and the co-founders of Bschool Travel, which we’ll learn about in a few minutes. Dale earned his bachelors in mechanical engineering from Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2012 and then worked for Caterpillar for five years before coming to Ann Arbor. Dhruv Dhawan graduated from UC Irvine with a BBA and then headed into public accounting for a couple of years followed by a three-year stint as Director of Marketing and Operations for a health supplements company. With that as background, let’s hear about their MBA experience at Ross and the founding of Bschool Travel.

Can you tell us a little about your background? Where you grew up? What you like to do for fun? [2:16]

Dhruv: I’m originally from Los Angeles, but went to international high school in India before returning to go to UCI. I worked in public accounting for a few years, but decided I wanted some more operational experience so I transitioned to my family business, Health Plus Inc., where I learned a lot. My true passion is travel, and I like to get on a plane whenever I can. Basketball is also a big part of my life. I’m a huge Lakers fan.

Dale: I grew up outside of Chicago, I was really involved in sports growing up and engineering-related fields. My dad is an engineer and I followed in his footsteps. I went to Caterpillar to work in product development and innovation which got me interested in being an entrepreneur. My family also has a business so I came to Ross really focused on entrepreneurship. Dhruv and I met during the interview process and said we should start a company, and now we’ve actually done it!

What was hardest part for you in the MBA application process? How did you handle that element? [4:46]

Dale: I think the hardest part is honing in on your story in the essays, connecting the dots and having the vision for where you want to be afterwards. As an entrepreneur I didn’t know what company I wanted to start and in what industry, but that doesn’t cut it for a story, so I really sat down to think about what industry I would fit and overall what mattered most. Once I did the reflection it was very informative.

Dhruv: My answer is similar but different. I had worked in my family business, so had non-traditional experience, and I made it more of a challenge than it needed to be. Since I had already experienced entrepreneurship I really needed to know if it made sense that I want to be an entrepreneur. I had to sit down and reflect, figure out why I wanted an MBA, and what I needed to be successful as an entrepreneur that I didn’t have before.

Is Ross meeting your expectations? [7:59]

Dhruv: My expectations have been exceeded in every way. I wanted to leave California and maintain a strong network, and the strength of the network is great. The support with our new business has been amazing. Whether it be from customer discovery, or introducing us to students at other schools, or whatever! I mentioned that strategy was an important component for my education, and the strategy classes and professors have been fantastic so far.

Dale: I echo everything Dhruv said. Coming into business school I talked to several students. Many were going into traditional career paths. I knew those resources would be available, and had low expectations for resources for entrepreneurs. The Zell Institute is amazing. There are fellows there 24/7, and it provides an incredible springboard. Ann Arbor also has such a strong entrepreneurial environment. There are lots of investment dollars, incubators, and it is just such an amazing place to come and dive deep into the community.

How did you come to choose Ross? [10:25]

Dale: I was deciding between a few schools – Duke and UCLA. A lot of people bring in the weather aspect, but for me that wasn’t an issue. The seasons bring a pleasant change of pace to the academic experience. I narrowed down by the strength of entrepreneurship programs and Michigan was just so strong. I am also a huge sports buff, and it’s a really cool environment for that. Also it’s not in a huge city, so it’s a more cohesive environment.

Dhruv: I had three main criteria: I didn’t want to be in a large city, I wanted a global network strong in California, and entrepreneurial excellence. When I went to Ann Arbor for my interview it just felt right. Going out, exploring, walking around in nature - it made the decision easy.

What would you like to see improved? [13:06]

Dale: University of Michigan is incredible with how many top graduate programs it has, with one of the best law schools, best medical schools, engineering schools, etc., and there is so much great innovation. I would really like to see more collaboration across schools. Our business experience would be above and beyond what it is today.

Dhruv: This may seem trivial, but the space sometimes seems too small. It can be challenging to find study rooms. And also a separation of the undergrad and grad programs in terms of building space would be helpful.

What did you do for your MAP project? How was the experience? [15:07]

Dhruv: I traveled to Peru in the foothills of Machu Picchu. I was working in a healthcare nonprofit which provides training and medical treatment in the Andean Mountains to create a sustainable business model for them. They had tour groups coming in and we wanted them to commercialize that to take advantage of the tourism industry. The experience was incredibly rewarding. I used a lot of the learnings in my internship.

Dale: I was in South America as well, working for a startup company in Brazil. The mission and vision was to bring smart capital access to start ups in developing countries, helping to connect entrepreneurs with investors through a digital platform. I got to do discovery, met with incubators, and it helped reiterate why I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Regardless of location, you’ve got that “Grind it out” mentality, and it reenergized me to work on my own venture.

Dale, you worked at Caterpillar for five years, working for an enormous organization. How did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur? [18:01]

Similar to Dhruv, my grandpa had a business as well, so entrepreneurship was part of the family. For me, working in a corporate setting with all the bureaucracy and red tape made me realize it wasn’t for me. I wanted more autonomy in my lifestyle, and the traditional 9-5 white collar job wasn’t the right fit. I knew business school would be a two-year, failsafe opportunity to start a company, and if it didn’t work I would have a top MBA and be able to find a job. I was really excited to dive in.

Tell me about BSchool Travel? How did it start? [19:21]

Dale: Travel is one of my biggest passions. We each came in with our own ideas we wanted to try out. We discovered our ideas were feasible but would require a lot of capital and venture fundraising, which we didn’t have time to do as students. Through MTrek, which almost 90% of students do, we dug into the industry and saw it was very fragmented with no dominant player in group travel. The per unit price is high so you could scale quickly and grow revenue, and we also noticed a lot of consolidation going on as well. It just seemed like a good industry to be in. We knew we could get in and execute better than others as far as the experience given that we had the MBA feel and touch. We started with a manual process to develop itineraries. As we got traction we’ve been improving the overall process.

Dhruv: The seed was planted in the summer of 2017. There is an amazing impact challenge for incoming students and we were hanging out at Dale’s apartment. I had noticed hotels didn’t seem up to par for what we were paying. Dale’s trip was half the cost of the one I was going on, so we saw there was definitely a need.

How has your Ross experience or education helped you in launching Bschool Travel? [22:38]

Dhruv: The most important aspect has been the Dare to Dream program, a three phase grant program. There are two aspects to it – one is financial and the other is a series of workshops/education to get the grant. Venture shaping required us to do 25 customer discovery interviews. Once you test that you get $500. When you do financial feasibility you get $1,500. Once you launch your business you do a 20-page business plan and you get $5,000. We’ve also been accepted to the Zell Entrepreneurs Program between Ross, Kellogg, and IDC in Israel. It is a mentorship group, we travel to Israel, and we get to pitch to Sam Zell, which comes with a $10,000 grant.

Dale: Another is one of the student-run venture funds. Being able to sit on the other end of the table and understand what a good and bad startup looks like has been helpful in my own entrepreneurial experience. One other thing I would add is courses available for entrepreneurs are great. New Venture Creation is one example where the deliverable is to pitch to the class and they decide whether to invest. It required us to do pro forma financials, which was a great learning experience. Another great course is Entrepreneurship via Acquisitions, and was really helping in learning about other vehicles of entrepreneurship other than from the ground up.

How do you manage b-school and Bschool Travel? [26:10]

Dale: It is very time consuming, but we both stay up really late which helps. A lot of the suppliers we work with are international, so time zone differences require us to stay up late anyway. Really leveraging the support from Ross is important. I’ve accelerated my coursework so I only have 2.25 credits left so I am essentially graduating early so I will have tons of time to focus on the business these next few months.

Dhruv: At the end of the day it comes down to do you really want this and is it your priority. You might miss out on a football tailgate or an evening at the bar, but it is so worth it. Not having to worry about recruiting really did open us up. This is the number one priority right now, and we hold each other accountable.

Dale: It’s incredible finding a partner as well. Having someone to hold you accountable, or when one of us is busy to rely on the other has been incredibly helpful to launch a business.

What exciting trips do they have planned for this summer? [29:17]

Dale: In a week and a half there is a Wharton trek all across India with 68 students, where we are providing all kinds of unique experiences that we were able to set up with Dhruv’s connections. With Ross we are offering a Japan, China, India, and Korea Trek and a preMBA MTrek experience. We are also working on a Stern trek to Vietnam with 35 students. We are in the planning phase with MIT, and working with several other universities.

Dhruv: Internationally we are working with HEC Paris on corporate treks. Rather than doing something on a leisure basis, they are going to Singapore to meet with companies. We are also working with universities in India and China to replicate that model.

Are you offering group tours to schools, or offering to individuals tours they can join, or both? [31:28]

Dale: We are offering primarily group travel for schools. We work with school club leaders, like the Indian Business Association will contact us, for example. We are also offering cross-MBA treks to incoming students who might otherwise go backpacking. Their friends might not have the luxury to go on a trip with them, so it is an opportunity to meet other incoming students and travel, which they are likely to do anyway, more on a leisure basis. We are also doing corporate treks to the west coast for tech companies and New York for meeting with banks, so there is no need to be a part of a group to do that.

What are your plans for the future? What if someone who is not a b-school student wants to go on one of your treks? [33:27]

Dhruv: We identified this market in the bschool area to start with since we were familiar with it, but the higher ed travel industry is $64B and student travel is $320B, so we want to be a group travel platform for students. For leisure-based trips we are thinking of making cross-disciplinary treks as well, providing cross-functional networking opportunities for the world we live in today.

You ever think of having treks to business school? [36:43]

Dale: We met with an admissions coach in Singapore and we are thinking of launching a trek to visit top business school programs in the U.S., and incorporate sightseeing along the way.

What was the most memorable travel experience you’ve had personally? [37:53]

Dhruv: For me it was to the Galapagos Islands, sophomore year in college when I went with family. We stopped by the different islands, and being a science nerd it was mesmerizing the untouched, marine life, iguanas; I want to go back.

Dale: I went to a friend’s wedding in the south central part of India, and it was the most culturally different experience I’ve ever had. The wedding was five days long and being immersed into the culture was incredible. The food was amazing and overall different experience.

What would you have liked me to ask you? [39:49]

Dhruv: I’d say, what was my most impactful class at Ross, which was Entrepreneurial Turnaround Management for MBA2s. You take a case on a distressed company and need to make a plan to turn it around. In the midst of the course I wasn’t sure how much I was getting out of it, but when it came to the final and all the elements came together it all clicked, and the seven weeks changed my way of thinking in looking at the company. It provided me with a true general management mindset.

Dale: A lot of your listeners are potential clients of ours, so how can they learn more about bschool travel and get ahold of us? Go to bschooltravel.com, where you can check out corporate treks, leisure treks, and if you already have a group in mind, we do custom travel for individual groups. We are offering scholarships for one of our trips this summer and are always looking for new students to connect with. We like to build out our network, so feel free to reach out to us with any questions on our business or business school.

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