US News and World Report 2010 Best Colleges

US News and World Report recently updated its annual Best Colleges ranking and research tool The 2010 Best Colleges interactive search tool allows students to search a database to find the best colleges based on the following criteria:

• public/private
• campus setting
• enrollment
• tuition and fees
• basis for financial aid awards
• test scores
• acceptance rates
• student to faculty ratios by major
• student population stats by gender and ethnicity
• student activities

Click here to access the US News and World Report 2010 Best Colleges ranking.

Forbes America’s Best Colleges

Like the US News and World Reports list, Forbes America’s Best Colleges resource provides an overall best colleges ranking based on many of the same factors. The August 2009 list of best colleges provides an at-a-glance listing of some of the best higher learning in the country.

Click here to access the Forbes America’s Best Colleges ranking.

Top Community Colleges

University’s have their place, but community colleges are also a valuable resource for many students. Washington Monthly’s Top Community Colleges ranking looks beyond the typical mainstream college guide to help students shop for a community college just as they would a larger school. Community colleges represent a significant portion of overall higher, with 43 percent of college freshmen beginning their education at two-year institutions.

Click here to access the Washington Monthly’s Top Community Colleges ranking.

Princton Review’s Best Value Colleges 2009

Few things most of us purchase will be as costly as our college educations. The Princeton Review Best Value Collegesranking helps students find the best school at the best price. The Princeton Review selects schools based on 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Tuition, room and board, and required fees, as well as book costs and other factors, are included in the financial measurement.

Click here to access the Princeton Review Best Value Colleges ranking.

Best Engineering Colleges

Because so many business students come from the engineering department, it seemed appropriate to include PayScale.com’s Best Engineering Colleges ranking here. Their focus on how much you’ll make after graduation sealed the decision. Their list of best engineering schools is ranked by post-graduate salary potential.

Click here to access the PayScale.com Best Engineering Colleges ranking.

Top Online Colleges

Online colleges are prevalent now and for good reason. Best Online Colleges ranks the Top Online Collegesto help you decipher all the choices. Completing a degree online is possibly the most convenient and expeditious way to further your education while maintaining full time employment. Online degree programs offer flexibility and are quickly being adopted by more and more students who want a learning environment that fits their needs.  

Click here to access the Best Online Colleges ranking.

Hottest Student Bodies

College is very serious business, but it’s supposed to be fun as well. That’s what you’ll find with PopCrunch’s 2009 Hottest Student Bodies ranking. Check out this list if your choice of institution is in part or in whole informed by the quality of girls on campus. (I looked for a similar list of hot guys and couldn’t find it. If you know of one, please speak up!)

Click here to access PopCrunch’s 2009 Hottest Student Bodies ranking.

This month the MBA Roundtable released the results of its 2009 MBA Curricular Innovation Study indicating that 69% of MBA programs have significantly revised the curriculum in the past four years to improve the relevancy of the degree in response to criticism that they are not preparing graduates for today’s business challenges.

What Is Relevance?

Among the 69% of MBA programs making significant revisions to their curriculum, the most common change was the addition of ‘applied content’, or project-based courses. In addition to giving students more opportunities to take their learning out of the comfortable lecture hall and into the demanding real-world business simulations, respondents also reported that integration across topics and disciplines, as well as interdisciplinary content were popular changes.

MBA Programs That Get Into Details

MBA programs have traditionally focused on equipping students with big picture concepts, eschewing fine details of specific industries for personal leadership and decision making skills. Apparently that’s changing. The MBA Roundtable data reveals that 25% of MBA degree programs have added an industry specialization in the past three years. Common emphasis areas are healthcare, biotech, medicine, and entrepreneurship. Another change: about half the programs reported that they had added a focus on leadership development (as in, developing others) and global perspectives to their offerings.

Change is Good

And the changes just keep coming. 89% of all MBA programs surveyed are planning additional curricular changes.

“I think this is very promising news,” said Rodney Alsup, president of the MBA Roundtable. “It shows that there has been a concentrated effort among MBA programs to innovate and make changes that increase their relevance to both students and employers. Furthermore, this has been done in an educational environment that can be resistant to change, or, at the very least, has approval processes that make it difficult to make changes in a timely manner. Some schools need approval from their state boards of education prior to revising their curricula, for example.”

The motivation for these changes comes from both internal and external sources, according to the study. The most common motivator by far was internal quality improvement initiatives, with 64% of participants selecting it as one of their motivators. Among external motivators, “competitor schools” was the most commonly chosen answer, with 34% of respondents choosing it as one of their motivators.

If  you want to know more, check out all the results at www.mbaroundtable.org/events_preview.html.

The Personal Potential Index

Educational Testing Service (ETS) has created the ETS Personal Potential Index (ETS PPI), a web-based evaluation system that provides graduate applicants ratings on specific personal attributes deemed by graduate and professional school deans and faculty to be critical for academic success.

The tool is the first of its kind to evaluate students’ noncognitive or personal attributes. Specifically, the testing process measures:

• Knowledge and Creativity
• Communication Skills
• Teamwork
• Resilience
• Planning and Organization
• Ethics and Integrity.

These “soft skills” are considered essential for academic success. The launch of ETS PPI marks the first large-scale use of noncognitive measures for admissions in higher education.

Michael L. Jeffries, Associate Dean of Students at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Director of McNair Scholars & Minority Student Affairs, says ETS PPI will help identify candidates that might otherwise have been missed, while expanding opportunities for a diverse range of students. The McNair Scholars Program is a national initiative aimed at increasing the number of first-generation, low-income and/or underrepresented students in Ph.D. programs.

“The graduate community needs to continue to reduce barriers to graduate education and allow more underrepresented scholars to join the ranks of the professoriate,” explains Jeffries. “To the extent that the ETS PPI will broaden opportunities for students, it is something that I strongly support.”

Early Evidence of Success

Based on more than a decade of research, ETS PPI was developed in response to requests from graduate deans and admissions professionals to address a need for noncognitive measures to evaluate applicants. The development and introduction of ETS PPI comes with the full support of the independent Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board.

ETS PPI has been piloted for the past three years through the National Hispanic Research Center’s Project 1000, a program based at the University of Arizona that seeks to increase the number of underrepresented students in graduate school. ETS PPI also was successfully used during this time by ETS for selecting candidates for its summer intern program.

According to David G. Payne, Ph.D., Vice President and COO in the ETS Higher Education & School Assessments Division, research indicates that achievement gaps that exist in standardized tests do not exist in noncognitive measures, which is why ETS PPI is seen as a tool that may help to level the playing field for students seeking graduate and professional degrees, such as an MBA.

“Solid GRE scores and undergraduate grades are very important, but they don’t provide the complete picture of a candidate’s potential,” says Payne. “We’ve known for some time, thanks to research and anecdotal evidence, that qualities like resilience and teamwork were indicators of success in graduate school. The problem was how to measure them effectively. But now, with the introduction of ETS PPI, we have a tool that allows for accurate and valid measures of these critical personal attributes.”

Ready to Be Tested?

Students who have registered for the GRE General Test after May 1, 2009 will have the option of using ETS PPI and sending up to four ETS PPI evaluation reports at no additional cost. ETS PPI is not exclusive to GRE registrants. It is also available to past GRE test takers and others for a fee of $20 per report.

Student can create an ETS PPI profile online as well as contact information for the evaluators he or she would like to complete an ETS PPI evaluation. ETS then sends an e-mail to each evaluator inviting them to access the ETS PPI system to complete the student’s evaluation. Evaluators log in to the system and respond to a series of statements to rate the student on the six personal attributes and to provide an overall rating of the student. The student is notified when each evaluation has been completed and can choose the schools to which the evaluations will be sent. ETS creates an evaluation report, and sends it to the institutions designated by the student.

Find out more here: www.ets.org/ppi

The way ETS describes the process, it sounds like an extended reference letter, but apparently the science supports the results.

What do you think about personality trait testing as a criteria for grad school admission?

The Competition

The students’ business plans were evaluated on the viability of their business model, as well as presentation and the business plan’s potential benefit to the community. 

“As an HBCU graduate I know firsthand the impact that programs such as the Ford HBCU Business Classic can have on students,” said Crystal Worthem, Multicultural Marketing Manager, Ford Brand. “The real-world solutions presented during the competition are extremely timely and will have huge positive implications on communities and businesses nationwide. We are excited to pave the way for this next generation of business leaders, and gain their perspective about the current economic situation and solutions for the domestic auto industry.”

The teams had 25 minutes to present their business plans to the judges and prove that their plan can be converted into a viable business strategy. Plans were judged by a panel of judges that included influential entrepreneurs from the business community.

“This is my second year participating in the Ford HBCU Business Classic and the students continue to impress me with the level of professional dedication that they put into their business plans,” said Dr. Randal Pinkett. “They are presenting timely real-world solutions and business models for a number of industries, including real estate, automotive, manufacturing, technology and the environment. These finalists are poised to become the business leaders of tomorrow.”

Florida A&M and Howard Take Top Prizes

Students from Florida A& M University in Tallahassee, FL, received the grand prize for their business plan for VMed LLC. This life changing company is planned to utilize technology to simplify people’s health care needs. As the grand prize winning team, the students from Florida A&M received a total of $50,000 in scholarship funds.

Howard University students presented a plan for AutoCard, a student printing company with licensing rights to incorporate university logos on student business cards. They received $30,000 in scholarships. Hajj Media, also from Howard University, took home second place honors for a plan to offer multitier marketing solution for local small businesses.

Students from Lincoln University also placed in the finals with their strategic plan for an architectural firm dealing with industrial, commercial and residential services in Philadelphia.

Got a Great Business Idea?

It’s too late for this year, but bookmark www.FordHBCU.com and plant to enter the competition next year.

A History of Excellence

Moore has been ranked among the top two in the category for the past twenty years. This year, in terms of international business, they beat out all these heavy hitters:

• University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ross)
• Columbia University
• Duke University (Fuqua)
• New York University (Stern)
• Harvard Business School
• University of Southern California (Marshall)
• University of California-Berkeley (Haas)

In addition to the top marks for their international business program, the Moore School also moved into the Top 25 among the top business schools at the nation’s public universities.

New International Programs at Moore

The latest ranking comes on the heels of the Moore’s announcement of two new international business programs for the fall.

The Master of International Business (MIB)
This a unique one-year graduate program will be offered jointly with the political science department and the School of Law to provide students with an advanced understanding of the interaction between business, government and society. Courses are approached from an interdisciplinary view so that students gain practice in applying socio-cultural, political and economic perspectives to a rich variety of international management issues including overseas trade and investment and the operation and role of multinational firms in the global economy.

International Business and Chinese Enterprise (IBCE)
This collaborative program partners with the Chinese University of Hong Kong for undergraduates and includes two years of study in Hong Kong, along with intensive language and cultural training.

“These new offerings are continuing evidence of the Moore School’s innovative leadership in international business education,” said Moore School Dean Hildy Teegen. “We are pleased that this leadership is further recognized by U.S. News and we look forward to building on this position with the development of new international programs in the future.”About The Moore School of Business

The Moore School of Business is a comprehensive business school with more than 4,200 students in its undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, and 38,000 living alumni around the world. The Executive Education program last year provided approximately 90 programs for 2,500 executives and government leaders. The Moore School’s undergraduate program in International Business is ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report and, in the category of “international experience,” the School’s MBA program is ranked second among all business schools globally and first in the U.S. by the Financial Times.

Everyone Wants an MBA

According to the the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the numbers are up. A record number of over a quarter million people took the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) in 2008. And more than 75% of full-time graduate business programs report that applications are on the rise. All this translates to stiffer competition to get into business school right now.

It also proves you’re not alone. And all those people can’t be wrong, right?

An MBA is Not a Back-Up Plan

While your motivation to go back to school may in fact be driven by your current circumstances, you can’t let those who review your application know that. Never let decision makers think you’re just trying to escape the bleak job market. The application materials must paint your quest for the MBA as part of an intentional career path strategy. Don’t forget those compelling reasons why you want an MBA, why you want to study in the particular program you’re applying to, and a clear explanation of your career goals.

Taking Advantage of the Part-Time MBA

If you still have a job, but you’re concerned about the future, you may want to complete an evening, weekend, or part time MBA program. These can be completed while still employed and help you accomplish several things:

Improve standing with your current employer.
If the time comes when your company is forced to start laying people off, do you want to be the slacker who checks out a five o’clock or the go getter who’s studying business at night and on weekends? And the beauty of online MBA programs is that you can complete a lot of your work at work on your lunch hour.

Gain valuable skills.
Not only will studying for your MBA make you look good to your superiors, if you choose the right one you will actually learn skills that you can apply right away at work, increasing your value to the organization and decreasing the likelihood that you’ll catch the ax any time soon.

Get your education subsidized.
Many employers offer tuition reimbursement programs that can significantly reduce your out of pocket costs for obtaining an MBA. Especially if you know you need the degree to advance your career, you may as well get started while you still have a job and this valuable benefit to take advantage of.

Prepare for the future.
In the worst case scenario you actually lose your job. Having more education will only help you in your search for a new one.

If you want an MBA, and you can afford it – both in time and money – go for it. You certainly won’t be lonely!

The Role of Business Plans in VC Decisions

According to a study by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, a business plan has no value as a fundraising tool. Researchers suggest that would-be moguls spend time perfecting their business rather than its representation on paper.

“Spending time and energy tweaking your business plan is a waste of resources,” said researcher David Kirsch, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship. “It’s a limited-use document that will in no way substitute for the hard work of actually building a business. You’re better off investing in your idea, your social network, finding potential investors, potential customers — the intangibles around your business that are going to make it more likely you succeed. Invest your time in any other business-building activity but working on your business plan.”

Kirsch and others pored over the business plans of more than 700 dot-com companies from the late-1990s to early-2000s boom era. They compared objective characteristics of each business plan such as its contents, team make-up and business model, and whether or not the plan ultimately received venture capital funding. This research, “Form or Substance? The Role of Business Plans in Venture Capital Decision Making,” appears in the May 2009 issue of Strategic Management Journal.

What Kirsch and his colleagues founds was that the content of the business plans didn’t predict which businesses got funded. They don’t actually recommend scrapping the business plan completely because it has value as and organizing tool. But they warn that there is no evidence that either the content or presentation of the plan influences venture capital funding decisions.

The Business Plan: Not Quite Useless

Just because the business plan won’t determine your business’ success or failure at raising start-up funds, you still have to have something to show the venture capitalists. Why?

“I think VCs like the plans because they skim them to see what people are doing — to get a sense of what entrepreneurial activity is happening,” Goldfarb said. “But an interested VC will learn the details of a business whether it is in the plan or not.”

This is bad news for all the perfectionists out there who just know if it looks pretty, it must be good. But it’s great news for the real entrepreneurs, the men and women who just want to get out there and dive into their passion. This research confirms that hard work, intuition, and a good dose of luck beats out perfect-on-paper any day.

Knock Out Your Business Plan in a Weekend

Want to get your whole business plan down on paper in a single weekend? You can do that and more at a Startup Weekendevent. This unique business environment is ‘no talk, all action’. Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54-hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.

Founded in 2007 by Andrew Hyde, the weekend is a concept of a conference focusing on learning by creating. It is known for its quick decisions, unique facilitation technique, and letting business founders show off their talents. There have been events in Boulder, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Houston, West Lafayette, Boston, DC and on June 5-7 they’re coming to a city near you. If your town isn’t on the list, you can start your own.

When you attend a Startup Weekend you decide what you want to work on over the weekend and come out at the end with several developed companies or projects. Can you start? It’s worth a weekend to find out!

Startup Weekend World #2 Challenge from Andrew on Vimeo.

Do You Really Need an Admissions Consultant?

According to Stacy Blackman, most applicants to top business schools are qualified to attend. That doesn’t mean everyone gets in. The role of consultants like Blackman is to make sure your application stands out. Blackman and others offer personalized services that are also customized to the schools the student is applying to.

Consultants can help with everything from developing a strategy to assisting with essay writing and interview coaching. Premium services can include planning campus visits, coordinating school communications, and access to online resources to make your application as good as it can be.

If you’re thinking these services don’t come cheap, you’re right. That’s where the competition can help.

Beat the GMAT Competition

Qualified prospective MBA candidates can bow compete for scholarship packages that include GMAT preparation courses as well as expert consultation by a business school admissions consultant. The fourth annual 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition is open for submissions. Applications will be accepted until May 8th.

Applicants must have completed college or be in their final year of college, and plan to attend business school within two years. 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition is open to U.S. and international candidates.

“In these difficult economic times, there is a surge in business school applications, making it increasingly competitive to get into business school. We aim to support deserving candidates with this scholarship program,” said Stacy Blackman, President of Stacy Blackman Consulting.

Stacy Blackman Consulting and her team of professionals have hands on admissions experience, MBA’s from top schools, and strong writing and marketing skills. They’ve helped prospective students gain admission to every top business school in the world and they’re partnering with Manhattan GMAT to offer the prizes for the competition.

Enter to Win Free Services

The Beat the GMAT competition provides potential business school students with financial help assistance to help them achieve their educational goals by awarding the following prizes:

• First prize ($5,490 value): $500 cash, one full Manhattan GMAT course, 1 school comprehensive package with Stacy Blackman (business school admissions consultant).
• Second prize ($2,310 value): $500 cash, one full Manhattan GMAT course, 2,500-word editing service with Stacy Blackman.
• Third prize ($2,210 value): $500 cash; one full Manhattan GMAT course; 1,000-word editing service with Stacy Blackman.
• Fourth prize ($2,020 value): $500 cash, one full Manhattan GMAT course; copy of the MBA APPLICATION ROADMAP book by Stacy Blackman.
• Fifth prize ($2,020 value): $500, one full Manhattan GMAT course.

So how do  you enter? This link takes you directly to the 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition site.

Applying is as simple as writing an essay. And if you find a consultant for that, let us know!

Passing the series of CFA exams demonstrates that you have the technical skills to succeed in asset or investment management, specifically in the field of investment banking. Getting your MBA prepares you for a broad range of challenges in the business world, especially the so called ‘softer’, yet crucially important leadership and people skills.

The MBA and CFA are actually quite complimentary designations.  This is why the CFA Institute has created specialized resources to help university offer the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) as part of their business programs. The following North American colleges and universities currently offer CBOK curriculum.

Northeast

• Baruch College, The City University of New York, Executive MS in Financial Statement Analysis and Securities Valuation
• Boston University, Master of Science in Investment Management
• Cornell University, MBA Program at the Johnson School of Management  University of North
• University of Pittsburgh, MBA with Concentration in Finance Program
• Fordham University, Bachelor of Science in Finance 
• University of Rhode Island, Bachelor of Science, Major in Finance 

Southeast

• Georgia Institute of Technology, Master of Business Administration 
• University of Richmond,  BS in Finance 
• Carolina at Chapel Hill, Master of Business Administration, Concentration in Investment Management
• University of Virginia, B.S. in Commerce with a Concentration in Finance
• University of Florida, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Finance Master of Science in Finance
• Virginia Tech, BS in Finance

Midwest

• University of Kansas, Bachelor of Science in Business, Major in Finance
• University of Missouri at Columbia, Bachelor of Business Administration, Emphasis in Finance 
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, CFA Track within the Finance Major 
• Creighton University, Master of Security Analysis and Portfolio Management     
• Marquette University, Applied Investment Management Program 
• Michigan State University, Bachelor of Arts in Finance MBA Program 
• Saint Louis University, John Cook School of Business, Bachelor of Science in Finance, Financial Analyst Track 
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master of Business Administration, Applied Securities Analysis Program 
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Master of Science in Finance

West

• University of San Francisco, MS in Financial Analysis
• University of Southern California, MBA
• Texas Tech University, Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance Major with Investments Emphasis

Canada

• Concordia University, Goodman Institute of Investment Management MBA Program
• Université de Sherbrooke, M.Sc. in Finance
• Université Laval, Bachelor of Administration with Finance Major MBA Finance

Key Word for Student Investors: Prudent

The Cayuga Fund’s strong performance was driven primarily by what Cornell MBAs describe as a ‘prudent risk management strategy’ that had shorts and longs performing comparably for the year.

“In spite of governmental efforts to prop up the financial industry and by extension, the equity markets, the economic picture remains very challenging and we expect this trend to continue throughout 2009. The Cayuga Fund intends to remain focused on generating absolute return through a combination of selective stock-picking and prudent risk management.” 

The top long performer (at at fourth quarter return of 65%) was Yanzhou Coal Mining Company (YCZ). This Chinese company mines, prepares, transports, and sells coal. It’s done well amid the growing global demand for inexpensive sources of energy.

The best short performer was American Apparel (APP), generating a return of 76 % in the last quarter. This company manufactures, distributes, and retails casual wear apparel for men, women, and children. Despite a weak retail segment, APP has performed well relative to many of its peers.

MBA Hedge Fund Creates Opportunities for Students

Cornell’s Johnson School created the Cayuga MBA Fund as an investment vehicle that aims to provide a competitive rate of return to its investors, but also serves to offer educational and professional opportunities to the Johnson School MBA students. By combining the cutting-edge research of faculty members with the participation of student portfolio managers, the fund provides a return far greater than that which is received by its investors.

Student portfolio managers, quantitative analysts, traders, and an investor relations manager all manage the fund under the guidance of faculty and outside investment advisers. Together, they work to achieve consistent positive returns that are uncorrelated with equity market benchmarks, and to maintain significantly lower volatility than the broader market.

Parker Center the Envy of Wall Street

The Cayuga MBA Fund also benefits from the support of Cornell’s Parker Center, which is a classroom for real-time stock quotes, international data feeds, and financial analysis software and data. This center is valued at more than $1.8 million per year in licensing fees. Representatives from Cornell say it’s as good as, if not better than, the resources found at many Wall Street firms. With this kind of return, who could argue?

What’s the lesson here? Either get yourself to business school, or give you money to someone who’s already there!