A book such as this is truly a collaborative effort. Many of the ideas and insights presented here belong not to me, but to the extraordinary business school admissions individuals who generously agreed to share their insights and essays with me.
I am particularly indebted to three schools for jumping into this project from the get-go. Their can-do attitude made the success of this project much more probable.
At Babson College, a sincere thanks goes to Kate Klepper, Director of MBA Admissions, Olin Graduate School of Business.
At the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business, I am especially grateful to Don Martin, Director of Admissions, and to Allan Friedman, Director of Executive Communications.
At the Tuck School of Business, my deepest thanks go to Kiki Keating, Director of Public Relations, and to Kristine Laca, Director of Admissions.
Other business school folks who provided thoughtful inspiration and essay materials are:
Glenn Berman, Director of Admissions, Rutgers Business School at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Pamela Black-Colton, Assistant Dean for MBA Admissions and Administration, William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester
Evan Bouffides, Assistant Dean and Director, MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, Olin School of Business, Washington University in St. Louis
Erin Ernst, MBA Admissions Director, Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington
Ute Frey, Haas School of Business, University of California—Berkeley
Rod Garcia, MBA Admissions Director, Sloan School of Management, MIT
Daniel Garza, Director of Marketing, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
Christine Gill, Director of Marketing and Admissions, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
Rebekah Lewin, Director of Admissions, Simon School of Business, University of Rochester
Brian T. Lohr, Director of MBA Admissions, Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame
John McLaughlin, Assistant MBA Admissions Director, Sloan School of Management, MIT
Linda Meehan, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Columbia Business School, Columbia University
Mark Miester, Editor, Office of University Publication, Tulane University
Erin L.C. Nickelsberg, Director, Admissions and Recruitment, Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin
Emile Pilafidis, MBA Program Director, Peter F. Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University
Bill Sandefer, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University
Barbara Schneider, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Crosby MBA Program, University of Missouri
Melanie Standridge, Assistant Director of Marketing and Recruiting, Peter
F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University
Mary Spreen, Director of Admissions, Henry B. Tippie School of Management, University of Iowa
Matt W. Turner, PhD, Director of Admissions, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin
Sherry Wallace, Director, MBA Admissions, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jeanne Wilt, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Career Development, University of Michigan
Jenni Winslow and Lisa Guglielmi, first-year students at Haas School of Business, University of California—Berkeley
Heartfelt thanks goes to my editors who were instrumental in bringing this book to fruition. I’d also like to thank Rob Franek for the opportunity to write another book. He’s so good. He is Hollywood.
A small circle of friends and family also needs to be acknowledged.
My children tried to endure my immersion in this project. My youngest, still at home, felt my best work would be done with her at my side. Despite an arsenal of distractions, she could not be deterred from rollerblading over my toes during phone interviews. I truly could claim that this book took blood, sweat, and tears.
That said, both of my daughters desire to be famous, so here goes: Kaela and Lexi, thank you for letting me do my work. You make the difference in my life.
Thanks also go to my dearest friends, Janine Molinaro and Susan Smotrich, for seeing me through several crises; my father, Dr. Irving Buchen, for providing thoughts on being a great writer; Livingston Johnson, who dropped everything to retrieve a document sent into computer oblivion; and Peter and Leslie Tilles for generously offering their home to my children so that I could write.
Final thanks go to my husband (and Harvard MBA), Paul Gilbert. I promised him I would not involve him in this book. I failed him miserably.