Columbia Business School has released their deadlines and essay prompts for the 2017-18 MBA admissions season. This year, there have been some more significant changes to the essay prompts and what they want to learn from applicants.

We love when a new essay prompt comes out that is an immediate challenge for our team! Berkeley-Haas School of Business released their questions for the 2017/18 application cycle. The first question on this year's application is “Tell us a six-word story that reflects a memorable experience in your life-to-date. Elaborate on why it is meaningful to you.” The challenge immediately went out to our team to answer the six-word story question, with fun results.

Have you ever wondered what drives you to succeed? At ProValues we discovered that when our users align their jobs with their career values and ensure their minimum requirements are met, that they are more likely to be satisfied in their career. Being more satisfied with your career has typically resulted in our clients being more engaged and productive employees.

Last week, I had the pleasure of “job interviewing” some students at my daughter's school as part of one of her class’ activities. While I had originally volunteered simply to help out, I ended up with so many insights about interviewing talent development and poise. I was amazed how much 9-year olds had to teach me (and hopefully you)!

Close your eyes and imagine yourself one year from today. Have you gotten in to any of your top-3 choices? Did you earn scholarships? Are you already connected with peers or faculty to hit the ground running at your chosen school? Assuming you want to answer "yes" to any or all of these questions, when did you start the process?