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While many managers think of August as the month for lying on a beach and soaking up the sun, for those considering an MBA, it is the month to dust down the CV, write application essays and sit the GMAT, the entry exam for business school.
8月对许多经理人而言是躺在沙滩上晒太阳的日子，但对那些准备考MBA的人来说，这个月是翻出简历、写申请信和参加GMAT考试（商学院的入学考试）的时候。
This year, however, it's all change as many of the world's top schools have radically altered their application processes. Innovation is the buzzword, says Chioma Isiadinso, chief executive of Expartus, the business school admissions consultancy. "In the 15 years I've been in this industry I have never seen this level of change," she says.
不过，今年有了很大变化。许多世界顶级商学院对申请程序做了大幅改革。商学院申请咨询公司Expartus首席执行官基奥玛•伊西亚丁索(Chioma Isiadinso)说，现在流行的是创新。她说："入行15年以来，我从未见过这么大幅度的改变。"
At the front of the pack is Harvard Business School and where Harvard leads, others inevitably follow. MBAs who hope to be awarded one of its 920 coveted places for entry in 2013 will now only have to submit two essays instead of the previous four, says Dee Leopold, managing director for MBA admissions. Essay-writing it seems is now considered an anachronistic and often irrelevant skill for the 25 or 27-year-olds applying to business school.
领头的是哈佛商学院(Harvard Business School)，而该院总是引领着商学院发展的方向。哈佛商学院MBA招生办常务理事迪伊•利奥波德(Dee Leopold)说，哈佛商学院2013年计划招生920人（名额宝贵），申请者如今只需提交两篇申请短文(essay)，而以前要求4篇。商学院似乎认为，如今要求25至27岁的申请者具备写短文的技巧，似乎已经有些过时和没有必要了。
"It [the revised process] is really meant to be something more germane to what is happening today," says Ms Leopold. "I think and I've said this before, this isn't an essay-writing contest."
"这（指修改申请程序）其实是为了适应当今时代。"利奥波德说，"我想我以前就说过，申请MBA不是在比赛写文章。"
Other top schools are also reducing the essay count. MIT Sloan students of the class of 2015, who will be submitting applications in the next few months, will only have to submit two essays, down from three last year and at the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania the essay count is also down from three to two.
其他一些顶级商学院也在降低申请短文的重要性。麻省理工学院斯隆商学院(MIT Sloan)2015年级MBA申请者（学生须在未来几个月内提交申请）只需提交两篇申请短文（去年要求3篇），宾夕法尼亚大学(University of Pennsylvania)沃顿商学院(Wharton school)也将要求的申请短文数量从3篇减到了两篇。
Derrick Bolton, MBA admissions director at Stanford, believes that this is just the tip of the iceberg. "Schools are finally beginning to catch up with the world around them. I think you'll see a lot more changes in the next four or five years."
斯坦福大学MBA招生主任德里克•博尔顿(Derrick Bolton)认为，这只是冰山一角。"商学院终于开始跟随周围世界的脚步而动了。我认为，在未来四到五年里，还会出现更多变化。"
The moves reflect a shift by top schools from written submissions to interviews, believes Graham Richmond of Clear Admit, the MBA admissions consultancy. This is particularly true at Harvard and Wharton.
MBA申请咨询公司Clear Admit的格雷厄姆•里士满(Graham Richmond)认为，这些改变反映了顶级商学院招生思路的变化——从看重书面申请材料向看重面试表现转变。这种情况在哈佛商学院和沃顿商学院身上体现得特别明显。
The 1,800 Harvard applicants who are invited to interview will be required to submit a memo reflecting on the interview within 24 hours.
今年获得面试邀请的1800名哈佛商学院申请者，必须在面试结束24小时内提交一份"记录"(memo)，阐述自己对面试的感受。
"This is meant to give them the last word," says Ms Leopold. She admits, though, that the move has unnerved many potential applicants.
利奥波德说："这样做是想让申请者最后发挥一把。"不过，她承认，这种做法吓到了许多潜在的申请者。
Wharton will become the first top US school to introduce a group interview process this year – IMD in Switzerland already does this. The team-based discussions, which will be conducted in Philadelphia and in hub cities around the world, will enable potential students to demonstrate qualities, such as working in a team, that are otherwise difficult to assess.
今年，沃顿将成为美国第一家引入小组面试程序的顶级商学院——瑞士洛桑国际管理发展学院(IMD)已经采取了这种做法。小组讨论将在费城和全球主要城市举行，这种做法能够让申请者展示一些通过别的方式很难展示的优点，比如团队合作能力。
Ankur Kumar, director of MBA admissions, says pilots conducted by Wharton suggest the process will be positive.
沃顿商学院MBA招生主任安库尔•库马尔(Ankur Kumar)说，从试行结果来看，这种做法的效果应该还不错。
"We think they [applicants] will enjoy doing this with us."
"我们认为他们（申请者）会喜欢我们的新程序。"
While schools insist that the changes are intended to reflect better the behaviour of Generation Y applicants, there are nagging concerns that there is a lowering of the entry barriers to encourage more applications. The past few years have been sluggish, with even top schools reporting static or falling applications.
尽管商学院坚称，新变化是为了更好地反映Y世代(Generation Y)申请者的行为，但有一种声音不绝于耳——人们担心，商学院是为了鼓励更多人申请而降低了入学门槛。过去几年经济一直不景气，就连顶级商学院的申请人数也出现了停滞不前或下降的现象。
Ms Isiadinso believes that schools will not want to report declining applications for a further year.
伊西亚丁索认为，商学院肯定不希望下一年的申请人数再次出现下降。
"I can't imagine any director of admissions going into the dean and saying the numbers are down two years in a row and say it's OK because the quality is up."
"我无法想象有哪位招生主任会走进院长办公室，说，虽然招生人数连续两年下降，但没关系，因为我们的质量上去了。"
Many schools are also opening the applications process earlier to encourage more applicants. London Business School opens applications this week – two months earlier than in previous years. Oliver Ashby, senior recruitment and admissions manager, says that the move brings LBS into line with top US schools.
许多商学院还提早了开始接受申请的时间，以鼓励更多人申请。伦敦商学院(London Business School)近日已经开始接受申请——比往年提前了两个月。该院资深招生主管奥利弗•阿什比(Oliver Ashby)说，这样就与美国顶级商学院一致了。
"It's really because our US competitors open so much earlier. People want to apply all in one go. I'm here to increase applications numbers," he says. "I'd hate that people didn't apply because it is inconvenient."
"其实是因为我们的美国竞争者们开始接受申请的时间比我们早太多。一般人都希望一次性申请完。我的职责是增加申请者人数。"阿什比说，"我不希望看到，有人因为觉得申请两次太麻烦而没有申请我们学校。"
What is clear is that if would-be MBAs apply to a number of schools, the process is likely to be very different – and involve a lot of work. Some schools allow applicants to submit a PowerPoint presentation rather than an essay, others encourage applicants to add links to personal blogs, while other applicants can submit video essays.
有一件事是明摆着的：如果那些未来的MBA申请了多所商学院，他们可能遇到多种彼此差异极大的申请程序，因此涉及的工作量也会很大。一些商学院允许申请人提交PowerPoint的演示文件、而不用提交申请短文，还有一些商学院鼓励申请人在个人主页上增加一些链接。有的申请者可以提交视频形式的"申请短文"。
"Communications skills and presentation skills are going to be a lot more important than written communications in the future," says Martin Boehm, MBA director at IE Business School in Madrid.
位于马德里的西班牙企业学院(IE Business School)MBA主任马丁•伯姆(Martin Boehm)说："以后沟通技巧和演示技巧将比书面交流技巧重要得多。"
At NYU Stern applicants are encouraged to show their artistic side by submitting a creative project instead of one of the essays, says Isser Gallogly, assistant dean for MBA and EMBA admissions. This could be a video, a sculpture or some other art project.
纽约大学斯特恩商学院(NYU Stern)主管MBA和EMBA招生事务的副院长伊塞尔•加洛格利(Isser Gallogly)说，该院鼓励申请者展示自己文艺的一面，提交"富有创意的材料"，而不是普通的申请短文。所谓"富有创意的材料"可以是视频，可以是雕塑，也可以是别的什么艺术作品。
And even the traditional essay question has been replaced by the quirky. Out are questions on leadership and management style to be replaced by ones on what you would do if your work was cancelled for three hours or even what song best expresses your personality.
就连传统申请短文的命题也开始变得古怪。有关领导力和管理风格的问题不流行了，取而代之的是这样的问题：如果有三个小时不用工作，你会干什么？甚至是这样的问题：哪首歌最能诠释你的个性？
