Below: The ceiling of the Chicago GSB winter garden! Click here for more pictures!
MBA entrance to Universities in the United States are decided by the complete 'package' of personal characteristics, professional growth apart from the numbers.
There are several business school admission resources available free on the Internet. The one that I benefitted from is:
Business Week Magazine, business school section. The magazine regularly carries feature on business school admissions. The businessweek message board on the website is a popular forum for applicants and admissions officers. They now have a paid section called "MBA Insider". They charged $30, and I found the advice there to be not worth anything more. (This section was free earlier)
Books:
1. How to get into the top Business schools by Richard Montauk. (Although published a while ago,
the basic rules of the game remain the same)
2. The mba game plan - authored by two recent graduates, i found
the school specific information as well as a background specific information (e.g. international
students, engineers, etc.) very useful.
What do schools look for?
In retrospect, the important thing one must realize is - schools are looking
for bright students who are ambitious, humble, and will graduate as successful
and grateful alumni who will contribute to the school in the future. Schools
look for definite signs of these qualities in the application, through work
history or extra curricular activities. Also, Schools seek to maintain diversity
in the entering class, which means a class can have only so many internationals,
bankers, etc. in a class. It is important to keep these points in mind while
working through the application process. While a decent GMAT score (700 and
above could be the guidance, most schools don't seem to care much beyond that)
and a good educational background are a pre-requisite, distinguishing oneself
by articulating one's unique experiences is key to gaining admission.
I have compiled a FAQ below, things that I should have realized sooner:
Applying early matters
Much has been said about applying early. The simple rule is, there are simply more seats to fill in
the first round. In my case, when I applied for the second round, it appeared that
some schools had already filled the "Indian male" seats in the first round. On the other hand
if the school is unsure about you in the first round, you will be waitlisted. So applying early
can only benefit you. Having said that, one should not compromise application quality for an earlier deadline. Schools do admit many applicants in the third round.
Schools read essays: (and only essays!)
It appeared to me that the schools just give recommendations only a passing glance, and as long as they
do not have a red flag, you are good. Schools know that a number of recommendations are written
by the applicants themselves. Do not expect any "completely new information" in your recommendation
to be considered, it may be skipped.
Every weakness can be handled
Each applicant has some weaknesses to worry about. (I had my unimpressive GPA, discussed later) Explicitly
try to spin a compelling story to overcome your weakness, and do address it somewhere in the application.
Do not expect it to be overlooked - or chances are that you will hear about it in the denial feedback!
Countering a non-stellar GPA
That is a very popular question from people who partied too much in their undergratuate program. You can address this point in an optional essay where you may point out your academic achievements and motivation not obvious from your transcript. If you did very well in certain types of courses, and you have demonstrated strong academic interest through some certifications you earned in your professional career, definitely bring it up here (complete some courses if you have time, a CFA certification does not hurt if you are dreaming about finance!). Besides, you can have a supervisor comment on your continuous pursuit for self learning. I think these points can effectively counter the adcom's suspicion about your motivation.
I cannot write! I know the points I should make, but I am simply cannot
pen them down
That is a classic engineer problem. Look at what current MBA students say about
their experience (these are easily available in brochures). Spend a week and
you should be comfortable (at least I was, and I had never written anything
remotely creative after my 8th grade). Refrain from using any flowery knowledge,
it should be logical and easy to comprehend. Do not take writing advice from
a script writer or a poet - their approach to writing is more likely to be too
flowery! MBA students / MBAs are the best bet. If you have the dope, you could
approach admissions consultants who often charge 2000 $
The bottomline:
Try to distinguish yourself! Spend time to think what you have done differently, what makes you tick. Candid
stories always stand out, jargon goes to the trash.
If you are an international student from a developing country, be explicit about what you will bring to the
table. Did you grow up in a village? Write about the basic philosophies in life that you learnt growing up. Did you
do something big in junior school that you still remember? See if you learnt anything convincing and write about
it. In the end the adcom should feel you bring something special to the table.
If your work is not interesting enough to talk about in a bar (e.g. you were
a fixed income software developer like I was, or perhaps you were an account)
restrict discussing your work to 40% space, make everything else personal. Remember,
it is not likely that your application reader is going to be from your insdustry!
More Random thoughts
MBA Application for people from specialized industries - keep the jargon
away
I cannot emphasize this enough! Do a reality check with someone who is not from your industry, a number of terms and ideas
that could be obvious to persons from your industry could mean greek and latin
to the typical liberal arts adcom reader.
I made this mistake, and have seen it in other applications that I have reviewed. If English is not your mother tongue, it might be worth seeking comments from a native English speaker.
Update - Unusual essay questions:
I have seen applicants getting baffled by questions such as "if you were in someone else's shoes" or "suggest a mascot for the GSB". It is easy to get sidetracked by such a question - here some unsolicited advice.
Every essay question is an opportunity for you to let the Adcom know more about yourself. If you want to say you would like to be in Gandhi's shoes, do not spend valuable space talking about Gandhi.
Most of the space (> 80% )should be devoted to talking about yourself. An approach that is easy to take is - writing an interesting story explaining how the story reflects the values of the chosen person.
Update - ideas for leadership and teamwork essays
In my opinion, a great way of approaching such essays is to highlight the
human aspect. For example, rather than say how you identified a business opportunity
and did well to make $$$, highlight how you understood your team members psyche
and took a humble approach to handle a situation. Such essays will always get
high marks on the maturity front. Afterall, the business world is all about
understanding the behaviour of people around you.
If you follow these basic principles, admissions process should be fun!
last updated on Dec 18, 2004
(c) Pratyoosh. All opinions expressed here are my personal, and use them at
your own risk.
Below: The ceiling of the Chicago GSB winter garden! Click here
for more pictures!