One of the most common reasons for rejection for business school applications is when the applicant’s career vision is not clearly connected to what they did in the past, or simply failing to convey a passionate, compelling case for why they needed the MBA.
This often comes down to a simple failure of message. It could be that the overall picture that was painted was not articulated in a way that captured the attention of the committee. How was your fit with your target programs demonstrated? Was there something in your application that communicated a poor match with their culture or curriculum? These are the questions that can truly drive you crazy, since it’s largely guesswork.
Whether or not you can isolate and address a weaknesses in your application, however, is not nearly as important as communicating to the committee what you have done since last year to make you a better candidate this year.
This is the number one most important issue to consider when re-applying. In fact, many schools will only require one essay for a re-applicant, which is basically some version of “what has changed to make you a more viable candidate?” This is where you should focus, and hopefully you recognized this task soon enough after your rejection last year so that you have spent the past 12 months making things happen to improve your candidacy. From bettering your GMAT results, to getting a promotion at work, to seeking out new leadership opportunities, there is really no limit to what you can do to improve your profile. If those efforts happen to directly address an identified weakness, even better.
Many schools show favor to re-applicants. Some say your odds go up 30% when you reapply.
Maybe schools like the determination they see, or appreciate the demonstration of passion for and commitment to their program. Or perhaps re-applicants simply work harder in the 12 months between seasons to sharpen their attractiveness as a potential MBA candidate. Whether it’s self-fulfilling prophesy or statistical advantage, there are good reasons to try again at your target schools, so long as you give some thoughtful analysis to why you didn’t make it and apply some concerted effort into new achievements to enrich your profile. You have several months ahead to get going on a new plan, and then another whole year before you’d have to matriculate. Be intentional about seeking out challenges which will truly impress the admissions committee and reveal a stark contrast and improvement over the profile you just submitted and saw rejected.
Are you a business school reapplicant?Check out our other advice on reapplying to MBA programs.
If you are looking help with your applications, please contact us via mba@amerasiaconsulting.com or at www.amerasiaconsulting.com/contact. We have seen what the competition is doing and we can say without a doubt that we go deeper, more strategic, and generate better results with our methods. Line up a call and find out for yourself.