Being selected in round three is akin to finding a unicorn.
It’s common knowledge that Round three at top business schools is the most difficult round in which to be selected. Not only are all the slots nearly accounted for, but also you are often competing with the most highly qualified applicants.
It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: Round three scares off MBA applicants because it’s hard to get in, leaving only the most highly qualified applicants to try. This in turn makes it even harder to get in. In the prior post, we mentioned how difficult it is to guess what the schools need to round out their class, but the schools are in just as tough a spot: finding the unicorn that fits the exact profile they are missing.
Far and away, the most compelling candidate in round three is the one with the most unique profile attributes.
You might think your background working on an oil rig in Alaska might not be competitive when compared to a Wall Street financial analyst or banker, but it’s actually just the opposite. It’s likely you are the only oil rig candidate in the mix, which makes you super unique. Remember that b-school does not require a background in business. No prior business knowledge is even necessary. While it would help you tremendously to succeed in business school if you have a core understanding of accounting and statistics, it’s not required that you have any specific business experience.
Having a demonstrated knowledge of mathematics is a real plus.
You could be a window-washer in Manhattan and be a highly sought-after candidate if you nail the quantitative portion of the GMAT. Having quant skills tells the adcoms that you will be able to hang with the busy curriculum and won’t hinder yourself nor your classmates when you begin drinking from the proverbial firehose. If you didn’t have a lot of math in college, you should work hard on nailing down the GMAT or GRE quant section since this will become your only demonstrable evidence of numerical prowess. Lacking quant skills is probably the single most dangerous profile characteristic to lack.
So if you are considering a round three application, you should first ask yourself how truly unique you feel your profile really is. If your honest assessment reveals you are fairly average in your achievements and pursuit, you may want to defer until fall for a better run at the roses.
For information on how we can guide your business school application process, email us at mba@amerasiaconsulting.com or go to http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/contact