Applicant Strategy

Are you a dream weaver or a vision caster?

Are you a dream weaver or a vision caster?

So many applicants these days look alike on paper in terms of experience and education, test scores and outside involvement that even highly qualified candidates get lost in the shuffle.  We all think we’re pretty unique until we find out that the next guy also volunteered at a similar NGO, or was promoted to VP before his colleagues.  Particularly if you come from a feeder industry such as banking, finance or technology/engineering, it gets harder every year to stand out. 

Can I Quit My Job to Get Ready for B-school?

Can I Quit My Job to Get Ready for B-school?

Lots of folks ask about quitting their jobs when applying to business school, but are there reasons for doing so that will not put off the admissions committees?  Perhaps.

Applying to B-school Straight out of Undergrad

Applying to B-school Straight out of Undergrad

This time of year is replete with many young candidates who want to apply to business school directly out of undergrad.  Is this possible?  In some cases, yes it is. 

How to prepare for Application Season

How to prepare for Application Season

While for those who just finished off their third round b-school applications, it’s already time for others to begin thinking about “next season.”  Application season begins in earnest after all of last year’s applications are processed, and every final offer of admission is made and filled. 

What is your MBA reapplication strategy?

What is your MBA reapplication strategy?

Many schools show favor to re-applicants.  Some say your odds go up 30% when you reapply.  

Advice on re-applying to b-school

Advice on re-applying to b-school

Finding out you got rejected from your dream school often raises interesting questions. Should you settle for your second or third choice, or should you hold fast to your MBA dream and re-apply to the same school(s) again next season?

Advice on How to Navigate the MBA Waitlist

Advice on How to Navigate the MBA Waitlist

Despite the name “waitlist,” there are several things you can do besides simply wait for your dream school to call.  From a strategic standpoint, sitting in a state of limbo gives you the opportunity to improve your profile or status as a candidate, and such improvements can and should be communicated to the admissions committees. 

How the Waitlist Works

How the Waitlist Works

This time of year, many applicants find themselves stuck in the waitlist process at one or more schools, which can be a very slow and painful waiting period.   Not only are you competing for fewer and fewer seats, you are doing so against everyone on the waitlist all the way back from round one as well as any fresh, new applicants from the final rounds. 

5 Steps for Negotiating Your Offer of MBA Admission (Updated)

5 Steps for Negotiating Your Offer of MBA Admission (Updated)

Today's blog post builds on a post I've been working on for years, where I continue to add thought about the art of negotiating your MBA offer of admission.  I've long said that "negotiation" is not what you do when it comes to securing more financial aid from a business school.  The term of art for what you are going to be doing is "asking."  Let me explain and try to add clarity around questions that often come up.

Round Three is History--Or Is It?

Round Three is History--Or Is It?

As of this week, most round three application windows are closed across the top MBA programs, but don't think this means you can't still apply.

Don't be Redundant, and Whatever you do, Don't Repeat Yourself

Don't be Redundant, and Whatever you do, Don't Repeat Yourself

With the trend towards shorter essays, There has been a phenomenon in the applications which can only be described as “redundancy.”  Shortening the essays has resulted in more questions and even mini-essays or micro-essays within the application itself, where often applicants end up repeating information about themselves that is found elsewhere in the application.

Avoid the Biggest MBA App Mistake: Market Your Transferable Skills!

Avoid the Biggest MBA App Mistake: Market Your Transferable Skills!

Today we want to talk about arguably the biggest and most common mistake we see on MBA applications, which is failing to market transferable skills.  More importantly, we want to talk about how to fix that problem. 

In working with clients of all age, gender, nationality, and industry, one thing we're always trying to do is identify things that connect everyone - common elements that become and remain true, regardless of differences. To be honest, there aren't many such elements. Almost everything about the MBA admissions process is a contextual exercise. You can almost never divorce a unique applicant or a specific school from your analysis. It's part of the reason this is such a difficult endeavor for people, part of the reason why so many admissions consultants do a horribly incomplete job of advising candidates, and a huge part of the reason why admissions consulting even exists. You have to do a lot of things right and you have to do them with great contextual specificity.  If you confront "one size fits all" advice, typically you can sprint away from that as fast as possible.

That said, there is one universal truth that we have uncovered that seems largely overlooked by the rest of the MBA admissions landscape and that is how enormously important it is to abide by what we call the Art of Transferability.

MBA Application Advice: How to Build a Compelling Work History

MBA Application Advice: How to Build a Compelling Work History

One of the most important profile characteristics for any b-school applicant is their work history.

Unlike Law School, Medical School and just about every other terminal degree or master’s level program, business school requires students to come with some kind of work experience under their belts in order to “qualify.”

MBA Application Advice: Innovation is more than launching products

MBA Application Advice: Innovation is more than launching products

In addition to being a strong leader, a team player and an all-around impressive contributor to the workplace, business schools are looking for innovative thinkers. Of course, entrepreneurs have a fairly easy time convincing the adcoms they are innovative, after all, starting up a company, especially one which has shown some success, takes a lot of ingenuity. 

But what about intra-preneurship?

MBA Application Advice: Procrastination is the Enemy

MBA Application Advice: Procrastination is the Enemy

Although it seems as though application deadlines are an eternity away, the cutting realization that you’re running out of time will inevitably set in if you are a procrastinator. 

MBA Application Advice: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Impact

MBA Application Advice: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Impact

When it comes to conveying your marketing message to the admissions committees at top business schools, it is important to relate your various profile characteristics in a meaningful way.Often, applicants are naturally very good at doing this in either a quantitative or qualitative way, but it’s actually important to do both.

Applying Round 1 vs. Round 2 — Why You Might Want to Wait.

Applying Round 1 vs. Round 2 — Why You Might Want to Wait.

In the last post, we discussed the virtues of applying in round one, but there are a few reasons why you might want to consider applying in round two instead. Firstly, you should be considering your personal readiness to submit an application no matter what strategy you employ for timing.

Tips for reapplying to business school: Getting feedback, determining why you got dinged

Tips for reapplying to business school: Getting feedback, determining why you got dinged

If you have decided to give another attempt at a school where you were rejected, one of the most valuable things you can seek is feedback on why you didn’t make the cut last time.

Some schools will actually provide this information if you ask for it, so don’t be shy about reaching back to them.

Why You Just Got Dinged (Probably) from Business School

Why You Just Got Dinged (Probably) from Business School

Other than "bad luck" or "well, this school is one of the hardest in the world to get into" or "you never should have applied to this school," these are the three most common reasons that people get dinged.  Put differently, they are the three reasons you could have avoided:

Looking for an MBA Advantage? Consider Round 2

Looking for an MBA Advantage? Consider Round 2

I've been having this conversation a lot lately with individual clients, so I thought I'd take it out wide.

Basically, the idea is that Round 2 might be offering a slight advantage, based on theories of market inefficiencies and so forth.  For years, I would say the prevailing belief is that Round 1 is the best round in which to apply to business and while there is no hard-core evidence to suggest otherwise, some common sense and deduction may point to a different result.  So let's quickly run this down.