Amerasia Consulting Group | An Insightful MBA Admissions Consulting Blog | Amerasia Consulting

application process

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The Optional Essay — When to use it, and when to lose it.

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The Optional Essay — When to use it, and when to lose it.

Many schools have become extremely restrictive on how many essays they allow you to submit. 

The crushing numbers of applicants has forced schools to streamline the evaluation process and they simply do not have the staff or time to read 1000 word essays from everyone. Of course, whether you're applying there or not, you likely know that Harvard, as an extreme example, actually has no required essays as part of their application! They allow you to submit one essay if you like, but it's not technically a requirement for consideration as an MBA applicant. While we don't recommend you submit to HBS without leveraging the essay, this approach from schools highlights the fact that every word does indeed count. 

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Why MBA Candidates Should Ditch the Phrase "Safety School"

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Why MBA Candidates Should Ditch the Phrase "Safety School"

Today we are going to take the term "Safety School" and put it through the shredder.  Reasonable minds can probably disagree on what the term should mean, but what I want to do is explain why I personally do not believe that "Safety School" should be part of an MBA applicant's lexicon.  

First, the term is used incorrectly about 90% of the time.  When applicants say "safety school," what they often mean is "a school that is really good but that hopefully I have a better chance to get into."  If you are using the term this way, just as a shorthand, that is fine but make sure that it's clarified with anyone you are working with, such as your consultant.  The real use for "safety school" should probably translate more or less to "a sure bet."  With college applicants - due to the pressure to be enrolled on an exact timeline (following high school graduation, of course) - a "safety school" is a very real thing; you simply have to pick some programs that you are sure to get into.  Often this means a program from that student's home state, sometimes with sheer numerical thresholds (lacking holistic admissions processes).  If you go to school in California and have a certain matrix of GPA and test scores, you can feel "safe" about getting into certain Cal-State programs.  That's a safety school.  Ross and Duke Fuqua are not safety schools.  Now, what if you are using the term in the right way?

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

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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.

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11th-hour MBA application advice: before you hit submit on that app

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11th-hour MBA application advice: before you hit submit on that app

Here are our list of best tips and practices before tapping submit on your apps, so you don't get caught with your pants down an hour to go before the deadline. 

We always tell our clients, do not wait until only a few days before the deadline to begin completing your online app, because you just may have an "oh-snap" type moment.

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Looking for an MBA Advantage? Consider Round 2

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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. 

Transparency is an important part of the MBA admissions process.

Transparency is an important part of the MBA admissions process.

"Pay no attention to the man (or woman) behind the curtain!” That seems to be the philosophy of most admissions offices.  But for many applicants, transparency is an important part of the admissions process. If its not, it should be.

Is an on-campus tour or MBA class visit required for admission?

Is an on-campus tour or MBA class visit required for admission?

I was recently asked "Is a campus visit required for admission?", followed up by "is it going to be viewed negatively if I don't visit?" The official party line - most admissions committees will tell you that a campus visit is not going to be considered when making admission decisions.  However, most MBA applications will ask you if you have talked to anyone from the program.  Some program apps - such as Columbia - will get a bit more granular and only ask what current students have you spoken to?"

So what is the deal with school visits and do you have to do them?

 

The Art of Transferability: brainstorming pre-MBA experiences and skills you *already possess*

The Art of Transferability: brainstorming pre-MBA experiences and skills you *already possess*

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.