Inevitably there are applicants each season who decide rather late in the game to apply to business school. While it’s hard to believe for those who spend months or even years preparing themselves specifically for a run at top schools, due to career focus or simple procrastination, some applicants find themselves with a short window before due dates pass.
Today, we are going to be breaking down the failure essay and the biggest reasons why everyone blows it.
We are going to walk through the 5 biggest reasons why people fail on this essay.
Paul Lanzillotti presents his analysis of the Chicago Booth business school application, Booth Moments "picture essay", and strategies for getting into the MBA program.
OK, So this blog is not only for those in the midst of their application avalanche, but also for those who applied last year and are starting b-school. My hope is that in considering these words you will be encouraged. And who doesn’t need a little encouragement these days?
Some people plan out their lives with robotic precision, including things such as graduate school in a pre-determined place on the schedule. Others adopt a take-life-as-it-comes approach, and place graduate school on the back burner, waiting until it feels right to go back. But is there an ideal age to apply to business school?
One of the most contentious components of a business school application is the part where you detail your involvement in activities outside of work. Every year, hopeful b-school applicants face down the ghost of a busy career, one which often haunts them with the fact they have had very little time to do anything other than drive work results in their job since they graduated. But how much does it really matter to the admissions committees whether or not you are engaged in your community?
While most MBA applicants approach the admissions process after several years of post-undergrad work experience, there has been a rise in “early career admissions” programs at top schools to capitalize on those who are targeting MBA programs not only before they log work experience, but also on those who have no work experience at all. These early career MBA programs in some cases admit applicants on a deferred basis, and in other cases, simply go ahead and let MBA hopefuls go ahead and start the program.
Every so often, we like to put an excerpt out there from one of our school-specific Strategy Memos. Full disclosure, the main reason to do this is to show off how we approach the process and to give potential clients a sense of what they might get (across the board, with all their schools and all the questions) if they become clients. But we also try to coordinate these with moments where we can get some really helpful strategy out there - basic, core ideas that will help people avoid pitfalls, even if they don't have help in executing perfectly. In this instance, Columbia Business School's Essay Question 2 is a nice overlap that allows us to do both. So let's dive in.
Before application season gets in full swing, many clients are beginning to reach out to their recommenders. We often get questions about the best approach to ensuring this portion of your application is the best it can be, so it might be helpful to see some tips for working with your recommenders so your end result is just that.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The stress of any approaching deadline causes some degree of anxiety, but if the task is something of monumental importance such as your application to business school, the anxiety can be downright debilitating.
Out of all the profile characteristics of business school candidates, there is one which seems to consistently rise above the rest as something admissions committees look for in an ideal candidate, and no, it’s not a 750 GMAT score.
It’s leadership.
