5 Thoughts for MBA Admissions

A few months ago, I published a post, “50 Things Veterans Should Know Before Applying for an MBA” for those of you about to apply to business school. For most schools, the deadline just passed for Round 1 Applications, and so I wanted to do a follow-on post to help those amidst the struggle of trying to get into a top business school.

1. Interview Prep is Crucial

Don’t shortchange this or think you can wing it.

My general opinion is that interviews are more likely to hurt people than help them. If you interview poorly or cannot articulate cogent answers, that will look poorly on you as an applicant. But if you do well, I don’t think it helps that much.

I do think, however, that a GREAT interview can help you. If you prepare well, are confident, did your research on the school, and can carry a conversation well then that can carry some extra weight. Even if it doesn’t, it definitely will not hurt you.

Prepping for the interview:

• You have to know the school. Know their values, what the dean is talking about at town halls, and what makes that school different.

• You should be able to knock the questions “Why get an MBA?” and “Why our school?” out of the park. Trust me, they are coming. Do not leave any doubt in the interviewer’s mind that you know why.

• Have a great answer for your short and long-term goals. Again- these are definitely coming. Still unsure? Pick an answer for now and stick to it. Own it. Breathe it. Believe it. And then let yourself change your mind after you get accepted.

• Always check out Clear Admit’s depository of interview reviews.

2. Help Your Recommenders As much As Possible

Your job is to make their job as easy as possible.

Do the homework on what each school you are applying to requires. Cross reference that and share with your recommenders the similarities between the schools. Here is an example similar to what I shared to mine:

Taking a look at my three schools, if you can answer these three questions, then you will be 85% of the way there for all of them:

• Tell me about your and Mark’s professional relationship

• Tell me about Mark’s performance relative to his peers

• Would you recommend him for a graduate education?

Here are three example from our time together that you can use:

• Example 1

• Example 2

• Example

After that, you should expect to get a separate email from Haas that will have a table of attributes you need to rank me on.

That was a quick version, but the point is that you want to do as much homework for them as possible and serve them a platter with what they can use to write a glowing recommendation for you.

3. Consider Other Tests

It is OK to fail and pivot.

I tried studying for the GMAT for about a week before I realized that was not going to be the best test for me to demonstrate my potential, and so I pivoted and took the GRE instead. That was a great decision for me.

If you have been beating your head against a wall with a test, maybe it is time to try a new one. I think now is a particularly great time to give the Executive Assessment a try. This is a new test on the MBA scene and no one quite yet knows what a “good” score is. It is also not reported to the MBA rankings services which means the school may be more willing to accept a lower score.

Remember, no one is going to care if you switched tests once you get in.

4. Keep Networking

Schools are absolutely watching what you do.

They keep track of who goes to which events and who talks to who. Trust me.

Keep going to the admissions events. Not just to play the game, but also to keep learning about the school and find other people to talk to about their experience as a student or alumni there.

5. Stay Sane

It can be easy to treat this like an all-encompassing event that blinds you from everything else in life. But if you go too hard, it will hurt you.

You can still go to the gym, go out with friends, and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

No need to make this harder than it has to be.

You got this.

P.S. I am an admissions consultant with Military MBA Consulting. If you would like to work with me on an hourly or full-time basis for your MBA admissions, reach out. The company is run by a military spouse with 15+ years in the MBA admissions world. We have helped people get into places like Harvard Business School, Wharton, Chicago Booth, NYU Stern, and more.