Nicole Lindsay » Stage 2

STAGE 1

Figure out whether business school is right for you

STAGE 2

Understand what admissions officers are looking for

STAGE 3

Strengthen Your Profile and Build Your Network

The Admissions Process

In the admissions process you first want to fit in as much as you can, then after you fit in, you should highlight where you stand out. And it needs to be in that order: fit in first, stand out second. Every admissions officer has countless stories of candidates that stood out first, but didn’t fit in so they didn’t get in (or admitted).

Fit In
Fit into the school’s averages and patterns if you can: GPA, GMAT, years of work experience, strong recommendations that demonstrate leadership and teamwork, reasonable career goals consistent with your background, solid written and oral communication consistent with someone who is college-educated. This is your starting point.

Address Where You Don’t Fit In
Where you are outside the norm or don’t quite fit in, then your next step is to figure out why this component is important to the admissions team and address it (fit in). “Address it” by demonstrating that you meet the requirement in another way. “Address it” does not mean arguing the validity of the component.

Then Stand Out
Now that you “fit in”, stand out! Distinguish yourself by showcasing your strengths and assets in your MBA application and through your interactions with admissions officers and other school representatives. Use every component in the application from your resume to your essays to your recommendations to highlight your skills and experiences and to make the case for your MBA candidacy.
As you identify your unique qualities and develop your story for your MBA applications, consider what MBA admissions officers are seeking in candidates:
- Academic Readiness
- Career Potential
- Leadership Potential
- School Fit
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More than just GMAT and Essays
Academic Readiness

Are you prepared for the academic and quantitative rigor of an MBA program? This is what Admissions Officers are assessing when they review your application. Can you handle, or better yet excel in your finance class, while taking Statistics, Operations and Marketing in the same seven-week quarter within your first 2 months on campus> Follow these steps to showcase your academic readiness:
- Step 1: Know where you stand statistically at your schools of interest
  
  For each school that you are considering, research the statistics of the most recently admitted class of students. What was the average (or middle 80%) GPA and GMAT score? Are you above, on or below the averages? Once you know where you stand you can better determine how you will position yourself as a candidate.
- Step 2: Get the best score that you can on the GMAT
  
  Your undergraduate record is as, if not more, important than the GMAT, but you can’t change it. What’s done is done as it relates to undergrad. You do have substantial control over your GMAT score and that’s why it is the focus of the academic readiness section. It is the most significant element that you can impact.
- Step 3: Determine how you will demonstrate that you are academically ready for business school
  
  You can’t just tell the admissions committee that you are ready for business school – you have to show them. You won’t be sitting next to them when they read your application so it has to stand alone and address any potential issues. As you devised a plan for demonstrating your readiness for business school, seek advice from others. This will help ensure that you don’t overlook relevant experiences that you’ve had and that you are conveying what you intend.
- Step 4: Become academically ready for business school
  
  Our focus now is on getting into business school, but truly it’s more important to get through business school successfully. Arm yourself with the tools to excel while in business school.
- Step 5: Prepare to tell your academic readiness story
  
  Highlight three examples in your educational or professional experience that display your quantitative and analytical ability.
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Career Potential

Business schools are looking for MBA candidates who (1) upon graduation will find gainful employment, (2) will advance in their career to become tremendously successful professionals, who make big contributions to organizations, to society and to the school as alumni. Career success is not reserved only for those that reach the top jobs as the CEO of a corporation or Executive Director of a non-profit – or for those alumni who make millions or billions of dollars. You will be in the driver’s seat to explain in your MBA applications what you want to do professionally and why you need an MBA to do that. Then the Admissions Committee will assess, based on your background, whether they think you can achieve it.
- Step 1: Know where you stand statistically at your schools of interest
  
  For each school that you are considering, research the statistics of the most recently admitted class of students. What are the average age, average years of work experience and industries represented? Does the MBA program require that you have a certain number of years of work experience to be admitted? For career potential, these data points are not usually the most important factors, but it is important for you to understand what schools are generally aiming for with their class profile.
- Step 2: Understand how schools will view your career background and goals
  
  It is important to understand how schools will view your admissions candidacy as it relates to your career potential. Are you a Career Switcher (you plan to change industries and/ or functional area after business school) or a Career Enhancer (you plan to stay in the same field that you were in before business school)? If you are a Career Switcher, you will have to connect the dots for the admissions team to understand why you want to do something different and how your background prepares you for such a transition. If you are a Career Enhancer, you will have to communicate why you need an MBA to advance in your field.
- Step 3: Determine how your schools of interest can support your career goals
  
  Just as schools are evaluating you, you should be evaluating them to see what they can offer you as an MBA student. Before you determine how schools can support you, you should have some sense of what your career needs are. Once you have a sense of your needs, you can begin to determine what your schools of interest can provide to you. This is a great time to conduct informational interviews of current students and recent alumni to learn more about the career support resources on campus.
- Step 4: Prepare to tell your career potential story
  
  You will showcase your career potential through your 90-second pitch (every time you introduce yourself to someone), resume, professional activities, essays and admissions interview. Consider how you can display your capabilities and talents through each of these application components.
- Step 5: Prepare to tell your academic readiness story
  
  Highlight three examples in your educational or professional experience that display your quantitative and analytical ability.
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Leadership & Teamwork

What impact will you have on people and organizations in the future? Will you be able to lead and work with others to get things done? Admissions Officers will look at your past experiences to determine if you will be able to have tremendous impact in the future. Consider how you can showcase your leadership (including your collaborative leadership, i.e. teamwork) in your MBA application.
- Step 1: Write down all of your activities, leadership roles, and accomplishments
  
  While leadership is not simply about the titles that you have in organizations, titles do convey a certain level of responsibility and commitment to an organization. Develop your extended or long-version of your resume (this should not be used in applications, but instead for brainstorming to identify the strongest examples to highlight in your applications). Capture your work-related projects and your volunteer/ civic activities. Also note any awards or recognition that you received – those are really valuable! Write down all of your accomplishments, large and small.
- Step 2: Understand the importance of leadership and teamwork to your schools of interest
  
  Every business school teaches leadership and requires its MBA students to work in teams, but exactly how it achieve that varies. Understand what MBA programs are looking for in applicants as well as how they will help students improve their leadership and teamwork skills.
- Step 3: Prepare to tell your leadership & teamwork story
  
  You will showcase your leadership and teamwork through your 90-second pitch (every time you introduce yourself to someone), recommendations, resume (particularly your extracurricular activities), essays and admissions interview. Consider how you can display your capabilities and talents through each of these application components.
- Step 4: Start thinking about your recommendations
  
  Virtually all schools require that letters of recommendation be submitted on your behalf in the application process. Most school will request that one of your recommendations come from your supervisor. Begin to think who else you want to submit a recommendation for you. Why do you think they would be a strong recommender? What traits and accomplishments can they highlight from working with you?
- Step 5: Prepare to tell your academic readiness story
  
  Highlight three examples in your educational or professional experience that display your quantitative and analytical ability.
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MBA School Fit

Business school admissions committees will evaluate your academic readiness to be successful in the MBA classroom and your career and leadership potential to excel after you graduate. Business schools are also assessing your fit for their MBA program. Once you submit your application to MBA programs, schools will be considering your fit for their program. Long before that, when you are conducting school research and exploration, you should determine if those MBA programs are in fact a fit for you.
- Step 1: Research schools on the numbers
  
  Determine what you want and need from business school and then methodically assess each MBA programs against that list. Start with this “diagnostic” school research, which helps you narrow down your list of the MBA programs to just those that can help you attain your goals.
- Step 2: Talk to real live humans!
  
  Close your web browser and shut down your laptop and talk to live human beings! Through this qualitative (fit) school research, you will be able to determine your alignment with the MBA program. You can gather just so much information online. At some point you have to speak with people to get first-hand knowledge of the MBA program. Through this conversation you will be able to determine whether the values of the school align with your values and what is important to you. And also figure out if the school culture complements who you are.
- Step 3: Determine your criteria for selecting schools to which you will apply
  
  Hopefully you now have a list of several schools that can provide you with opportunities that you need to advance your professional career. Now it’s time to determine the criteria that you will use to get that list down to 4-5 MBA programs to which you will apply. Identify the factors – such as program size, reputation, and location – that are important to you and rate each school based on those factors.
- Step 4: Develop an application strategy for your selected schools
  
  You should now have a list of schools that meet your criteria and fit you. Of course, that is only half of the equation; you have to fit those schools as well. There are different approaches to formulating a school application strategy. Consider applying to: your dream school (even if you don’t “fit in” in all categories), 2-3 “fit” schools, where your profile is consistent with those of other applicants, and 1-2 safety school, where your profile is above average as compared to other applicants. Strong applications require significant time to complete. Applying to more than 4-5 schools can be difficult so carefully select the schools to which you apply.
- Step 5: Prepare to tell your school fit story
  
  You will showcase your school fit through every aspect of your application – in the same way that you got a feel for a school, the admissions officer reading your application will get a feel for your fit for the program. As you understand a school’s culture and environment, consider how you might manifest that in your application. You shouldn’t fabricate who you are to fit with a school, but rather spotlight the areas in your background that demonstrate a fit with the program.
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The Admissions Process

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Academic Readiness

Step 1: Know where you stand statistically at your schools of interest

Step 2: Get the best score that you can on the GMAT

Step 3: Determine how you will demonstrate that you are academically ready for business school

Step 4: Become academically ready for business school

Step 5: Prepare to tell your academic readiness story

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Career Potential

Step 1: Know where you stand statistically at your schools of interest

Step 2: Understand how schools will view your career background and goals

Step 3: Determine how your schools of interest can support your career goals

Step 4: Prepare to tell your career potential story

Step 5: Prepare to tell your academic readiness story

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Leadership & Teamwork

Step 1: Write down all of your activities, leadership roles, and accomplishments

Step 2: Understand the importance of leadership and teamwork to your schools of interest

Step 3: Prepare to tell your leadership & teamwork story

Step 4: Start thinking about your recommendations

Step 5: Prepare to tell your academic readiness story

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MBA School Fit

Step 1: Research schools on the numbers

Step 2: Talk to real live humans!

Step 3: Determine your criteria for selecting schools to which you will apply

Step 4: Develop an application strategy for your selected schools

Step 5: Prepare to tell your school fit story

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