MBA Application Strategy: Fit In, Then Stand Out

The two questions I am most asked as it relates to the MBA admissions process are “where do I start?” and “how do I distinguish myself?” I want to combine those is to the quintessential MBA admissions question…”where do I start if I want to distinguish myself in the MBA application process?” The answer: fit in, and then stand out.

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 and didn’t get admitted.

Fit into the school’s averages and patterns if you can: GPA, GMAT, years of work experience, solid 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 (See article on Dissecting MBA Websites to find this information).

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 fallacy of the component. Example: the GMAT! If a school has an average GMAT of 650, with the middle 80% of last year’s class ranging from 600-740, and you have a 550 GMAT, then you need to address your GMAT:

1. Is this really the best you can do on the GMAT? If not, retake it to obtain a higher score. See the Academic Readiness module.

2. Understand why the admissions team cares about the GMAT. Some possible reasons:

• GMAT is the only tool used in admissions that compares candidates in a standard way
• GMAT correlates to performance in the first year of business school
• GMAT is a measure of quantitative ability, which is a critical skill required to complete business school
• GMAT averages are used by companies that publish school rankings as a factor in assessing the competitiveness of the program (which affects the reputation and prestige of the program)

3. Address it. Demonstrate (i.e., present evidence from your past…don’t tell me, show me) that despite your GMAT score you have performed well in academic settings and that you have developed and effectively used your quantitative abilities.

4. Don’t dodge it. Telling me about all of the other things that make you great and wonderful, don’t address my concern about your GMAT and/ or quantitative ability. We can get to all of the things that make you unique later, but first things first…the GMAT.

My personal opinion is that we should focus on our strengths, instead of struggling with weaker areas where we can only strive to be average and will never be the best. So when I talk about fitting in, I’m not suggesting that we turn away from our strengths and assets; instead I am suggesting that fitting in is the baseline to make the cut – to be considered for the team. To play soccer, you have to be able to kick the ball consistently. Fancy scissor kicks are cool and will make you stand out, but if you can’t kick the ball, you won’t make the team.  “Fitting in” is not easy, but it’s imperative for success in the admissions process.