Imagine if you could peer into the mind of an admissions officer and know what the weak spots in your application profile were before it was time to apply. This article will help you to identify what might stand in your way to being accepted to your dream school and how to address those weaknesses.
Excerpted from the eBook, Prepare to be Accepted!
By Tyler Cormney and Christopher Aitken of mbaprepschool.com
Recently, we interviewed a former admissions board member from the Harvard Business School to learn what successful MBA applicants do right. He told us something truly illuminating. He said that a successful business school application takes years not months to create. His point was that successful applicants take advantage of the time before applying to take steps that will increase their chances of getting into a top school.
Imagine if you could peer into the mind of an admissions officer like the one we interviewed and know what the weak spots in your application profile were before it was time to apply. Knowing what might stand in your way to being accepted to your dream school would enable you to fortify your strengths and address your weaknesses.
The slang term for a rejection letter from a business school is a “Ding Letter.” The following excerpt from MBA Prep School’s eBook Prepared to be Accepted! reveals five dings that might hurt your chances of being accepted by a top business school. After each ding, we prescribe ways to address each one in the time leading up to your MBA application deadlines.
Don’t write yourself off in the competition for a spot in top ranked program because you have a few blemishes on your profile. Take the three steps we recommend below and increase your chances of getting into the best MBA programs.
Ding: No undergraduate classes or average performance in quantitative, business-oriented, and/or communication and writing courses
While your overall performance matters, a letter grade of a C or lower will register on the “ding meter.” Admissions committees will pay particular attention to your performance in quantitative courses, such as Calculus and Statistics, core-business courses, such as Finance and Accounting, and business-oriented courses, such as Economics. Communication courses, such as Writing and Public Speaking courses, will also be reviewed carefully because an MBA program requires excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
Prescription
Take college-level courses in areas where your academic profile needs strengthening. Clearly, you want to take courses that award a letter-grade because taking a pass-fail course may prove you are motivated to prepare for an MBA but won’t do much to counteract weak undergraduate grades. College extension courses typically take 12 to 16 weeks to complete; so you need to get started well in advance of the application deadlines.
Another way to address concerns about your academic profile is through high-achievement at work, or outside of work, on assignments that demand the academic skill set in question. For example, you could demonstrate your analytical abilities by performing well on a very challenging quantitative assignment at work.
If such a role is not available to you at work, be creative and find a way to demonstrate those talents outside of work. For example, one MBA Prep School student built a complex financial model for the non-profit organization she volunteered with.
If your transcripts leave question marks about your communication skills, you could volunteer to deliver a training class at work or join a public-speaking club like Toastmasters International in your free time.
Ding: Limited evidence of career progress: promotions, increases in responsibility, new skills and relationships
Admissions officers need to see evidence that you’ve made significant career progress. There are a few different ways your career progress will be measured: promotions ahead of schedule, increased responsibility on your team, the acquisition of new skills, and the formation of important relationships.
Prescription
Volunteer for stretch assignments and unique projects. Showing up for work and doing what you’re told is a good formula for staying where you are, but it won’t get you promoted and it won’t get you into business school. If you want to earn a spot in a top business school, then you have to show initiative and distinguish yourself from your peers.
If you’re working in an over-represented field for MBA applicants like investment banking or consulting, you will have to pursue unique projects that will set you apart, which may mean volunteering for projects that others are unable or unwilling to tackle. For example, one successful applicant from a consulting firm volunteered for an international assignment in the Middle East in the middle of summer that none of his colleagues were willing to sign-up for. His admit letter was a great reward for the months he spent outrunning sandstorms and baking in the desert sun.
Ding: Limited evidence of leadership outside of work
Most applicants have heard that community service is important to admissions committees. Armed with this knowledge, they volunteer for a few community service activities and list these on their application forms. Unfortunately this misses the point. Although your participation in a community service project is laudable, taking the lead in this setting is what really matters. If you’re a candidate from a technical field, an over-represented industry, or simply don’t have many opportunities to lead at work, community service leadership is practically mandatory for admission to the most selective schools.
If you want to be competitive for a top school you must be able to demonstrate a “habit of leadership” both inside and outside of work.
Prescription
MBA Prep School students often ask us what kinds of community service activities business schools want to see. We feel this question misses the point. No community service organization is better than another from an admissions officer’s standpoint. Admissions officers really want to see that you have engaged with a community that you are passionate about serving and that the volunteer work you have done has importance and meaning to you.
The quality of the experience is more important than quantity when it comes to community service. One significant leadership achievement can outweigh a laundry list of more limited volunteer work.
If you’re looking for an effective way to get involved then look for an organization that has a mission that you want to be a part of. Find an emotional connection and work on a problem that you have a passionate interest in solving. For example, if you are a first generation American who benefitted from free English language classes, then you could volunteer to teach classes in that program or, better yet, work at the organizational level to raise money and expand program offerings to reach more students.
If you can’t find an organization that turns you on and you see an unmet need in your community, then start your own organization! If you’re successful, you’ll have an amazing story to share from your leadership portfolio.
If you’re already volunteering for a community service organization, you should be looking look for the same kinds of opportunities to lead that we talked about in the prescription above about building your Leadership Portfolio at work. You need to harness the energy of other people, generate results, and make a real difference. Your leadership could take any number of forms: you could lead a fund raising drive, pull together a team that addresses a long-standing organizational issue, or work with board members to develop a five-year strategic plan.
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