Many business school applicants must work hard to prove they can handle quantitative classes such as finance, accounting, and statistics. If you work in finance, the admissions committee already knows you can excel in the core classes. That gives you one less thing to worry about as you craft your killer MBA application. But don’t rest on your laurels!
Because applicants who work in finance are overrepresented in the admissions pool, you’ll need to stand out from peers with similar backgrounds. As we pointed out in our previous posts (part 1 and part 2) on common MBA application mistakes, there’s a right and wrong way to attract the AdCom’s attention. We’ll wrap up today with the final things to avoid so you can make yours a successful MBA application.
Are you curious about your admissions odds as an applicant from an overrepresented industry? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
Common Mistakes Made By Applicants Who Work in Finance
Mistake #8: Not thinking through the “Why an MBA?” question
Many firms expect analysts or other junior bankers to leave for an MBA after approximately two years. If you’re at this career crossroads, you’ll need to counteract the impression that the degree is a way for you to “check a box” before the next level in your career.
So, step back from your practical brain momentarily to access your creative side and develop your ideal career vision statement. You have exceptional skills—undoubtedly, an MBA will only add to your overall skill set. The hope is that you’ll arrive on campus with a burning desire to make the world a better place. Passion and vision are critical to the MBA admissions committee evaluation because they are essential to effective leadership.
Mistake #9: Thinking you’re too busy for extracurricular activities
The reality for many professionals who work in finance is that a demanding schedule rarely allows time for meaningful extracurriculars. What can you do when your work is your life? If your 80-hour work week didn’t allow time for community involvement, realize that not every extracurricular has to be outside of work. Look inside your company for those leadership opportunities that may have nothing to do with your day-to-day responsibilities.
B-Schooled Podcast #104: The Importance of Extracurriculars and Community Service
And remember, not all volunteering requires a weekly time commitment. With your schedule, you’ll need to get creative to find flexible opportunities to contribute. Seek activities that aren’t face-time-based but instead focused on impact—or a small amount of weekend time. A track record of volunteering and community service—no matter how big or small—greatly strengthens your candidacy.
Mistake #10: Not letting your personality shine through
An MBA application is a hybrid between a business communication and a personal essay. While it’s essential to keep the focus and precision of a business writing exercise, you needn’t sacrifice the color of a personal essay. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, even if that means injecting humor, fear, or humility. Using your emotions effectively helps your essays come alive and shows that you are more than a list of accomplishments.
Investment Banking Career Path: Q&A with SBC Consultant Puja
You already know that your work experience is impressive and a major selling point for your candidacy. But now you also know it’s imperative to highlight those extracurricular activities, hobbies, or interesting personal stories in your application and demonstrate that you’ve made a deep connection to the programs on your list. Avoid these ten mistakes commonly made by finance applicants, and you’ll offer the admissions committee a truly holistic picture of your candidacy.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs. From our All-In Partnership to interview prep, essay editing, resume review, and much more, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS.
During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS).
During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions.
Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally.
Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS).
In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years.
Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee.
In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB).
Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics.
Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford.
Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise.
During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies.
In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team.
During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS).
During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business.
At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director.
Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants.</sp ...
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