BEST MBA Application Tips from Alumni and Students [Revamped Thread]

My advice would be to make extensive research of the school and tailor your essays. Despite I used parts of other school essays in others, I always started every single essay from scratch. Also, do not freak out about the GMAT, it is important but it is not everything you can have a fantastic GMAT and get dinged and you can have a 660 and still get in, and even with scholarship.

If I have learned something as al lawyer is that the perfect situation does not exist and you have to try to win with what you got, and believe me, if you play your cards smartly, you can get unexpected results.

The ultimate applicant does not exist, use any part of the app you can to enhance your strengths and try to minimize your weaknesses and always use the essays to get to know you as a person, show them what you have that makes you unique and that will enable you to stand out from the crowd!

Goals: If I had to choose the most important area of your application/candidacy, Post-MBA would be my pick. Quoting what a Ross current student told me “You are at point A, post MBA goals are point B and the B school is the bus that takes you from A to B”. So, it is simple, if you can prove to the college that yes the school is really important for you to make this transition, I believe half your job is done. The rest half is to prove why you think you are worthy enough to be admitted to reach those goals. There are several blogs online from experts (eg personal statement guide from MBAmission etc) to tell you what exactly the school is looking for. I would strongly advise everyone to go through these materials and get your goals bang on.

Differentiate yourself: There are numerous opportunities to do that. I am not going to pester you by telling each and every fundamental detail: you know it. Sell yourself, use essays, extracurriculars, LORs, CV, interviews to demonstrate what makes you different why should they take over someone. Indirectly you are telling them what you add to the class through your profession and personal experiences and skills that someone else would not. This should the first basic to keep in mind while writing any section of your application.

Profile Building: There are things you can’t change and then there are things you can: so why not. There can be several aspects to this: joining public speaking forums, writing a blog, getting professional certifications for a hobby you have or the most clichéd one, joining a social cause or an NGO. This is again comes to differentiating yourself. May be you are prolific speaker and can singlehandedly motivate your team. Miles away in US no one would believe that. Some formal accreditation adds a lot to your profile and also shows your dedication towards skill building.

Goals: Your goals are important – for the sole reason that the admissions committee (except Sloan’s) wants to know that you have thought this through. They want people who know what they are doing and have an idea of where they want to be. Also, you can’t be Microsoft’s CEO or open a $1B VC fund in Africa. Or maybe you can. But, it won’t work on the applications. Be plausible, back your goals with reasons, and connect them with your past experiences. For this, it is quite important to study a bit about various business functions/industries/recruitment.

A couple of things that I found most helpful:
- Starting early
- Chatting with anyone and everyone -- current students, alumni, admissions officers, fellow applicants, etc... I tried to find any hidden insight I could for each program to which I applied.
- Knowing my story: Coming from a less traditional background, I really had to prove that my story made sense and that an MBA was critical to my next steps. I practiced my pitch repeatedly and even did mock interviews with some friends.

A) Start research early: I started doing my online research (reading forums, connecting with people, getting profile reviews) a year before I actually ended up applying. You'd also have to spend time thinking about your own life (highlights/lowlights/decision points). For me what worked was, that I took pen and paper (not laptop, so no social media distraction) and started jotting down any and all moments that I was proud of. I listed even the most basic achievements. When I picked up that paper a week later, it helped me see my own story in a new light. (Connect the dots looking backward, Steve Jobs reference)

B) Talk to (lots of, different) people from diverse backgrounds (geography, industry, school, function etc). Since you'd be talking to successful (i.e. busy) people - they'll need time to get back to you. Not all people you engage will respond back. But if you request enough people for help, more than a reasonable number will respond (source: my experience only). In my case, I found that each of these conversations added a lot of color and nuance to my perspective on Bschools and applications (on issues ranging from how much work experience is sufficient, to which schools to apply to, to what a particular school defines as fit etc)

C) Prepare your elevator pitch: Have a 3 line summary describing your candidacy. Since this is about summarising the best parts of your application, it will take time and thought to prepare this. But having a concise summary immensely helps people whom you're asking for help with profile reviews etc, and in turn improves the response rate you get. As for what to include, I like to think of it as highlights from
i) where you come from (personal history, gmat/gpa etc)
ii) where you stand (current work profile, title)
iii) where you want to go (future goals- industry/function)

The Art of Storytelling: There is more to a business school application than to fill out blanks and write essays. Each component that you put in the application counts. Imagine an application as a storybook. Each word works together to create sentences, which then make paragraphs that connect the story from start to finish. Just like a storybook, your application has to tell a compelling and connected story. When you put one particular thing in a section, connect that with something else that you put in other sections. For example, if your whole application is pretty much focused on finance, then it would not make sense to put something like "I take the cooking classes" out of the blue without you somewhat connecting it in another part. Of course, each application is different, so your story should be written different for each school that you apply to. Use your essays as the heart of your story, then extend your story from there.

I wanted to document and share my lessons learned over the course of this process, for whatever benefit it can have for future applicants. I'm no expert and don't have any inside information. I don't have a comprehensive system, just some tips. But if I could travel back in time nine months and give myself advice, it would be this:

1) MBA admissions is a subjective process To the extent there are "rules" or a "checklist" they are minimum necessary requirements, not sufficient reason for admission. You have to accept this and embrace it. Get used to living with uncertainty and don't let it consume you. Know what your backup plan is if you get rejected everywhere - your mind will run there during the darker moments in the process. (Mine was to stay on at current job and reapply next year.) If you don't have a backup plan, apply to multiple safeties, as that is the only way to ensure admissions. And define safety very conservatively.

2) Start early Researching schools takes time. Essay writing takes time. A lot of time. And by time, I don't mean number of hours spent in front of a computer. By time, I mean number of days where you are thinking about essays. Good essays take time to marinate in your subconscious over several weeks. The more weeks you spend thinking about essays, the more good ideas will pop into your head. You can't compress that process of good idea generation into a few months of hectic essay writing. Spread it out over as long a period as you can. Start brainstorming before essay topics even come out. Now (March 2011) is a good time to start brainstorming and planning for class of 2014 admissions. Start now and make a little progress each week. It will save you time, and stress, over the long run.

3) Be clearly unique Formulate a clear brand about who you are, why you're unique, and what unique value you would bring to an MBA class. It should be multifaceted but coherent. Build your application around that brand. Give your draft essay to a confidante and ask them to "reverse engineer" what your brand is - ie, ask them to write the 3 bullet summary of what comes across in your essays. You'll be surprised at how unclear and opaque you're actually being in communicating your brand. Themes that seem obvious to you are likely to be completely missed or at least misinterpreted by the uninitiated reader. Keep clarifying until you pass this "reverse engineering" test. If you're friends and family can't do it, a total stranger on the admissions committee definitely can't.

4) Be authentically unique Never, ever, ever write what you think they want to hear, or what other people have successfully written in the past. Admissions directors love to be surprised. They love to see something they've never seen before. And you can only find that uniqueness inside yourself. As you read these forums and other sources of information, you will be pulled towards the seductive false logic of copying other models that have proven successful. It's only natural, but it's still a losing strategy. Everyone is unique, so don't despair, even if you think you're the most boring person on earth. If you get stuck, look at the full range of your experiences, and synthesize a few key themes. There are certainly other people who have each of your individual experiences, but no one else has your exact portfolio of experiences. It's the connections and interactions between your experiences that make you unique.

5) Keep your writing simple Write like you're writing for the AP, not for the Economist. Use short, simple sentences. Don't use fancy vocabulary or jargon. If the average man on the street won't immediately grasp a concept, you have to explain it or, better yet, not use it. You want to be remembered for the content of your ideas, not the fanciness of your communication. If they're focusing on the medium they're not focusing on the message.

6) Use stories to convey leadership A very large percentage of your word count should be spent telling vivid, moment-in-time stories. Stories should be your primary venue for communicating information whenever possible. Why MBA? Tell the story of when you realized you needed an MBA. etc. Stories are powerful. Stories are primal - they play a central role in pretty much every human culture that has evolved. When we hear a story, we project ourselves into the protagonist's role. We feel what they feel. And, we fill in the gaps with our own imagination, turning a two dimensional anecdote into a three dimensional shared experience. That is why admissions readers like stories. It lets them make the "blink" (as in Malcolm Gladwell) style assessments it takes to evaluate something subjective like leadership. Some schools explicitly ask for stories, but I think it's a pretty surefire approach for most any school. Stories are the only way for admissions readers to put themselves in your shoes and understand your leadership. So use plenty of stories to give them plenty of evidence about your leadership.

7) Practice Don't write your dream school's essay first. You WILL get better at essay writing with each essay you write. You should go sequentially, finishing one school before moving on to the next, so you can focus on giving each school a logically coherent package. But, I'm telling you right now, your first application will be pretty bad, no matter how much time you spend on it. You might even consider doing a dummy "practice" application to get that first bad one out of your system. What the heck, here's a set of dummy essay topics for you: A) Assume you are admitted, and are attending your 5 year MBA reunion. Describe what you have accomplished since graduating, how your MBA helped you achieve it, and what your plans for the future are. B) Write a leadership autobiography, describing the key moments in your life that shaped your leadership style. C) Assume that, once admitted, you will have to "apply" to a learning team. What would you say to your fellow classmates to convince them that you would be a valuable addition to their learning team?

Try to enjoy the process. Treat it like a fun autobiographical exercise. It'll help you do better, and help maintain your sanity.

Best of luck everyone! Work hard, be passionate, do well.
motion
Booth

First tip, you dont have to apply r1 and compromise on the quality of your application, remember saying you are leader isnt going to cut it, you need to give examples. Dont hesitate to reach out to the CEO and get him to notice you and hopefully come R2 he will write your LOR.

Second tip, make sure your essays are not boring, dont appear monotone; make em exciting and lively. Key to any good essay is that the first line is catchy ..and as I read it I get more involved and i want to get to the end of it!

Third tip, contrary to popular belief you dont need to get a letter from the manager who has known you since child birth..the big names matter PERIOD! if some guy happens to advice the President of the USA, his letter/phone call will get the Deans of these schools scrambling to get you!

Fourth tip, HBS really doenst give much weight to GMAT, they care more about GPA, they are willing to overlook a subpar gmat score if your GPA is solid..i got this from own experience, I asked the adcom during my interview, why she hadn't asked about my sub-rockstar gmat score and she plainly said, we care more about your UG/Grad GPA. So if you went to a decent academic UG school, your GPA will carry you!

Fifth tip, please prepare for the B-school interview! I realize it was a bad idea for me to stop my kellogg interviewer halfway in the interview and tell her she is wasting her time asking me mundane questions that really are not very important to my profile.. I will say spend $$$ and call HBSguru, his coaching helped me stay to the point, not go into story telling and yet be very high-level, details are boring and only you like em cause you went thru em...unless of course you are talking about your experience being shot at by the taliban in the swat valley while you were trying to protect kids in the school you had helped build (true story by the way)!

FN
Wharton

I have two application tips which I doubt anyone else would say:

1. Don't think the current step is the hardest, the next one is harder. I thought my GMAT class was hard, then studying was worse, then the test day itself was terrible to anticipate. After that, picking a school to send scores to, actually applying to schools, telling your boss you need a reference because "you think you might like to go to B-School" in the fall was worse. The post-application process of interviews, letters of decline, and acceptance letters was even more difficult, then choosing among the schools that accepted you was ever harder then all that. And it doesn't get easier when you finally have registered and decided on a school - quitting your job, the months between giving notice and your actual end-date are awkward, finding an apartment, moving, finding loans, applying for scholarships, saying goodbye to life pre-MBA... I'm waiting for classes to start on September 7 so I can finally take a breather (lord knows it's probably even harder)!

2. Don't get psyched by the prodigies on this board. I found this board while preparing for my GMAT exam, and there is a wealth of info, but take it with a grain of salt. In every aspect of life, there are worry-warts who are over-concerned with their future. If they don't get into Harvard, Stanford, or Oxford, life is over! In life, when you hear it, it's ephemeral and easy to ignore, but seeing it in writing weighs on you more and you begin to wonder if your choice of b-school or where you actually end up is worth all the work, or if your behind the game because your applying to the same schools and not doing as much preparatory work. When reading about all-stars who are preparing for the GMAT two years in advance, only applying to LBS, Wharton, HBS, and Stanford, and taking classes they will be taking during their MBA before they actually go to b-school, you can't let it phase you. My GMAT instructor said this on our first day: "To get accepted to undergrad university, you had to be an elite high school student and to graduate from that you had to be an elite university pupil. Now that you're taking the GMAT and applying for b-school, you are the cream of the crop in the workforce. But the rest of the people are also the cream of the crop, so don't get a big head but don't lose confidence in yourself either." Remember that - you're doing great, and some people just like to prepare and plan WAY more than you.

Krussell
Schulich

1. Think long and hard about yourself beyond the numbers. What makes you different from the thousands of others applying? Forget your GMAT and GPA - they can't be changed. What is your best face, and how do you show that face to the adcoms on every single page of your application?

1a. Print a PDF of all your applications before you submit. Refer back to this PDF before your interviews to make sure your message is consistent.

2. Be humble and acknowledge your weaknesses directly in your essays (no one is perfect after all), and also why you think you can overcome your weaknesses to be a leader at b-school.

3. Show off a little bit in your essays - it's ok to be proud of what you've accomplished!

(at first glance, 2 and 3 seem to contradict each other, but I think the best essays show (a) pride in past accomplishments and (b) honest reflections about past mistakes/weaknesses)

Msday
Harvard

The three general tips I have:

1) Don't apply to 10 schools in one round. Or even 8. In theory, this sounds doable. In reality, you end up rushing a couple of apps and really killing any hope of any free time during those 3 months. It's better to split them between rounds.

2) Pick your schools carefully. Someone told me when I was making the school list to only apply to schools that I'd actually attend. As in, make sure you answer yes to "if you only got into school x, would you go to x?". That'll help you save time and money in the app process.

3) Save vacation time. You'll need it to visit campus, do interviews. In my case, I also took a couple of sick days to finish my essays in time for the app deadlines.

isa
Kellogg

Summary:
1) Take the GMAT early
2) Trust your writing/creative/brag-about-yourself style
3) Don't pretend. You are who you are.
4) Accept the randomness!

Details for the masochists:
1) Take the GMAT early. My best decision was to get it over with well before applications were released with enough time for at least one retake (luckily not necessary). This will help you focus on applications.

2) Trust your writing/creative/brag-about-yourself style. I spent a lot of time writing for Booth and did Wharton's last minute. Result: admit at Wharton and double-waitlisted at Booth. I have to go back to high-school for validation on essay writing since I studied and worked as an engineer, but I never started one essay earlier than the day before it was due and I usually got good grades. That is just how I work. (That doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about what to write, just didn't put it on paper) I don't recommend this, but don't change your style just for b-school apps. Also, I am self-deprecating and have trouble bragging about myself when there are many others out there who seem much "better" than me. So that's how I wrote. Threw in a few jokes, talked about what was fun for me, and showed this during my interviews as well.

3) Don't be afraid to admit who you are and what you do in your applications. I wasn't a "save the world" kind of guy and it wasn't worth trying to force it (aka no volunteer work). I didn't think I had a great chance at the top schools, so I figured I'd admit to what I really like to do. I may be one of the few who left "social chair" on their resume and included my eagerness to organize tailgates. I can't say for sure that these things helped, but these schools know they need people who can handle the academics and contribute to the fun factor. Also, no special gift or quality is too aged or small to mention if it may excite an app reader. They get bored.

4) Accept the randomness! Unless you are the ultimate bada$$, then it will require luck to get in to many top schools. Who interviews you, the mood of essay readers, the landscape of other applicants, and the strategy of the school all contribute and are out of your control. This is true in your career, search for a mate, and pretty much most of life. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Wow. This post got long. If you got this far, then congratulate yourself and go do something fun or interesting.

daymon
Wharton

1) Don't apply to your favorite school first. As doubtful as I was about this, my applications did in fact get better as I applied to more schools. And not only for the essays...the biggest difference was with the interviews. I had learned to better position myself in a face-to-face setting after some interview experience and my last interview as my best because of it.

2) Decide early on which schools you MIGHT apply to and visit/research them early on. I thought I would shoot for only my round 1 reach schools, but then decided to diversify going into round 2 (thank God). But when I decided to pull the trigger on that it was too late to visit Dartmouth, which I knew I liked before then. Living close by and not visiting would have really hurt my chances of getting in and I decided not to apply.

3) If you are interested in Kellogg, do those essays first (unless maybe it's your top choice as per #1). Kellogg's essays were tough (I prefer word limits) but I found their structured nature to be helpful for completing other essays and I wish I had done them before doing my round 1 essays.

Rubashov1
Kellogg

If applying to more than one school make a "master app" in word. Your master app should contain:
Your address
Work experiences + descriptions, addresses, contacts
Undergrad info + gpa/rank/ etc
extracuriculars, hours you participated etc

as you go through your apps keep adding to your master app so yoiu can just cut and paste.

Also before yoiur write really think about your experiences and how they will contribute to your future goals

most importantly MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION ASKED.

Have your friends look over your essays - this is key

SmokedPotatoes2
Yale SOM

1. Talk it out!

Tell your friends, family, coworkers, you want to get an MBA. This will spark a lot of natural questions - why? what schools are you applying to? what do you want to do after?

At the begining of my applications I sat down with jb32 over lunch to talk schools, goals, and application strategy. He brought up a bunch of questions I hadn't thought of. Point being by the time you talk to a bunch of people you will really have your story down. You will be ready for your applications and interviews. You need to know your "story" forwards and backwards.

The other thing I got better at is what jb talked about in his post being more specific (this came with refining my story) - when I got to Ross I had gone from "I want to do consulting" to "I want to do strategy consulting for a top firm focusing on the energy industry so that I can expand on my core skills and make a move into energy venture capital and clean energy."

lsuguy7
Ross

10 most common mistakes I have seen as an admissions consultant and how you should avoid them:

- Overemphasizing your business experience in your application essays – Top MBA programs want to get to know you as a person. What are your passions? What has shaped you into the person you are today? Simply listing one professional accomplishment after another you will not lead to an acceptance letter.

- Overemphasizing the GMAT/GRE – We’ve helped students with GMATs in the 500s gain entry into HBS. We’ve also worked with clients who seek our help when reapplying after applying on their own and being rejected from HBS despite scoring a 750+ on the GMAT. Unlike other undergraduate and graduate programs, admission to MBA programs is based as much as or more on qualitative factors than quantitative factors.

- Presenting a career vision that is disconnected from your current and prior experience – Certainly many people get an MBA in order to pivot in their careers. But trying to convince a school that you could start an AIDS awareness nonprofit in Zimbabwe after working on Wall Street for 10 years is unlikely to be successful. Schools want to be sure they will be able to place you into a job at graduation, so if the pivot is too significant they may not admit you.

- Not having a focused career vision – Many students think they will explore a number of different career options during their first year in an MBA program. But admissions officers know the reality of the situation: There is very little time for exploration, since you’ll start searching for summer jobs by October of your first year. So make sure you have a focused career plan and convey it in your application.

- Sending the same essay to multiple schools when they ask the same or similar questions – Each top school is looking for VERY different student profile; you’ll need to “sell” them what they’re looking to “buy.” When we work with clients applying to schools that have similar essay questions, we insist the clients write completely unique essays that best position them for acceptance to each individual school.

- Misunderstanding the importance of extracurricular activities – Many students think schools just want to see that you give back to your community through extracurricular activities. In reality, schools are assessing your leadership potential through your extracurricular involvement. They want to see what projects you have spearheaded and what teams you have led. Depth of involvement is much more important than breadth.

- Choosing a recommender because you feel like you have to – The #1 reason applicants do not get into schools that they should is a lukewarm or average recommendation. Choose recommenders who will say that you are the most incredible professional and individual they have worked with in their career. Don’t choose people who you know are tough recommenders just because they are direct supervisors or would be offended if you didn’t ask them.

- Not prepping for admissions interviews – MBA admissions interviews are very different from job interviews. They emphasize substance and are about much more than just connecting with the interviewer. Many applicants have been so successful at “schmoozing” in job interviews that they do not prepare properly for the hard questions—and often less personable interviewers—they are likely to encounter in MBA admissions interviews.

- Deviating from your “story” in the interview – Interviewers may push back on your career vision during an interview. Do NOT concede that your career vision was not well thought out or suggest that it is just one option. Do NOT try to change your career vision during the interview. Instead be prepared to defend your professional plans, as that is what admissions officers want to see.

- Not thinking through your list of schools before you apply – The top MBA programs are quite diverse. You will be more personally and professionally fulfilled at some and less so at others. While ranking is important (see my previous article on the ROI of MBA programs), do NOT choose a school that is ranked only a couple places higher than another school that would be a much better fit for you. Also, always apply to a safety school even if you don’t think you would go there. You might earn a merit-based scholarship which, as I often advise my clients, you can parlay into financial aid at the school of your choice.
Fonti
School unknown

Research - Seriously Research. If you've found this place before applying you're at the begining of the right track. I didn't put my best foot forward this year because I didn't do enough research. There is a reasonly long line of Gmatclub members who have had the same experience their first go round. When you're looking at schools if you can't explain to someone else the differences between one school and another then you haven't done enough research. I used to think that the "what other schools are you applying to, what is the common thread between those schools" question that I got asked at Cornell was a tough question. Now I think it's a very very good question. If you really know enough about your schools it should probably be pretty easy. The same goes for careers but other people have covered that. GoBruins summed it up best for me when he told me that my goals looked like when a 5 year old tells his mom he wants to be a fireman.

Sleepy
Georgetown