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May 2210:00 AM EDT
-10:30 AM EDT
Join Sia Admissions as its founder goes straight to the core of what makes or breaks your candidacy beyond the numbers. Register now to dissect the three critical non-quantitative components—Essays, Resume, and Recommendations.
May 2212:00 PM PDT
-01:00 PM PDT
Attend the UCR Graduate School of Business Information Session and learn more about our graduate business programs, admission requirements, and fellowship award opportunities.
May 2209:00 PM IST
-10:00 PM IST
Targeting INSEAD MBA Sept 2026 intake? Discover proven strategies to craft a standout application, highlight global exposure, and maximize your chances of securing scholarships at top B-schools like INSEAD, LBS, HEC, etc., by starting early.
May 2410:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
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May 2508:00 PM PDT
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Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
May 2610:00 AM EDT
-11:00 AM EDT
Applying to business school can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. As experienced admissions consultants, we offer free personalized profile evaluations to help you understand where you stand and how to strengthen your application.
Jun 1006:00 AM PDT
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Register for the GMAT Club Virtual MBA Spotlight fair, the biggest MBA fair of the year. You will have a chance to hear Admissions directors from almost every Top 20 program speak, network with peers, and conveniently attend morning or afternoon sessions.
MBAGuide
Joined: 24 Jul 2019
Last visit: 22 May 2025
Posts: 2,282
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 28
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
Schools: Insead Sept'18 (A$$) ISB '19 (A)
26 Mar 2025, 05:16
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You have come up with a plan for your MBA essay: You want to tie your past experience to management consulting goals, present the MBA as the perfect bridge, and package it all neatly.
But as you type, a nagging thought creeps in: Isn’t everyone doing the same thing?
Management consulting is one of the most popular post-MBA goals, but how do you stand out from the crowd of applicants touting "strategy consulting at MBB"? The real challenge is not only to prove that consulting is the right path for you, but also to make it clear to the admissions committee why you are the right candidate for consulting. So how do you make your story compelling enough to stand out from the crowd?
Outstanding applications are those in which the different parts of the application are not considered in isolation, but rather the individual areas are covered in such a way that the work as a whole makes your case convincing when the adcoms come to evaluate your goals and motivational essays. If you're toying with the idea of pitching management consulting goals, you need to be aware that application pools are full of former and prospective consultants, so there's little wiggle room to not play your best planning game. Here are some things to guide you.
1. Get Your Stats Right
Consulting work thrives on sharp analytical thinking and number-based decisions. While your academic achievements are important, a few stumbling blocks along the way need not make or break your application. The GMAT or GRE is your chance to set the record straight — take it seriously. Your score should be at least average for your demographic group, if not higher.
Expert knowledge: Admissions committees expect aspiring consultants to demonstrate both quantitative strength and verbal fluency. Consulting is as much about structured problem solving as it is about persuasive communication. So don’t underestimate the verbal section — it carries just as much weight.
2. Showcase Your Intuitive Edge
Applicants targeting top MBA programs are gifted analytically. However, because real-life business problem-solving situations require your right brain to function at an optimum, the adcoms want to see your ability to capture honest emotions in your essays too. As you go about writing your essays, show that you are perceptive as how a consultant should be. Just as a consultant, when thrown into a complex client team, first steps back to absorb the full picture before diving into solutions, you must approach your MBA application the same way. Even when attempting various essay questions, demonstrate your structured thought process:
Show them that you don’t just process information. You absorb, interpret, and respond with insight. Let your essays reflect the perceptiveness that sets great consultants apart.
3. Frame Your Experience Like a Consultant
Whether you come from a consulting background or not, your MBA resume should be prepared such that it looks like a repository of consulting-type assignments. Even if you haven’t formally worked as a consultant, you can showcase consulting-style thinking by structuring your experience in a way that mirrors the industry’s approach. For example, your resume bullets should demonstrate how you:
4. Show initiative
Top MBA programs seek candidates who don’t just aspire to their goals but actively pursue them. The strongest applicants demonstrate initiative by taking strategic actions that bring them closer to their post-MBA ambitions. If you’re targeting consulting, consider doing a pre-MBA internship in a founder’s office (for example) to shape a market expansion strategy. You may launch your podcast series on a subject relevant to management consulting specialist tracks—for example, if your interest is in healthcare or AI. Many aspiring consultants take on pro bono consulting projects if they do not come from consulting backgrounds, conduct due diligence on emerging industries, or publish thought leadership pieces to build credibility.
The message to adcoms is clear: you are not waiting for an MBA to start thinking and acting like a consultant. You already stepped into that mindset.
5. Show you are good at networking
At top consulting feeder schools, MBB firms go to great lengths to host exclusive networking events. If you’ve caught their attention, you will find yourself invited to lavish, all-expenses-paid dinners—prime opportunities to engage with firm leaders. Consulting thrives on relationships, and MBA admissions committees know that successful consultants build meaningful connections. Your application should reflect this.
Have you gone beyond superficial coffee conversations and truly engaged with industry professionals?
Maybe you can show in your application that you already secured a pre-MBA strategy internship by approaching 50 founders with a pitch they couldn’t ignore.
Maybe you launched a podcast where top consultants discuss changes in the industry or organized a speaker series where an MBB partner presents real-world case studies.
Even leading a pro-bono consulting project with MBAs to support a start-up shows that you know how to make relationships that matter.
I encourage my mentees to network extensively, talk to current students, contact Adcom representatives, and even interview potential hiring managers to gain deep insights. These first-hand insights will not only sharpen your understanding but will become valuable material for your applications. When your essays reflect real conversations and industry intel, adcoms see a candidate who knows how to build relationships and use them effectively.
Feel free to get a free profile evaluation and discuss your MBA plan
Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchal-sahni-83b00819/ |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- [email protected]
But as you type, a nagging thought creeps in: Isn’t everyone doing the same thing?
Management consulting is one of the most popular post-MBA goals, but how do you stand out from the crowd of applicants touting "strategy consulting at MBB"? The real challenge is not only to prove that consulting is the right path for you, but also to make it clear to the admissions committee why you are the right candidate for consulting. So how do you make your story compelling enough to stand out from the crowd?
Outstanding applications are those in which the different parts of the application are not considered in isolation, but rather the individual areas are covered in such a way that the work as a whole makes your case convincing when the adcoms come to evaluate your goals and motivational essays. If you're toying with the idea of pitching management consulting goals, you need to be aware that application pools are full of former and prospective consultants, so there's little wiggle room to not play your best planning game. Here are some things to guide you.
1. Get Your Stats Right
Consulting work thrives on sharp analytical thinking and number-based decisions. While your academic achievements are important, a few stumbling blocks along the way need not make or break your application. The GMAT or GRE is your chance to set the record straight — take it seriously. Your score should be at least average for your demographic group, if not higher.
Expert knowledge: Admissions committees expect aspiring consultants to demonstrate both quantitative strength and verbal fluency. Consulting is as much about structured problem solving as it is about persuasive communication. So don’t underestimate the verbal section — it carries just as much weight.
2. Showcase Your Intuitive Edge
Applicants targeting top MBA programs are gifted analytically. However, because real-life business problem-solving situations require your right brain to function at an optimum, the adcoms want to see your ability to capture honest emotions in your essays too. As you go about writing your essays, show that you are perceptive as how a consultant should be. Just as a consultant, when thrown into a complex client team, first steps back to absorb the full picture before diving into solutions, you must approach your MBA application the same way. Even when attempting various essay questions, demonstrate your structured thought process:
- What is the event that you talk about? Who are the key actors?
- What were the circumstances? What are the problems you were trying to solve?
- What were your strengths and weaknesses at the time?
- What did you feel vividly in the moment and what did you do? Why?
Show them that you don’t just process information. You absorb, interpret, and respond with insight. Let your essays reflect the perceptiveness that sets great consultants apart.
3. Frame Your Experience Like a Consultant
Whether you come from a consulting background or not, your MBA resume should be prepared such that it looks like a repository of consulting-type assignments. Even if you haven’t formally worked as a consultant, you can showcase consulting-style thinking by structuring your experience in a way that mirrors the industry’s approach. For example, your resume bullets should demonstrate how you:
- Analyze a business challenge within your current company and create a structured framework for solving it, as you would in a case interview.
- Perform a competitive landscape analysis for an industry segment and summarize your insights in a strategy brief for the leadership.
- Design an operational efficiency plan for a team or process you’ve worked with, outlining measurable improvements
4. Show initiative
Top MBA programs seek candidates who don’t just aspire to their goals but actively pursue them. The strongest applicants demonstrate initiative by taking strategic actions that bring them closer to their post-MBA ambitions. If you’re targeting consulting, consider doing a pre-MBA internship in a founder’s office (for example) to shape a market expansion strategy. You may launch your podcast series on a subject relevant to management consulting specialist tracks—for example, if your interest is in healthcare or AI. Many aspiring consultants take on pro bono consulting projects if they do not come from consulting backgrounds, conduct due diligence on emerging industries, or publish thought leadership pieces to build credibility.
The message to adcoms is clear: you are not waiting for an MBA to start thinking and acting like a consultant. You already stepped into that mindset.
5. Show you are good at networking
At top consulting feeder schools, MBB firms go to great lengths to host exclusive networking events. If you’ve caught their attention, you will find yourself invited to lavish, all-expenses-paid dinners—prime opportunities to engage with firm leaders. Consulting thrives on relationships, and MBA admissions committees know that successful consultants build meaningful connections. Your application should reflect this.
Have you gone beyond superficial coffee conversations and truly engaged with industry professionals?
Maybe you can show in your application that you already secured a pre-MBA strategy internship by approaching 50 founders with a pitch they couldn’t ignore.
Maybe you launched a podcast where top consultants discuss changes in the industry or organized a speaker series where an MBB partner presents real-world case studies.
Even leading a pro-bono consulting project with MBAs to support a start-up shows that you know how to make relationships that matter.
I encourage my mentees to network extensively, talk to current students, contact Adcom representatives, and even interview potential hiring managers to gain deep insights. These first-hand insights will not only sharpen your understanding but will become valuable material for your applications. When your essays reflect real conversations and industry intel, adcoms see a candidate who knows how to build relationships and use them effectively.
Feel free to get a free profile evaluation and discuss your MBA plan
Best wishes
Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD MBA alumna, former INSEAD MBA admissions interviewer)
Founder, MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aanchal-sahni-83b00819/ |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/| Message(WA): +91 9971200927| email- [email protected]
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