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Question

Do you think that your goal/aspirations marketability post MBA plays a roll into your admission decision?

Hypothetically, let's say you want to do real estate, and the market is tanking and noone wants to hire real state grads, would schools say, hey this person is bright, and has good defined goals, but he's unrealistic, and won't probably get a job, so let's ding him.

Or, if you have someone in tech, and then wants to go to Private Equity. The transition is extremely difficult (not impossible), and I wonder if Adcoms consider that into your admissions process.

Thoughts?

Noodles · Answer

I think this is an excellent question....and I'm very interested in what people think too.

Most of my friend's essays that I have read have very lofty and aspirational goals such as socially responsible companies, going back to their native country with their own start up, running their own company etc.

I also have read that adcoms are looking for pragmatic/realistic candidates and essays.

So what happens if (as mentioned above) your real goal is to work for a real estate company.....as this does not sit comfortably under any of the two themes above.

xpiano1978 · Answer

My take - yes.

Basically, it's a known fact that schools care about placability.(sp). I know that some schools will try to do a "deeper dive" for candidates whom they believe may be slightly difficult to place. Thus - that implies that it factors somehow into the decision making process.

That being said - I think you should always be yourself, and be honest about what you want to do. Maybe the school is looking for people with your "unusual" career path, and they have special assistance in that area. I'd assume you'd rather be at a place that would be supportive and helpful of that, than "pretend" and find out that you won't get any support for what you really want to do later.

gregarious · Answer

This is definitely a valid question that I've seen come up in BW discussions as well. As the OP alluded to, I think it applies to many career switchers. There's definitely a different types of career leaps though . . . for example, everything that I've read about PE/VC tells me that it's extremely difficult to get into regardless of what prior WE someone has. So while it's true that someone from a finance background may have a better shot, as an adcom I would probably expect that anyone with PE/VC as a goal better have a real clearly laid out and rational plan for achieving it. On the other hand, someone who's going into general management might have a easier time outlining how he or she might succeed.

Ultimately, I think it's a double edged sword, to be handled delicately. On one side, a unusual career jump, ex. journalist to investment banker, might bring up questions about post-MBA placement. On the flip side, being able to make an argument for trying to achieve your dreams while acknowledging its challenges can be a compelling reason why you should be at that particular school.

Ultimately, I think it's a double edged sword, to be handled delicately. On one side, a unusual career jump, ex. journalist to investment banker, might bring up questions about post-MBA placement. On the flip side, being able to make an argument for trying to achieve your dreams while acknowledging its challenges can be a compelling reason why you should be at that particular school.

Deepauk · Answer

I think the future goals largely play into the so-called "applicant pool" concept. It isn't only what background you are applying from but also where you want to go. The plausibility of your goals and explanations are I think more important than the area per se'.

Every admissions person I've talked to is cognizant of the fact that a reasonable % of people they admit find out IB/MBB isnt what they really want to do after they are admitted - sometimes even after one whole year of recruiting and interning in that function. So then the question arises: why so much emphasis on goals? People have been known to change right?

This is my perspective. There are, I believe, 2 reasons they stress the goals:

(a) Clear definition of where you are going and how you want to get there indicate a great deal of lucidity in your thought process. You like a person who is raring to go out of the gate and isn't going to spend the first semester learning about post-modern influences in art (unless your goal is to become a gallery owner/book publisher).

(b) In the event that you find out that what you originally thought you wanted isn't what you wanted - you are more committed to finding out what you truly want before your tenure at the school ends. You're the kind of person who worries OK consulting/Banking isn't what I REALLY want so what should I do - general management maybe? Then you bring the same lucidity of thought/enthusiasm you brought to your original goals to your new goal and you're still good to succeed.

Take for example someone who is looking start their own project after graduation - if the only criterion was placement statistics then nearly every person who applied with a goal of beginning their own company would hit the dust.

bigfernhead · Answer

I like this...

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