Relative importance of each aspect of the b-school app

Question

I have a question for those who have already gone through the admissions process or are familiar with it: what's the relative importance of each section?

The different parts being: (let me know if I am missing anything)
GMAT + GPA (including the quality of the school)
Quality of Work Experience
Essay
Recommendation Letters
Extra Curricular

So for example, IMO it would be: (keep in mind average weight is 20%)
GMAT+GPA+School 25%
Work Experience 25%
Essay 25%
Recommendation Letters 15%
Extra Curricular 10%

For simplicity sake, lets assume that each section does not significantly overshadow any other section. (ie: if your EC is curing cancer...that would screw up the whole ranking...or if your GMAT score is 800...etc.etc.)

I am not sure if this is an answerable question, but am interested on your thoughts.

joerandom · Answer

I have no special insight other than currently going through the process myself. But it's fun to speculate.

I think it's less helpful to think of it in terms of percentage weights and more helpful to think of relationships between specific elements of the application. For example, if we could set up some kind of regression model, I would say GMAT+GPA+School is probably the most important factor overall in predicting admissions chances. But at the same time, weaknesses here can be overcome through strong recs and compelling essays. Whereas, no matter how strong you are in GMAT+GPA+School, terrible recs and essays will get you basically automatically rejected.

I think there's a basic GMAT+GPA+School combination that gets you into the mix at any given school. Below that cutoff, there's simply no chance of admission. Obviously it varies based on the pedigree of the school and things like the demographic of the candidate. But in general, I think that GMAT+GPA+School lets the admissions officer set a starting point for evaluating the rest of the application. Once your above that cutoff, then how much above you are determines what degree of execution needs to happen in the rest of the application. Your 770+3.8+Princeton has a lower bar to clear than your 680+3.4+Ohio State candidate. BUT, both are able to clear it, the margin for error is just larger for one than the other.

Another thought is that being an absolute rockstar on anyone area of your application does not have the proportional effect of being an absolute zero on another portion. Basically, stellar essays don't necessarily make your application, but atrocious essays will definitely break it.

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I have done a couple of mock application workshops at 2 M7 schools and from what I saw the process is much more holistic. GPA+GMAT+School, definitely matter. However, they are only a reflection on "can this person do the coursework." Schools use all of these components to try and gauge this. Someone with a low GPA or GMAT can still clear the "intellectual ability" hurdle (i.e. low GPA, but high GMAT or low GMAT, but high GPA and highly analytical/quantitative work). From everything admissions officers have told me GPA/GMAT is more like a litmus test. They also look for intellectual curiosity based on the classes you've taken. Did you challenge yourself? That speaks to what type of student you will be.

They go through the other components with a fine tooth comb. Adcoms don't read applications looking for reasons to reject people. They want to get to know you and look for reasons to admit you. However, they have VERY keen b.s. detectors. They can spot people who have issues with ethics, don't play well with others, and lack self-awareness. Someone can have the right job, right education, right GPA, and right GMAT and still not get in if they raise these types of red flags.

I know we'd all like to boil admissions down to an exact science or formula. But it's not that easy. People that you would assume wouldn't get into schools like Wharton get in EVERYDAY. Others who you think are shoo-ins get rejected. And I can almost guarantee it's not because their stats weren't good enough.

thembaboy · Answer

In addition to all the factors mentioned above, I would also like to understand how the Interview is factored in. So basically, the questions to ask are:

1. Is the Interview a seperate "Round" in itself? i.e. if a candidate is a "go" based on the other factors and is offered an Interview invite, will the adcoms then only refer to the Interview score for the final decision? In other words, are "non-interview factors" and "interview" like elimination rounds?

2. If the answer to above is no (which I think is the case) then what is the weightage of non-interview factors v/s interview for the final decision? (I think this would be something like 20-30%)

I guess the real intent behind this questions is this: Once candidates are given interview invites, are their scores reset to bring everyone on the same level or is there an advantage to putting in a strong application upfront? If so, how much?

The thoughts, opinions and experiences of fellow members will be highly appreciated in this matter!

losttraveler · Answer

Dudes... if there was an answer here it would of been heralded and posted a long time ago. GMAT + GPA + School = base critera... if you reference post I did a long time ago on real estate and mba admissions you'd understand. GMAT = # of Bedrooms, GPA = # of bathrooms... as long as you have something that the buyer can fit into... it's onto the next criteria. Then it's about work experience ... this = # of acres... do you have enough land for them to expand if they wish or is it too small and cramped right now? Quality of work experience = quality of landscaping... did you take your acreage and do the best with it that you could? Or are you just cutting 5 years of grass with no shrubs? Once all this is out of the way... well now it's onto the actual sales pitch. Why should they buy this house when all your neighbors are also selling theirs at maybe lower prices? Why are you selling? Is it because you want to relocate? Is it because you need more space to develop? Is it because you're fed up with your area? Figure that out... put some good words on it... and let the chips land where they may.

Again gents, no hard-and-fast rule here. Have fun with it... otherwise it sucks

Oskie · Answer

It's hard to answer a question like this because the business school admissions process (especially across the board) is complex. Believe me, if there were a breakdown of the process in terms or percentages, yours might be fairly accurate. Having been an applicant to 7 of the top 10 schools though, these percentages probably differed in certain areas. Whereas Harvard might have liked to see solid work experience, MIT Sloan wants to see powerful ECs. It all depends. At the end of the day though, I think you need to think about your application holistically, how each part of the part of the application helps the other - building a time line of events that have led up to now. If you have the stories in your essays to back everything else up, then this happens organically. The more you can show that you shine in several parts of your application, the more you're likely to gain an admissions officer's advocacy for an interview invite.

One of the things I used to do is find out what admission officers love to read first when they're reading applications. For example, I learned that the first thing Rod Garcia reads at MIT Sloan is your cover letter, and that's without looking at anything else (grades, gmat scores, etc). Derrick Bolton from Stanford starts with the CV. I think as far as a first impression of the application goes, these parts of the application may carry more weight than other parts.

gijoedude · Answer

How low is "low GPA" and "low GMAT"?

joerandom · Answer

Obviously it depends a lot on which program you're applying to, but I think a good rule of thumb is that anything under the 20th percentile of GMAT or GPA (assuming schools report it) is definitely low. For the top 15ish programs, I think a good rule of thumb might be: anything below a 700 is getting on towards "low GMAT" territory and anything below the average GPA minus 0.25ish is flirting with "low GPA" territory. Of course exceptions abound and that's not hard and fast for any given program, but I do think it's a good way to start thinking about things.

hello212 · Answer

I think the GPA band might be wider than that. For example (and it's just an example), the low end of Columbia's middle 80% is 3.1, which is a whopping 0.4 below their average gpa of 3.5.

Relative importance of each aspect of the b-school app

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