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fessxxx
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Application to b-school as a couple 02 Apr 2018, 00:09
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Hello dear colleagues,

Have a question about the application to b-schoold as a couple

Have a next situation: We (my wife and I) are planning to apply to US business schoolsfor the entry in 2019 and are looking at US top-10 schools

We don't want to live apart for 2 years so considering either the same school or the schools in the same city (see Booth/Kellog, Stanford/Berkeley, etc).

So the questions are the following:

1) How will joint application affect our chances at getting to b-school?
2) If you apply as a couple is it both reject or both admission or b-schools can accept one and reject other?
3) Is it possible to apply as a couple and, if both get admitted, one person goes to the school and other don't. (Hypothetical situation: My wife has a marketing profile, so we apply to kellog as a couple and both get admitted, but at the same time I (but not my wife) apply to booth on my own and get admitted. For me Booth>Kellog) Is it possible for my wife to still go to Kellog if I reject their offer and go to Booth?. I have a slightly stronger profile than my wife so I think about boosting her chances to get in with joint application while myself going to the other school

Thank you in advance
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Application to b-school as a couple 02 Apr 2018, 05:44
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fessxxx
Hello dear colleagues,

Have a question about the application to b-schoold as a couple

Have a next situation: We (my wife and I) are planning to apply to US business schoolsfor the entry in 2019 and are looking at US top-10 schools

We don't want to live apart for 2 years so considering either the same school or the schools in the same city (see Booth/Kellog, Stanford/Berkeley, etc).

So the questions are the following:

1) How will joint application affect our chances at getting to b-school?
2) If you apply as a couple is it both reject or both admission or b-schools can accept one and reject other?
3) Is it possible to apply as a couple and, if both get admitted, one person goes to the school and other don't. (Hypothetical situation: My wife has a marketing profile, so we apply to kellog as a couple and both get admitted, but at the same time I (but not my wife) apply to booth on my own and get admitted. For me Booth>Kellog) Is it possible for my wife to still go to Kellog if I reject their offer and go to Booth?. I have a slightly stronger profile than my wife so I think about boosting her chances to get in with joint application while myself going to the other school

Thank you in advance
Show more

Honest & brutal (and some part you may not like to hear)
1) The schools will evaluate your cases Individually.
2) Make the best use of the Optional essays however, and SHOW, but in a muted yet appreciative mention how much your commitment to the school is, and that your spouse is also an applicant with very strong stats (but stop short of mentioning her name or uniquely identifiable information). The idea is to show that you understand the Ad Com has to do play by the rules, and evaluate your cases individually, yet still appeal to the human emotion in them to "wish" you both study together.
3) DO NOT even hint you wouldn't join, if you both had to live apart. As applicants to B-Schools, you are both expected to be mature enough to deal with come what may.
4) Without your stats, I have no way of placing your profile successes, but do keep backup plans, including applying to regions close by, though not in the same cities.
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Application to b-school as a couple 02 Apr 2018, 06:35
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TheIvyLeagueEdge
fessxxx
Hello dear colleagues,

Have a question about the application to b-schoold as a couple

Have a next situation: We (my wife and I) are planning to apply to US business schoolsfor the entry in 2019 and are looking at US top-10 schools

We don't want to live apart for 2 years so considering either the same school or the schools in the same city (see Booth/Kellog, Stanford/Berkeley, etc).

So the questions are the following:

1) How will joint application affect our chances at getting to b-school?
2) If you apply as a couple is it both reject or both admission or b-schools can accept one and reject other?
3) Is it possible to apply as a couple and, if both get admitted, one person goes to the school and other don't. (Hypothetical situation: My wife has a marketing profile, so we apply to kellog as a couple and both get admitted, but at the same time I (but not my wife) apply to booth on my own and get admitted. For me Booth>Kellog) Is it possible for my wife to still go to Kellog if I reject their offer and go to Booth?. I have a slightly stronger profile than my wife so I think about boosting her chances to get in with joint application while myself going to the other school

Thank you in advance

Honest & brutal (and some part you may not like to hear)
1) The schools will evaluate your cases Individually.
2) Make the best use of the Optional essays however, and SHOW, but in a muted yet appreciative mention how much your commitment to the school is, and that your spouse is also an applicant with very strong stats (but stop short of mentioning her name or uniquely identifiable information). The idea is to show that you understand the Ad Com has to do play by the rules, and evaluate your cases individually, yet still appeal to the human emotion in them to "wish" you both study together.
3) DO NOT even hint you wouldn't join, if you both had to live apart. As applicants to B-Schools, you are both expected to be mature enough to deal with come what may.
4) Without your stats, I have no way of placing your profile successes, but do keep backup plans, including applying to regions close by, though not in the same cities.
Show more

Thank you very much!

Regarding the profiles:
1) Top-1 school in Russia, Computational mathematics degree. Low GPA, 740 GMAT. 5 years consulting experience (incl 3 years in tier-1)
2) Top-10 school in Russia, Management degree. 3.95/4 GPA. GMAT not yet taken. 4 years of brand marketing for top brands in large international FMCG/Pharma

Regarding the response. are you sure that you don't have to mention the name in application?
1) How then the commitee will identify the couple? I thought that is part of the process if you apply together
2) Still if you don't mention explicitly the name, last name is still identical which makes figuring out the couple a very easy exercise.

Thank you
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Application to b-school as a couple 02 Apr 2018, 07:42
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Hi fessxxx,

Thanks for your questions - my thoughts are below:

1) Each person will be evaluated individually on his/her own merits and the strength of his/her application.
2) It is possible for business schools to accept one and reject the other.
3) Ultimately, you, both as a couple and individually, will decide what is best for you and what schools you each would like to attend.

I hope this helps!

Best,
Shaifali
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Application to b-school as a couple 02 Apr 2018, 16:58
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fessxxx
Hello dear colleagues,
As former adcom-- i can tell you that schools do like to know this info-- and it could possibly help the weaker candidate. One strategy- have the stronger applicant apply in R1 and then if admitted-- have weaker one go R2 and note the connection to accepted applicant. Also- applying to multiple schools nearby-- ie-- UNC Kenan-Flagler and Fuqua, HBS and Babson and Boston U and MIT to give yourself better odds that there is a program in the same city even if at different rankings-- UCLA, Pepperdine, USC etc....
I don't think you have to hide the identity of your significant other. You will be evaluated on your own merits-- but if one is on the fence-- it is possible that if they want one enough they may be willing to make a small concession for the spouse to get the yield... but each person needs to be very competitive or that won't work either. Best wishes!
Have a question about the application to b-schoold as a couple

Have a next situation: We (my wife and I) are planning to apply to US business schoolsfor the entry in 2019 and are looking at US top-10 schools

We don't want to live apart for 2 years so considering either the same school or the schools in the same city (see Booth/Kellog, Stanford/Berkeley, etc).

So the questions are the following:

1) How will joint application affect our chances at getting to b-school? see above- could help/be neutral or potentially hurt but I see the latter as the lowest chance.
2) If you apply as a couple is it both reject or both admission or b-schools can accept one and reject other? They will offer one and not the other sometimes
3) Is it possible to apply as a couple and, if both get admitted, one person goes to the school and other don't. (Hypothetical situation: My wife has a marketing profile, so we apply to kellog as a couple and both get admitted, but at the same time I (but not my wife) apply to booth on my own and get admitted. For me Booth>Kellog) Is it possible for my wife to still go to Kellog if I reject their offer and go to Booth?. I have a slightly stronger profile than my wife so I think about boosting her chances to get in with joint application while myself going to the other school There is no "joint" application. Each must apply on own-- and in general if one candidate is much stronger than the other-- it could be better for the strongest one to go first and make sure they get in-- and not dinged because adcom knows they won't take the spouse and thus that person won't come-- make it clear if you can that each person applying on own and will make the best decision-- it is ok to mention that you are seeking a multi-school area such as Boston or LA or Chicago etc.

Thank you in advance
Show more
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GMAT 1: 740 Q51 V38
Schools: Stanford '21 (D) Haas '21 (A) HBS '21 (D) Sloan '21 (D)
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Application to b-school as a couple 03 Apr 2018, 00:58
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StratusMBACounselor
fessxxx
Hello dear colleagues,
As former adcom-- i can tell you that schools do like to know this info-- and it could possibly help the weaker candidate. One strategy- have the stronger applicant apply in R1 and then if admitted-- have weaker one go R2 and note the connection to accepted applicant. Also- applying to multiple schools nearby-- ie-- UNC Kenan-Flagler and Fuqua, HBS and Babson and Boston U and MIT to give yourself better odds that there is a program in the same city even if at different rankings-- UCLA, Pepperdine, USC etc....
I don't think you have to hide the identity of your significant other. You will be evaluated on your own merits-- but if one is on the fence-- it is possible that if they want one enough they may be willing to make a small concession for the spouse to get the yield... but each person needs to be very competitive or that won't work either. Best wishes!
Have a question about the application to b-schoold as a couple

Have a next situation: We (my wife and I) are planning to apply to US business schoolsfor the entry in 2019 and are looking at US top-10 schools

We don't want to live apart for 2 years so considering either the same school or the schools in the same city (see Booth/Kellog, Stanford/Berkeley, etc).

So the questions are the following:

1) How will joint application affect our chances at getting to b-school? see above- could help/be neutral or potentially hurt but I see the latter as the lowest chance.
2) If you apply as a couple is it both reject or both admission or b-schools can accept one and reject other? They will offer one and not the other sometimes
3) Is it possible to apply as a couple and, if both get admitted, one person goes to the school and other don't. (Hypothetical situation: My wife has a marketing profile, so we apply to kellog as a couple and both get admitted, but at the same time I (but not my wife) apply to booth on my own and get admitted. For me Booth>Kellog) Is it possible for my wife to still go to Kellog if I reject their offer and go to Booth?. I have a slightly stronger profile than my wife so I think about boosting her chances to get in with joint application while myself going to the other school There is no "joint" application. Each must apply on own-- and in general if one candidate is much stronger than the other-- it could be better for the strongest one to go first and make sure they get in-- and not dinged because adcom knows they won't take the spouse and thus that person won't come-- make it clear if you can that each person applying on own and will make the best decision-- it is ok to mention that you are seeking a multi-school area such as Boston or LA or Chicago etc.

Thank you in advance
Show more

Thank you very much for the answer!

Just a question - if I get accepted in R1 and then my wife goes in R2 - is it possible for me to wait until making the final decision - is there any strict time limit that schools impose after giving you admission to accept their offer?
E.g. I get admited to booth, Stanford and MIT and wait for my wife's admissions to schools in California, Chicago and Boston. - Will I be able to postpone my decisions to enroll in one of the abovementioned schools?
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Application to b-school as a couple 03 Apr 2018, 14:47
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fessxxx
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fessxxx
Hello dear colleagues,
As former adcom-- i can tell you that schools do like to know this info-- and it could possibly help the weaker candidate. One strategy- have the stronger applicant apply in R1 and then if admitted-- have weaker one go R2 and note the connection to accepted applicant. Also- applying to multiple schools nearby-- ie-- UNC Kenan-Flagler and Fuqua, HBS and Babson and Boston U and MIT to give yourself better odds that there is a program in the same city even if at different rankings-- UCLA, Pepperdine, USC etc....
I don't think you have to hide the identity of your significant other. You will be evaluated on your own merits-- but if one is on the fence-- it is possible that if they want one enough they may be willing to make a small concession for the spouse to get the yield... but each person needs to be very competitive or that won't work either. Best wishes!
Have a question about the application to b-schoold as a couple

Have a next situation: We (my wife and I) are planning to apply to US business schoolsfor the entry in 2019 and are looking at US top-10 schools

We don't want to live apart for 2 years so considering either the same school or the schools in the same city (see Booth/Kellog, Stanford/Berkeley, etc).

So the questions are the following:

1) How will joint application affect our chances at getting to b-school? see above- could help/be neutral or potentially hurt but I see the latter as the lowest chance.
2) If you apply as a couple is it both reject or both admission or b-schools can accept one and reject other? They will offer one and not the other sometimes
3) Is it possible to apply as a couple and, if both get admitted, one person goes to the school and other don't. (Hypothetical situation: My wife has a marketing profile, so we apply to kellog as a couple and both get admitted, but at the same time I (but not my wife) apply to booth on my own and get admitted. For me Booth>Kellog) Is it possible for my wife to still go to Kellog if I reject their offer and go to Booth?. I have a slightly stronger profile than my wife so I think about boosting her chances to get in with joint application while myself going to the other school There is no "joint" application. Each must apply on own-- and in general if one candidate is much stronger than the other-- it could be better for the strongest one to go first and make sure they get in-- and not dinged because adcom knows they won't take the spouse and thus that person won't come-- make it clear if you can that each person applying on own and will make the best decision-- it is ok to mention that you are seeking a multi-school area such as Boston or LA or Chicago etc.

Thank you in advance

Thank you very much for the answer!

Just a question - if I get accepted in R1 and then my wife goes in R2 - is it possible for me to wait until making the final decision - is there any strict time limit that schools impose after giving you admission to accept their offer?
E.g. I get admited to booth, Stanford and MIT and wait for my wife's admissions to schools in California, Chicago and Boston. - Will I be able to postpone my decisions to enroll in one of the abovementioned schools?
Show more

Yes- that's actually a very good question-- and actually that is the down side of applying at different times-- as you would likely have to deposit before your wife knew her decision. Of course you could eat the deposit if you end up elsewhere-- but it would provide some options. If you are reasonably similar in profile then I would apply in same round. In general that is probably best-- but if one of you is significantly weaker-- you'd hate for the stronger one to not get an admit if they know they won't take the spouse... I don't think that would happen-- but you can't be completely sure. There is not an "official" right way here-- I'm just trying to give you some ways to think about all the angles! For what it is worth-- I liked knowing if someone had a spouse applying too-- and some schools even ask this on their application-- as it helps them to manage the process-- good luck to you both!
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Application to b-school as a couple 05 Apr 2018, 02:06
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Hey fessxxx

Thanks for posting and sharing all the details. I definitely recommend that you get back in touch when your wife has her GMAT score. That will help us really evaluate everything in total. To some of the points mentioned above, you will both be evaluated individually but *sometimes* (but not all the times and not the majority of times either), the weaker applicant can be pulled over the line by the stronger applicant. (Think of the AdCom sitting there saying "Well, we really want the wife. But will she come here if we don't take the husband too?" Or vice versa obviously.) Note I have definitely seen situations where one partner is accepted and the other is rejected. To me, there is no downside to letting them know you are applying as a couple. If the application doesn't specifically ask, please flag this in the Optional Essay section. Do not rely on the AdCom figuring this out themselves. You are assuming that they spend a lot of time looking for similar names...they don't!

Now -- one of my worries in reading your story is that you say you have a low GPA. How low is low?? If you are targeting Top 10, this may make things difficult. You may want to build an alternate transcript now while you still have time. (HBX Core or Haas Math for Management.) This is also optional essay territory. And as a male consultant -- realize there is no shortage of male consulting applicants -- it may mean you need to have a broad portfolio strategy. Go for your reach schools but also look at Ross, Stern, Fuqua.

Hope that helps a bit. Once your wife has her GMAT, I recommend that you both set up free consultations to talk in more detail about your background and overall profile.

Hope that helps!
Krista
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fessxxx
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Application to b-school as a couple 05 Apr 2018, 02:36
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Hey fessxxx

Thanks for posting and sharing all the details. I definitely recommend that you get back in touch when your wife has her GMAT score. That will help us really evaluate everything in total. To some of the points mentioned above, you will both be evaluated individually but *sometimes* (but not all the times and not the majority of times either), the weaker applicant can be pulled over the line by the stronger applicant. (Think of the AdCom sitting there saying "Well, we really want the wife. But will she come here if we don't take the husband too?" Or vice versa obviously.) Note I have definitely seen situations where one partner is accepted and the other is rejected. To me, there is no downside to letting them know you are applying as a couple. If the application doesn't specifically ask, please flag this in the Optional Essay section. Do not rely on the AdCom figuring this out themselves. You are assuming that they spend a lot of time looking for similar names...they don't!

Now -- one of my worries in reading your story is that you say you have a low GPA. How low is low?? If you are targeting Top 10, this may make things difficult. You may want to build an alternate transcript now while you still have time. (HBX Core or Haas Math for Management.) This is also optional essay territory. And as a male consultant -- realize there is no shortage of male consulting applicants -- it may mean you need to have a broad portfolio strategy. Go for your reach schools but also look at Ross, Stern, Fuqua.

Hope that helps a bit. Once your wife has her GMAT, I recommend that you both set up free consultations to talk in more detail about your background and overall profile.

Hope that helps!
Krista
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Thank you very much!

GPA is somewhere around 3.2/4
It is the case that in Russia nobody cares about your GPA (you even don't mention it in applications to large companies) that's why i missed it in University and focused on work experience.
I thought that high GMAT + big-3 consulting experience could offset this.

If that is not the case - is there a real possibility to somehow strengthen the GPA after you have graduated? (never heard of such cases)
And how to look for similar disciplines - in Russia courses are not standardized and vary significantly from 1 university to another in terms of curriculum. (e.g. got bad grades in statistical physics and differential equations)

Thank you again
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Application to b-school as a couple 05 Apr 2018, 03:49
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OK, so 3.2 isn't too bad and doesn't really require that you take a lot of steps to make up for it BUT realize that with most of the published 80th percentile GPA ranges at 3.2 to 3.8, you will be on the lower end which may make this process a bit more difficult for you. Then again, there's a lot to like. The Russian passport adds some diversity to the class and MBB also is what AdComs love to see. However, I still wish that GPA was higher!! Obviously you can't change it but if you look at your transcript and notice that you have a lot of low grades in many quant classes, you may want to complete HBX Core or Haas' Math for Management like I mentioned. (You can do these online from anywhere, which helps. There may be some timing issues with HBX though.) This way, you can at least feel that you've done everything in your power to mitigate the GPA and you can also show the AdCom that you are a mature and self-aware individual.