Let's face it, we have a TON of people applying to business school that stop being active on the forums once they start classes. Rightfully so, because business school can be HARD! I was barely active on GMAT Club when I was knee deep in assignments, networking and preparing for interviews. So I wanted to get a "last call" from all our folks before they step into their fancy business school oxfords. Here is what they had to say about what they thought they did well.
Part 1 - What I wish I had known before - 70+ MBA Admit Responses
Part 3 - What I wish I had done better - 70+ MBA Admit Responses
I think I stayed true to myself and conveyed my personality and strengths well, through my application and interview. As an MBA candidate, you don't need to have all your career goals chiselled out before you start your journey - you figure it out along the way! But, it's important to have a vision and a motivation to work towards. Authenticity goes a long way in making a strong candidate.
I believe I was very well prepared before applying to school. I did extensive research on the schools I was interested in, I prepared great essays and I did interview preparation in a great way so to compensate my relatively low GMAT.
I think I did well painting myself in the best light. It goes back to confidence, but when in doubt give yourself the benefit of the doubt as long as it's true. Competition is too fierce not to. I think I did well looking at employment reports to see what exactly this school is capable of. To be honest, there's only like a 5-10k difference between Harvard and 12,13,14 (Ross, Duke, Darden, Tuck, Stern). One admit is great. Anything more is a dream come true. Also, I did well in my later interviews after experience. I noticed the schools that I got admitted to were my best interviews, and by best I mean that I really, really got enthusiastic along with making logical coherent sentences. I believe that your enthusiasm is more important in an interview than possibly the content. As long as you're not saying BS things like I was president of the student class before freshman year.
I had a strong, honest, and cohesive narrative that I worked on deliberately before beginning my application, I worked to ensure that my essays were giving the school a clear look at who I really am, what my experiences are, and what I want to do after school. I prepared intensely for the interviews
I think I did well on the GMAT. And on reaching out to alums from target schools to understand whether or not the school I was applying to fit my requirements.
My GMAT score was decent at 730. I also was able to cover up my shortfalls in my interview.
I tried to show different aspects of myself, my aspirations, my life and my personalities. There is a piece of advice everyone would say " Be authentic", and I finally got to understand what that really means. I do not need to be perfect, I tried to show the schools that I am real.
The first and most important thing IMO was the clarity of the purpose for which I was applying to B schools. Secondarily GMATclub helped me a lot with the GMAT prep, once that got out of the way, My friend who is a senior alum from ISB (my target B school) helped and guided me throughout both in terms of resume building, essay writing & finally interview prep.
1- I had a real back story and went in naturally in my essays and interviews. Having a back story is a must, and the information flow should be smooth and logical for sure, both in essays and interviews. How one presents it is also as important. the best way is not to struggle to deliver the message, especially during the interview. Short, smart and accurate sentences. Although it might sound strange, but there must be some emotional elements in the application and interview, the adcom likes it, makes them feel that we are humans not robots. 2- I was so nervous about my interviews, but since I had practiced the questions, some parts just came out automatically with acceptable quality for the listener. 3- I kept the smile during the interviews, it helped to prevent getting into a defensive position and helped the interviewer feel more satisfied when talking to me. 4- I am 32, and what surprisingly helped me was that when I knew that the interviewer is younger than me, and he or she is also talking to a stranger, they should also be nervous, so I tried to think "Ok this is a young person who is also nervous, so I should make that feeling go away for him/her. How do I do that? just talk relaxed, smile, use a couple of light jokes, open up", and that way I would have a positive impression because they felt relaxed when talking to me. the interviews with female interviewers (I am male) were more fun I would say, regardless of the age. and I got accepted to 3 of 4 universities where the interviewer was female.
I think I was successful in showing interest in specific programs at Anderson through networking and relatable work experience. I only applied to UCLA Anderson and prior to submitting my application I signed up to sit in on a lecture in person as well as a coffee chat meetup to talk to current students about their experience. Through the coffee chat I met the vice president and head of admissions of the Entrepreneurship Club, a club I was already interested in joining. In my application I mentioned some of the networking I had done with current students and which specific on campus clubs I would pursue if I was admitted to UCLA which strengthened my application beyond personal experiences.
I think as above, I put together a coherent story of what I wanted to do in the future, and what I had done up to that point that supported that plan. I think my extra-curricular activities and community volunteering possibly came across as 'genuine', I've been volunteering as part of my extra-curricular since I was 19 so it was consistent dedication, as opposed to something that looked like I picked it up a few months before the applications were due.
Engaging with the B-schools early on, getting my CV reviewed and visiting the campus to meet Ad-coms was the part that went well. When you do that you actually tend to find the right fit for you. Brand names such as LBS, Oxford etc are enticing just on the basis of their brand value but until you visit them in person and talk to students you can never find out if that is actually the right place for you! I come with 15 years of work-experience in 2 countries , across 2 business domains and with 6 clients, therefore was looking for classes where there would be equal amount of maturity. I was not at all keen on LBS but nevertheless applied on the advice of my consultant. I was a bit indecisive on Oxford too but unfortunately never got through to the interview round.
As regards the GMAT, I still don't think it is an exam that should make people nervous. I prepared for 2.5 months and throughout that time worked diligently through all the 700 plus practice questions available on GMAT Club and read different explanations for the right answers. This helped in my preparation a lot and I am glad I registered on GMAT Club at the right time.
Storytelling. It is the most important part of the MBA application. Have a good story, be true to yourself.
I did very well on my GMAT. I did a good job of showing interest in schools by attending an event, contacting current students, etc.
Networking, Interview prep, building connections with adcoms before interviews so they can advocate for me to the admission committee
I nailed down my narrative really well. I made sure that if someone asked the typical, "Why MBA?" "Why X school?" "Why did you choose your major?" "Why did you leave X firm and go to Y firm?" "What are you good at?" I could give clear, concise answers. Honestly, it boiled down to just making all of my answers, written or verbal, a lot more casual.
Networking with current students, going to the school for interview even though there was a skype option available. These things have helped me to create a good impression.
I managed to tell my story and explain why I am a good candidate who can contribute to the program.
Allocating equal time to all parts of the application. I think there is an obvious focus on the GMAT, and while I did put a lot of time into that, I also spent an equal amount of time crafting my essays, researching schools, working on my ECs.
I'm not sure in which circumstance this question is for, but during the application process my SOP was regarded as "deeply personal and quite different from the regular letters they receive". Given that I have 9 years of work ex, the interviews were more of a breeze since I had enough examples to back my answers with and also I have a solid 5 year plan.
1. Target and shortlist colleges of my liking/capability
2. I had a list of financial aids and scholarship options available for each of my target colleges. So I was less worried about that aspect and am now able to focus on just my preparations. Also, I was able to apply to them as soon as I got the admit.
3. I had a lot of time to focus on my essays - so I felt my profile was more complete
Talking to a lot of alumni and taking their inputs to craft my application.
- Network: Connected with current students with some attribute in common with me. I also kept in touch with admissions reps I met for one-to-one coffee chats.
- Working well in teams: Framed my achievements in terms of working with other people and how my background prepared me to facilitate collaboration.
- Recommenders: I prepared them on what type of candidate each school looks for. Both of them submitted strong recommendations.
I chose a very counter intuitive approach, I did nit take help from any professional consultants and kept my stories and stats very genuine. (I believe that genuine voice helped me with an 80% hit rate of interview invites.)
I took around a couple of weeks to prepare applications for each school and had 2-3 people review each draft. I think I had sufficient time in hand to reflect rather than copy paste the same thing for every school, which worked for me.
I think i handled my GMAT well and got a decent score. The other thing i think i did well was that i concentrated on a smaller number of schools, this allowed me to give really personalized essays for each school rather than just copy pasting and editing.
Another thing i did well was find out how i can get my application fee waived for different schools, so managed to apply for free to three schools!
I think my story was well thought through and I did well in interviews. Good interview preparation is key.
I think my professional skills were good. I worked whole-heartedly at my previous employer and raked up early promotion which helped me learn a lot. Both professionally and personally.
I made a very calculated and wise decision to NOT opt for any paid admission consultancy services (both online and in-person) but rather fully leveraged the power of the internet and intensive research to land admits from all 3 of the colleges I had applied to. The fees consultants charge is extremely inflated/unjustified and most of the time they underestimate your true potential in cracking essays, interviews, etc. For example, when just casually investigating, I had 2-3 relatively famous paid consultants declined helping me in my application for my ambitious college (Schulich school of business, Toronto) because, upon inspection of my interests, history, and overall profile, they thought I STOOD NO CHANCE. Not to mention, thanks to my own research and work, I got an admit into Schulich. The fact that I declined it for another college is another story, but I feel I truly saved 1000s of dollars in not taking any external paid help for my work. So I really feel that GMATClub and other parts of the internet have all the answers you need in THE ENTIRE admission process.
I showed the impact I had at work through my leadership despite having about only 3 years when I applied and ensured that my recommenders really showed the initiative I took on special-projects while continuing to perform the day-to-day tasks at a high level.
I think I managed to tell my story well and convey what I am passionate about very genuinely. I come from a non-target school so I knew that my story is very very important and I spent a lot of time on that
I was able to network well with current students from multiple universities and attended several webinars to give adcoms an hint that I was interested in the respective universities that I applied. I also did a good job by presenting my professional and extra curricular achievements in an impactful manner.
I delivered a clear way of how I intend to profit and contribute to B-School. I had a clear path forward, with ambitious yet realistic goals that demonstrated how committed I was and how I wasn't just applying as a stepping stone.
I got a score of 660 in my first attempt by prepping my verbal only from Gmatclub. I did take a course for quant. While on the face of it, it doesn't seem to be a great score, I almost was selected to every school I applied to. I wish I had known not-to-fret and be more ambitious to apply instead of being Indian-Engineering candidate and that not everyone needs a perfect 700+ GMAT score to get in a good school. However, scholarships mostly depend on the score and I could have done better if I knew that earlier.
-Decent GMAT score definitely helped.
-Had a great interview. All the schools asks everyone the same questions, so there should be no excuse.
-Applying in the first round and showing genuine interest in the program by maintaining correspondence.
-My unique academic background probably helped (Law).
Flesh out my stories and examples of leadership, conflict, successes, failures well in advance of the admission cycles - so that material could then be adapted and modified according to the school!
I think my interviews went well. I was very genuine, real and personable. I had talked to a lot of students so mentioning that in interview is a great thing. My advice for everyone interviewing(any interview job or school) is that be vulnerable, don't sound rehearsed(ahs are okay) and be pretend.
My GMAT preparation. I was focused and disciplined and I think I managed to do better than I expected. I was worried that I have not been in academia for 6 years, but it turned out pretty well.
I was very consistent throughout my GMAT. When it comes to the application requirements, I was very well balanced, put a lot of effort in each step instead of putting 100% in some and neglecting others. Also, my timing was good.
1) I thoroughly researched each school and evaluated different types of programs, full-time 2-year MBA, full-time 1 year MBAs, Executive MBA and Part-time MBA, based on my level of experience (10 years).
2) I worked hard on my essays and they improved with every application. The application questions/essays really force you to reflect and think about your future goals, and that should be reflected in your answers.
I believe that despite a low GMAT score I fared really very well in interviews. I had structured my ideas and thoughts in a pragmatic manner and also tried to relate every situational based question on a real time scenario.
I believe I did really well at networking with admissions team/students at Queen's and Schulich. This helped a lot to receive scholarship and admissions as the admissions team remembered me really well.
Although I am not sure, the following points might have helped me:
1. I had a fair idea of what is the common characteristics of students admitted to a particular school
2. My interviews were conversational, yet to the point. Many aspiring candidates mistake ""To the point"" answers as curt or short answers - Big mistake. elaborate on your ideas of the school, demonstrate that you have taken efforts to know the school beyond what is pictured on the website. I was able to show that the school was the missing piece in my career.
3. I had a clear vision of why I was applying to a particular school, and I tried to channel that in my interviews
4. I was also not shy of sharing any potential shortcomings of my profile with my interviewers
A few things that I did well.
- Getting GMAT out of the way before starting my application.
- Attending information sessions of the schools the schools I was interested in. The insights of alumni and admissions team helped me understand their MBA experience more holistically.
- Attempting to honestly put my story across in the application essays.
The chance I took on
Target test Prep and Orion learning. Orion shutdown their program, but it was good. Not the best, but affordable and good. They could have made it adaptive learning and further improved upon it.
2nd : Gmat forum. I think, this forum is a huge resource for the candidate.
I made good connections from people who were joining different Bschools (US/Non-US) it really helped to sail the tough covid time together and to stay up-to-date on what is happening at individual bschools.
Long and structured GMAT prep. Solved over 12000 questions. Still not too happy with my 750 score though.
1.) I applied in round 1.
2.) I was ready to face failures, I applied to some 6/7 colleges and only received admits from 2, in the end an applicant can only attend 1 program so it doesn't matter how many B-schools reject you as long as there is 1 which is going to give you an admit.
3.) I had a different profile than a regular Indian IT Male, I have been working in public sector since the start of my career, people from my organization don't go for an MBA, along with that I was very clear regarding my story or as they say good fit.
here I would like to share what i have understood by good fit, let's take my example I have been working in a retail bank and now I want to move into Fintech, B-schools which are situated in cities with good Fintech scene are a great fit for me, for ex- London, Hongkong, Dubai, on the other hand, B-school like Insead which is very good for consulting is not a good fit for my career aspirations.
GMAT Score, Personal Interview (Honest, Realistic)
I reached out to students and faculty fairly late but it still helped. I wished I would've built the network and kept the connection much earlier. Those conversation really helped my essays and interviews.
I prepared for my stories well in advance
I applied only in R2, but I had stayed with the questions since July-August (when they were released).
I was thinking about my stories even when I wasn't actively working on my apps. (Ex: stuck in traffic, traveling to a friend's place etc.)
This helped me speed up my application when I was working on it actively.
I think I managed my time well. I took the GMAT, visited schools, etc. early in the process so that I could spend the whole summer focused on essay writing and application work. I strongly encourage people to take the GMAT/GRE as early as possible as it's one less thing to worry about. And make sure you visit the schools if you can! This shows adcom you are taking their program seriously.
I had a clear understanding of why MBA part and specifically why MBA from IIMB part. I managed to put forward some specific points that were only pertinent to IIMB and my career goal. Secondly, I had practiced quite a lot of guesstimate questions. In my interview, I was asked to design an app and derive the business model to it.
I did well in attending many events and class visits at all the business schools I was interested in, and did a great job at networking and meeting staff and students. I spent many hours perfecting my resume and crafting my story to get great essays at the end.
- I didn't spend much time on writing essays, i saw many people spend huge time on application. i think the process is a bit overwhelming, in reality it is not as hard/ time consuming as i had heard
See note about being authentic and telling the story only you can tell. This complemented my solid stats (Top 25 undergrad/3.5/730) and work experience at a blue-chip (FAANG/GS/MBB) kind of firm. As far as interviewing, I found it to be pretty easy. Just be cool and know your reason for why MBA and you should do better than most who let nerves get the best of them.
In all honesty, I don't think I did anything particularly well. I knew if I had worked for it I could have been a competitor for schools like HEC Paris or IE but leaving Canada wasn't an option so I did the bare minimum to get into McGill and Queen's and I applied to McGill and Queen's.
Firstly, I value the strength of professional relationships I fortified over my time at work. As an example, my supervisor of 6 years, who left the company a couple of months before my applications commenced, went out of his way to tell me that he would be more than glad to write recommendations for me even before I requested him to do so! This proved to be vital in having a smooth application process, owing to not ever having to 'chase' my receommendors for anything.
Secondly, apart from a good amount of GMAT prep and an ok GMAT score of 710 considering my profile, what really made the difference for me is reaching out, maintaining correspondence and being persistent in following up with current students and alumni of my target schools throughout the application process. This was crucial in creating and displaying a sense of personal connection with the school during my interview.
Lastly, in hindsight, getting myself involved in hands'-on volunteer work, albeit only six months before my application process helped.
Networking. I cannot stress this one enough. Getting to know people is so important as current students can really paint a complete picture for you of what's going at the school. Not only did this help me in my journey to make a decision, but I also felt like I got a very clear understanding of what it takes to be successful at each school. With that frame of reference, it made attacking many of the essays a lot easier. Also, I had the chance to let some of the folks I met review my essays and offer feedback on my progress. That was really helpful because it give me an unbiased third-party who could tell me whether or not I was meeting the mark.
I think I did a pretty great job in demonstrating that I am a well-rounded applicant. In such a highly competitive process, I think applicants need to realize that extracurricular activities are sometimes the difference maker. I'd also further that comment by saying that I was rather personable. I have no doubt that there are many applicants with more extensive job profiles, but the personal essays and interview(s) are opportunities to tell the story behind those experiences. Those stories you tell are a great way to create a connection with adcom.
I had a great stats (>3.8 GPA, >95 percentile standardized score)
Getting my application ready earlier than later (the lockdown happened shortly after I finished taking my GMAT and got all my transcripts ready), talking to others, doing my own research
With my average stats, I think telling a compelling story - linking my why in life to my why business school - made the difference for me. Every school I applied to could resonate with it and I left the interviews with open declarations of support.
I think that, apart from the basic ingredients that I mentioned above, an MBA application to a top school needs to stand out in some way; it should be memorable. I tried to bring out my personal story in an articulate, engaging way, and I think that this helped me a lot. If I could offer a single piece of advice to an MBA applicant, it would be - stand out! Dig for and bring out the personal experiences that have made you a better person and a better professional.
I spoke to a handful of current students from each school, asked thoughtful questions, and developed reasons why I wanted to attend each school. I wove my connections into my application (essays, interviews), and I believe it was critical to my success.
I think I had a great essay. I answered the prompt in a way that felt comfortable to me - I tried to avoid too many third party opinions (had only two people read it) to ensure my voice was present. The essay came out very genuinely and I think it saved some of the weaker aspects of my application (gmat, gpa).
All of the above, which greatly helped especially since I had the bare minimum professionsl experience required to do an MBA, which is lower than the average
One thing I was very proud of myself for was my ability to connect with current students, alumni and faculty of my programs of interest. This allowed me to pick their brains on what they felt the strengths and weaknesses of their respective school was. This gave me a greater understanding of which program would be best for me.
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Expert
10 Jun 2020, 15:38
