MBAs
“You get this weird application that is technically perfect but says nothing about the candidate.”
If you really want to be famous, hang up the guitar and get an MBA. America’s premier programs have put out names bigger than any rock star’s. Th e top five schools helped turn out leaders like George W. Bush, the UN’s KofiAnnan and Donald Trump.
Receiving that acceptance letter in the mail is no small feat, so get the inside scoop on admissions from the people who make the final decision. While Pennsylvania’s Wharton, MIT Sloan, Harvard, Stanford and Northwestern’s
Kellogg all diff er in curriculum and culture, the news is good—shine through in the interview and blow them away with originality, and you just might have a chance.
Business schools are some of the most rigorously ranked educational programs.
A school that tops most of the rankings garners undeniable respect. And getting in can be an insurmountable challenge, if you approach the application process in the wrong way.
“Our pool is pretty tight,” says Julie Strong, senior associate director of MBA admissions at MIT Sloan School of Management. “What hurts a candidate the most is not really answering a question. Most applicants apply to one or more schools, and sometimes we see some cutting and pasting.”
Because MIT Sloan has such a small class, they accept 324 out of a field of 3,000, something like a little laziness in applications can kill your chances. Along with the other programs contacted, the aim for MIT Sloan is to create a diverse range of candidates that will feed into the particular culture of the school. But rumors of the way a school builds its student body can also adversely aff ect candidates.
“When you enter the MBA program, there are a lot of rumors,” says Th omas Caleel, director of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “People think Stanford is looking for this and MIT is looking for that. And people end up writing a certain way. A lot of people over think it. You get this weird application that is technically perfect but says nothing about the candidate.”
The most important items to get across are your capabilities and accomplishments, according to admissions staff .
“Our mission is to educate leaders who will make a diff erence in the world,” says Deirdre Leopold, managing director MBA admissions financial aid at Harvard. “We are looking for an assortment of leaders who can thrive, not just survive. Th e misconception is that we have an archery target. But that’s not right, we truly believe that leaders come in all shapes and sizes.”
Th at’s why Wharton’s Caleel travels as far as Shanghai and Buenos Aires to interview candidates. While the interview is a very important part of the process, admissions staff is quick to point out that a good or bad interview isn’t make or break.
“There is a ‘Chinese wall’ between outreach and evaluation,” says Derrick Bolton, assistant dean and MBA admissions director at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. “So if an admissions officer has had personal contact with an applicant, she will recuse herself from involvement with that person’s application. We do this because we don’t want to penalize a person who doesn’t have money, opportunity or time to have a personal relationship with a Stanford community member. Each student is selected based on the merits of her or his candidacy.”
Getting into the top schools requires a combination of many factors. And what can be both disheartening, and very encouraging, is that there doesn’t seem to be an ideal candidate.
As long as you are sure which school you want to attend, why, have accomplishments that you are proud of and fill out the application correctly, you are on your way. And, oh yeah, don’t forget a stellar GPA, high GMAT scores and great recommendations. But with the average cost of such an education running well over $50,000 a year, you need to be absolutely sure about which school to go to.
“The top five programs each have fantastic students and faculty,” Strong, of MIT Sloan, says. “It really gets down to the flavor and culture of school. It’s the place where you will make lifelong friends, where you will find business partners, people who you will change the world with. You have to go to an institution where you feel great.”
Who knows, you could end up in the same class as the next Donald Trump or George W. Bush. It all depends on where you decide to go, and of course… if you get in.