Admissions directors at the world’s top business schools admit that the hardest aspect of getting an MBA from their schools is getting in. Getting through a top program may be demanding, but let’s face it—almost 99 percent of the people who enroll get their degrees. At a school like Stanford, however, only 8 to 10 percent of the people who apply are admitted. Numerous other top schools accept only one in seven or eight applicants.
The reason it is so difficult to get into these schools is clear. The value of an MBA from a top school is immense. As later chapters discuss, graduates of the top schools earn salaries that are, on average, double or more what graduates from lesser schools make. There is even a pronounced difference in the earnings of graduates from the top-ranked and tenth-ranked schools in the United States (as well as in Europe, Asia, and Latin America). Increased salaries are not the end of the story. Greater career choice, increased job security, faster promotions, more interesting work, higher status, and numerous other benefits also result from a top MBA, so it is no wonder that so many people want to get into the best school they can manage.
The purpose of this book is to help applicants get into the best business school possible. Schools want candidates who will be successful corporate (and nonprofit) executives, civic leaders, and entrepreneurs. They assess a great deal of information to find them. Some of this is objective and quantifiable, such as a candidate’s Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score, whereas much of it is not, such as what a candidate intends to do in the future. The objective elements of an application, which can be termed a candidate’s credentials, are obviously important. The subjective elements, however, are ultimately much more important.
Stanford could fill its class with candidates from the world’s top universities—people who graduated in the top 10 percent of their class; scored 700 or better on the GMAT; and have worked for the world’s preeminent technology companies, consulting firms, and investment banks. Of course it accepts some people who fit this profile, but it actually rejects more of them than it accepts. The point is that schools are looking for more from its candidates than fancy résumés.
Schools admit people rather than résumés. Harvard, for example, wants people who have “demonstrated senior management potential,” which is not the same thing as getting a high GMAT score. Schools look for leaders—people who work well as part of teams, who are determined to make an impact, and who have thought carefully about how they want their careers to progress. Given a certain baseline of achievement, they will look at far more than someone’s grade point average or GMAT score because those are simply inadequate predictors of leadership, teamwork, and other critical skills.
Schools do consider objective credentials, but only as part of the total picture of the person. They use all of the information they get, including the essays candidates write, the recommendations submitted on their behalf, and the results of application interviews, to determine whether someone will be a successful business leader, entrepreneur, or whatever.
Darden’s long-time admissions director, Jon Megibow, put it succinctly: “We are convinced that the ‘who’ is even more important than the ‘what.’ We look for people who are more than a set of credentials, more than a set of technical or professional skills. The only way to get a handle on the who is by interviewing applicants, by reading their essays to see whether they are multifaceted human beings, and by examining the recommendations. A one-dimensional person, no matter what his numbers—his credentials—will not be successful as a general manager.”
In fact, the essays, recommendations, and interviews are doubly useful for schools. They not only show these leadership and other qualities but also suggest how schools should interpret the so-called objective data. A grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale means different things in different contexts. If a student had to work 30 hours per week at a demanding job, that performance looks better. Similarly, if the person is a gifted mathematician but chose to take a lot of writing courses to improve a weakness, that performance again looks better. The only way that schools know how to interpret a grade point average, let alone someone’s work experience or aspirations, is by hearing what the applicant (and the applicant’s recommenders) say about it. In other words, the essays, recommendations, and interviews not only present new information but also “frame” the objective data.
How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs shows you how to maximize the value of your credentials by presenting them in the best way. It does this in several ways:
The key is to develop your own personal marketing strategy. This must be comprehensive because a disjointed set of essays, or a recommendation that is at odds with what you say about yourself, is the kiss of death for your application. To maximize your chances, you must take advantage of every opportunity to show how professional you are, and why you should be admitted.
This book will show you how to prepare applications that distinguish you from the rest of the applicant pool and show you in your best light. It will show you the mistakes applicants typically make, and how (and why) to avoid them.
Admissions directors routinely note that only 5 to 10 percent of applicants market themselves really well. This gives you a great opportunity to improve your chances by learning how to create a professional-quality application.
This book is geared toward people who want to get into the best business school they can. It analyzes and discusses each step of the process in a thorough, detailed fashion. Although the text is weighted in terms of getting into the top schools, frankly anyone who wants to improve his or her candidacy to any school, in the top 20 or not, would benefit from an understanding of application strategy.
The book does not assume that you are an American applying to an American business school, although that is the most common applicant profile. The examples used include many Americans but also a number of European, Asian, and Latin American candidates. Similarly, the business schools considered include the top American and European schools, with more than a nod to their Asian and Latin American counterparts.
How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs provides a thorough explanation of how you can get into the best schools possible. It guides you through each step of the process, showing you at each point how to develop your own marketing strategy. The unique features include:
—Successful applications to 17 of the world’s top schools
—Submissions by applicants from all walks of life, from accounting to the arts, banking to marketing, consulting to engineering, and so on
—How to choose and finance the right program for you
—How to prepare for business school and how to get the most out of the program once you go
The key to maximizing the value of this book is to start the whole admissions process early—earlier than you might believe necessary. As Chapter 6, “Application Timetable,” shows, it is ideal to begin the process a year or more before you expect to begin classes. Starting early, and using this book throughout the process, will allow you to complete strong, persuasive applications in the most efficient manner possible.
This book is designed to be used efficiently by people with radically different needs. Some will want to read it cover to cover, but many will want to dip into it for help on specific problems they face. Here are some suggestions for how to get the most out of the book, depending on your own situation.
If you have applications due in just a few weeks, you must read several core chapters of the book immediately to avoid making terrible mistakes. Chapter 7 shows you how business schools will evaluate your applications, Chapter 8 shows you the basics of how to market yourself, and the introduction to Chapter 9 shows you how to think about your essays. You will also want to read the analyses of specific essay questions that you are going to answer. In addition, if you have yet to choose your recommenders, or if they have not yet sent in your recommendations, read Chapter 11 to see how you can improve what they say. Before your interviews, you will certainly want to read Chapter 12 on interviewing. When you have time, read the other chapters, or the executive summaries of them, to understand the application process more fully. Part III, which covers the post-application period, is important reading for you after you have finished your applications.
If you intend to apply to schools in the next several months, you will probably want to get an overview of the application process by reading the executive summaries of each chapter now, plus Chapter 7 and 8, which will explain the fundamentals of what you want to demonstrate in your applications. Read Chapter 6 to be sure you do not miss the starting dates for important activities. Then read each chapter as it becomes relevant to your effort, starting with Chapters 9 and Chapters 10, which will show you how to prepare your essays.
If you are not going to apply to schools for another two or three years, read Chapters 7 and 8 now. These will show you how best to ready yourself for admission while you still have the opportunity to improve your credentials dramatically. Then read Chapter 6 to determine when to start the process for keeps. Later on you can read the executive summaries of each chapter (about 15 to 18 months before you intend to go) to prepare for the application process itself.
WHAT IF ONE OF YOUR APPLICATIONS IS DUE IN A WEEK?
Do not panic! This book can get you up to speed fast. Before going any further in your applications, be sure to read the executive summaries of each chapter and read Chapter 8 thoroughly. Then consult the relevant essay topics (the ones you are working on at the moment) in Chapter 9 and look through the discussion in Chapter 10 of how to write a strong and persuasive essay. Also be sure to read Chapter 11 on recommendations before giving the “go-ahead” to your recommenders.
In general, some chapters will not be relevant to everybody. For example, people who have already done their research and determined which schools to apply to can happily skip Chapter 3, “How to Choose the Right School for You.”
Many applicants look upon the task of producing hundreds of details about their pasts, writing dozens of essays about intimate or obscure topics, securing recommendations from old professors and current bosses, and enduring interviews as a modern form of “death by a thousand cuts.” They feel that it is trial enough simply to research the schools and figure out which ones would be appropriate for them, let alone to have to manage the data-, paper-, writing-, and time-intensive application process.
If that is your view, keep in mind that the application process, however imperfect it may be, forces applicants to think seriously about where they want to go in their careers and in their lives, and how they are going to get there. Too few people do this career planning at any point, let alone at this most appropriate of times. Applicants to business schools, whether they are in their mid-twenties or mid-thirties, are highly likely to be right at the point where sensible decisions about these matters can yield a lifetime of benefits, and a failure to consider their options carefully can result in opportunities missed—opportunities that will not be offered again. Confronting such important career decisions might open doors you never even realized existed.