A lot of things can go wrong when you’re filling out your application for an MBA program, from misspelling a company’s name on your resume to accidentally addressing an essay to the wrong school.
While you can weed out those mistakes with a few careful rounds of proofreading, admissions officers often encounter bigger mistakes that require a bit more work to avoid. These kinds of mistakes — such as not doing enough research on the program you’re applying to — may not be as obvious to applicants, but admissions officers can spot them much more easily.
“Demonstrate in your essays and interviews that you’ve done your homework and make the case as to why you’re such a good fit,” Erin Town, assistant dean of full-time, evening and global MBA programs at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, wrote in an email. “If you don’t, it’s likely that your application will sound generic and uncompelling.”
[READ: What an MBA Degree Is and What You Need to Know.]
Here are a few surprising mistakes that admissions experts frequently encounter when reviewing applications to MBA programs.
Not Doing Enough Research
Town says admissions committees can pretty easily spot when an applicant hasn’t done a lot of research into the program.
“Many candidates make decisions based on rankings, but rankings can only tell you so much about a school,” she says. “Consider things like location, culture, curriculum, opportunities beyond the classroom, size, and career outcomes, and figure out what is most important to you.”
Stacy Blackman, founder of the MBA admissions consulting firm Stacy Blackman Consulting and a former U.S. News contributor, notes that she often encounters this mistake in her work with MBA applicants. She advises applicants to attend as many admissions events and information sessions for a given program as possible to get a better understanding of the program.
“When relaying why the MBA program is the perfect program for you, we recommend applicants share details on particular classes and professors,” Blackman wrote in an email. “A good rule of thumb: If you can easily substitute another school’s name in, you need to be more specific.”
Generic Essays or Letters of Recommendation
Make sure your essays are tailored to each individual school and tell an interesting narrative about yourself.
“Essays are a test within a test,” Blackman says. “Admissions committees want to see that you can tell your story in a compelling and concise fashion.”
Blackman says applicants often don’t adequately answer the prompt for a given essay or short answer. When reviewing your application, be sure that your answers “relate directly back to the question being asked,” otherwise your essay may lack the components an admissions committee is looking for, she says.
[READ: How to Write a Strong MBA Resume]
Likewise, generic letters of recommendation can also hurt your application. While you may not be able to control what your recommender writes, picking recommenders based on how well they know you, as opposed to how impressive their titles and backgrounds are, is a good way to ensure a standout recommendation.
Town also says it’s a good idea to discuss your career goals with your recommender and give them a better idea of why you want to get your MBA. “Most schools don’t care about the recommender’s title, they care about how well this person knows you and in what capacity you worked together.”
Not Being True to Yourself
Applicants often hurt themselves in the application process by trying too hard to do what they think the admissions committee wants to see, rather than showcasing their true personality and interests.
“Every applicant has a unique and powerful story,” Blackman says. “We advise applicants to convey an authentic version as opposed to trying to write what they think the admissions committee wants to hear.”
Town says it’s important to be candid in your application, as admissions committees can’t accurately assess an applicant’s overall fit for a program unless the applicant is honest about their goals and why they wish to pursue an MBA. All too often, students do themselves a disservice by trying to “present a persona that [they] think the school is looking for.” She says students can often stand to do a little bit more research into their career goals.
“Let your voice come through in your essays and in conversations with admissions staff,” she says. “We want to get to know the real you.”
[READ: 3 Factors to Help Find the MBA Program That’s Right for You.]
Applying Before You’re Ready
Many applicants are simply not at a point in their careers where they’re ready for an MBA program.
“If you’re finding yourself thinking about the MBA as the goal in and of itself, that can be a sign that you may not quite be ready,” Town says. “The goal should be something beyond the MBA, and the MBA is a means to get there.”
Blackman advises students to wait until they have two to five years of full-time work experience — preferably after at least one promotion — to apply for an MBA. MBA programs want students who have well-defined career goals, and it can be hard to be clear about those before you’ve got some work and leadership experience under your belt.
If you’re still not sure if you’re ready for an MBA, Blackman says it’s a good idea to share your resume with folks in your network who are familiar with MBA programs. They can give you a third party’s perspective on where you are in your career and if it’s the right time to pursue a graduate degree.
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4 Surprising Application Mistakes Prospective MBAs Make originally appeared on usnews.com
