Top MBA programs look for more than strong academic credentials in candidates.
Because they want to build a diverse class that resembles the business world, they seek to admit applicants with the leadership, interpersonal and professional skills necessary to succeed in business. In addition to evaluating your test scores and grades, top MBA programs also consider whether you have a history of contributing meaningfully to the organizations and communities where you’ve worked, admissions experts say.
Other qualities such as authenticity, originality, self-awareness and responsibility weigh heavily when admissions officers at top B-schools determine whether a candidate is the right fit for their program. Often, these factors are as important as academic credentials, experts say.
“Schools have things specific to them, so you want to find out what those are so that you can articulate in your essays and your interviews how you fit in with that viewpoint,” says Joe Farr, MBA admissions counselor for Stratus Admissions Counseling. “You can be a fantastic applicant and, across the board, fit all of their metrics, but if you don’t sound like you can fit in on a day-to-day basis, then that can be the reason why you don’t get in. It’s not just what you’re going to get from the program, but also what the program is going to get from you.”
Highlight Business-Related Skills
Whether you come from a business background or are changing careers, most programs assess academic readiness quantitatively — they want to see that you can understand, interpret and use data to solve problems and make decisions.
“We do this because we want to ensure our incoming students have a basic foundation that will set them up for success in the program, where they will have required core classes in statistics and accounting, for example,” Lindsay Loyd, executive director for MBA admissions at New York University’s Leonard M. Stern School of Business, wrote in an email. “Quantitative readiness can be demonstrated in a variety of ways: undergraduate coursework in quantitative disciplines, standardized test scores, work experience, independent courses or professional certifications.”
[READ: 7 Ways to Stand Out When Applying to Business School]
In your essays and interviews, you should also demonstrate a strategic mindset, willingness to collaborate with various perspectives and a desire to continue learning, experts say.
“In my essays, I leaned into examples that provided proof points of my ability to lean into these skillsets, and I asked that my recommenders also include times they’ve seen me embody these strengths in their recommendation letters,” says Kasia Kalata, a student at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago in Illinois.
Demonstrate Self-Awareness
Explaining your strengths, weaknesses and how an MBA program will help you grow is a crucial component of a successful MBA application, experts say.
“Starting the MBA admissions process with self-awareness is going to help an applicant better identify a short list of programs that are the right fit for their needs and aspirations, and will likely result in a stronger application with more authentic and connected essays,” Loyd says.
Self-awareness is a key component to admissions criteria at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, says Lawrence Mur’ray, the school’s executive director of admissions and financial aid.
“This kind of reflection helps applicants articulate why an MBA — and specifically Tuck — is the right fit for them, while also making them stronger classmates and leaders,” he wrote in an email. “Self-aware individuals are open to feedback, adaptable in the face of challenges and able to engage meaningfully with diverse perspectives.”
Some interview questions, such as describing how you handled a work conflict, allow you to show self-awareness.
“I would advise prospective students to spend some time digging into their own skills and areas they hope to evolve in and the ‘why’ behind pursuing an MBA before they start working on the essays or interviewing, as well as getting clear on the end goal: How does the MBA fit into their own transformation?” Kalata says.
Describe Nonacademic Accomplishments
Admissions officers want to see that you’ve done high-quality work after completing your undergraduate degree, Loyd says.
“A strong resume goes beyond job descriptions to highlight accomplishments and impact,” she says. “It’s great to note any promotions, but we also understand career progression isn’t always linear. Growth and potential can be demonstrated with lateral moves that increase breadth or depth of experience.”
[MBA Application Essays: Everything You Need to Know]
Candidates who are younger than the majority of applicants should know that business schools care less about how many years you’ve spent in the workforce and more about your long-term professional prospects, experts say.
“We also use the short-term goals essay to understand career aspirations and see how applicants connect the dots from their prior work experience to what they hope to achieve in the MBA program and beyond graduation,” Loyd says.
Accentuate Authenticity
Some MBA applicants wrongly believe that top programs look for aspiring consultants or bankers who want to work at high-profile firms. However, programs want diverse classes with a wide range of perspectives, so stay true to yourself throughout the application process, experts suggest.
Top programs look for what makes you different “from every other finance applicant or every other consulting applicant,” Farr says. Whether you plan to join a large consulting firm or take over your family business, explain your unique story and what motivates you.
“You can use the cliche that honesty is the best policy, but it’s a cliche for a reason,” Farr says. “That’s the part of you that’s really going to shine instead of this narrative that you think they want to hear.”
[READ: 3 Ways to Recover From a Bad MBA Interview]
Academic Requirements at Top Programs
Top programs tend to attract many extremely competitive applicants, and some highly selective programs admit fewer than 20% of applicants. Many of these programs see high average GMAT scores among applicants to their full-time programs, with some averages of 717 or higher out of 800, per U.S. News data.
While a strong undergraduate GPA and good GMAT or GRE scores can help and schools often admit students within a specific range of scores, admissions experts say there’s typically no minimum GPA or test requirement, even at top programs.
“While strong academic performance is important, we understand that numbers alone don’t define a candidate’s abilities or potential,” Mur’ray says. “We consider the rigor of coursework, trends in academic performance and context around an applicant’s undergraduate record, just as we do with test scores.”
A lower GPA or test score isn’t automatically disqualifying, experts say. Farr says he was admitted to several top programs and eventually graduated from the Yale University School of Management in Connecticut despite having an undergrad GPA below 3.0.
“I had to take the extra steps to explain that I could handle the work despite what my GPA showed,” Farr says. “I’ve had a lot of people go to these top schools with a low GPA or test score and they’re a testament to the fact that just because you had some bad metric at one point in your life, that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed or thrive in a top school.”
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How to Get Accepted Into a Top MBA Program originally appeared on usnews.com
