Ten Tips to Create an Effective Business School Application

Competition for admittance to the nation’s top 10 business schools is fierce. Tens of thousands of applications are received by these schools from all over the world for a thousand available spots.

The evaluation of these candidates is made primarily on their application, letters of reference, and, in­creasingly, on the interview. But the core of the process remains the written application for admission.

1. Market yourself as a value-adding resource to the program

Gaining acceptance to a top program is nothing more than a good marketing and strategy problem. It is a process that requires you to highlight your personal, professional and academic strengths, in addition to your competitive advantages.

To ensure you are competitive, the elements of essential essays, good academic statistics (GPA and GMAT), rec­ommendations, etc. Second, you must possess something unique that sets you apart from the other applicants (see tip 3). Finally, you must show how you can contribute to the program or why you are a more valuable addition to the school than others.

This is critical since business schools are often viewed only as places where students learn or receive training. But, this ignores the fundamental principle of graduate business education that learning occurs mainly from classroom participation, group projects, and other informal inter­actions. This is why your ability to contribute to the learning environment is as highly valued as your ability to learn. As a result you must demonstrate to the admissions committees (ADCOMS) how you can con­tribute to the program through your former expe­rience, analytical abilities or leadership capabilities.

2. Be aggressive

One characteristic common to most MBA students at the top schools is their ability to achieve their goals. They know what they want and they go out and get it. Their aggressive, “go-getter” attitude distinguishes them. So, how can you show aggressiveness through an application?

The first thing you need to make sure of is that your essays are strongly focused. They should portray you as a doer- somebody who aside from doing well academically, played sports, held office in school government, or potentially worked throughout his undergraduate education. The secret is communicating to ADCOMs that you work hard and are a committed individual.

In addition, your writing should make use of action verbs, be composed of short sentences and paragraphs and exciting to read. Verbs like “managing”, “succeeding”, accomplishing”, etc are good action verbs that portray a more aggressive personal style.

3. Stand out from the Applicant Pool

How does an Admissions Officer separate and pick candidates from a pool of clearly qualified individuals who all possess good academic stats, essays, and recommendations?

A judgment is based on more than these things. When an applicant is reviewed, the Admissions Committee seeks to understand what elements of an applicant’s background make him or her unusual, unique or outstanding to offer their program.

So, as an applicant you need to determine what that is. It could be anything! Some examples can include an outstanding and unusual employment record, having received honors from a prestigious institution or having founded a small business venture. Examples like this demonstrate that an applicant has the personal characteristics that will enable him or her to do something that probably few others have done.

Even if you had a boring job, you can still highlight specific achievements or responsibilities you had. Did you save your company money, were you responsible for millions of dollars worth of inventory, were you a top scholar in your country or college, did you manage services for a campus of thousands of students? The key, once again, is that you position what you have done to set you far apart from the crowd of MBA applicants.

4. Check your modesty at the door!

Your business school application is the last place you should be modest in. It is your only vehicle to persuade a reader about your uniqueness and extraordinary skills and abilities.

You might believe that a particular event you consider an accomplishment is not “worthy” of those exhibited by other competitors of yours in the application process. This is non-sense. You need to highlight what you’ve done and frame it appropriately so as to grab a reader’s attention and interest. Do not exaggerate or lie, but don't shy away from describing an accomplishment in exciting and attention-grabbing terms.

Avoid seeming egregious or arrogant or untruthful, too. These attitudes will cut you out of the process faster than you can say “HBS”!

5. Demonstrate that you are a fit with the school

The top 10 business schools differ greatly in academic strengths and teaching meth­ods. So, it is imperative that you demonstrate your knowledge of what these schools’ main differences are and why the particular school that you are applying to makes sense for you.

For example, Harvard is known for its general management focus. Therefore, your application should demonstrate your desire to become a general manager and those achievements in your background that demonstrate your management potential.

Remember that it is critical to explain why a particular school’s characteristics are right for you and that the more you tailor your application to an individual institution, the better are your chances of getting in.

6. Clear, Concise and Consistent (Otherwise known as the Three Cs)

Knowing that an Admissions officer has to read thousands of application essays, you should always bear in mind that yours should be short, interesting, and to the point if you want to break through.

If both content and style are short and interesting, ADCOMs are more likely to read it and pay attention to its content. Complicated messaging or irrelevant content is a sure way to have your application land on the “No” pile.

7. Presentation is Important

A winning application is one that is clean, neat and appropriately formatted. It should be treated as a business document of the highest importance. Grammatical or semantic errors may portray you as careless or indifferent. So, proofreading of your application by a second and third person is a must.

Bear in mind that your application is the only means by which you will be evaluated. Hence, it should reflect who you are in the most compelling way possible.

8. Use professional references for your recommendations  

Recommendation letters from high-powered politicians, celebrities or Chief Executives are nice and may demonstrate that you are well connected. However, they generally carry less weight than professional recommendations from former managers, employers, and even professors.

You also need to make sure that your chosen recommenders can speak of relevant experiences and examples of your background. To facilitate this, you can brief your recommender of what you’ve accomplished most recently and how that connects with the “theme” you are using in your overall application. A quick way to update them is by sending them a recent copy of your resume.

Ask them to be specific about accom­plishments, explaining and describing why what you did was good and why it was useful.

9. Set time apart to complete and refine your application

Take time to think through each question being asked of you in the essay section of your application. Thoughtfully select who will write your recommen­dations and devote time to prepare for the GMAT.

Completing an application is hard work and your future career and life may depend on it. So, commit time to speaking to graduates of the school you wish to attend, visit the campus, and discuss your application strategy with someone that can help you.

Whatever you do, do not underestimate what it takes to complete a winning package.

10. Be Honest

Admissions officers have seen it all. They can spot inconsistencies between your essays and the rest of your file. Make sure that you effectively and succinctly express why you want to attend business school, why that particular school and why now.

Remember that just like with life, truth is always more powerful than fiction.