July, 2011

“What happens when you hit submit”Dialogue document

Application Evaluation Process:Verify Application Credentials

Verify Application Credentials

Read Application

AdCommFinal Decision

Quality & Profile

Adjustments

As applications are submitted, an automated or manual system reviews all applications for completeness. Complete applications are forwarded to the Reader process, while incomplete applications are set aside to be resolved.

•Some schools are lenient with incomplete applications; they will let you know what components are missing and will continue to evaluate your application in the current round•Some schools are strict and will bump your application to the following round•A large number of applications are submitted in the last 24 hours, which can bog-down servers. Applicants have been “late” to submit simply because they could not get onto the system in time •Waiting until the last minute to submit their “Application paperwork” also increases the risk of errors in the application, which will delay its submission.

•Inside Tip: Begin filling out the Application as soon as you begin your Essays and submit the application at least 2 days early

Interview Process

Tier 1 Schools Application Volume: 3000 – 9000+

Application Evaluation Process:Read Application - Process

Verify Application Credentials

Read Application

AdCommFinal Decision

Quality & Profile

Adjustments

Applications are segmented into groups and sent to different readers. They are typically read between 1 and 6 times, depending on school and application criteria, by either student readers or AdComm members. Readers fill out a evaluation with rankings on different criteria.

•Typical segmentations are: Geographic (e.g. India/China), GMAT score (e.g. below a certain level), Underrepresented groups (e.g. Military, LGBT, European)•Some schools use subjective weighting and ratings, while others objectively plot out application scores•At some schools subsequent readers can not see the previous evaluations (blind); at others they are able to see prior readers comments

Interviews are extended at various points during the review process depending on the school. Some examples are:

•Extending invitations through the normal course of reading the application (no prioritization)•Prioritizing the reading of the application based on Quantitative criteria (e.g. work exp., GMAT, GPA) and then extending interviews•Extending early invitations based on preset Quantitative criteria

Interview Process

Tier 1 Schools Application Volume: 3000 – 9000+

Example Evaluation Methods

• Chicago– Each application is read by a 2nd year MBA student followed by a second read

from an admissions committee member– After the second read, the admission committee will decide whether or not to

invite the candidate for an interview – All applications that are denied without an interview funnel to the admissions

director for a final review– All other applications will continue through the process and may be read a total

of 5 or 6 times or reviewed in committee

• Wharton– Each application is read by a 2nd year student (trained & paid) followed by a

second read from an admissions committee member– After the second read, the admissions director will read all files and decide

whether or not to invite the candidate for an interview– Post interview, all files will be re-read by an admissions committee member and

again by the director

Note: Wharton’s process will soon change to have only admissions committee member reads

Personal Background

Extra- curricular

Involvement

Leadership and

Teamwork

Career Potential

And Goals

Application Evaluation Process:Read Application – Criteria: Academic Ability

AcademicAbility

1 2 3 4 5

Schools need to be comfortable that you will excel in the classroom. Economics and Financial classes cover a fair amount of Calculus, and students need to be comfortable with this, without being a burden to their study groups. Student grades, majors, schools, and test scores are key indicators of classroom ability, so these are weighted very heavily. Furthermore, these metrics are objective and published, which encourages schools to strive for high scores for their incoming students in order to increase their business school rankings.

•Regardless of Admission Directors comments, the GMAT is one of, if not, the most important individual criteria

• For Top 20 programs, about a 700 GMAT is necessary

• Higher GMAT scores are needed for over-represented applicants, lower are needed for under-represented

•The difficulty of your school and major are considered when reviewing your GPA. The average is 3.5-3.6, however 3.3 from a top-tiered Engineering program is viewed stronger than a 3.6 from a weak sociology program

•Special attention will be given to your academic profile regarding quantitative ability

•The longer you have been out of school, the more important your GMAT becomes relative to your grades. For people with many years of work experience, the GMAT becomes a more relevant academic data point.

•Inside Tip1: Pick a GMAT study program that best fits best with your preferred method of learning (classroom vs. on-line vs. video)

•Inside Tip2: Use the optional essay to discuss a low GPA and actions you took to overcome it, only if your GPA is lower than 3.0

Application Evaluation Process:Read Application – Criteria: Career Potential And Goals

Schools are becoming more and more concerned with ensuring that their graduates will be employable. High salaries and % job placement are key metrics for business schools, and having applicants with strong career potential and goals are critical to keeping these metrics high. Schools also value strong work experience because they want to have students who can make good contributions to case and classroom discussions.

•Average work experience at top schools is 4-5 years. Typically, the minimum threshold is 2 years. Some schools (e.g. Stanford) are trending lower•Schools are looking for consistent “career themes” and logical career progression. Career switching is permitted, however applicants need to show some consistent theme in their application (e.g. same skill sets)•Career goals should align with the MBA program. Candidates need to have done research on the programs and found a fit with the school; especially for niche programs (e.g. Kellogg’s MMM program, Carnegie Mellon’s technology leadership track, Harvard’s entrepreneurship program)•“Brand name” employers (e.g. Apple, Google, etc.) are valued by schools because these companies have a very rigorous hiring process, which ensures they get top notched employees. Furthermore, these employers tend to be the subjects of case studies, and past employees bring a unique perspective to these case study discussions.

Inside Tip: Make sure your career story and need for MBA are clear, specific, and targeted to the business school. Applicants should highlight short and long term goals in terms of industry, function, and role.

Personal Background

Extra- curricular

Involvement

Leadership and

Teamwork

Career Potential

And Goals

AcademicAbility

1 2 3 4 5

Application Evaluation Process:Read Application – Criteria: Leadership and Teamwork

Leadership and Teamwork are two of the most important candidate traits for Admissions committees. MBA graduates are future business leaders and a great deal of MBA work is done in a team environment. Unfortunately most applicants have been individual contributors for the duration of their professional lives, which makes assessing leadership difficult for schools.

•If you have managed people in the work place, make sure you highlight this in the application. Applicants often don’t understand the differentiator of this experience, and neglect to bring it attention.•Highlight promotions or sponsorship, especially by “brand name” firms. They are reflective of performance and a strong indicator of leadership.•Demonstrate that you are comfortable working in teams, and have experience managing team dynamics.•Highlight non-work place leadership or experiences where you have indirectly led work teams. •Examples:

• Hand-selected by a Vice-President to lead a special task force to reduce company inventory costs• Founded a competitive cyclist club and organized competitions to raise funds for a charity• Managed 5 client teams through a process re-engineering project

Inside Tip: Brainstorm all of your past activities for instances of “indirect leadership” and teamwork, if you lack professional examples.

Personal Background

Extra- curricular

Involvement

Leadership and

Teamwork

Career Potential

And Goals

AcademicAbility

1 2 3 4 5

Application Evaluation Process:Read Application – Criteria: Extracurricular Involvement

Schools value well-rounded applicants and ones that will “give back” to the MBA program through active involvement. This involvement is especially critical at schools that have a large part of their organization run by students (e.g. Kellogg). Other schools focus on the consistency of engagement as a indicator of future behavior / performance

•Schools are looking for a consistent track record of extracurricular involvement, ideally both in-college and post-college•Schools would like to see 2-3 current community related activities with 1 or more of them in a leadership role•Examples:

• Led a fundraising campaign for church organization• Marketing volunteer for non-profit organization who developed their web-site• Activities chairman for sorority who coordinated recent alumni reunion

Inside Tip: Get involved as early as possible and demonstrate consistent engagement and leadership. Schools are alert to “resume padding” so the activity needs to be genuine and aligned with your strengths, passions, and historical activities.

Personal Background

Extra- curricular

Involvement

Leadership and

Teamwork

Career Potential

And Goals

AcademicAbility

1 2 3 4 5

Application Evaluation Process:Read Application – Criteria: Personal Background

Schools often refer to applicants as their “flat friends”. On paper, applicants are physically only two-dimensional, and can easily be “lost” among the large number of other applicants. Personal background is one area where candidates can “stand out” among others. Furthermore, schools are looking to balance their classes with a diversity of interests, experiences, and perspectives.

•Schools are looking for a diverse set of interests or a unique background that makes you memorable•Essays are the primary forum to convey personal background, and not all schools specifically tailor their questions to elicit candidates personal background.•Interviews and Recommenders are the secondary forum, however they are not as effective•Examples:

• Worked throughout college to help launch your family’s business• Started a garage band and secured royalties to distribute on Pandora Radio• Experienced a death/sickness in the family and how it impacted you as a person• Started your own business and failed• Became professional figure skater

Inside Tip: Plan your essays with a strategy to show your personality through answering the specific questions

Personal Background

Extra- curricular

Involvement

Leadership and

Teamwork

Career Potential

And Goals

AcademicAbility

1 2 3 4 5

Application Evaluation Process:AdComm Final Decision & Adjustments

Verify Application Credentials

Read Application

AdCommFinal Decision

Quality & Profile

Adjustments

The Admissions Committee Final decision process is similar to a Steering Committee in the workplace. Some schools use this forum to make all application decisions, while some only use it to review “bubble” candidates. All evaluation data is reviewed, including interview results.

•A “preliminary” class profile is set for each round•The profile is adjusted internally within the AdComm to include candidates with backgrounds that are under-represented (e.g. more women, higher GMAT) or exclude candidates that are over-represented (e.g. too many Finance candidates)•In some cases final adjustments outside of the AdComm are made, with input from the Dean and Assistant Dean•Candidates that apply in Round 1 may be waitlisted and then reviewed against Round 2 applicants. •Criteria for Round 1 and Round 2 are not much different, with the possible exception of quotas being filled, so applicants should submit whenever they feel they have their best application completed.

Inside Tip: Over-represented applicants should apply in Round 1

Interview Process

Tier 1 Schools Application Volume: 3000 – 9000+

Jana Blanchette, Founder & President

• MBA & MS from Kellogg Graduate School of Management

• BSE from University of Michigan

• A.T. Kearney Principal - Automotive Practice

• Senior Director of Admissions, Ross School of Business

• Consulting professional for 12 years

Inside MBA Admissions Provides Elite Admissions Consulting Services to MBA Applicants Around the World. We Operation with a Simple Value Proposition:

“We Know the Admissions Criteria and Can Apply Our Expertise to Get You Accepted”

Thank You

734-709-6997

www.InsideMBAAdmissions.com

jana@insidembaadmissions.com