Inside the mind of
Admissions Committee: Global MBA, MIM and MS Programs
I’ve enjoyed guiding and helping applicants get
into world’s foremost MBA, Masters-In-Management (MiM) and MS programs since 2008
while I was still pursuing my Berkeley MBA program. This started when I
volunteered to interact with prospective students during Days at Haas (DAH) and
I realized that I really enjoyed interacting with MBA applicants and
de-mystifying the black box that Global MBA admissions represented to most
applicants.
I continued reaching out to prospective
students on a pro-bono basis after my Berkeley graduation in 2009 – I still
believe that deserving students should get the right guidance and perspectives
on global admissions processes so that they can put their best foot forward.
Having spoken to and worked with hundreds of international and
Indian MBA, MiM and MS applicants, I realized that there was one common
difference between those who were able to gain admission into top schools and
those who didn’t. It was the way they viewed the admission process, the various
components in their application, the way they were able to establish ‘fit’ with
the school and the planning (or lack of it) done for their application.
Having worked in my professional career in
areas of strategy and sales/marketing, I’ve always found success if I knew my
customers well. They way I look at it, for applicants the customer is the
admissions committee and it’s important to know how they (the adcom) view
admissions, what metrics they’re driving and how those matrices are changing
with time. Based on my interactions with adcoms of some of the top MBA, MiM and
MS programs in the world, I wanted to offer some insights into the world of
adcoms that may benefit applicants.
First, they are normal people just like you and
me and have targets to meet. Like all of us, Adcoms are also evaluated periodically for performance.
Deans/Directors of Programs want to see their programs rise in prestige and
popularity. Here, school rank trend in popular rankings such as US News,
Financial Times etc. are looked at over middle to long term. If it’s going up,
it’s an evidence that ‘things are going well’ and vice-versa. So one of the
ways to know what the adcom cares about is to look at the criteria for these
popular rankings and address those within your control. Check this link for US
News ranking methodology
As applicants, you should know that adcoms care
about the following criteria:
1) STUDENT SELECTIVITY: This accounts
for 25% weight in US News Ranking. So obviously, adcoms work hard towards
maximizing their performance in this area. Student selectivity comprises of
various criteria – the most important ones are:
§ GMAT or GRE score average
§ GPA
§ Acceptance Rate
Implications for Applicants - The
above explains the trend of rising GMAT/GRE scores in schools. The higher the
scores, the better the performance in the student selectivity and hence the
overall ranking.
2) PLACEMENT SUCCESS: This accounts for
35% weight in US News Ranking. Adcoms want to admit those applicants who will
have a strong chance of getting a job at graduation or within 3 months of
graduation and those who will attract big name employers.
Implications
for Applicants – a) you have to show the adcom that you are placement worthy after
MBA. That you have the skills and the ability to land roles without much
struggle. For programs that are known for jobs in specific industries (e.g.
Vanderbilt for Healthcare, Bay Area schools for tech or NY schools for finance),
you’ll have a better case to make if your post MBA goal is in these industries.
b) It
will also benefit if you have experience working with a brand name employer.
Quality attracts Quality. But it’s not only the brand name that matters – what you’ve
done in your roles will also be important.
This is the area where I have been able to
uncover the most impressive accomplishments and qualities of most applicants
that I’ve worked with and helped them differentiate themselves.
Note: There are other ranking criteria such as Peer and
Recruiter Assessment for the school which on the surface appear as not being
applicable for applicants. But there are interesting ways the applicants can leverage
themselves on these criteria as well. Infact, 6-7 of my past applicants may owe
their success and differentiation among the pool to what they brought about
themselves in these criteria.
3) APPLICATION VOLUME (# of
applications received)
Adcoms work hard to attract the best
applicants. Participation in world tours, organizing alumni chats, applicant
days at school and webinars are among the various initiatives that they
undertake to reach out to applicants.
Implications for Applicants – Get out
there and participate in these events. It shows adcom the evidence of your
interest. Many schools also like to track attendance and engagement with students.
Moreover, there’s no better way to know a school (unless you can visit one)
other than directly talking to adcom or alumni.
4) YIELD
Yield represents the % of applicants
who accept an admit offer.
Implications for Applicants - Adcoms like to do their homework before they offer
you admission – you may have worked hard in convincing them that you deserve an
admit but did you also convince them that you will enroll if admitted? To many
applicants this sounds like an afterthought – but trust me, adcoms will look
for this evidence in your application.
Overall, the adcom members are very
hard working folks who are just trying to do their best to get in the best
candidates for their programs. You understanding of what matters to them, will
help you help them make a favourable decision on your application.
For more tips on this or other topics
or to get regular updates on new articles, write to me:
sumeet [underscore] verlekar [at the
rate] berkeley [dot] edu
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