Standing Out in the MBA Admissions Race

Creating an outstanding MBA story is an art of omission. What you leave out is just as important as what you leave in.

Your job is to NOT throw shovelfuls of details at the MBA AdCom reader.

Your job is to mercilessly remove the details that weigh your narrative down and only leave the ones that let the “so what?” of your story shine through.

This is especially true if you are working on the more philosophical, existential essays - the Harvard Business School or Berkeley Haas or the Stanford GSB essays.

HBS asks: “As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?”

Berkeley Haas wants to know “What makes you feel alive when you are doing it and why?”

The GSB compels you to share “What matters most to you and why?”

What will be judged is your judgement – what you choose as an answer, how that answer is conveyed.

How do great MBA stories come to be?

There are many ways to find the most important building blocks of your MBA story. There is no single right way but there are some definitively wrong ways.

Beginning with the mindset that you have something to prove can end up harming your essay.

Instead of starting with the goal of trying to impress the MBA AdCom, approach your story with a sense of curiosity and possibility.

Dedicate ample time to think about the true, unadorned answers. Find the little vignettes that tell the story on your behalf instead of piling on generic statements about yourself.

If you build your MBA essays on a foundation of sincere self-reflection, you will be rewarded with a narrative that is genuine and meaningful instead of forced or contrived.

But what exactly is self-reflection in the MBA admission process?

Self-reflection is quite simply time spent examining your path to date, your experiences, your values and how they drove your actions.

You can think of self-reflection as your compass for authenticity.

It helps you discern your genuine beliefs and aspirations instead of focusing on what the MBA AdCom “wants to hear”.

Differentiating yourself in the MBA application

One of the biggest mistakes I see MBA hopefuls make is misunderstanding the idea behind differentiation.

Your hardships and personal sorrow are not what will differentiate you in the MBA admissions process, unless they led you to develop values you put into action.

If an experience in your past shaped you and profoundly influenced your personal and professional path, you could definitely consider writing about it in your MBA essays. But don’t do it just because you think it will score you points by eliciting empathy.

If you do choose to write about it, keep it simple and focus on how and why it turned you into the individual you are today. Being disingenuous or conceited is way more easily detected than you may think.

Not all MBA essays are places for storytelling!

Now, there is another thing you should consider as you make critically important choices for your MBA essays.

Yes, it is called your MBA story for a reason. But it doesn’t mean you should approach every single essay as a story.

Yes, you heard that right! Think twice before you don your storytelling hat in response to a simple career goals essay.

Let’s look at an example. In its first essay, the Wharton school asks you this:

“How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton.”

Now, pause and think. Is this the place where you should be dedicating a lot of precious real estate on things such as your childhood teacher instilling the value of empathy, that one time when you overcame your fear of heights climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or how getting lost in the maze of small streets in Bangkok tested your linguistic limits?

Mind you, I’m not suggesting there is anything wrong with these stories at all!

I’m just urging you to take the Wharton MBA AdCom advice at face value and focus on… your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton, as they so clearly suggest.

No one gets admitted to a top MBA program solely for dreaming big!

Another persistent mistake happening in essays I keep seeing is candidates staking their differentiation on what they promise to do.

Painting an ambitious picture of your intent to make a difference in the world is worthless if you don’t have a track record to back it up.

No one is getting admitted to a top school on a promissory note.

The same goes for chasing prestige.

For what else is “I have been dreaming about Harvard since I was ten years old”?

Why should this be a reason for HBS to admit you?

You will never be able to flatter a top MBA program into opening its doors for you.

Sometimes MBA candidates go as far as confusing differentiation with competitiveness

I’ve been asked “How can I write an essay so strong and compelling that it compensates for my weak GMAT?”

In reality, you might not be able to – competitiveness and differentiation are not interchangeable.

Your MBA story can be strong and compelling and it still might not earn you admission if your test scores, GPA and work experience are not competitive enough.

Now, how do I know all of this?

My long record of leading an MBA Admissions Committee means I’ve been in the room where MBA admissions decisions are made.

I know how red flags are discussed and I know how they can impact your MBA admissions decision.

I know what happens when a candidate is on the cusp.

I also know that every single candidate has a remarkable MBA story to tell.

You didn’t get to this point by being complacent or mediocre. And it doesn’t have to be a story of heroic achievement.

My experience lets me help MBA candidates in a way that is distinctly different.

I don’t peddle some secret formula that you need to include in your MBA essay.

I help create space for you to tell your real story.

I encourage you to approach the MBA admissions process with a sense of inspiration and possibility instead of fear or cynicism.

So as you work on your MBA essays while the MBA applications get closer and closer, here is my message for you.

Don’t let anyone try to convince you that you need to piece together some rigid puzzle of pre-determined shapes. That is not the key to admission.

Give yourself the time and space to ask yourself big and important questions about your path in your life and your career so far.

Assess your values with a measure of humility and every ounce of authenticity you can muster.

Dig into your track record for the examples of how you put your values into action to leave a place or organization better than you found it.

I know you can do this! And if you need some inspiration, here are some suggestions for those big and important questions to ask yourself.

Onwards and upwards,

Petia