MBA Applicants: Find What Makes You Unique
“There is some sort of magic in the unexpected.” –Anonymous.
Finding suitable examples of what makes you unique is a daunting task for most MBA applicants. “What makes me special?” and “Why should the admissions committee pick me?” are two questions that hang like a cloud over nearly everyone. Top MBA programs rely heavily on students teaching each other through discussions. The life experiences you share with your classmates should be compelling and beneficial for your peers. So, if you’re struggling to identify your personal X factor, get ready to do some serious introspective work. Self-reflection is an essential part of the business school application process.
Applicants often overlook aspects of their background that seem commonplace to them but would actually set them apart. An easy place to begin is by assessing whether you have any differentiating professional experience. Do you work in a field or industry that typically doesn’t see a lot of MBAs? This could be your entry point.
If you have some significant accomplishments on your resume that aren’t the conventional ones you would find on a program’s incoming stats page, that’s another excellent way to showcase what makes you unique. Just make sure the admissions committee understands your role without using industry jargon.
Are you curious about your chances of getting into a top B-school? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
You might have to dig deeper to find things that set you apart if you’re coming from one of the usual feeder industries. Did you work on any high-profile projects that many people—even those outside your industry—would have heard about? Writing a narrative around something like that could be an intriguing option. AdComs love it when applicants can provide a firsthand, insider perspective on topics that have made waves in the business world.
More Ways to Find What Makes You Unique as an MBA Aspirant
Sometimes, you need an outsider to point out actions you may have undervalued. We’ve helped SBC clients realize when they made an impact on their companies that lasted long after they left. Maybe you came up with a new way of doing annual analyst reviews. Or you spearheaded your company’s first DEI initiative. Perhaps you helped your firm increase its footprint in a new geographic area.
These accomplishments are more differentiating than describing an M&A deal you worked on or your average management consulting project. The admissions committee has seen similar stories thousands of times; your job is to tell them something new. Show what else you can bring to the table.
We’ve worked with applicants who are accountants by day but do improv comedy as a hobby. Going against type like that is unexpected…and makes the AdCom sit up and take notice.
Occasionally, what makes you unique is a distinguishing trait or characteristic that your friends or family would say makes you you. Do people often come to you for advice? Have you been trusted to do something or given a responsibility that people in your position typically don’t do? Maybe you have always come up with crazy ideas that somehow ended up working since you were a little kid. Or it could be as simple as mentoring a summer intern. If you can widen your lens and show a pattern of how you’ve informally mentored others, then boom! Now you have an essay theme.
Thinking About Life Experiences
Personal experiences are an obvious source to mine for uniqueness. Yet we caution you to use good judgment to determine whether the anecdote is appropriate and effective for your MBA application. As we covered in B-Schooled podcast episode #33, there’s a fine line between what will differentiate you and what might give the admissions committees pause.
In this episode, host Erika and SBC consultant Lisa, the former director of MBA admissions at Rice University’s Jones School, laid out when it is (and isn’t) a good idea to share deeply personal stories in your MBA essays and interviews.
When thinking about personal stories, check for relevancy by asking whether the incident taught you something or changed you in ways that apply to your MBA candidacy.
A familiar essay topic that MBA aspirants write about is their family’s immigration story. We’ve met many applicants whose parents immigrated to the US with nothing and worked to the bone to give their children a good education. Here’s where we must break the bad news to you. While it may have been the most formative experience of their life, that alone is not a differentiator. And not knowing the difference is what kills many applicants’ chances of admission to a top MBA program.
@stacyblackmanconsulting You are killing your odds of getting admitted if your essay reads like a personal journal. Business school wants structure. #mba #mbaadmissions #hbs #sbcyourfuture ? original sound – ?
The key is being savvy enough to know which stories will truly set you apart. Now let’s go back to that example of the second-generation applicant. If that same person went on to establish a nonprofit for immigrant families that helps children learn English and connects them with services and the community, that is differentiating. It tells the admissions committee that they saw an opportunity to give back and make the world a better place.
So, what’s left to consider after you’ve sifted through your personal anecdotes, extracurriculars, and professional achievements?
Having a Unique Perspective
B-Schooled host Erika described how having a unique perspective worked in her favor when applying to Harvard Business School.
“I grew up in Michigan, where everyone I knew worked in some kind of auto manufacturing job,” she shared in episode 120. “I wrote an essay about how my dad was an engineer, but all my aunts and uncles were union members on the assembly line. So, I grew up listening to white collar/blue collar, management versus the workers-type debates.” Those observations gave Erika a distinct point of view, which she shared across many classes at HBS.
Remember, the stories you tell in your application, essays, or interview will be the ones the admissions committees picture you sharing with your classmates. So, make sure they are compelling anecdotes that would benefit others. But rest assured; you don’t need to write about some world-changing achievement. It could be something small-scale that you did. Nonetheless, how you tell your story should give the admissions committee everything they need to know about the type of leader you would be.
Finally, try not to get too stressed and enjoy the process. Thinking about what makes you unique can be enlightening—and fun!
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership and Interview Prep to hourly help with essay editing, resume review, and much more! Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
