The MBA School Selection Process
School selection is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when considering an MBA degree. Whether you aim for Round 2 (or 3) this season or are laying the foundation for a future application cycle, give ample consideration regarding which programs will dominate your waking thoughts over the coming months.
The MBA application process takes up a huge amount of time and effort. Most candidates feel overwhelmed with applying to more than the average of four or five schools. Therefore, it’s crucial to think strategically about school selection and develop a competitive mix of MBA programs to target.
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.
Dream or “Reach” Business Schools
The majority of candidates who apply to the leading business schools are bright, personable overachievers. They would be an asset to any program. However, each year we see excellent candidates prematurely take themselves out of the running for some of the top schools.
Certain MBA programs, such as Stanford GSB and Harvard Business School, have single or low double-digit acceptance rates, respectively. That means thousands of highly qualified applicants get turned down each year. But if you don’t even give yourself a chance at admission, you may always wonder, “What if…” Is there anything worse?
B-school is an ambitious dream. So, shoot for the stars, or you might regret not trying.
While the process is extremely competitive, you shouldn’t count yourself out before the game even begins. That’s why we recommend people ask themselves the following questions. Is getting an MBA degree your top goal? Or, is getting an MBA from a specific school what really matters most?
If you’d truly feel at peace with never getting an MBA if you didn’t get into School X, then you can move forward by focusing all of your efforts solely on your dream school or schools.
A word of advice, though. If your test scores are much lower than the average at your dream school, give the GMAT or GRE another shot. Also, start thinking about explaining your academic weaknesses and highlighting the unique strengths you would bring to the classroom setting. In any case, come decision time, it’s important to remain realistic.
Partner with Stacy Blackman’s best-in-class GMAT and GRE experts and increase your score significantly. Check out our test prep services here. Request a free game plan chat with SBC’s lead test prep coach by emailing testprep@stacyblackman.com.
Target Schools
An acceptance to HBS or the GSB would thrill almost any applicant. But you’re going to have to balance what school you want to attend with where you can actually get in. Start with the hard data points. As a general guideline, take a look at MBA programs you like where your profile falls within the top 10 percent of admitted students.
Compare your undergraduate GPA, GMAT/GRE score, years of work experience, and industry with accepted applicants reported by the school on their class profile page (here’s Wharton’s). If your industry is underrepresented, consider that an advantage for your application.
Research the schools, make sure you know what’s important to you, and figure out which ones fit well for you. Remember the Golden Rule of MBA admissions—only apply to schools you would be thrilled to attend.
If you work in an industry that typically makes up a bigger portion of the applicant pool, such as investment banking or consulting, make sure within your application that you think beyond your obvious achievements and differentiate yourself through your essays and interviews by picking memorable and unique stories and experiences.
Safety Schools
Safety schools don’t mean bad or less desirable schools—they’re simply a more obvious fit with your numbers and profile. A good way to determine whether your list should include safety schools is by asking yourself how important it is for you to go to business school next year.
Maybe you have a compelling reason you need to exit your job and make a move to grad school ASAP. If so, including safety schools among your targets is a smart strategy. If the need is immediate, then definitely include a range of schools of varying degrees of competitiveness.
The application pool fluctuates each season and all you need is one admit. So, spread some risk around!
It’s important to stay pragmatic and align your expectations with the MBA programs that match your particular profile. This is doubly true if your GMAT score isn’t through the roof or your career trajectory has stalled out.
Remember, though, you’re still not guaranteed an offer of admission. When your school selection includes “safety” options, that merely means your chances are far greater than at a program with an acceptance rate of 15 percent or lower.
Listen to B-Schooled Podcast Episode #103: The Power of Authenticity in MBA Applications
In the end, we can’t overemphasize how important it is to really be yourself in your application. That’s the best way to find the school that is right for you. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not uncommon to be admitted into a more highly ranked program and denied by a seemingly less competitive one.
That’s because the MBA admissions process is not only about numbers – it’s about numbers and experiences and personalities and fit.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership to hourly help reviewing your MBA resume. 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. ×
