Show That You Know Your Dream B-Schools
Have you already decided why you need an MBA and researched schools to find your best fit? Now you’ll want to put that intel into service for your written materials and interviews. Admissions committee members love to see applicants who have done their homework to learn about the unique aspects of their programs.
Why do you want an MBA specifically from Stanford, Wharton, or Chicago Booth? Some programs straight-up ask this question in their essays. But even if they don’t, you should still look for ways to address that unspoken question in your applications to those dream B-schools.
Always think, “How can I show my knowledge of the school in a way that blends naturally into my essay response or my interview answer?” To spark inspiration, consider the following tactical ways you can convey that you’ve done your research.
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.
Business Schools Offer Career Benefits In and Outside the Classroom
We constantly remind applicants that they don’t have to be “perfect” candidates to get into an elite MBA program. After all, the primary reason for returning to B-school is to fill in the knowledge gaps that will propel your career forward. In your essays and interviews, mention specific courses you want to take that would expose you to a function you haven’t yet experienced.
Say you want to start your own company one day, but your background is heavy in marketing and light on finance—or vice versa. Name-check the essential classes each program offers that will expand your tool kit and prepare you to scratch that entrepreneurial itch.
Go beyond the course catalog to explore other aspects of MBA programs that can bolster your functional knowledge.
For example, the Wharton School has hosted a Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference for over 25 years. CMU Tepper School of Business has an Energy & CleanTech Club that prepares students for careers in the energy and cleantech industries. You may be fascinated by the world of high-end retail. In that case, the NYU Stern Luxury and Retail Club is a place to explore everything related to the luxury, retail, hospitality, and spirits industries.
Offerings such as finance clubs, marketing conferences, new venture competitions, etc., can help students deepen their expertise in a specific industry. Mention these kinds of program details whenever you’re talking about your career goals. For instance, you could talk about how being in the PE VC club will help you build your network in that area. Likewise, hearing industry leaders who come to speak on campus will allow you to grow your knowledge of the latest trends and insights.
Dust Off Your Passport
Another area where you might have a gap is international experience. Whether your future goals revolve around a global industry or you have a passion for expanding your horizons, make sure you investigate what kind of international experiences are available at the programs you’re interested in.
For example, Kellogg School of Management has KWEST, a pre-matriculation global experience planned by and for students. Incoming students in Kellogg’s full-time MBA program come together before classes start to travel to nearly 40 countries under the leadership of second-year students, who spend almost a year planning and training for the experience.
Over at Harvard Business School, you’ll find the Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development (FIELD) course. This required first-year class includes an action-oriented global immersion in an emerging market.
Meanwhile, Stanford Graduate School of Business has many global experiences in the MBA program. STEP, the Stanford-Tsinghua Exchange Program between the GSB and the Tsinghua School of Economics in Beijing, China, is worth a special mention. This cross-cultural learning program offers students from both schools “a more nuanced understanding of doing business in China” as they form long-lasting relationships.
Whether it’s a school-sponsored offering or a spring break trip organized by classmates eager to show off their home countries, the travel possibilities you’ll encounter at B-school are life-changing.
Become a Name Dropper
After you dig into the industry-specific electives, clubs, conferences, and learning opportunities that await at your dream B-schools, here are a few more ways to show you really want to be in their program. You could name-drop a specific professor known for groundbreaking research in the area that interests you. How cool would it be to study under them or pick their brain on an idea you’ve been mulling over?
Mentioning current students you’ve talked to is a savvy way to show that you have thoroughly researched the school. But don’t just say, “I talked to Claire Thomas, a second-year student, about her experience.”
Instead, incorporate a specific detail about the school that the person mentioned. So a better sentence would be, “After talking with second-year student Claire Thomas about my future goals, she said I should plan to take Digital Media Strategies with Professor Weinstein.” That way, you not only mention somebody there; you now have a specific idea of something you want to do because of their recommendation.
And similarly, remember those alums! Say you’re keen on ed tech. You can research where executives or senior managers of various ed tech firms went to school. If any of them graduated from one of your dream B-schools, your essays could mention how you would love to be able to network with them when you’re a student. Or perhaps it’s enough to acknowledge they are an alum and express how much their career has inspired you.
SBC is the only firm with a complete panel of former MBA Admissions Officers from every top business school. Learn more about our exceptional team!
Tap Into Personal Interests
Another way you can show some love for your dream B-schools is by tying in details about the programs with your interests. For example, SBC consultant Erika mentioned on an episode of the B-Schooled podcast that she has worked with an unusually high number of MBA applicants who were in a cappella groups in college.
“If the MBA program they’re applying to has an a capella group, such as HBS’s Heard on the Street, it would be a huge miss not to mention it in some way,” Erika says. The applicant could write something like, “I’m so excited to continue nurturing my passion for singing by joining Heard on the Street once I get to campus.”
MBA interviewers often ask what you like to do in your spare time or what you do for fun. This is the perfect opportunity to mention something and tie it to how you’ll continue doing it at B-school. You may love to ski and want to check out the Snow Sports Club at your target program, Columbia Business School. Perhaps you consider yourself a foodie and are applying to the Chicago Booth School of Business. You could mention that you can’t wait to join the Epicurean Club.
Often, a student-run or school-sponsored trek is to a specific location, so it will span functions and industries. It might be worth mentioning if your target school is on the East Coast, but the hub of the industry you’re interested in is out west. Many B-schools, such as MIT Sloan School of Management and Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, offer annual Tech Treks to Silicon Valley.
Doing the Legwork Pays Off When it Comes to Getting Into Your Dream B-Schools
Too many applicants mistakenly believe that all top MBA programs are alike and that they offer the same courses, clubs, and experiences. If you write generically about the program you’re applying to while your most direct competitor crackles with excitement about the courses they’ll take and clubs they’ll be involved in, that person will most likely win out.
We hope these ideas have helped you figure out ways to show how much you want to be at those dream B-schools you’re applying to. Taking the time to do this legwork often makes the difference between an admissions offer and a ding.
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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 ...
×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 ...
×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 ...
×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. ×
Dana
Dana served as Assistant Director of Admissions at Columbia Business School for the Full-Time MBA program and has over 10 years of experience working in higher education. Known as a scrupulous file reader, Dana reviewed countless applications and assisted in rendering final decisions for the Admissions Committee at CBS. While leading information sessions at Columbia and on the road, Dana met and advised myriad applicants� ...
×Holly
Holly worked as a member of the NYU Stern MBA Admissions team for seven years and holds an MBA from NYU Stern. In her tenure as Director of NYU MBA Admissions, Holly worked closely with admissions teams from Columbia, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Cornell Johnson, Berkeley Haas, Yale SOM, and Duke Fuqua on recruiting events domestically and internationally. On the NYU Stern admissions committee, Holly conducted interviews, planned and hosted events, and trained staff on reading and interviewi ...
×Mark
Mark has been working in global higher education for nearly ten years, focusing on MBA Admissions at European programs including Oxford Said Business School and London Business School (LBS). At the University of Oxford’s Said Business School, Mark was the Associate Director of MBA Recruitment, leading the recruitment of all applicants to the Oxford MBA and 1+1 MBA programs. In this role, Mark advised countless MBA applic ...
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