Seemingly Similar MBA Applicants, Different Admissions Outcomes
If Round 2 results from your dream school are in and you didn’t get the news you were hoping for, it can be pretty devastating. After months of hard work on your application and then a few more months of anxiety-ridden waiting, finding out that you weren’t accepted is tough.
When you’re already feeling confused, down, or angry, learning that similar MBA applicants, such as a friend or co-worker, did get an interview invite (or an acceptance) can feel like having salt poured into your proverbial wound. If you believe you’re actually more qualified than someone who received better news, it’s even worse.
One of the classic mistakes applicants make when considering MBA admissions decisions is believing there’s a magic formula that works every time. They assume that a certain GPA, GRE or GMAT score, undergraduate institution, employer, promotion track, etc., will result in a slam-dunk admission.
So, if your coworker has a similar profile and got an interview and you didn’t, the world suddenly makes no sense. Why do scenarios like this come to pass? How can two people who work at the same place or are similar “on paper” meet such different MBA fates? How can a stellar candidate receive a ding when a seemingly so-so applicant gets in? There are three main reasons.
Did you know SBC offers a Ding Analysis as an a la carte service? Contact us today to learn more.
The MBA application process is subjective.
Let’s face it: anytime humans are involved, you’re dealing with a process that will be influenced by many things you can’t control. Most MBA programs have more than one person reviewing each candidate’s file to control for this type of subjectivity. This means that if the first reader is having an awful day or feeling meh about your candidacy when reviewing your materials, rest assured at least one or more people will also read your application before reaching a final decision.
Admissions committees consider thousands of qualified applicants each year and have developed a strong sense of who will fit best with their program. While you may think you’d be a bigger asset to a certain school than an acquaintance who got in, the admissions committee felt differently.
You don’t know absolutely everything about your friend or co-worker’s candidacy.
If you did your homework on the MBA process, you know that AdComs are looking for what makes applicants tick. They want to understand your personality. They are interested in more than just your career experience and “stats.”
When comparing similar MBA applicants, it could come down to something written in an essay or recommendation letter that really moved or impressed the admissions committee. Even if you read your friend’s essays, you likely don’t know every detail included in their applications. Nor do you know everything discussed in their interviews.
Sometimes, something subjective and imperceptible to you gives a similar candidate the edge. Chances are your demographics, backgrounds, and motivations are not as alike as you might have thought. Ultimately, the AdCom saw something unique in your friend that they were looking for.
You may not have even been competing with your friend for a spot in the first place.
As alluded to above, each program strives to put together a diverse class of impressive people. However, no one knows the secret sauce that any given AdCom uses to fill open spots. We do know that it’s not as straightforward as most people assume. Similar MBA applicants might have subtle yet important differentiators.
Everything from your gender to your industry to your nationality to your career aspirations, community service, and personality comes into play when an AdCom attempts to build a graduating class. And there’s no way to predict that because it depends on the full applicant pool the admissions committee sees in any given cycle. This changes year to year, even round to round, and certainly across schools. What worked for similar MBA applicants in 2022 might not prove as successful in 2023-2024.
Listen to B-Schooled Podcast #8: Time and Energy Wasters
Don’t Fall Into the Trap of Obsessing Over Similar MBA Applicants
We know how tempting it is to play the comparison game. In the end, comparing yourself to other candidates is a pointless exercise. Unfortunately, doing so won’t change anything or make you feel any better when similar MBA applicants get the results you didn’t. The best thing you can do is try to be objective about how you could improve your odds if you reapply next year. Many top B-schools welcome reapplicants! Cast a wider net with new programs or strengthen your quant profile and community service record over the next several months.
We work with successful reapplicants every year, so this route can definitely lead to acceptance at your dream school. For assurance and inspiration, read our profile of former SBC client Ed Redden, who went from reapplicant to admitted at both Stanford GSB and Harvard Business School.
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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. ×