22 qualities that make a good B-school candidate
Boning up on 'Admissions Strategy'
What do admissions committees look for? Here are 22 qualities that make a good B-school candidate, as excerpted from the new book, MBA Admissions Strategy
In MBA Admissions Strategy, released in September, 2005, by McGraw-Hill, publisher of BusinessWeek, author A.V. Gordon offers the inside scoop on getting into a top business school. The following is an excerpt that includes the 22 qualities that applicants must demonstrate to the admissions committee if they hope to succeed:
The internal culture of business schools differs widely, and they are popularly understood to seek different types of people. You will hear that, "for Stanford intellectual ability comes first. Northwestern has a greater emphasis on teamwork, Harvard looks for leaders, INSEAD looks for "international people," and so on. This is true. But don't overestimate this stereotyping. School-specific criteria are generally a tiny part of the admissions decision. Mostly, programs all apply very similar, common criteria, asking the same kinds of questions, making the same demands, and competing for candidates with similarly balanced profiles and demonstrated skills.
These are the attributes that all programs look for:
Intellectual ability: A candidate who is smart and easily able to handle the demands of the schoolwork and, ultimately, the business world.
This is assessed by academic record (GPA or equivalent) and GMAT score, although other postgraduate and nondegree results may be considered.
The GPA and GMAT are particularly valuable in that they allow the committee to compare applicants from different backgrounds. Academic results from a previous postgraduate degree may count, but they will count less than your easily compared undergraduate record. The quality of undergraduate institution attended (that is, the competition you beat out to be admitted to college) is also weighed.
Quantitative orientation: A candidate who can "do" numbers.
Business school does not require any advanced maths, but a basic quantitative orientation is important to handle the coursework at a day-to-day level. If you have years of engineering or finance behind you, the committee will ask no more questions. If you are coming from a nonquantitative background, the maths result in your GMAT will be a crucial piece of your application. Any numbers course you have, or can acquire (and get an A in) before applying, will help you.
Most schools run a maths prep module for accepted candidates in the weeks before school starts, but this will not let you off the hook if your quantitative profile is weak.
Analytical mindset: A candidate who is able to think critically and tolerate complex, open-ended problems.
This is different from intellectual ability or quantitative ability in the raw: It is the ability to cut through a mass of data and extract the critical variables, to sort and connect relevant ideas, and to see patterns and develop optimal solutions from them. Not surprisingly, analytical skills are heavily demanded by the case method and are the basis of solving the case 'exams' that consulting and other firms use for recruitment.
Success record: A candidate with a proven run of success.
It matters less what you succeeded at than that you have achieved in the best company (which suggests likely future success in whatever you choose to do). Faced with equivalently good candidates, admissions officers put their faith in the old maxim "success breeds success." This is why top schools routinely select Olympic athletes, Air Force pilots, and prominent young achievers in the arts and sciences.
Your claim to success will be more compelling if it can be verified by awards, trophies, job promotions, and so on. The quality of the challenge also counts: making associate at McKinsey means more than making associate at the local consulting shop.
Maturity and professionalism: A candidate who looks, talks and acts like a grown-up.
Through you
