MBA Application Strategy

This Strategy is not for those who are only targeting HSW schools. That is Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. The Strategy applies to anyone who thinks that HSW schools are stretch schools and require considerable planning.

Let’s go back to the 2:3 or the 3:2 Strategy

2:3 or 3: 2 Strategy

Typically, applicants target 5 to 7 schools. Of the seven schools, 5 are schools in the top 10, with 2 or 3 from Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. A big mistake that applicants make is to target Harvard and Stanford in one round itself.

The change essay can be approached in two ways. The first is by aligning with the historical perspective of how Stern branded its experiential learning and the second with what the phrase suggests.

The first strategy might have led to the forced matching of stories to themes with less than spectacular results. That is why the Stern MBA Admissions team expanded its slogan to include:

There is always a risk of turning your MBA Application resume, essays, and interview answers into a technical narrative. When the interviewer is from your industry, take the risk. For anyone else, your depth and tendency to go technical should be curbed. But even with such warning, there are scenarios where specific narratives and examples work over generic boilerplate answers or entries.

Apart from the intended goal of the Stern Change Essay, you can also approach the phrase at its face value.

I have also been fascinated with death as a theme in many of my Sample Essays - from capturing a road trip of a family in Stanford MBA What Matters Essay – Savor Every Moment to facing death in the Family in Harvard MBA Sample Essay – War and Starting Over Again to writing about

When you read MBA Essays like me for editing, you begin to see the vast range of consciousness poured into the paper – all to get the coveted seat in an M7 or T15 school.

A big reason applicants can’t persuade the admissions team with their essays is the choice of personal and professional ‘examples.’ Many skim through branding and marketing ideas from consultants and assume that inserting a hero’s journey to mundane milestones from your resume is the answer.

While editing Harvard MBA Essays, a common challenge I faced as an editor was the transition from the personal to the action part of the essay.

All MBA applicants have a purpose. Some are scared; some are embarrassed; some are not sure if such deep introspection is required, but all of them would love to share their core story when the right person asks them.

This is one of the common reasons why a GMAT 750 or someone with an excellent GPA gets dinged. They don’t ask themselves, “What is my Purpose?”

Every forum will have an Applicant quoting with abbreviations IB/M7/Male IB/American IB/Indian IT/Chinese Hardware/Tier-2 Undergraduate – all a shorthand to evoke an association of traits.

To understand how ingrained our beliefs about universally appealing traits are, we must go back 1000 years before the birth of Christ and read Homer. Greek Literature is the originator of all the heroic qualities that we value in our peers and modern culture.

When I evaluate a profile for F1GMAT’s Career Planning Service, within the first 5 minutes, I have a sense of whether the person should apply this year or the next year. It all comes down to factors that are not often shared in forums and blogs.

Atul Jose (MBA Admissions Consultant, F1GMAT): I get approached early on by applicants who want to target the Top 10 MBA programs in the world.  One time, a person reached out to me with just one year of experience.  With F1GMAT’s Career Planning Service, we created a plan that will help him brand himself as a person who has technical skills, cultural sensitivity, and experi