Kellogg MBA Admissions Interviews

This post has been greatly expanded from prior versions and has been updated for admission to the Kellogg MBA Class of 2015.

Just as with essays, interviews for the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management MBA applicant interviews are all about fit.I could not really tell you how many Kellogg mock sessions I have conducted since 2001, when I started working as an admissions consultant, because the number is simply too huge. Given the fact that Kellogg has an open interview policy, more applicants will interview there in any year that anywhere else. As I work with clients from all over the world, I have discovered that Kellogg interviews are pretty consistent worldwide, both for the  good and bad.  

Know your Resume!

You need to know your resume completely as you will most likely be asked about content in it. Review it carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. If it is on your resume, it is fair game. Kellogg interviews are conducted blind, so your interview will not have read your application. The only thing they will have is your resume. Most interview reports indicate extensive questions about the contents of the resume. As such it serves form main functions:

A First Impression: Most interviewers will have your resume even before they meet you. For resume-only interviews, it really is their first impression of you.  Make sure your resume is really designed for ease of use by the interviewer.  One of my objectives when helping a client with a resume is always to focus on how effective the resume is for this purpose.

Agenda Setting Device: To a greater or lesser extent, a resume has an agenda setting function in many interviews.  While schools will provide interviewers with varying levels of guidance about what questions to ask, the resume may very well form the basis for some of the questions that you receive. 

Booby Trap:  The resume can blow-up in your face if you are not careful.  Failure to review your own resume closely prior to interviewing can put you in an awkward position if you are not fully prepared to discuss everything on it. Make sure you know your numbers and dates. Make sure you can discuss anything on your resume.

Past Experience Answers: Since you have presumably highlighted many of the key things you would actually want to discuss on your resume, it is in essence, a primary source for your answers to past experience questions. Especially when I working with a client with limited English ability, I will tell them to practice explaining "Who What Why How When" questions related to their resume.

In addition, since you might get asked to "Tell me something about yourself that is not covered on your resume," you can use the resume to figure out what that would be.

You need to be prepared to answer routine MBA interview questions

Most reported Kellogg interviews simply consist of them. See my previous post on MBA Application Interview Strategy as well the list of questions below. You should expect to have to answer questions regarding teamwork (Examples where you demonstrated it, how you handled problems on teams, and how you would handle a low-performing team member in group work at Kellogg are common examples).  Be absolutely comfortable explaining core questions regarding fit (Why Kellogg? Why the Kellogg community is right for you?  Contributions?) as these always come up.   Be ready to ask questions and obviously make those questions fit to the person you are talking (admissions officer, student, or alumni). My colleague, Steve Green, has collected the following common questions:

RESUME: Career

• Tell me about yourself. / Walk me through your resume. PROBE ANSWERS
• Tell me about [particular accomplishment]
• Tell me about [particular promotion or change]
• What is missing from your resume that you'd like to tell me about?
• What led you to your first job?
• What made you change careers? (+ Follow-up)
• Why did you decide to switch into the field that you chose?
• How have you grown over the years?
• Tell me about what’s challenging in your current role. (+ Follow-up)
• Why did you choose ________________ for your career?
• What are your current responsibilities?
• What do you clients say about you?
• What do you outside of work?

RESUME: Education

• Why did you choose your undergraduate school?
• Why did you choose your major?
• Tell me something about your undergraduate experience?
• What was your legacy at your undergrad school?
• Why did you choose ________________ for your career?
• What are your current responsibilities?
• What do you clients say about you?
• What do you outside of work?

TEAMWORK

• Tell me about your teamwork experience.
• Describe a difficult team situation you have had to deal with in the past?
• Tell me about another teamwork experience.
• What would you do when a team member wasn't pulling his own weight?
• What would your teammates say about you?
• Discuss a team failure you were part of.

LEADERSHIP

• Who do you admire as a leader?
• Have you held leadership positions at work?
• Tell me something about your leadership experience?
• Have you faced any challenges as a leader? How did you deal with them?
• How has your leadership style evolved since college?
• What kind of leader are you?

WHY MBA / WHY KELLOGG

• Why do you want an MBA?
• Why now?
• Why Kellogg?
• Are you good with numbers?
• What are your goals?
• How will Kellogg help you achieve those goals?
• How do you envision yourself being involved in the Kellogg community?
• What clubs will you participate in?
• How will you enhance the diversity of the Kellogg class?
• What unique contribution do you bring to Kellogg?
• What other schools did you apply to?
• If you got into all of them, which would you attend?

STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

• If you could hit the reset button, what would you do differently?
• Anything that may be considered a weakness in your application you would like to explain or expand on?
• How have you grown over the years?
• What are your two main strengths?
• What are your two main weaknesses?
• If time and money were not an issue, what would you do?
• What three words would you use to describe yourself?
• Who is a good negotiator?
• Have you ever been in a negotiation where it wasn’t win – win, rather, win-lose or lose-lose.
• What do people misperceive about you in first meeting?
• If I asked your colleagues about you, what would they say? What feedback have you used to do better?

CONCLUSION

• What questions do you have for me? / Do you have any questions for me?

In MBA Application Interview Strategy I discuss some specific ways to prepare for many of the types of questions discussed above. Additionally, since some Kellogg interviews involve behavioral interview questions, I would suggest reviewing my post,  MIT Sloan MBA Interviews.  MIT Sloan MBA Interviews

will also introduce you to the STAR method for telling stories, so if you need help in telling stories (especially ones about teamwork and leadershIp), I recommend reviewing that post.

Reread your essays!

Given that your Kellogg essays should contain key content to answer many of the above interview questions and because no interviewer will have read your file, feel free to make complete use of your essays for your interview.  It surprises sometimes when I am doing mock interviews with a client and they have not reviewed their own essays very much. This a core repository of content. It will need to be altered for purposes of the interview, but you should use it!

Reported interview length could be from 30 to 60 minutes, with most reported interviews taking 30-45 minutes.

Lack of Consistency in Kellogg interviews

As you should know Kellogg’s new motto is THINK BRAVELY, but as far as  interviews go, I would say their motto must be INTERVIEW INCONSISTENTLY. While most Kellogg interviews are moderately difficult in terms of the kind of questions that are asked and the attitude of the interviewers (admissions officers, alumni, and students) is professional and friendly, other types of interviews are possible and not uncommon.   Given the huge number of alumni interviewers involved in this process, this is especially a problem with alumni interviews whether held on a Kellogg Interview Day (many applicants and interviewers all meeting at the same place for one-to-one interviews) or just through an arranged one-to-one off-campus interview. Even on-campus interviews with students lack some consistency as I will discuss below.  Only interviews with admissions officers fit into some predictable norm of moderately difficult and professional. Some types of dysfunctional Kellogg interviews:

The Cake walk: The lovely expression “as easy as cake” can be applied to some international interviews that I have heard about. This can be nice for the applicant, of course, but surely is unfair for other applicants. A cake walk interview consists of some of the standard Kellogg interview questions, but everything is very surface level and most of the interview is just nice conversation. The interviewer then prepares a sterling evaluation of the applicant even in terms of areas that were not necessarily addressed in the interview because the men involved (not always, but typically from what I can see this involves men and is just another form of immediate locker room type bonding). If you find you are having an apparently very easy interview, just make sure you work as many key points about yourself into the conversation while maintaining a positive and friendly feeling about the whole thing.

“You really don’t fit because I don’t like you”: The worst reports I have heard about have involved Kellogg alumni interviewers who expressed their dislike for the applicant. The interviewer uses highly judgmental language that often barely hides bias. This bias might be gender-based, class-based, or industry-function based. We are not talking here about merely an agressive interviewer, but rather an interviewer who actively looks down on the applicant.  Frankly I have never read or been about such an interview being conducted in the US, but I do know about such unpleasant interviews conducted through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The only thing I can suggest during such an interview is that you hold your own, don’t cave against bully you are dealing with, but respond aggressively in defending yourself and why you belong at Kellogg. The abuse of power is an ugly thing. If you feel you have been treated particularly ba dly, you should consider reporting the details of this to Kellogg admissions.

English not spoken: One of the best reasons to eliminate alumni interviews completely especially when an admissions office is trying to get a report on the English ability of the applicant is because alumni interviewers don’t always conduct some or even most of the interview in English. I have client reports of this from around the world. This can be to the advantage or disadvantage of the applicant.  If an applicant is trying to really highlight their English communication ability, having an interview that is not conducted in English might not be particularly helpful. In addition, speaking in another language is often a gateway to the two previous types dysfunctional interviews I mentioned above.  I have no specific suggestions for what you can do when an interview is not conducted in English if you think the interview is going well. If you think the interview is not going well, you can consider this grounds for informing Kellogg admissions. Si nce Kellogg admissions waives some interviews and subsequently conducts telephone interviews, I would not be surprised if your interview was initially waived. Most applicants will not want to complain about an interviewer, but if you feel you were treated badly, it is worth considering. Advice for international applicants who really want to highlight their English communication skills: Go interview on-campus because campus interviews will be conducted in English. 

Bored, hungover, busy, and/or tired: Most reported student interviews are not like like this, but it is no surprise that some of these interviews involve student interviewers who wish they were some where else doing something else (studying, sleeping, recruiting activities, etc.).  Not fun if you have traveled to Evanston and find your interviewer is just not that engaged in the process. If your interviewer seems less than engaged, just make the possible case for yourself and don’t let their indifference get to you. The worst thing you can do is react to someone else’s lack of energy.  You must maintain your enthusiasm even in the fact of complete indifference. Just imagine you are talking to a mirror and ignore the interviewer’s lack of engagement. I don’t think you can really complain to admissions about this issue. Just be aware that might happen.

While I think it is nice that Kellogg basically interviews all applicants (some applicants are waived initially from interviewing but ultimately do a telephone interview), it does come at the cost of consistency.  I do think that putting all applicants on level playing field means giving them an interview that is conducted with a fairly high degree of consistency.  Of course, the moment alumni are involved at any school, consistency tends to get lost unless the school really works hard to maintain standards and weed out bad interviewers.  I know many alumni do a great job and should be praised for their involvement with the process, but unfortunately this is not always the case.   I have pointed these issues out so you are prepared for the worst case scenarios. Hopefully you will not experience them.

Best of luck with admission to Kellogg’s Class of 2015!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

New York University Stern MBA Essays for Fall 2013 Admission

File this one under “better late than never.” 2012 was a busy year.  In this post I analyze NYU Stern MBA program’s essay questions for fall 2013 Admission.

New York University Stern School of Business MBA essay questions’ web page also includes great tips which you can find here.  Every year, I have seen some potential applicants look at Stern’s essay questions and simply decide it is better to apply elsewhere. Actually, I have found myself frequently advocating application to Stern as part of a school selection strategy as a result. While Stern’s questions are unique, especially Essay 3, they maybe significantly less daunting than what you initially think.

Essay 1. Professional Aspirations (750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

(a) Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?
(b) What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?
(c) What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?

What I really like about this essay is that Stern is doing all the organizational work for you. If you are also applying to Columbia, you will find significant overlap between Stern Essay 1 and Columbia Essay 1 (both parts a and b) except that the Stern question does not involve the long-term and that you have to  directly explain why now is the right time for getting an MBA (you need do that for Columbia too, but NYU clearly wants a very direct and extended answer to this question).  You can find my Columbia essay analysis here. 

(a) Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?

Clearly you need to show why given your present position and future goals, now is the right time to get an MBA.   For more about goals, see my analysis of other schools goals statements, such as Stanford’s.

(b) What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?

Here you need to clearly indicate how you have become informed about the program. Stern admissions does a very good job of explaining their application. If you can attend a presentation at Stern or at least attend an admissions event, that is most helpful because getting into Stern is all about fit. Visiting is obviously best, attending their admissions event is also good, and so is making an effort to communicate with students and alumni.  Obviously reading their website is important, but that is not enough. Make sure you listened to their podcasts. Making a connection to alumni is always a good idea. Be specific about the steps you have taken. Feel free to use names of admissions officers, alumni, and students that you met. I would try to limit this section to 50-100 words to save room for the more substantial components of the questions.

(b) Describe what most excites you about Stern from both an academic and extracurricular perspective.
  You need to establish fit between yourself and Stern by highlighting those aspects of the program that you truly love.  Don’t just state them and don’t discuss too many things. Instead focus on 2-4 aspects of the program that you can relate to your goals, learning style, personality, or life style. My suggestion is to highlight a specific aspect of the program and explain your connection to it so that admissions really learns about you through your discussion of Stern. See my analysis of Columbia Essay 1b because this is essentially the same thing.

(c) What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?

Use at least 1/3 of your essay to explain both your post-MBA career goal and your long-term career goals. The goals you outline should connect very directly with  why you need an MBA now (a), what you intend to gain from Stern  (b) above as well as in Essay 2. I suggest you have a specific plan that can is well aligned with what you can learn at Stern and intuitively connects to the two possible paths your career may take in the longer term.

Essay 2. Your Two Paths (500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font) The mission of the Stern School of Business is to develop people and ideas that transform the challenges of the 21st century into opportunities to create value for business and society. Given today's ever-changing global landscape, Stern seeks and develops leaders who thrive in ambiguity, embrace a broad perspective and think creatively about the range of ways they can have impact.

(a) Describe two different and distinct paths you could see your career taking long term. How do you see your two paths unfolding?
(b) How do your paths tie to the mission of NYU Stern?
(c) What factors will most determine which path you will take?

This essay gives you chance to consider different long-term goals. As long as both goals align with what you wrote in Essay 1, they might be quite different. This is an opportunity to imagine different future for yourself.

(a) Describe two different and distinct paths you could see your career taking long term. How do you see your two paths unfolding?

Regarding the formulation of goals, if you are having trouble doing it, I suggest reading  my analysis of other schools goals statements, such as Stanford’s. As I mentioned above, the two paths can be quite different.

(b) How do your paths tie to the mission of NYU Stern?

Explain how your  two paths align with Stern’s values.  Going beyond the mission statement itself, you might want to consider how your goals align with other aspects of Stern.

(c) What factors will most determine which path you will take?

This is the critical thinking part of the question. Here are some things to think about to help you formulate an answer:

Think about what externalities might impact your selection of career paths?  For example, economic or technological changes. Even, the role of luck is important to consider.

Think about what personal choices you make might effect your career path?  Think about life events (marriage, kids), geography (Where you do want to live?),  personal motivation (What really makes you happy?), and values (Where can you have the biggest positive impact?).

Essay 3. Personal Expression

Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.

If you submit a non-written piece for Essay 3 (i.e., artwork or multimedia) or if you submit Essay 3 via mail, please upload a brief description of your submission with your online application.Please note the following guidelines and restrictions:
Your submission becomes the property of NYU Stern and cannot be returned for any reason.
If you submit a written essay, it should be 500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font. If you submit a video or audio file, it should be five minutes maximum.
If you prepare a multimedia submission, you may mail a CD, DVD or USB flash drive to the Admissions Office. These are the only acceptable methods of submission. Please do not submit an internet link to any websites or to a video hosting service such as YouTube.
The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request an alternate Essay 3 if we are unable to view your submission.
Do not submit anything perishable (e.g. food), or any item that has been worn (e.g. clothing).
Mailed materials must be postmarked by the application deadline date. Please follow our mail and labeling instructions.
Please note that mailed Essay 3 packages are subject to size restrictions. Submissions that exceed the stated size restrictions will not be accepted for review by the Admissions Committee. Please see the table below for the maximum package size guidelines:Packaging Type Dimensions: Metric Dimensions: Non-metric
Box 36cm x 31cm x 8cm 14" x 12" x 3"
Cylindrical tube 8cm x 91cm 3" x 36"
Triangular tube 97cm x 16cm x 16 cm x 16 cm 38" x 6" x 6" x 6"

This is the NYU question. It is the one that seems to stop many applicants from applying to Stern. In my experience, I have found that strong applicants who are willing to put the time into this question are often well rewarded (invited for interviews, admitted), but those who slap something together are often rejected.

To be honest, I have found a creative essay to be as effective as an “arts and crafts project.” If you think you can answer the question most effectively by writing an essay, just do that. I have had clients admitted to NYU who have done both and all can say is that the key factor to their success was providing a response that really answered the question.

Depending on what you have written for such questions as  Columbia Essay 2, Chicago Essay 3, Kellogg Essay 1, UCLA Essay 1, you might already have all the content you need.

In past years, I have had clients who have done slide presentations for NYU, but given that Chicago Booth now requires one, if you are applying to Chicago and Stern and state that on your NYU application, don’t do a PowerPoint for Stern because the NYU admissions people will assume you are trying to cut corners. After all, one reason NYU asks this question is because they want you to show your commitment to NYU by putting time into it.

In general, anytime a school has a non-standard question, you should really keep in mind that they are looking for answers that demonstrate an applicant’s willingness to put time into it.

Regarding time, try to give yourself significant time before the deadline if you are going to make anything from scratch and not write an essay. In my experience, most successful versions of this question take more time and drafts.  Of course, some applicants can do it right quickly (or might have to do it quickly), but since you are trying to be creative and also to effectively introduce yourself to your classmates, you may need more time.

One very common initial error with this question is to focus on being creative at the exclusion of thinking about the purpose: to introduce yourself to your classmates. Keep in mind that your objective is to create a positive image of yourself that would make an excellent first impression on your classmates. It may be creative, but make sure that it also leaves admissions with a clear understanding of what positive impression of yourself you are communicating. It is your job to provide a sufficiently clear message regardless of the way you creatively present yourself.

Some Questions to get you brainstorming:

1. What do you want Stern Admissions to know about you that would positively impact your chances for admission?

2. What major positive aspects of your life have not been effectively INTERPRETED to the admissions committee in other parts of the application?

3. If you were meeting people that would you be working closely with for two years and that you might want as a part of your lifetime professional network, what would you tell them about yourself to create a strong first impression?

4. Why do people like you?

5. If there was one story about yourself that you think would really help admissions understand you and want to admit you, what is it?

6. Do you have a personal interest (painting and poetry for example) that would work effectively?

Finally, keep in mind that what you write here should not duplicate the content of  your answers to the first two questions or anything else in the application, instead it should really provide admissions with a new perspective on why you belong at Stern.

Essay 4. Additional Information: (optional)
Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, your undergraduate record, plans to retake the GMAT and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.
If you are unable to submit a recommendation from a current supervisor, you must explain your reason in this essay.
If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.

If you are applying to a dual degree program, please explain your decision to pursue a dual degree.

If you are a re-applicant, this is where your reapplication essay goes and clearly this should be a very positive and wonderful essay that states clearly how you are much stronger candidate.

Under no circumstances include an essay clearly written for another school. NYU did not ask you write a whole essay about an important leadership experience you had, and since they did not ask for it, we can assume that is not what they need.

Unless you are perfect there is a reasonable likelihood that you will have something to write about here.  If you don’t think you have anything, just ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the weakest thing about my application content?  Do I have anything that I should say about that? Would it be obvious to a reader or something only I could know? If you can identify something that you think would likely be obvious to a reader, write about it.

2. What is the weakest thing about me as an applicant? Do I have anything that I should say about that? Would it be obvious to a reader or something only I could know? If you can identify something that you think would likely be obvious to a reader, write about it.

3. Is there anything at all that I did not have space in my essays to clarify?  If so, write about it.

4. What else do I really want to highlight about myself? There has to be something.  Actually even if you write about something negative, you might also want to answer this question.  Anyone should be able to answer this question.

Best of luck with your application to join the Class of 2015!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

A guide to my resources for reapplicants

I wanted to let readers to my blog know about my resources for reapplicants. I think the best place to start is my June 2010 Reapplication for Success Webinar Transcript and Slides.  Also see MBA Reapplication: Why were you dinged? Now what?
For a more introspective take on rejection and recovery, please see The Warren Buffett Club: Thoughts on MBA Rejection.

I love working with reapplicants because they approach the admissions process with a level of commitment, realism, and focus that only the best first-time applicants can match.  Failure is a harsh teacher, but for intelligent people, a great one. For fall 2011, my reapplicant clients obtained admission at HBS, Stanford GSB, Haas, Chicago Booth, INSEAD and Columbia University Law School LL.M as well as number of other programs.

When a client comes to me for reapplication, I typically review one or more their applications and the use that as basis for developing a new set of winning strategies. Most reapplicants are coming to me for the first time, though I have certainly worked with an existing clients who come to me for reapplication after an initial effort has not succeeded. I customize my reapplication service to meet a meet client’s specific needs as I offer reapplication counseling as part of both a one-time service and as part of comprehensive counseling.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

The Warren Buffett Club: Thoughts on MBA Rejection

In this post I discuss MBA rejection, but for my less philosophical, but more practical advice on reapplication, please see A guide to my resources for reapplicants.  While focused mostly on MBA rejection, what I write here applies to rejection from any graduate program or perhaps rejection of any kind. 

In a much earlier post, I wrote a review of the Warren Buffet biography, The Snowball, it was titled “A Happy Story of HBS Rejection.”  I will quote part of it at length:

“Once upon a time a slightly odd nineteen year-old with a continuous entrepreneurial track record from early childhood, an odd university history (attended a top East Coast School, but graduated from a public university of little repute outside its home state), and who happened to be the son of a United States Congressman applied to HBS.  He was interviewed by a highly judgmental alumnus who decided on the spot that the young man was not ready for HBS.  He was rejected.

The young man than applied to Columbia Business School because he realized that the author of a book on investing that he considered to be one of the best on the subject taught there.  He applied and was admitted without interview. The author became the young man's mentor.

From one perspective, it could be said that HBS had made perhaps the worst admissions decision ever as it lost the chance to educate the young man.  But for the young man, his HBS rejection worked out just fine.  Maybe he would of benefited from a case study based education, but maybe not.  One thing is sure, the young man greatly benefited from his association with his CBS mentor.  Finally, it is rather clear that CBS made a great admissions decision.

The young man was Warren Buffett and his mentor was Ben Graham.   Buffett's authorized biography, The Snowball,  does not record who the HBS alum was, but clearly the guy did not have an eye for talent. And yet, if one considers the issue of fit, everything about Buffett as a person strikes me as wrong for HBS and right for CBS.”

Young Buffet surely was unhappy with his rejection, but he did just fine.  This might come as small consolation to you if you have been rejected from one or more of your top choice schools.  Still you to get over it and move on. I know when I experienced rejection the first time I applied for graduate school, it was painful, but I learned from the experience. I wrote about this in a real old post from 2007 (updated in 2009), I’lll quote the relavent part at length:

“TWO STORIES
A Sad Story
In Fall 1988, during my senior undergraduate year, I decided to apply to for PhD programs in Political Science. As I was graduating in three instead of the usual four years, I was 20 years old at that time. I sought advice from two of my professors, both were tenured, one had his PhD from Harvard and the other from Princeton. They supported me, wrote recommendations (that I later used successfully in 1990), but provided me with little guidance on the admissions process. I simply followed the application instructions and made a horrible mess of the whole thing. As this was long before online applications, I filled my own out in my handwriting (A kind of childlike scribble best not seen). I was dinged everywhere.

A Happy Story 
As I mentioned in a previous post, when I applied to graduate school in 1990, I was fortunate to have an excellent mentor, a PhD student at the University of Chicago, who remains to this day one of my closest friends. I was lucky because he understood the admissions process and the relative difficulty for obtaining admission at a time when the US Economy was weak and many people were applying to graduate school (Kind of like now, but not as awful.). His advice was timely and practical and helped me succeed at getting admitted to PhD programs in Political Science.”

What Warren Buffett and I have in common: We both got over our rejection and found another way to achieve our graduate school objectives.  This is also what anyone who has made successful application after initial rejection has in common with Warren Buffett. It is not a bad club to be a part of. In fact, on a more general level, beyond graduate school itself, if you have been rejected from anything you really wanted, at least initially,  you probably have not challenged yourself.  Rejection is all part of life.  Only those who takes risks even have the possibility of serious rejection and it is worth taking risks.

As an admissions consultant, I am happy when my clients are admitted and sad when they are rejected. Like any coach, you want to those you coach win. They can’t win all the time. I am very clear with clients about that when they contact me and I am very clear about the role of risk in my own suggested approach to school selection.

Admission to top MBA and other graduate programs is a high stakes competition and you will likely lose some of the time.  Given the nature of this competition, unlike going to a casino or playing the stock market, you only need to win once.  That means for some applicants that they will apply to only one school and gain admission, for others that they will gain multiple admissions,  for others that they will apply to many schools and may only gain one admission, and for others they will be rejected completely. For those in the final category, they have to figure out how to become more attractive candidates or simply withdraw from the competition. Sometimes applicants’ school selection is way off,  but whatever the case, failure is something that can be learned from.

Recently Dee Leopold posted the following on the HBS Admissions Director’s Blog: 
“On February 7, all candidates not being invited to interview will be notified of their release.
That’s it…and I’m thinking about whether the word “release” is a good choice. Suggestions welcome.”

While, it would surely not be in HBS’ interests to point out that they rejected Warren Buffett, I would suggest replacing- “On February 7, all candidates not being invited to interview will be notified of their release.”-  with  “On February 7, all candidates not receiving interview invitations will be notified that they are now part of the Warren Buffett Club.”  It could come with an explanatory message that Warren Buffett is not the only applicant who overcame rejection from HBS.  I know this is an impossible suggestion to implement, but if you are “released” on February 7th or have already been dinged elsewhere, or will be rejected everywhere, know that being amongst those who have been rejected simply means you need to move on.   

I suppose HBS could change their message to “On February 7, all candidates not receiving interview invitations will be invited to consider all options other than admission to the HBS Class of 2015.”  This, no doubt, would be considered in bad taste, especially amongst those without a sense of irony.  Yet, just like calling it the Warren Buffett Club, this perspective on rejection clearly is meant to tell applicants: Move on, your life is not over, you will have other opportunities.  Having worked with successful reapplicants to HBS, including one client who came to me after being rejected twice before, I know that not being part of the HBS Class of 2015, does not even mean that the Class of 2016 is out of reach.

From a practical viewpoint, I would tell Dee Leopold to change it as follows: "On February 7, all candidates not being invited to interview will be notified that they are no longer under consideration for the Class of 2015. Depending on your situation you might want to consider reapplication to HBS, application elsewhere, or other options for your one wild and precious life.”  That message would be one that was simultaneously direct and  positive.  Whether it is HBS or another school, if you are rejected, life goes on and you need to learn from the experience and use it to get what you want.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Waitlisted? Now what?

This is an updated and expanded version of a previous post on what do if you are waitlisted at an MBA program.

As MBA results roll in with  all their joy, pain, and annoyance have more or less emerged, some people will find themselves  admitted, others outright rejected, and others in that netherworld known as waitlist. For some, the wait will actually end relatively quickly, but for others, the wait might very well continue, well, for months and months. For some, the waitlist will ultimately convert into a ding.

While I have no numbers yet, my expectation is that admissions acceptances to top programs like Booth, HBS,  MIT and Wharton will have become lower for fall 2013 entry (Class of 2015) because of  making the essay burden lower (HBS, MIT, Wharton), decreased  interview offers (Wharton), proactive use of waitlisting to decrease an acceptance rate that is too high given its ranking (Booth)  and increase yield (Booth, Haas), and overall  market effects (If HBS and Wharton become harder to get into, given the large size of their classes, this impacts competition at other schools as well.). Schools waitlist because they actually are uncertain whether their estimated yield- the percentage of admitted applicants who accept an offer of admision, see here for more about it- will be sufficient to fill their class. They waitlist because they don’t want empty seats. They waitlist becaus e they have too many qualified applicants for too few slots, but want to reserve the possibility of eventually letting someone in.  They don’t waitlist to make applicants feel better by giving some sort of second prize.  Schools don’t waitlist because their are sadistic fiends, but from a waitlisted applicant’s perspective, it might feel that way.

In the rest of this post, I will provide advice on what do if you are waitlisted by an MBA program.

IF YOU ARE WAITLISTED….

Don’t panic or become depressed. The reason you were waitlisted is because there were too many qualified applicants and adcom likes you, but they don’t know that they love you yet. Now is the time to think clearly and act effectively.

For those waitlisted in the first round, you should, of course, know that adcom likes you, but they really wanted to see the main pool of applicants, before making any decisions. You might be waiting for a quite a while longer, but be patient. Simultaneously, consider other options.

For those waitlisted in the second or third round, adcom also likes you, but they are not yet convinced that it would be right to give you a spot because there were simply too many qualified applicants. Your wait could go on for months. Consider other alternatives, but don’t give up because it is possible to get off the waitlist.

Be proactive, but not aggressively annoying, with admissions. Adcom will let you know what additional materials they will accept and you should most certainly provide them. That said, the worst thing you can do is send a continuous stream of correspondence or otherwise annoy the admissions office. If you turn yourself into an annoying freak, you can assume you will not get admitted.  
Also, keep in mind that some schools, simply do not accept any additional materials.  Wharton, for example, has the following policy:
“Candidates can expect to remain on the waitlist until the following round of decisions are released. There is no rank order to the waitlist. We are unable to offer feedback to candidates while they remain on the list. We are also unable to accept additional materials for inclusion in a waitlisted applicant’s file. This policy is designed to create an admissions process that is fair and equitable for all candidates.”
On their Admisssions Blog, Wharton reiterates this policy.  See here for example.  If you are waitlisted at Wharton, the only thing to really do is just wait. Basically,  they don’t recommendations, essays,  professional updates and it is even unclear whether they consider GMAT/GRE and TOEFL/IELTS increases. I would submit test score increases to schools that don’t take additional information.

Test scores: GMAT, GRE,  TOEFL and IELTS. If you can take it again, do it, if your score goes up report it. Higher scores are always helpful for any school that will take additional information.

If your GMAT or GRE is below the average for those admitted to the program, an improved test score is, many cases, the single best way to improve your chance of admission. On the other hand if your GMAT or GRE score is at or above the average, improved scores are likely to be of increasingly marginal utility.  That said, if you are from a demographic sub-group where scores are particularly high (Indian males who graduated from one of the IITs for example) then a really higher score could be of greater benefit.

For those required to prove their English ability through TOEFL, IELTS, or the other exams that some schools will accept (but no one seems to take), an improved score here is always worth reporting. MBA programs want class diversity, but they also want those students who are most effective at communicating in English, so if you can show them better potential for that, do it!

Improving your MBA math skills:  If you have strong and objectively demonstrated quantitative skills based on your academic background, professional certifications (CPA, CFA), and/or GMAT or GRE scores, ignore this topic.
As you may have gathered from filling out applications, a number of schools specifically ask applicants to indicate their highest level of math taken or discuss their quantitative skills if not readily apparent.  If you are not strong in math or have no objective facts that demonstrate it (see examples in previous paragraph), that can really hurt especially at programs know for being quantitatively rigorous.   You can certainly take an online or evening course, but that can take quite a while to complete.  I highly recommend the online course,  MBA Math, because many top schools recommend it as preparation to their students.  It is a self-study program and you receive a certificate completion once you are finished with it, which can then be provided to a school you are waitlisted at.  (By the way, I have no connection at all to MBA Math, and this is in no way a compensated endorsement.)

Additional recommendation: If the school will take one, provide it. It is fine to send more than one recommendation if the school allows it. Think very strategically about your selection(s). You don’t want a recommendation that will not add something substantially different from what your previous recommendations stated. Try to use a recommender (or recommenders) who will do one or more of the following:
(a) A recommender who will provide support  to help you overcome any areas of professional and/or academic weakness in your background.
(b) A recommender who will provide a perspective on different part of your background.
(c) A recommender who will provide support for earlier or more recent period of your life.
(d) If academic recommendations are acceptable and your GPA is not great, consider getting an academic recommendation if you can get a strong one.
(e) If your English ability maybe the issue, consider getting a recommendation from someone who can speak positively about your English communication skills. This is especially important if your iBT TOEFL or IELTS score is not that high or if you think your interview was not so strong because of your speaking skills.

Additionally, many schools will also take informal recommendations from alums or current students, so if you can get one from someone who knows you, it can’t hurt.

WARNING:  Usually the worst recommendations to send are from high level VIPs you don’t know you well and/or who you have not engaged with in some sort of organized purposeful activity (work, volunteer, mentors, academic, etc.). Sometimes applicants know a senator or a CEO or a former prime minister or someone whose family is a major donor at a university (but not the applicant’s family)  and obtain a recommendation that it more like an abstract character reference or a collection of second-hand reported information. This is not a good thing to do and will not help you unless the recommender has real organizational influence at the school.  If they do have such influence, they probably don’t need to write a formal recommendation to have impact.


Waitlist essay. Write one!

The typical components:

-Additional reasons why you want to attend to show your real commitment and passion for the school. Think classes, school’s culture, or any other reason that would make the school ideal for you.

-Discussion of changes that have taken place in your professional career after your applied. If anything new and great has happened, you should most certainly write about it.

- New content that was not emphasized in your application.

Use some combination of the following possible topics:
(a) Changes since you applied. Any positive professional or personal changes should be communicated. For instance, success on a project,  passing a professional certification exam, a promotion,  election to the board of a non-profit organization, etc.
(b) If you did not sufficiently discuss your leadership or teamwork abilities, you should most certainly do so.
(c) Write about contributions you can make to the school based on your experience, background, personality, and network.
(d) If your academic potential was not obvious, you should try to demonstrate that.
(e) If you have SUBSTANTIAL personal or professional accomplishments that you did not discuss in your initial application, you should do so.
(f) If you did not focus very much on non-professional content in your application, focus on it here, at least to some extent.
(f) If you were waitlisted without an interview, remember to ask for the opportunity to interview.

If the length is not stated, I would try to keep it to between 500 and 1000 words. More is not inherently better, quality is, so don’t write about everything you can think of. This essay is quite important, so make sure that the content is at least as good as that of your original application.

If you have not visited the school and can visit the school, do so. Make a point of letting admissions know this, either in your waitlist essay or through contact with them.  VISITING (or even visiting again) CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

For schools where you can actually meet with admissions, making a personal appeal is worth the effort.  Showing your commitment to a school that is open to such an appeal can result in a positive outcome.  Note:  The personal appeal approach does not work at all schools.  It is especially does not work if admissions has told you that they cannot meet with you.  It also does not work if you are simply not good at selling yourself.  My clients who have succeeded at this, have, in general, been highly charismatic individuals.

Get a fresh perspective on your application by rereading it now. By doing so, you will probably have a good idea about what kind of recommendation to get and waitlist essay to write.

If you had an interview, how did it go? While it might not be easy for you to fully remember or assess it, think critically about your interview experience.  If you have done well on other interviews, did this one go as well?  While it is obviously too late to do anything about any interview that was not ideal, thinking about your interview experience might very well help you figure out where the problem was and consider how to approach future interviews.  Unless you are certain that your interview went well, assume the interview was at least part if not the entire problem.  Schools seemingly place a different level of value on interviews.  At HBS and MIT, for example, interviews are conducted by admissions staff who have taken the time to review your application completely, so assume a waitlist there, at least partially reflects the fact that compared to other candidates you were good, but others received an overall higher evaluation.  For schools like Haas or Columbia, where interviews are conducted blind, assume the interview is just one factor.  For schools that put a huge emphasis and have intensive interviews, such as IMD,  HEC, and LBS, assume the interview was certainly the critical factor for why you are now waitlisted.

Consider seeking the advice of an admissions consultant. If you have already worked with one, you can go back to that person if you are otherwise pleased with their work. They know you and they could help you put something together that caught admissions’ eye. On the other hand, you might want to pay for a fresh perspective. I offer waitlist, reapplication, interview, and comprehensive consulting services.

Do you need a PLAN B? If you are waitlisted and/or dinged everywhere you applied, it is now time to start thinking about whether you are going to apply for more schools for 2013, reapply for 2014, or expand your career in some other way. Whatever the case, you need a Plan B in place. If you are thinking about applying to more schools for Fall 2013 or just reconsidering school selection in general, please see here.

Best of luck and may your wait be short and culminate in admission!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.