MBA Admissions Guide to Apply to Harvard and top 30 MBAs

1. How to personalize your MBA application for each school

2. Example - Harvard MBA and what it is looking for

3. Exercise
   
   

1. Excellent Essay - Deeper introspection into past, present, future and how that *specific* MBA program helps you get there. Very personal;  no one else submitted something similar.

2.  Excellent Letters of Rec - Know you is the best + biggest fan of you. Has worked with you. Puts you in relative terms (David is in the top 2 Associates I had out of 50). They know you on a deep + personal lever and aligned with your MBA application

3.  CV / Resume. Talk about outputs / results. Specific. Not telling but showing. Each line is meticulously analyzed to clear and outcome oriented.

4. Interview. Feel prepared and confident, goal is to be calm. Do this by going through these interview questions and knowing your personal narrative, and everything you included in your resume / CV. It will come up!

3 Key Ingredients

1. Future - what problems / areas do you feel most passionate about? why? 

2. Past - why does that matter to you? Why is that important to you? Why does that speak to you? 

3. Current - Why MBA program - How does this MBA program help you get there + quicker. Be specific, not generic / swappable with other MBA programs.

Common mistakes

1. People focus more on the test (marginally increasing points) and negate essay

2. The Essay is something in your control; an excellent personal statement will move the needle in your chances of being admitted (sometimes more than increasing your GRE / GMAT by 1-2 points)

3. Do not only focus on good = reflect on mistakes / failures / how you grew

4. Don't try to be like everyone else; rather, seek to stand out

1. Reminder of the 3 pillars

2. Exercise - Diving Deeper into the 3 pillars

Questions to answer: 

Part 1: Your future dreams, goals, and hopes.
What do you hope to accomplish? If your grandchildren searched your name on Google, what significant accomplishments and life milestones would you hope to come up with?

• If someone Googled your name at the peak of your career, what do you hope they would find? What problems that we face today would you most like to help solve?

• What would be in your first paragraph summary if you had a Wikipedia page in the future?

• What impact would you hope to have in the business world? Why does that matter to you?

• Where do you see yourself / your career in the next 5, 10, or 20 years?

Part 2: Your background & past.
Why is your background and life experiences making you want to accomplish that? What is your why?

• When was the first time you realized that the future thing you want to accomplish was important to you? How did it grow over time?

• Write out 2 sentences for any moments that impacted you. First, describe the moment. Then, describe what you learned:

  • Family/childhood / school

  • College

  • First job / second job:

  • Extracurricular

Part 3: The Present Journey
How does an (insert degree) help you get there?

• How does an “MBA” help you achieve your goals?

• How does each specific “MBA” program you’re applying to help you reach your goals?

  • What professors would you most want to meet and have coffee with?

  • What research centers would you most want to work with?

  • What events or talks are most interested in attending or organizing?

  • What else about the school gets you giddy & excited to be applying?

Part 4: Your unique journey.

What makes you unique and individual.

• What can you bring to your peers: What do you think classmates will most learn from you about? What are you most curious to learn about from them?

• "You can't connect the dots looking forward - You can only connect them looking backward,” said Steve Jobs. What are the major dots that got you here today and how do you think they will uniquely shape the person you are becoming and the impact you hope to have?

If you went to an MBA admissions event hosted for your industry or company and they met each of you, what would differentiate you from all those other folks in the room?

1. Include a summary of your academic records (GPA, honors) & test scores if relevant

2. Add most relevant activities and leadership positions (e.g., captain of the soccer team, vice president of the debate society)

3. Quantify where possible to let reader know scope & impact

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Remember:

• Every resume line should include: What was the outcome?
  “Doing X led to outcome Y” (in a quantified way)

• Ensure you could spend a few minutes elaborating on the details of every line you include in your resume

• Note: What you put on your resume will likely get asked at some point in the interview!

  
  

Remember:

• Every resume line should include: What was the outcome?
  “Doing X led to outcome Y” (in a quantified way)

• Ensure you could spend a few minutes elaborating on the details of every line you include in your resume

• Note: What you put on your resume will likely get asked at some point in the interview!

By yourself:

• Draft your Resume (if you need a template, we have on here in the files / docs)

If you want us to review:

• Send your resume template to theadmitclub@gmail.com

Next Steps

• Do Lesson 4 of 5:
  Getting excellent letters of recommendation

DON'T FORGET - Find alignment between what school is looking for and what you are submitting.

Make sure you do the MBA Matrix in Section 2 to know what you want your letter of rec writer to emphasize about you.  For example, if you are applying to HBS and have low test scores (GRE, GMAT) or GPA, you can use a letter of rec writer to showcase the analytical aptotude since the test scores / academics are not showing. 

Rewatch Section 2, Personalize your MBA app for each.

Excellent Recommendations letter:

1. Knowledge of you. Has worked with you directly & can speak to your unique strengths, skills, and ways you made a difference in your org

2. Puts your strengths in relative terms. Feels comfortable with details v. peers: “Of the xx people I’ve hired, ____ was the hardest working at yy”)

3. Can speak to your career arch - where you come from, how you did, project where you are going to go

   
   

Excellent Recommender:

1. Your top, long-term supporter (your #1 fan). Has been your biggest fan; invested in your success

2. Committed to your MBA plans and willing to put in the time to help. Willing to put in the time to write an excellent letter and check-in with you during the process, and/or is knowledgeable about the process (extra points if they're an alum!)

3. Knowledge of your work + fan of you > fancy title (e.g. “CEO”, “Senator”, etc) but doesn’t really know you or will have someone in their staff write it for them

   
   

Follow this process

1. Brainstorm list of candidartes

2. evaluate candidates with our rubric (attached below)

3. Check in with coach (phone or email) to ask if they are willing to

4. Send recommendation packet + set up a follow up phone call

5. Check in with recommender 1-2 weeks before the deadline!  People leave it to last minute 90% of the time.
   

1st exercise | Selecting your recommender

Brainstorm 4 people in each of the following - don’t overthink it

• Professional: Current Job (at least 1-2 direct supervisors)

• Professional: Last Job (at least 1-2 direct supervisors)

• Personal: Orgs that you have directly helped (e.g., volunteering, nonprofit)

• Mentors: Other project that you mention in your application

• Academic: Top professor or academic sponsor (more for younger or deferred admissions)

Narrow down and select your top 2-3 recommenders using this rubric

• Use our rubric to gain clarity on who the top recommenders are

• Narrow down to select the top 2 recommenders for your application

• Golden rule: direct managers who are your biggest fans > fancy titles or alumni status

• Use this rubric: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C_wQKWkaTeYZE1B8kWlV0BJa6Em-4A6a9temjdnaoZc/edit?usp=sharing

Put yourself in the shoes of your recommenders - it’s tough, time intensive, and hard to write because they do not know the rest of your application

Make it as easy as possible for them to write about you by providing them a packet with key information that helps them understand why you are applying and tips on how they can write the best letter of rec for you

Fill our "Letter of Rec Packet" out for each of your top 2 recommenders

• Why did you select them?

• What program(s) are you applying to and specifically why?

• What are 2-3 highlights you want recommender to focus on?

• What examples can you provide your recommender that highlight those qualities?

• What context can you provide from your personal statements (or brainstorming session) that will help?

Template - Attached

If you want us to review your packet, please reach out to theadmitclub@gmail.com

Purpose of the MBA Interview
What they are looking for: 

• Evaluating fit between the candidate and the program: it should focus on building on and bringing the information you have provided to life

• Top business schools weight and manage interviews differently (e.g., done by alumni v. admissions committee)

• According to many admissions forums / blogs, these are not the most important components of the application

• However, in our experience, this may lead to some applicants under preparing for the interview

Exercise | Preparing for common interview questions

Start with general questions / icebreakers

• Tell me about yourself, or walk me through your resume

• Tell me about your work (e.g., a day in your life, your most recent project)

Objectives

• Tell me about your long-term career plans (e.g., 5-years, 10-years). Why?

• Why an MBA at [School]? Why now?

Behavioral questions

• When did you lead a team in the face of a great challenge?

• How have you managed conflict with peers / colleagues / clients?

  
  

Topic questions

• Case-based: E.g., in your resume, you stated you have worked on improving sales for a biscuit company. What would your growth strategy look like?

• Brainteasers: E.g., how would you estimate the number of dogs in the US?

Probing into specific parts of your application: if not specific or realistic

Final question

• What questions do you have for us?

Reflect on what you wrote about in your personal statement and the Ikagi Steps

1. What do you love to work on that gives you meaning?

2. What are the main problems or needs you see around you that you most want to solve?

3. In what unique ways do you create value that people are willing to pay for?