3 Reasons To Apply To Business School In Round 3 - Poets&Quants

Most round 1 and 2 deadlines have come and gone, but you had it in your head that you were applying to business school this year. So what do you do? Should you really consider applying in round 3?

Every year many applicants are faced with a similar dilemma. Round 3 has long been a cautiously avoided application round for most applicants. It is in fact the round where the least spots are typically available so the apprehension has merit. However, there are reasons why an applicant should consider applying in Round 3.

1. Many schools have strong Round 3 acceptance rates.

Think you have no chance getting in if you apply Round 3? Think again!  Admissions officers at Stanford GSB, Wharton and across the top-tier MBA programs have openly stated that they would simply eliminate Round 3 if they did not consistently admit candidates from the final round.

Schools with relatively higher acceptance rates of Round 3 applicants include Cornell Johnson, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Carnegie Mellon Tepper, Emory Goizueta and Georgetown McDonough, according to data provided by MBA Data Guru. If you’re applying to schools outside of the top 15 MBA programs you are more likely to be accepted in Round 3.

2. There were extenuating circumstances which prevented you from applying in an earlier round.

Some applicants have extenuating circumstances that prevented them from applying in an earlier round. Admissions Officers will certainly keep this in mind while reviewing your Round 3 application, so feel free to include legitimate circumstances in your optional essay. This might include an overseas military deployment, atypical professional obligations such as working on a political campaign, or other circumstances where it is easy for the admissions officer to see that submitting an earlier application would have been nearly impossible. Do not feel an obligation to list an excuse for applying in Round 3, but if you have extenuating circumstances you may include them. Our Veritas Prep consultants can help you determine whether to mention a possible extenuating circumstance in your application or leave it off.

3. You’re a stellar applicant with a stellar application.

Round 3 partly gets a bad reputation from those applicants who throw together their applications at the last minute (rather than having to wait to apply in next year’s admissions cycle) and end up getting rejected. “See,” they say, “I knew I wouldn’t get in. Round 3 is impossible.” But Round 3 wasn’t the problem… their applications were what held them back.

An impressive set of qualifications can make round 3 and frankly any round attractive to candidates with impressive profiles. Candidates with strong GPAs and GMAT scores, and blue chip resumes can often still be competitive even with the limited spots left in round 3. If your application measurables align with or exceed target school class profile numbers then round 3 becomes a realistic option.

Join Veritas Prep for a free webinar on January 16th at 1 PM Eastern on the Veritas Prep YouTube channel. We’ll offer tips on how to submit a successful application in round 3 and answer your questions. Sign up at https://www.veritasprep.com/business-school/free-online-mba-admissions-workshop/.

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If you need help or have questions, give Veritas Prep a call at 800-925-7737 to speak with an MBA admissions expert, or request a free MBA admissions consultation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! Be sure to check out Veritas Prep’s Round 3 Guarantee – whether you decide to apply in Round 3 or postpone to Round 1 in the fall, Veritas Prep has you covered every step of the way! For more insights and advice, check out Veritas Prep’s blog, and be sure to find Veritas Prep on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Veritas Prep  is the largest privately-owned test prep and admissions consulting company in the world. Since 2002, Veritas Prep has helped thousands of applicants gain admission to their dream schools using its team of experienced consultants and a personalized game plan for each client.

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The Perfect Applicant Checklist - Poets&Quants

You might be wondering, what makes a perfect applicant? Is there such a thing? Most of the MBA hopefuls targeting business schools in the top ten will have competitive job experience and test scores. In order to differentiate, the admissions committees at top b-schools are looking for people who are outstanding in the following four categories: leadership, innovation, teamwork, and maturity. By utilizing our four dimensions of a “perfect” applicant checklist, you’ll be able to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on your application before submitting. See how the items on the checklist compare to your current application. Which categories are adequately demonstrated in your essays? What aspects of your application could leave the admissions committees wanting more? Use our checklist to find out!

Leadership

Leadership goes beyond your formal title. Of course, it certainly helps for the admissions committees to see a manager title on your resume, but the type of leadership that competitive business schools are interested in, goes far deeper than a job title. They are looking for true change makers who can inspire people through their own leadership style. Your story of leadership can be professional, personal, or both.

❏    Examples of formal leadership (job title promotions, spearheading various projects)

❏    Taking an active role in group work/ responding to group needs with grace

❏    Delegating tasks to achieve results and identifying strengths in others

Innovation

Admissions committees look for candidates with problem solving mindsets. In fact, the GMAT test was designed with this distinct purpose in mind. B-schools are looking for students who can compute at a high level while also thinking in the hypothetical to generate possible solutions.

❏    High GMAT/ GRE scores

❏    Examples of creativity and intellect: How have you married the two successfully?

❏    Adequately explaining the ways in which you’ve left your jobs and volunteer organizations better than you found them

Teamwork

The admissions committee is interested in seeing how you play with others because many of the class assignments will be submitted as a group. Field work will also utilize the power of the team, so working well with people of a wide variety of backgrounds will help you succeed in this category. Unfortunately, many applicants use teamwork as a buzzword without explaining their role or how they typically work with others. The more you understand about yourself with regards to your role in teams, the better you can speak about your unique contributions to your class without coming across disingenuously.

❏    Taking action to help and serve others, especially while working towards a common goal

❏    Following through on commitments to others: Do you finish what you start? Do you prep someone to take over what you’ve started?

❏    Examples of tuning in to individual differences and valuing diversity

Maturity

The admissions committee expects the perfect balance of expertise and humility from their candidates. MBA admits will be able to contribute something to the class discussion that no other person can. Schools are looking for good students who can also be teachers for their fellow classmates. What is your area of expertise? How will you use this expertise to participate in class discussions? How will it be valuable? Ownership defines this category; It’s more powerful to say how you got up after a failure than to write about how you’ve never fallen.

❏    Demonstrating success and expertise in any given field

❏    Generating decision-making strategies and options that empower people

❏    Making difficult decisions, dealing with conflict and learning from failure

When reviewing your application before submission, the four dimensions of a perfect applicant checklist is a great way to make sure you have ticked all the boxes. You can demonstrate all four categories throughout your application, it doesn’t just have to be in the essays. Think about how your letters of recommendation show innovation, or how your resume shows leadership. Demonstrating these four personality traits throughout your application will only help to make you a stronger (some might even say perfect) applicant.

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If you need help with any of the advice above or have questions, give Veritas Prep a call at 800-925-7737 to speak with an MBA admissions expert, or request a free MBA admissions consultation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! For more insights and advice, check out Veritas Prep’s blog, and be sure to find Veritas Prep on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Veritas Prep  is the largest privately-owned test prep and admissions consulting company in the world. Since 2002, Veritas Prep has helped thousands of applicants gain admission to their dream schools using its team of experienced consultants and a personalized game plan for each client.

 

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Expert Advice For Younger MBA Applicants - Poets&Quants

First of all, who is considered a younger applicant? Now there is not a universal cutoff that determines what an older or younger applicant is, but rather there is more of a guideline. Generally you want to base this determination off of the average age of the student body. The average age for most of the top full time MBA programs is typically about 27 or 28 years old, but as we learned from our GMAT prep, averages don’t tell us a lot. Even looking at the middle 80% age range of full-time MBA programs, most students are between 25 and 31 years old.  So, if you have fewer than 3 years of work experience, at the time of application, you will be at the lower end of the range. There is no cut off, though.

Every year, full time programs admit applicants younger than 25, however these people are outliers. Just as a candidate with a GMAT score that falls outside of the middle 80% of a school’s range must justify how they will succeed academically, an applicant that falls outside the middle 80% of the age range must justify why they want an MBA, why now, and how they’ll fit with the program both culturally and professionally.

If you are a younger applicant, what can you do to maximize your chances of admission? 

• Demonstrate maturity.

It’s imperative to convince the admissions committee that you have the quality and depth of work experience they’re looking for in members of the class.  Help the admissions committee understand how what you’ve done in your fewer than average years of work experience is better than or equal to what other applicants have achieved in more.  Strong letters of recommendation could play a key role in this.

• Make it clear why you want an MBA now.

Admissions officers are going to see your age, your college graduation date and the years of work experience you bring, so there’s no sense in trying to hide or downplay this aspect of your profile.  Instead, make sure you have a clear and coherent response for why you want to get your MBA now, how it fits into your professional path, and how receiving a full-time MBA is the best possible path to achieve your goals.  Know that the admissions committee will be looking at this portion of your application with extra scrutiny. I guarantee that every 23 year old who was admitted to a top-tier, full-time program had a very clear and compelling argument for why they should be there. Nobody stumbles into a top-tier program with 1 or 2 years of work experience who simply said, “I’m looking to expand my career opportunities and improve my management skills” without providing significantly more detail.

• Demonstrate fit. 

Also, don’t forget to do thorough research on each program to which you are applying.  Talk with current students and recent alums who were a little younger in their class and pick their brains on school culture, the ways they got involved, and their overall experience. Get on your target schools’ websites to find out what clubs interest you most and include these in your application essays to show the admissions committee that you’re serious about getting involved!  At Veritas Prep, we have expert consultants for younger candidates and can help you refine your professional goals, why you need an MBA now, and how you will contribute to your class.

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Veritas Prep  is the largest privately-owned test prep and admissions consulting company in the world. Since 2002, Veritas Prep has helped thousands of applicants gain admission to their dream schools using its team of experienced consultants and a personalized game plan for each client.

Save 15% on MBA admissions consulting through December 21st. If you have questions, give them a call at 800-925-7737 to speak with an MBA admissions expert, or request a free MBA admissions consultation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! For more insights and advice, check out Veritas Prep’s blog, and be sure to find Veritas Prep on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

 

 

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What You Need To Know When Applying to Columbia Business School - Poets&Quants

If you’re vying for one of the coveted spots in the MBA program at Columbia Business School you should know what Columbia is looking for, when you should apply, and Veritas Prep’s advice on writing successful essays in order to submit your best application.

What Columbia Is Looking For

Intellectual, professional achievers.

Columbia Business School looks for intellectually driven people from diverse educational, economic, social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds. Its admissions process favors candidates with a history of high academic achievement; those with serious blemishes on their undergraduate record tend to have more difficulty securing an offer from Columbia. Columbia students also share a record of professional achievement, clearly visible on their resumes. Columbia looks for students who are curious and informed about the world, and it tends to favor applicants who are proficient in a language beyond English. Columbia also looks for students who embody leadership, particularly in terms of social intelligence, self-awareness, and behavioral analysis. Effective and polished communications skills are a given—as is the expectation that those baseline levels can (and will) be raised during the Columbia experience.

When Should You Apply

Apply as early as you can*

Because of Columbia’s rolling admissions process, applications are evaluated in the order received, which means there are fewer and fewer slots available as time goes by. An application received in March or April simply doesn’t have the same odds of success as one that is submitted in October or November. For most of you, it makes sense to submit your Columbia application first, not last. We recommend applying by the end of October or earlier for the best results. Even though Columbia doesn’t have traditional rounds, our standard advice still holds: We recommend that you apply earlier rather than later, especially if you’re a traditional applicant from management consulting or finance. With rolling admissions, the flow of applications is harder to predict, and if you wait too long, the school might have hit its limit on CPAs or engineers.

* Even though it’s almost always a good idea to apply as early as possible, this does not mean that you should apply with a rushed application or a mediocre GMAT score. There’s no sense in applying early if you’re just going to be denied. A GMAT score that’s above the school’s average will do more for your candidacy than applying in the first week after the Early Decision deadline.

Advice On Writing Successful Essays

The Columbia admissions process evaluates applicants on three dimensions:

• Academic strength, measured by the GMAT and undergraduate/graduate transcripts, as well as any professional certifications like the CFA.
• Personal characteristics, which need to be demonstrated throughout the essays and recommendations, but most critically coming through via specific examples in your essays.
• Professional promise, measured more acutely at Columbia than most any other top program. This is Columbia’s assessment of whether your career goals are valid, feasible, and achievable.

As you can see, your essays are an integral component of your application.

Essay 1:

Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Two very important things to keep in mind with this essay: 1) Make sure your goals are researched, realistic and real, and 2) show that you have the vision and ambition to really make a positive impact. We go into depth about both of these points in the essay advice section of the Veritas Prep Essential Guide to Top Business Schools.

Essay 2:

How will you take advantage of being “at the very center of business”? Click photo to view video. (250 words)

Be sure to actually watch the video that launches when you click on the photo. In your essay response, show how you’ll take advantage of the unique opportunities Columbia offers. What specifically does Columbia offer you that is perhaps not available at the other top business schools (especially other schools in New York) that you might be interested in? Go beyond just the obvious professional opportunities, and consider also writing about the social benefits of immersing yourself in the Columbia culture and going to business school in New York City. This is a great opportunity to weave in what you’ve learned from speaking to current students and alumni.

Essay 3:

Please provide an example of a team failure of which you have been a part. If given a second chance, what would you do differently? (250 words)

Note that they specifically ask you to write about a team failure here. An important part of teamwork is being accountable, and an important part of a strong answer to this question is showing what you learned and how you grew because of this experience. Did you become a better leader, teammate or team member? Tell them how you changed.

We hope you found the above information helpful. For more insights and advice, check out Veritas Prep’s Essential Guide to Top Business Schools. To speak with an MBA admissions expert, call us at 1-800-925-7737.  Or sign up for a free consultation to discuss how we can help you get accepted to the school of your dreams. As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

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Veritas Prep is the largest privately-owned test prep and admissions consulting company in the world. Since 2002, Veritas Prep’s team of experienced consultants has helped thousands of applicants gain admission to their dream schools. Contact us today to find out how we can help you!

Email: info@veritasprep.com

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Rejected By Your Dream School? Your Safety? Here Is What You Should Do - Poets&Quants

It is hard not to feel the sting of rejection coming from MBA programs you failed to get into, especially when you just devoted a portion of your life going through such an arduous application process. You may have been rejected by your dream school. Some of you may have been rejected by your “safety” school. We are here to let you know that it is key to your long term success to not let fear of future rejection keep you from reapplying yourself. There are steps you can take to improve your applications and get accepted to a top MBA program.

What should you do?  

Be honest with yourself.

This is probably the most important and most difficult step an applicant can take to kick-start the post-ding process. You will need to look back at your application and honestly assess the strengths and weaknesses of your profile. Look at where you stand from a stats perspective (GMAT, GPA, years of work experience) as well as how you fare in some of the other areas like the essay – scrutinize your whole profile. The data side is easy; you can compare average and median scores to determine your competitiveness in these areas. The “other” areas are a bit more complicated, but assessing whether or not you answered all questions as they were posed, and to the best of your abilities, is a good place to start. The information gleaned from this self-assessment should fuel your next steps as you consider applying to other schools. Evaluating yourself is quite a challenge, and sometimes it helps to have an outside perspective to address your “blind-spots.”

Ask for feedback.  

Anyone who gets rejected will inevitably ask, “What did I do wrong? Was there one thing that kept me out?”  There are some programs that give rejected applicants specific feedback on why they didn’t get in. This can be helpful because if it’s something you can improve, then you know exactly what you need to do, if you decide to re-apply.  The old advice applies, “It doesn’t hurt to ask.”

If the programs you applied to are unable to provide you with feedback on your application, you can get a “ding analysis” from an admissions consultant.  They’ll review your application and give you their opinion on what held you back. Considering many admissions consultants are former admissions committee members this can be invaluable.  

Prepare for the Future.

Now it’s time for you to come up with an action plan. Having a plan to address the aspects of your profile that prevented you from being admitted is key. How are you going to improve your profile and applications to improve your chances of admission? You may need to expand the set of schools you apply to. You may need to improve your essays. You may need to get a higher GMAT score.

Allow me to share the following review posted by a client we worked with. I hope it will give you hope.

“I had applied on my own to a couple of top MBA programs last year and was rejected without interviews. Even though I sunk many hours into my applications, within just one session, Dave was able to highlight different areas in which I could strengthen my essays, resume, and letters of recommendation. I started with Dave in April for a four-school package, and every step of the way, he was an incredible mentor and guide. Dave took the time go get to know my life story, future goals, and general life; I never felt like just another client. Dave was great about really cutting to the core of my stories and the reasons I made decisions while still focusing on the impact of those experiences. The final results blew away my best expectations – 100K scholarship from Kellogg, 60K scholarship from Booth, and full rides from both Tuck and Darden. Thank you so much to both Veritas and Dave for a fantastic experience and amazing results, and I highly, highly recommend Dave. Can’t wait to start school in Fall 2018!”

A ding is not the end of the world! Take the steps above to bounce back and earn the letter of acceptance you deserve.

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Veritas Prep is the largest privately-owned test prep and admissions consulting company in the world. Since 2002, Veritas Prep has helped thousands of applicants gain admission to their dream schools using its team of experienced consultants and a personalized game plan for each client. Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or sign up for a free consultation to discuss how we can help you get accepted to the school of your dreams. As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

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