10 Mistakes To Avoid On Your Application

Not prepping for admissions interviews – MBA admissions interviews are very different from job interviews. They emphasize substance and are about much more than just connecting with the interviewer. Many applicants have been so successful at “schmoozing” in job interviews that they do not prepare properly for the hard questions—and often less personable interviewers—they are likely to encounter in MBA admissions interviews.

Deviating from your “story” in the interview – Interviewers may push back on your career vision during an interview. Do NOT concede that your career vision was not well thought out or suggest that it is just one option. Do NOT try to change your career vision during the interview. Instead be prepared to defend your professional plans, as that is what admissions officers want to see.

Not thinking through your list of schools before you apply – The top MBA programs are quite diverse. You will be more personally and professionally fulfilled at some and less so at others. While ranking is important (see my previous article on the ROI of MBA programs), do NOT choose a school that is ranked only a couple places higher than another school that would be a much better fit for you. Also, always apply to a safety school even if you don’t think you would go there. You might earn a merit-based scholarship which, as I often advise my clients, you can parlay into financial aid at the school of your choice.

The MBA admissions process is challenging. You are competing against the best and brightest from around the world for a very small number of spots. The above mistakes, among many others, cost thousands of applicants admission to business schools every year. Avoid them, and you just may be able to turn the odds in your favor.

Shawn P. O’Connor is the Founder and CEO of Stratus Admissions Counseling, a New York-based MBA admissions counseling and test preparation firm serving a global clientele of applicants to the world’s premier business schools. Mr. O’Connor is a graduate of Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar.

DON’T MISS: TEN ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN YOU VISIT A B-SCHOOL or WHEN IS AN MBA WORTH IT?–WHEN IS IT NOT?