The MBA Gatekeeper At NYU Stern

Do you have an example of an applicant you took a chance on, in spite of some deficiencies?

Most applicants aren’t perfect. It’s rare to see someone who is amazing across the board at everything – it’s a bit of a head scratcher, it doesn’t seem real. Most of the class has something that makes them unique. There’s always something that makes people human. There are some times where you make a bet on a person. You go in and there are concerns and you make a bet on them based upon your expertise, your history. I don’t think we make wild gambles. We make well-thought-out bets on people. Part of admissions is projecting what a person’s trajectory is. You have to look at facts, but you also have to trust intuition. More often than not there are people where you just have a sense that this is a special person who you want to fight for and has moved you in some way. When you meet that person, you’re just kind of like, ‘Yeah, we need that person here.’

What results do you get from what was known as “Option B” on the second essay, the question that allows applicants to describe themselves using ‘almost any method?’

That is the only (personal essay) option now. We actually felt like we get more insight from people going ahead and doing that part. That question is nice because it’s open and people can really talk about whatever it is that makes them a unique individual. That’s something that is valuable to the applicant and to us. You can tell us what makes you special and unique. Do you have to make a feature-length movie? No. But you can write an essay that gives us a sense of who you are as a person and what you bring to the table. People like to be able to give it their own spin in terms of how they want to communicate themselves.

We had to put a few restrictions on what people could send in. We took food off the list. Somebody was really into sushi and they made some and it didn’t get to us promptly. We also took things off the list that were previously worn – it’s maybe not the nicest thing when you get somebody’s sneakers that they wore when training for a marathon. We had to put a size limit on it. We started to get, like, a snowboard, and a bass guitar; the next thing we’re going to get is a Volkswagen . . . with a creative essay on top if it.

Generally we get some really interesting, fun things that really speak to people’s uniqueness. You might get a photo album, a cookbook, a map, a painting, a board game, you might get a cereal box with the candidate on the cover, or a magazine with an applicant interviewed, or a sculpture, an award that they’d won. You don’t get anything back – once you send it to us, it’s ours. Don’t send any important family heirlooms. If you’re going to want your mother’s wedding dress back, don’t send it.

How vigorously do you disagree with admissions colleagues over some applicants?

There are times when we get into really heated debates. On my admissions committee, we have a very diverse set of opinions, beliefs, outlooks, backgrounds. People really do want to be advocates for candidates that they believe in.

What did an applicant do that made you want to shake them, metaphorically speaking?

It’s the lack of professional judgment stuff. You might be doing an interview and you ask them a question. Once I asked someone about their resume, they just reached across the table, grabbed the resume, said, ‘That’s a mistake,’ wrote something with a pencil, and just slapped it in front of me. This was a little head-scratcher – ‘What are you thinking there?’

What’s the biggest difference between male and female applicants?

I just kind of look at each applicant as an applicant. The biggest difference is I have more male applicants than female applicants, and I don’t really understand why that’s the case. When you really look at the world and business and organizations, I think an MBA is just a powerful tool, and I think it’s valuable no matter what your gender. I don’t know why it’s not 50/50 or something very close to that. The women at our business school are an incredible group. The world of business would certainly benefit from having a more equal representation in terms of business leaders.

On the day of an admissions interview, what things should an applicant do beforehand?

Plan to be early, right, because you never know, and you certainly don’t want to stress out over being late, and you certainly don’t want to be late. Please turn off all pagers, cellular phones, and electronic devices prior to entering the interview. Be yourself. Be excited. Be conversational. Dress appropriately. (You may want to) listen to some good music that gets you excited beforehand, or whatever kind of rituals you have that get you into that. Just put yourself in a good, positive, upbeat framework. Really just be upbeat, be yourself. Have fun with it. Over the course of that day . . . usually you have the opportunity to have lunch with a student, or go to a class, or do a tour/information session. Make sure you book time during that day to really be sure that this is the place you absolutely want to go.

What non-verbal cues do you watch for when doing an applicant interview?

You’re always looking for a sense of engagement, so appropriate eye contact, appropriate facial animation, appropriate non-verbal cues of understanding, a general posture that would be appropriate for an interview – the kinds of things that would make you want to keep talking to someone you met for the first time at a social gathering. You want a person who’s professional and engaged (not) somebody who’s leaning back and slouching in the chair and looking out the window.

Applicant X has a 740 GMAT score, a 3.9 GPA, but didn’t get into Stern. Why not?

You have to do well on the three Cs: how are you going to do in the classroom, how are you going to do in your career, and what is your character? There might have been something that made you concerned about their career. Perhaps they don’t have clear direction. Perhaps they have a terrible professional reference. Perhaps they don’t interview and present themselves well and don’t demonstrate the EQ that we’re looking for. That said, there are people who are very good and who are very qualified and would probably do very well in the program who I can’t admit because I don’t have the numbers – I have a medium-sized class. Sometimes in those situations you call someone up after they’ve been denied and say, ‘Look, we liked you, I don’t know what your plans are for next year, but please consider reapplying.’

If someone expresses interest in entrepreneurship, what do you look for that would suggest they have what it takes?

You get two kind of people who talk about entrepreneurship. The ‘some days’ . . . talk about it and they’re not really super committed. Those people may or may not become entrepreneurs. Then you have the ‘nows,’ – they don’t have any interest in recruiting. There’s usually a trail of entrepreneurial breadcrumbs: things they have tried, things that have worked, things that have failed. They are risk seeking. They are very passionate. Usually they have a lot of interpersonal strengths in communication and being persuasive. They have a certain energy about them. You can see people being very inspired by them, or motivated. They’re a lightning rod. There are people who talk about entrepreneurship and they say they want to do it now, but you know they’re ‘some days.’ You never hear the ‘nows’ talking about ‘some day.’ There are really specific things they think are integral to their plans. You meet them, and you know. It’s just been their whole life, and it’s who they are. They’re comfortable with the fact that it may not work. They’re OK with that. And you can’t say that about everyone.

It’s not really a wealth-driven thing. It’s more like a vision and making their idea a reality. Most of the people who are a little bit starry eyed, they’re like, ‘I want to join a new startup’ – they want to jump on the right rocket ship. There’s a lot going on in that space right now; there’s a lot of exciting stuff. There’s a lot of opportunities. I think it’s less about, like, fame and money and it’s more about what’s exciting and interesting.

THE MBA GATEKEEPER SERIES:

THE GATEKEEPER TO CORNELL JOHNSON

THE GATEKEEPER TO DUKE FUQUA

THE GATEKEEPER TO BERKELEY HAAS

THE GATEKEEPER TO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

THE GATEKEEPER TO STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO THE WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO THE KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

THE GATE KEEPER TO CHICAGO’S BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO MIT SLOAN

THE GATEKEEPER TO DARTMOUTH’S TUCK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO MICHIGAN’S ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS