How To Leverage 2018-2019 MBA Admissions Trends by: Karen Marks, president and founder of North Star Admissions Consulting on January 12, 2018 | 1,294 Views January 12, 2018 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit 2018-2019 MBA ADMISSIONS TRENDS Happy New Year! Are you planning to apply to business school? Here are my predictions about 2018-2019 MBA admissions trends. More Targeted School Lists Increasingly, I hear from my clients that they are only interested in a small number of highly selective schools. I expect this pattern to continue, which means that the top 10-15 schools will become even harder to get into. It also means that there are terrific opportunities to get into fantastic programs that are ranked in the next tier. My advice: Apply broadly, and donāt become overly focused on the rankings. ROI is a very personal calculation, and there are life-changing opportunities at business schools outside of the M7. Reapplicants Unsurprisingly, the fact that people are applying to fewer schools that are harder to get into means that there will be more reapplicants in the pool. Many schools look favorably upon reapplicants, as long as your first application was solid and you can demonstrate growth. I worked with manyĀ reapplicantsĀ in the early round, all of whom got into at least one of their target schools. Donāt give up! Fewer International Students Especially at American schools that are located in rural areas and the South, I expect to see fewer international students apply. This does create opportunities for international applicants, and for domestic candidates with diverse global perspectives. Early Action, Women and the GRE continue to gain traction As in previous years, I expect early action to continue to grow. There are real advantages to applying early, which helps you get in and get financing. (My early clients earned more than 1.86 million dollars in scholarships this year, and were admitted to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck, Darden, Stern, Ross, Cornell, UCLA and more.) Many schools are getting closer to gender parity, and I expect to see continued progress in this arena. Finally, the GRE continues to grow in popularity. If the GMAT does not reflect your potential definitely consider switching exams. As always, the key to leveraging these MBA admissions trends and maximizing your candidacy is to start now ā the early rounds will be here before you know it! KarenĀ has more than 12 years of experience evaluating candidates for admission to Dartmouth College and to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Since foundingĀ North Star Admissions ConsultingĀ in 2012, she has helped applicants gain admission to the nationās top schools, including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Wharton, MIT, Tuck, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, Haas, Duke, Johnson, Ross, NYU, UNC, UCLA, Georgetown and more. Over the last three years, clients have been awarded more than 13.9 million dollars in scholarships, and more than 95% have gotten into one of their top choice schools.