Common Intern Mistakes To Avoid

Reapplying To Business School

A rejection letter is the last thing any applicant wants to see. Once you get that rejection letter in hand and the reality starts to sink in, the next step is to figure whether or not you’ll reapply or move on.

Stacy Blackman, a contributor at U.S. News & World Report, recently discussed whether or not it makes sense to reapply to a school that has already rejected you.

Addressing Weaknesses

It’s difficult to determine why a school has rejected you. There are strategies to building upon your rejection, however. After a rejection, Blackman suggests candidates first review their application to determine what exactly their weaknesses are. The most common reasons for rejection, Blackman says, are low test scores, insufficient leadership experience, weak recommendations and poor essays.

“You can improve some things in your profile, such as test scores and work experience, but you cannot change or improve upon other factors, such as a low college GPA or being out of school for 15 years,” Blackman writes. “If you simply need more time to flesh out your goals or take on more responsibilities at work to show additional examples of leadership or teamwork, then a second attempt may make sense.”

Recommendation letters are more out of your control. Blackman says applicants can convey what they want highlighted in a letter.

“Make sure whomever you ask is willing to write a very compelling recommendation for you,” Blackman writes. “Since it’s not a given that you’ll see the letter once it’s written, it’s perfectly OK to come right out and explicitly ask for what you need.”

To ensure your recommendation letters are strong, it’s important to clearly communicate specific experiences of your leadership abilities. It’s your job as an applicant to provide these to your recommender. “Writing a strong endorsement requires some effort, so make it easy for your recommender by providing a list of the accomplishments you want to highlight,” Blackman writes.

Improving for the Interview

Interviews are a difficult aspect of the application, because they often required being put on the spot. While Blackman says it’s completely normal to be nervous and mess up, it’s important to follow up on where you were weak during the interview.

“While you’ll never know for sure if you tanked the interview the first time around, the best way to prevail next time is through prep, prep and more prep,” Blackman writes.

Knowing what you want to convey is crucial, but it’s just as important to know what questions you want to ask as well. This demonstrates interest, but also connects you more with the interviewer.

“Your interaction with the interviewer speaks volumes about what kind of teammate you will be when you’re in the program, so make sure you send the right message loud and clear,” Blackman writes.

Writing a Stronger, More Personal Essay

One of the biggest mistakes an applicant can make when writing a personal essay is to make it impersonal. Blackman says tailoring an MBA essay to illustrate a “perfect MBA applicant” completely misses the point of a personal essay.

“Your goal is to show what an introspective and interesting candidate you are,” Blackman writes. “While many applicants have similar credentials, the beauty of the MBA application process is that it allows candidates a chance for self-reflection and to discover that they are more unique than they first imagine.”

Demonstrate Improvement

Most important to reapplying, Blackman says, is demonstrating a significant sense of improvement in your candidacy. Logistically, Blackman recommends that applicants plan to reapply in round one of the next admissions cycle. Without understanding where you need improvement, it’s impossible to build a stronger reason for why a school should accept you.

“It may be hard to hear, but there is a reason why the business schools rejected you the first time,” Blackman writes. “You need to understand those reasons and decide whether you can address them. If you can’t, then reapplying to those schools does not make sense.”

Sources: U.S. News, U.S. News