Three Key Factors That Can Make Or Break Your Business School Candidacy

For more than twenty years, as the Associate Director of Admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and as the Founder and President of North Star Admissions, I have seen that there are three key factors that can make or break your business school candidacy.

• Goals

Surprisingly, many applicants can’t articulate what they want to accomplish professionally. (Or the real answer is that they have no idea, but they do want a change and better opportunities.) Nevertheless, it’s critical to explain what you want to do, short and long-term, and why you need an MBA to get there. Choose goals that are aspirational enough to require the degree, but not so far-fetched that the school will worry that your expectations are unrealistic. Also, it’s important to get specific enough that the schools know that you understand the market, but not SO specific that they are concerned that they can’t help you. (Brand management for a major CPG company = good, Director of SKIMS Swimwear, reporting directly to Kim Kardashian, = bad.) 

• Self-Awareness

Ideally, part of the benefit of pursuing an MBA is personal growth. It’s hard to articulate how you hope to grow if you lack self-awareness about your current strengths and developmental opportunities. Furthermore, it’s virtually impossible to persuasively answer application and interview questions about failure, critical feedback, etc., if you can’t reflect honestly on times when you have faltered. Business schools are looking for people who are mature enough to be real with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses, and who are seeking a transformational experience. Furthermore, it’s critical for applicants with lower grades or test scores, or shaky work experience, to have self-awareness. Addressing these issues head-on often mitigates any potentially negative repercussions, but this strategy only works if you can acknowledge the need to do so.

• Personality

Seriously, your personality matters! Admissions committees are building cohorts of people who will learn from and support each other, and who are positive contributors to their communities. They also want to admit people who will excel professionally, and who will stay connected to the school. (Studies have also shown that strong interpersonal skills tend to translate into greater professional success.)

If you’re wondering how to start formulating your business school candidacy, consider these three foundational components. If you can clearly articulate your goals, your growth opportunities, and how you will enhance the community, you are well on your way to submitting outstanding MBA applications. 

Karen has more than 12 years of experience evaluating candidates for admission to Dartmouth College and to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Since founding North Star Admissions Consulting in 2012, she has helped applicants gain admission to the nation’s top schools, including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Wharton, MIT, Tuck, Columbia, Kellogg, Booth, Haas, Duke, Johnson, Ross, NYU, UNC, UCLA, Georgetown and more. Clients have been awarded more than $50 million dollars in scholarships, and more than 98% have gotten into one of their top choice schools.