When candidates who have already taken the GMAT exam once ask us whether they should take the test again, we always reply with this key question: “Do you think you can do better?” If the individual does indeed believe that he/she can improve, the next question we inevitably get is “What do business schools think of multiple scores?”
Fortunately, most MBA admissions committees do not frown on candidates taking the GMAT more than once. Many applicants feel that they have to be “perfect” the first time and that any subsequent test they take—particularly if they receive a lower score on it—might be damaging to their candidacy. This is not the case. Dartmouth Tuck, for one, anticipates that applicants will take the exam more than once and openly states its willingness to “consider your highest quantitative and highest verbal scores,” if they occur on separate tests. Meanwhile, other programs have been known to call candidates and tell them that if they can increase their GMAT scores, they will be offered admission.
Accepting a candidate’s highest GMAT scores is actually in an MBA program’s best interest, because doing so will raise the school’s GMAT average, which is then reported to such rankings bodies as Bloomberg Businessweek and U.S. News & World Report and could positively affect the school’s position in these surveys. So, do not be afraid to take the test two or even three times. It can only help.
*Please note: You are viewing an essay analysis from the 2018-2019 admissions cycle. Click here to view our collection of essay analyses for the current admissions season.
They say the early bird gets the worm. Almost one month earlier than last year, Harvard Business School (HBS) has released its application essay prompt. Maybe it was able to do so expeditiously because… it made no changes to the question from last year. HBS director of admissions Chad Losee, now entering his third application season, must feel the prompt is effective in eliciting the kind of information the admissions committee finds valuable in evaluating potential students. Our analysis of the prompt and advice on the best way to approach it therefore also remain constant…
Interested in learning how to tackle this year’s HBS application essay? Watch the short video below before you continue reading the full analysis!
“As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA Program?” (no word limit)
Take special note of the word “more” in this straightforward question. With it, the admissions committee is subtly acknowledging that it already has a lot of information about you that it can and will use to get to know you better, including your resume, extracurricular activities, recommendations, short-answer question responses, academic transcripts, and GMAT/GRE score. You should therefore think first about what these portions of your application convey about who you are as an individual and candidate, so you can determine which parts of your profile still need presenting or could benefit from more detail. Now, some applicants may fret that this means they absolutely cannot touch on anything mentioned elsewhere in their application, for fear that the admissions committee will become annoyed and reject them. However, HBS is not asking only for fresh information—it is asking for more, and specifically, whatever “more” you believe the committee needs to evaluate you thoroughly and fairly. So, even though a bullet on your resume may inform the school of a certain fact, if a profoundly important story lurks behind that fact that you feel effectively expresses a key part of your personality or skill set, you should not feel hesitant to share that story. That said, we are not advocating for you to explore your resume in depth, just trying to convey that “more” here does not mean strictly “thus far unmentioned.”
Before we discuss a few approaches you might take in framing this essay, we must note that your goal in writing it is sincerity. The admissions committee is not staffed by robots, seeking to detect a certain “type” of applicant. These are human beings who are trying to get to know you and really want to end up liking you! With this essay, you essentially want to forge a meaningful connection with a complete stranger, and if you try to present yourself as something or someone you are not, you will fail.
Are you thinking of applying to business school this year? Perhaps you are just starting to prepare for the GMAT or GRE exam, or maybe you have not yet begun to assess your overall fit at the top business school programs. How will you differentiate yourself from so many other applicants? Where will you start?
We know you have questions as you prepare to begin the application process.
The leaders in the MBA admissions space—mbaMission and Manhattan Prep—are coming together to make sure you will be ready for the 2018–2019 MBA admissions season. Join us for a free, six-part online event series that will answer all of your MBA admissions questions—from taking the GMAT (or GRE) to assessing your MBA profile and eventually applying (and being accepted) to the school of your dreams!
During the live online series, Senior Consultants from mbaMission will address and explain different significant admissions issues, while experts from Manhattan Prep will help you tackle some of the toughest challenges GMAT and GRE test takers face, offering valuable insight and advice.
These live online events will be held twice a week from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. EDT.
Please sign up for each session separately* via the links below. Space is limited.
Step 1—Tuesday, April 17, 2018: Should I Take the GMAT or the GRE? Applying to business school is a process rife with decisions, and a common one giving candidates some serious pause these days is which exam to take—the GMAT or the GRE? As the number of programs accepting the GRE continues to grow, aspiring MBAs are becoming more and more confused about this element of the application process. During this live session, learn how the two tests differ, which test specific MBA programs accept, how the content and scores relate, and other useful details—and move a little closer to crossing another important decision off your to-do list!
Step 2—Thursday, April 19, 2018: Which MBA Program Is Right for Me? During this event, mbaMission will elaborate on areas that will profoundly affect both your academic life and your social life in business school, including flexibility of a program’s curriculum, breadth of core courses, different methods of instruction, and varying sizes of the cohorts. Start preparing now so you can be sure to make an educated decision when you apply!
Step 4—Thursday, April 26, 2018: How Do I Get a Top Score on the GMAT or the GRE? What is a “Harvard”-level score on the GMAT or the GRE? What level of difficulty should you be prepared to face to attain that score? Join our expert GMAT and GRE instructors to see the toughest content on both exams. Plus, learn strategies for overcoming it and achieving your goal score.
Step 5—Tuesday, May 1, 2018: How Do I Write a Standout MBA Essay? How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? In this session, mbaMission will use this simple but often perplexing question as the starting point to a workshop for prospective business school applicants. Attendees will walk through a series of exercises that challenge them to uncover their personal and nuanced stories, craft compelling opening statements, develop meaningful goal statements, connect their goals to their target school’s resources, and more.
Step 6—Wednesday May 2, 2018: Top MBA Admissions Directors Answer Your Questions! During the final installment of our six-part series, mbaMission’s founder/president, Jeremy Shinewald, will facilitate a Q&A session with admissions directors at four of the top-5 business schools in the United States. Jeremy will take and share questions from attendees, while Bruce DelMonico (assistant dean and director of admissions at Yale SOM), Amanda Carlson (assistant dean of admissions at CBS), Kelsey Bergren (assistant director of admissions outreach at Chicago Booth) and Dawna Levenson (director of admissions at MIT Sloan) offer invaluable insight and advice.
We hope you will join us for these valuable events. Enroll for free today! * Event recordings will be sent to all registrants within one week of the registered event’s completion.
Did you apply to your dream business school this past season, but were left confused and disappointed by receiving a “ding,” aka a denied acceptance? To help you improve your chances the next time around, we offer a Ding Review service. This offering typically costs $650 per school, but this is your unique opportunity to get this valuable service completely free!
There is no catch! We are simply offering one free Ding Review service to up to 20 MBA reapplicants. If you are interested in this free service, simply email a PDF of your complete—yet unfortunately unsuccessful—application (including any letters of recommendation you may have) to [email protected]. By the end of April, we will let you know if you are one of the lucky 20 selected.
Within 1-2 weeks of being notified that you have successfully claimed one of our free Ding Reviews, you will receive a detailed written analysis of your previous application produced by one of mbaMission’s Senior Consultants, as well as a 30-minute phone call with that consultant to answer any questions you have about the review or about your reapplication strategy.
If your supervisor is writing your business school recommendation and you are having trouble ensuring that he/she is putting the proper thought and effort into your letter, you are not alone. Because of this asymmetry of power, a junior employee can only do so much to compel his/her supervisor to commit the necessary time and write thoughtfully. So, before you designate your supervisor as a recommender, you must first perceive how committed this person really is to helping you with your business school candidacy. In particular, your recommender needs to understand that using a single template to create identical letters for multiple business schools is not okay. Each letter must be personalized, and each MBA program’s questions must be answered using specific examples.
If your recommender intends to simply write a single letter and force it to “fit” the school’s questions or to attach a standard letter to the end of the school’s recommendation form (for example, including it in the question “Is there anything else that you think the committee should know about the candidate?”), then he/she could be doing you a disservice. By neglecting to put the proper time and effort into your letter, your recommender is sending a very clear message to the admissions committee: “I don’t really care about this candidate.”
If you cannot convince your recommender to write a personalized letter or to respond to your target school’s individual questions using specific examples, look elsewhere. A well-written personalized letter from an interested party is always far better than a poorly written letter from your supervisor.
In addition, although details are important in recommendation letters, remember that sometimes small points in MBA applications are really just that—small points. We often get asked, “Should this be a comma or a semicolon?” and want to respond, “Please trust us that the admissions committee will not say, ‘Oh, I would have accepted this applicant if she had used a comma here, but she chose a semicolon, so DING!’” That said, we are certainly not telling you to ignore the small things. Details matter—the overall impression your application makes will depend in part on your attention to typos, font consistency, and grammar, for example—but we encourage you to make smart and reasonable decisions and move on. You can be confident that your judgment on such topics will likely be sufficient.
A first-of-its-kind, on-demand MBA application experience that delivers a personalized curriculum for you and leverages interactive tools to guide you through the entire MBA application process.
