The topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) remains a central and increasingly complex one in MBA admissions. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end race-conscious admissions, many business school applicants are wondering what has actually changed, what still matters, and how to approach their own backgrounds and experiences authentically in their applications.
In this episode of The mbaMission Podcast, host Harold Simansky is joined by Senior MBA Admissions Consultant Nisha Trivedi and MBA Admissions Managing Director Harshad Mali for a candid discussion about how business schools are navigating DEI today. Drawing on their frontline admissions experience, they explore how schools define diversity beyond demographics, how holistic review continues to function, and what applicants should and should not do in response to the shifting landscape.
Whether you are applying to MBA programs this year or planning ahead, this conversation offers practical guidance to help you focus on the elements of your candidacy you can control and understand how to present your story with clarity, confidence, and authenticity.
New episodes of The mbaMission Podcast are released every Tuesday on all major streaming platforms (including Apple Podcasts and Spotify), with full video episodes available on mbaMission’s YouTube channel. Sign up for a free consultation with Harold, Harshad, Nisha or another member of mbaMission’s admissions team.
Table of Contents
Why DEI Still Matters in MBA Admissions
Harold Simansky: This podcast is a little bit more serious in tone than usual, and that really relates to this notion of business schools—as well as, honestly, our society more broadly—starting to move, or apparently starting to move, away from the concept of DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion—which really has been a fundamental piece of how business schools look at applicants as far as their own mission, how they think about their own responsibilities to government. So let’s start off very simply. Nisha, why don’t you just explain what DEI means in practical terms.
Nisha Trivedi: Sure. So DEI, of course, is diversity, equity, and inclusion. So really, we can think of it as a philosophy for making sure that the selection of a group really reflects different perspectives as well as just the overall population and how rich it is in terms of differences in every way.
Harold Simansky: That makes sense. And Harshad, in a more practical way, how do business schools look at that? What do they do as they try to approach this issue of DEI?
Harshad Mali: Well, there’s several things. I mean, as Nisha was saying, DEI is very broad. Initially, DEI was created as a function in admissions because people from different races, especially minorities, sexual orientations, genders, they were not getting their say in business school classrooms. And so business schools found a way to bring them in. There was a lot of talent in there. And over the course of time, that turned into a really good way of bringing in diverse thoughts in the classroom, because in many ways, the diversity comes through, again, the race, the gender, the sexuality, national origin, those kinds of things. As things changed, what the Supreme Court has realized now is that maybe the DEI that business schools were looking at is not the way it should be looked at. Because in the eyes of the lawmakers and the overall community, the DEI was maybe taking away opportunities from those who had merited them. So right now, business schools are grappling with both things, and while the Supreme Court has gotten rid of affirmative action, business schools understand that they have to keep in tune with what the law is. But at the same time, they’re trying to understand what DEI is today with affirmative action. Because like I said, the DEI piece is very critical for a successful business school outcome, not only for the business schools themselves but also for the students.
The Impact of the Supreme Court’s Decision on MBA Admissions
Harold Simansky: Now, listen, I think that’s right. And really what we’re looking at for quite a bit of time is this notion of how does one make a class more diverse? And there are a few different ways of doing it, right? One is, what I would say, almost a classic quota system, meaning we don’t have people from this country, [so] let’s make sure we have 20 people from this country. And for many years now, that’s not how business schools have done it. First of all, it was made illegal many years ago. So then we got into a little bit of a mushier world that on the one hand, the Supreme Court has said no to things like affirmative action, which you can debate whether or not it’s a quota system, but that certainly has a little bit of a smell to it. But now we’re in a world of a very aggressive approach by the current administration not only to remove DEI but to almost destroy DEI as a philosophy or as a concept. And it’s manifested in a few different ways. And Nisha, I know you’re very involved with organizations like The Consortium, the Forté Foundation. So what have they done?
Nisha Trivedi: Sure. So The Consortium is, just to kind of recap, it’s an organization that’s looking to uplift across all sectors those who are African Americans, Hispanic Americans, as well as Native Americans in all echelons of business and nonprofits. So that’s been their mission. And lately, of course, with everything with DEI, it’s been more challenging. And in fact, unfortunately, based on recent events, a few schools have released themselves from The Consortium. So that’s definitely been a challenging development. So with Forté, of course, it’s specifically designed to really further the interests of women or make sure that women are represented in all professional fields. And so, unfortunately, again, based on recent rulings, recent events, some schools have exited the Forté network as well.
Harold Simansky: As schools can no longer weigh DEI or use it as a, in some ways, a metric of applications or the types of students they were getting, the question almost becomes, okay, if they’re not doing DEI, does that mean that they’re looking more at creating a class that is almost more homogenous, less equal, and exclusionary?
Expanding the Definition of Diversity Beyond Demographics
Nisha Trivedi: Definitely not. That’s the good news, right? Schools have so many reasons to have a diverse class, right? The thing is, students are going to learn as much, if not more, from each other as they are from anyone else in the business school community, including, let’s say, even their professors. And so it’s critical that there are different perspectives represented. And diversity in this case does not necessarily just have to mean nationality or ethnicity. I know that’s what it commonly gets associated with, but it can take on so many forms. You know, what was your pre-MBA profession? How much work experience do you have? What was your socioeconomic background? What personal experiences have you brought with you to the program? Those are all aspects of diversity as well. And having a class that’s rich in diversity in all aspects is just going to make it a better learning experience and a community for the students.
Harshad Mali: Absolutely. And I think business school admissions work a little differently than college admissions do. As you probably know, college is now mostly on merit, whereas business school admissions have several things.
Harold Simansky: Merit we can decide in terms of things like test scores, things like GPA; [these] certainly play a bigger part in a decision around college than they necessarily do around business school,
as we as consultants know. And we have to keep on reminding the folks we work with, numbers count, but let’s not overstate it, either.
Harshad Mali: I mean, some schools might take the GPA and the test score more heavily into their decision-making process. But I think overall, what you bring into the classroom is very important, and that’s where the diversity comes in. And, you know, different people work in different industries, professions, and they come from different races, genders, sexual orientations, all of those things. And because of what they bring into the classroom through their insights, their perspectives, that’s where the diversity comes in. And then the old way of looking at DEI comes into play again, because these people happen to work in areas that are, [
for the] majority, a certain type of DEI metric. So I would say you’ve got to look at things holistically still, because business schools are not going to ignore people who are from the original DEI lens, but also have this DEI aspect in them through other aspects of the application, through the extracurriculars to the work experience and other things.
Harold Simansky: I think we see it almost every day as consultants, where we will certainly have candidates [who]—when they start working with us, never at the end—will say, “There should be a spot for me because I am X, Y, or Z,” either from a certain race or certain sexual orientation, whatever it is. And we have to keep on reminding them that, yes, that’s true, but what are you going to bring to the classroom? And I think this notion here of DEI or diversity, let’s move it away from simply these objective categories you can talk about. Instead, again, what are you going to bring in? How do you show diversity? And I think at the end of the day, you show diversity in many different ways and ways that honestly should be explored and that business schools still really want to have. So you’re hearing a lot about this notion of DEI rollback, this idea that folks from certain groups are not having as much success as they may have once had. I mean, from a practical perspective, Harshad, what are you seeing? Is DEI really impacting who gets in or who doesn’t get in at this point?
Harshad Mali: I would say DEI or the affirmative action policy might have affected a few people, because business schools want to tag along with what they have been told. But honestly, a lot of the business school process is different from college admissions, as I said earlier. In my case, I have seen people who fell in the DEI metric in the old way of things do well now. I mean, one example is one guy who got into HBS [Harvard Business School] and Stanford [Graduate School of Business], 3.3 GPA, 615 GMAT. But his work experience was very unique. He did a lot of things in Africa, which is a very resource-rich country. And he could bring that experience in, had a lot of personal insights also, was from a minority background, but what counted more was what he was going to bring to the table and what he wanted to do in the future. With an MBA from HBS or Stanford, I think he’s going to do great things, but he had some specific things he wanted to do in Africa that were not only going to do good things in the energy sector but also enhance the brands of those schools. And there were other aspects also that played in. I mean, he interviewed really well. So just looking at his test score and his GPA would have made a common person think that this is not going to be his time in the sun, but that was not the case.
Harold Simansky: But Nisha, as far as our firm goes, you really are one of our people who think deeply around working with The Consortium. I know I personally have relied on you quite heavily, maybe too much so, to help me through the process of thinking about this. But right now, how are you seeing it manifest in clients now?
Nisha Trivedi: So there’s definitely been a concern about some of the schools exiting from The Consortium and how exactly are schools considering diversity, right? Lots of questions on that. And so what I’ve been telling candidates is really lean into the experiences that make you who you are. I mean, you don’t know who else is applying, first of all. And so you don’t know exactly, well, do they have a candidate like me? But I would say the thing to focus on is not that, but rather, what are the experiences that you bring to the table professionally and personally that are essential to who you are? And actually, I can give a story that’s slightly different from Harshad’s about a candidate I worked with recently who was concerned he was too conventional of a candidate. Think about a heavily represented profession in the pool, American male. And so he was wondering, do I bring enough diversity to this class? But he had some really remarkable things about him. First of all, just a wonderfully engaging personality and really brought back to his workplaces, really improved the culture of the places he worked. And that was a really big part of what he leaned into in his applications. And that’s how he ended up getting admission to a top school. So again, it’s really about describing your experiences in a way that resonates with the admissions committee.
Exposing Versus Hiding One’s Background in a Post-DEI World
Harold Simansky: So it’s funny. I’ve had actually somewhat of a different question from clients of mine or consults of mine—and for a free 30-minute consultation, by all means, go to our website, 30 minutes with Harshad, 30 minutes with Nisha, 30 minutes with me. We love to do it; we love talking to folks. Sometimes I’m asked in those 30-minute consults, “I actually come from one of these diverse categories of what has historically been considered a less-represented community. Should I hide from that? Is DEI now, however you define it, is that a negative?” Meaning, as an Indian male engineer, should I hide that fact? Not quite sure how you can hide it, but to make this example, is the notion of traditional diversity, is this something that people should almost hide from, that they should definitionally not highlight in their application?
Harshad Mali: I don’t think hiding is going to do anything, honestly, because at some point, you’re going to get caught if you hide. So I would rather help applicants be who they are. As Nisha was saying about this American guy, he brought in what he could bring to the table. And that’s what I try to bring in. Everything in the world is different. There are no two people who are similar. What makes you different and what makes you unique? I think that’s something that applicants need to focus on. And I do the best I can to help my clients deliver that message to the admissions committees. And look, I mean, it’s not like everything is perfect, and that’s where applicants get everything wrong, in that they try to be perfect and let’s say, “game the system.” And I would not recommend doing that. I think being who you are helps your applications go a long way, because then you can actually defend that in the interviews. And again, in the interview process, as long as you’re natural, you’re not coming up with made-up stories or trying to just mug up or show someone you’re not, you’re going to do well.
Nisha Trivedi: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, we work so hard for our clients, right? All three of us, all of our colleagues. But sometimes, there is an element, and not to get overly philosophical, but sometimes, people just end up where they’re meant to be. And the more you are yourself in your application process, embracing all parts of you, I think honestly, the greater the chances that you will be at a school where you’ll thrive, where you’ll not just be accepted, but you’ll be embraced for who you are. And I think there’s something really to be said for that.
Harold Simansky: And I think we keep on bumping up to this issue sort of across the board in our podcast and on consults and everything else. If you try to start bending yourself or shape-shifting to imply that you’re exactly what business schools are looking for—to be, quote, the perfect candidate and not being authentic to yourself—you generally don’t do particularly well in this process.
Harshad Mali: I get a lot of questions on “The admissions committees are looking for certain things, and I want to write things in the way that admissions committees would like.” And what I always tell people is this, I mean, consumers are not creators. Admissions committees know how to consume stuff, but they cannot create it. And so look at the creation piece rather than worrying about what they will or will not like. They read applications with open eyes. They can sense originality. So I think the notion that you need to bend to the rules when there are no rules is wrong.
Harold Simansky: I like that: “you need to bend to the rules when there are no rules.” I think that’s absolutely right. I think at the end of the day, it also touches on this notion of there is no such thing as an overrepresented demographic. And what we mean by that is you should be a demographic of one. If you are effectively able to communicate who you are, [then] the community that you come from or your sexual orientation or your profession, sure, it’s a big part of you, but it’s not the only pieces of you. And if you can sort of communicate to them what that whole story looks like, who you are as a person, then that really does make for the most successful essays. There’s no question about it.
Nisha Trivedi: The political, societal situations kind of shift back and forth. But I think one constant is to really focus on the elements that you can control in terms of the application process, making every application element as strong as it can be, and making sure that the admissions committee understands you holistically, what you’re like at work, outside of work, the motivations that have led you to date and that inspire you to pursue your post-MBA goals. Really, I think that is what’s in your control. So it’s easier said than done, but try your best not to focus on the ever-shifting change in climate.
Final Takeaways for MBA Applicants
Harshad Mali: On that note, I mean, I have always dealt with difficult things. And what I always tell people is don’t worry about what the circumstances are doing for you. Just deal with the circumstances, and do the best you can. There are cards you can play and there are cards you cannot play at all. So just go with what you have, and do the best you can. You know, be wise, be methodical, and something good can come out of that whole process.
Harold Simansky: Again, authenticity, showing the whole person, that’s what really makes for a successful application when all is said and done.
Nisha Trivedi: Absolutely.
