Question from a younger applicant and a few questions from me to him

Happy Monday, everyone. Actually, Monday is almost over, but that’s reason to celebrate since this is the day of the week that everyone dreads most, right? I actually have started enjoying Mondays lately because a group of my GSB folk started a routine of gathering for dinner and goofing off a few weeks ago and it’s been hella fun. It’s a great way to unwind after a Monday in the office and, most of all, it’s great because I wouldn’t have been able to do it at this time last year. It is really nice to have a chance to actually build a foundation here in Chicago.

The message below is a short one from a recent graduate from a top engineering school in India. He’d like to apply to business school soon and he’s wondering whether he’d be an interesting candidate. He didn’t give me much information about himself to form an opinion, but I tried to make the best out of it to give him a recommendation. Hope he gets some value out of my response.

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PG wrote:

“Hi Marquis,

Was reading through your blog, while came across somebody’s query regarding being an older applicant. Mine is quite the opposite. I would call myself an early-career applicant. a fresh engineering graduate from top school in India, but do not find my training as engineer sufficient. and, thus am looking towards teh skill set that an MBA degree could give me. Do you think the Ad Com would be interested in going through such an application??

Thanks in advance
PG”
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My response:

PG,

What’s going on. Thanks for thinking of me as a resource for your question. Your email is pretty short with a single question, so that makes it much easier for me to give you a good response. It seems that your primary question is simple enough for me to give you a quick answer, but I have a suspicion that you might need to think a little deeper about moving toward the application process. So, I’ll also give you a few questions to ponder between now and the application cycle that starts in the Fall. Hopefully, this combination will help you work through any uncertainty you have at the moment.

Your question was about whether an Adcom would be interested in going through an application like yours. The simple answer to your question is that the Adcoms are technically interested in reading any application from a person who has paid that application fee. I’m not being facetious when I say that either. One can’t really tell who an applicant is until he/she has reviewed the person’s full application, so I’d imagine that the Adcoms see this as a way to get to know the kids who are interested in their schools. Being a younger applicant doesn’t mean that you can have a great story to tell and that you couldn’t possibly be a strong addition to some school’s first-year class. But, it’ll be your job to create an application package that is interesting enough to make the Adcom feel good about having reviewed it. You’ll need a well-developed MBA story that is woven through all parts of your application. Most importantly, you’ll want to show the Adcom that you truly have thought through the decision to apply to business school…there’s no room for half-stepping on this one. If you’re going to apply to B-school (especially as a youngin’), you HAVE to give it your all and make sure you put together the best application package possible. In the words of Ray Charles, you’ve got to “make it do what it do”. Otherwise, you’d be better off donating your money to charity than using it to pay MBA application fees.

Now that we’ve got your question out of the way, I thought I’d give you a few to think about before you start the application process. You don’t have to respond to me with the answers to these questions because they’re not for me…they’re simply a way for you determine whether you’re making the right move at the right time. The following are some key questions for you to consider over the next few months:

– Do you really NEED an MBA or do you just WANT one? –> Simple question, right?…well, not exactly. In your email, you mentioned that your training as an Engineer was insufficient, but I’m wondering whether you truly need to pursue a graduate business degree to meet your career goals. You might be able to just move into a different career track and gain the skills that you need. I realize that you may have already thought through all of this, but I couldn’t make that assumption based on your message. In your essays, you’ll have to make a compelling case for why you should be admitted to a given school and part of that will be convincing the admissions folks that you can’t reach your goals without the MBA. Think long and hard on this point because it’ll be crucial as you move forward.

– Why are you applying to business school so early? –> This one is related to the question above. You’re a fresh engineering graduate and I’m assuming that you’re currently working. In that case, you haven’t really given yourself a chance to benefit from your engineering degree yet. Do you really need to pursue an MBA so soon after your undergraduate studies? Is there nothing more that you can learn in your current career track that would prove beneficial in reaching your long-term goals? Have your educational and professional experiences given you the kind of perspectives that will add value in a business school classroom? If the answer to any of those questions is “no”, then you might want to hold off on applying for a couple of years.

– Can you put together a strong enough application to win admission to a business school? –> Ask yourself whether your application package would be strong enough to get into your target schools at this point. Your essays, academics, GMAT, recommendations, work experience, and extracurricular activities would have to be top-notch as an early-career applicant. Are they? If not, I’d recommend investing some time into addressing some of your potential application weaknesses.

– What matters most to you and why? –> This is the first essay question on Stanford GSB’s application and I still believe that it is the single best application question in the B-school game. It’s difficult to develop your MBA story, your career vision, or even your life plan without taking the time to think about what you truly care about. Because you’re a younger applicant, this is an even more important question for you invest time into answering. You’re pretty much a blank sheet of paper right now and the answer to this question might help you figure out what should be written on that sheet of paper from now onward.

Take care and good luck with you business school applications. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

-Marquis