Although the number of re-applicants accepted to top MBA programs varies, and most schools have not revealed the numbers, close to 10% of all applications are from re-applicants. The volume is so consistent that some schools have begun offering the option to apply as a fresh applicant.
10 strategies for MBA Re-application
1) Class Size
The first metric that should interest the re-applicant is the class size. With Harvard explicitly mentioning that "Of the 900+ students in the Class 94 of us were reapplicants.", the class size makes the whole difference. For smaller class size, the percentage of re-applicants decreases as applicants tend to apply where the odds are better.
Re-applicants, taking advantage of this trend, should target smaller but reputed MBA programs
Note: In an American context, 200-400 strength is small class size.
2) GMAT
In our interaction with clients, the entry criteria are the most painful part of the discussion. Many are from reputed universities with 3.1+ GPA. Almost 90% of the time the trouble is in the GMAT. The applicant falls short of the class median by 20 to 30 points. The quant score is on the weaker side if the percentile score is below 80 while Verbal in the 60 to 70 range springs doubt on whether you can communicate effectively in the class and with international partners. While applying in the previous year, this small variation was compensated with an elaborate narrative on career progression and leadership. What most applicants miss during the exercise is that MBA is a quant-heavy program. If you have to rectify your weakness, it should always start with the GMAT
3) GRE
Sometimes GMAT might just not be the test for you. Instead of going through the same grind and repeating GMAT for the 5th or 6th time, switch to GRE. According to the latest research on Top MBA programs and their competitive GRE scores, 163 in Verbal and 166 in Quant is a safe score.
4) GPA
“My GPA is low, should I target top MBA programs?” is the most consistent question that I get from readers. If you are re-applying, the answer should be obvious. The school was scared to pick you over a similar perhaps weaker profile with above average GPA. Now, if you ask us what the magic number is, it is close to 3.2.
For many, the translation from percentage to US GPA system might not work out. Among the numerous GPA calculators available online, Columbia College provides the opportunity to enter the number of credits for the category of grades (A+ to D) with a value multiplied to each category that on summation captures the overall GPA. If your transcript does not have a credit format, a 75%+ in undergraduate degree is a competent score for international applicants.
With the proliferation of online courses and Harvard’s entry into Online education, MBA applicants have found a new avenue to rectify their otherwise permanent record – take quant-heavy courses to highlight their capability to score in the 80 to 100% range in courses conducted by top Business Schools.
The focus area for the GPA should be narrowed down to two broader themes – Statistics and Calculus if you are an Engineer/Marketer/Business Development person, and Statistics, Calculus, Accounting and Financial Analysis for Finance background.
Choose the subject only if your performance in the subject was below B+/70% in your undergraduate degree course.
Another strategy that career switchers with sub-par GPA (below 3.2/70%) adopt is to demonstrate competent score (above 85%) in their target domain. Technologists, Marketers and Operations professionals taking Wharton’s Finance courses have now become a familiar but effective tool in negotiating attention with the reviewer and showcasing pro-activeness in addressing weaknesses.
5) Narratives
Narratives on your job, extracurricular, conflict, growth as a person and promotion influence the readability of your essays.
Excessive use of platitudes is never received well in MBA admission where authenticity is valued over pure storytelling. That is why it becomes tougher for re-applicants to look at their old essays objectively or go back to the consultant that helped them in the previous year. Both of them have invested heavily in the writing process and would have developed shared assumptions about the ‘life story’.
Narratives that you use in the essays should reflect the current responsibility. Most re-applicants who have crossed the first hurdle and entered the interview stage would cling onto narratives of the past even though the new year would have brought them new roles and responsibilities, and perhaps a change in function.
Since most schools keep the file of the applicant for 2 years, re-wording the essays and choosing a safer option is not the best strategy. If you have cleared the essay round but got dinged in interviews, iteratively constructing a narrative similar to last year with the updates on current roles, responsibilities and goals would be sufficient to repeat last year’s success.
While adding narratives to previous year’s version, applicants tend to bring additional assumptions to the reasons for rejection.
Listing the reasons for the ding would be the best way to start the re-write process. Start Detailed Profile Evaluation with F1GMAT's Career Planning Service
Once you know the reasons for the rejection – address only those items in the narrative. Unnecessarily tinkering with a successful narrative without an end goal is a wasteful exercise.
6) Interview and Group Discussions
For re-applicants who got dinged in the interview, understand one number – more than 65% are rejected after an interview or a group discussion in a top MBA program.
Working on communicating succinctly, and persuasively without excessive uh..ums or changing gaze to the surroundings require practice. A lot of practice.
The assumption that after the essay round, a couple of days of preparation is enough to master interviews is an overestimation for applicants who are mostly in desk jobs.
For consultants, business development professionals, and marketers, interviews are their strong point.
If you are not in a client facing role or leading presentations/meetings, prepare for the standard interview questions and seek criticism with mock interview sessions. Spend most of the time on non-verbal communication
7) Volunteering
If you have been traveling (consulting/technologist), the excuse of not getting enough time to spend on the weekends for volunteering or honing the extra-curricular skills might be believable but the majority of applicants who show poor contribution in volunteering is from developing economies where the culture of giving back is not fully ingrained in the psyche of the populous.
American, Canadian and Chinese applicants traditionally are way ahead in volunteering compared to the European and Indian counterparts.
If the reflection on your ding is done immediately after the decision, and you noticed that the lack of volunteering was the biggest weakness, choosing an organization for relevant social contribution should be a task high in your list.
• Short-term volunteering
The quickest way to add on new but diverse experiences is by opting into short-term volunteering (1 to 2 weeks) programs that typically covers aid in disaster-stricken areas, food security and access, healthcare for women, children and the elderly, rural entrepreneurship, teaching (English/Math/Science), and conservation programs. For 25+ year old, which is the typical age group for most MBA applicants, finding short-term volunteering is challenging as the majority of volunteering networks, and online platforms are geared towards connecting high school students, teenagers, and travel enthusiasts to volunteering.
• Known non-profit brands
Taking meaningful corrective steps in volunteering is a long process. International organization have schedules on training, onboarding and first project that could take anywhere from 2 to 6 months – a timeframe that could eat into the next application cycle. Some schools don’t like the just-in-time involvement while many are more forgiving provided you offer a coherent and honest explanation. Changing the explanation in the optional essay according to the school has worked for the majority of our clients. Start a conversation here on your volunteering experience and seek our assistance for positioning your profile.
8) Goals
If you are guaranteed to find one question type in all top MBA programs or expect to answer even in open-ended questions, it is about post-MBA goals.
If GMAT and GPA are above the class median and the recommendation letters impressive, you must go back to the fundamentals.
Is your post-MBA goal too ambitious, irrelevant or meek?
None of the labeling would play into your favor during admissions.
Resolve the feasibility of the goals by attacking the problem in two angles.
Employment Report: Refer to the school’s past three years of employment trends and check if your post-MBA function and industry are both underrepresented. The uniqueness of your post-MBA goal might not always work if the curriculum is not relevant, the school doesn’t have a renowned department in your target industry/function, or there is a reversal in trend triggered by the change in economy or demand in an industry.
Career Growth: Rarely is a professional pigeonholed into one track in the first five years of their career. Most of them get the opportunity to lead the team, cross niches within the function and travel in the 3rd to 4th year with the employer.
Re-applicants is at an advantage for such scenarios as they could change the post-MBA goals to match the current responsibility and potential.
Evaluate the school’s offering and what you are currently managing while drafting the new post-MBA goal.
9) Recommenders
Managing recommenders is the trickiest part of re-application. Your reputation in the organization might have taken a hit with the revelation that your previous attempt at getting into a top MBA program received a setback. The process of restarting the request for recommendation letter is a taxing proposition if the recommenders are the same.
Many don’t have an option to change recommenders as their initial experience with the organization is closely tied to the interactions with the supervisor.
What you can do now is to seek professional help with the recommendation letters. The conversation on editing the recommendation letter should be diplomatic without in anyway hinting that the supervisor doesn’t know how to write coherent letters of endorsement.
The majority of recommenders would suggest that the applicant write the letter and later before uploading, their unique perspective be incorporated. This comes from the fear of not knowing how to structure the letter. Reviewers, even with 1-2 years of experience could catch the similarity in tone, transitions and storytelling, for essays and recommendation letters.
Persuade the supervisor to write at least the first draft of the recommendation letter. Iteratively suggest adding experiences to the letter with the final version capturing communication, maturity, leadership, learning capability and the potential of the applicant.
To manage the recommendation letter writing process, Subscribe to F1GMAT's Recommendation Letter Editing Service
10) Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial experiences have low influence on your admission chances if the target school is not Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Babson or Oxford. Additionally, applicants tend to equate ideas with Entrepreneurship.
Everyone has ideas.
If you have no prototype/website/App to demonstrate that the idea had transitioned into the first stage of product-market testing, mentioning entrepreneurial experience is not the best strategy.
We have seen the other side of the spectrum too where applicants with decent exits ($200k+) hesitate to mention the experience fearing that the school might miscategorize them as less competent. Any exit where you have earned at least half the annual income of a Harvard MBA is a good example.
Statistically, starting business post-MBA is the least feasible path although this is the most commonly cited long-term goal. Schools don’t scrutinize long-term goals with the same intensity as short-term goals. Highlighting entrepreneurial/incubation experience in the resume would improve the believability of your narrative but devote most of your words on the short-term goals.
Now you know what to focus on with the re-application process - Start the conversation now or Subscribe to our Career Planning Service for profile strategy or subscribe to our Essay Review Service for Essay Review and Strategy
MBA Admissions
