ROLLING INTO AN MBA: MAXIMIZING CHANCES OF ADMISSION
TO THE ELITE B-SCHOOLS
BY APPLYING EARLY
by Dominic Basulto
Name Of
School |
Application Deadline(s) |
Letter Of Decision |
Program Start Date(s) |
Rolling Admissions: |
1.)
Columbia Univ. |
Oct.1
for Jan.
Apr. 20 for Sept.
|
Oct.
1 for Jan.
Apr. 20 for Sept.
|
Jan.
20 months
Sept. 20months
|
2.)
Univ. of Penn (Wharton)
|
Mid-Nov.
to Mid-Apr. |
8-12
weeks after receipt of application |
Fall
start |
3.)
INSEAD |
July
00
Feb. 00
|
N/A
|
Jan.
01
Sept. 01
|
4.)
NYU (Stern)
|
Nov.
15, 00
Dec.15, 00
Mar. 15, 01
|
Mar.
15, 01
8-12 weeks after receipt of application they will mail a response.
|
Aug.
start 2 years
|
5.)
Cornell (Johnson)
|
Nov.
15, 00
Jan 15 01
March 1, 01
Apr 15, 01
|
Start
process after receipt of application. |
Aug.
starts 2 years program. |
6.)
Univ. of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
|
Oct.
8, 00
Oct. 29, 00
Dec. 17, 00
Feb. 11, 01
|
Dec.
10, 00
Jan. 21, 01
Mar. 10, 01
May 5, 01
|
Fall
start |
Admission Rounds: |
1.)
Yale Univ. |
Rd1-Nov.
8, 99
Rd2-Jan. 3, 00
Rd3-Mar. 13, 00
|
Jan.
13, 00
Mar. 23, 00
May 18, 00
|
Sept.
start 2 years |
2.)
Harvard Business School |
Rd1-Nov.
3, 99
Rd2-Jan. 6, 00
Rd3-Mar. 3, 00
|
Jan.
14, 00
Mar. 24, 00
May 13, 00
|
Sept.
22 month w/ extended break
Jan. 18 month
|
3.)
Northwestern (Kellogg)
|
Rd1-Nov.
12, 00
Rd2-Jan. 14, 01
Rd3-Mar. 17, 01
|
Jan.
28, 01
Mar. 24, 01
May 12, 01
|
Mid-Sept.
2 years
June 1 year
|
4.)
Duke Univ. (Fuqua)
|
Rd1-Oct.
25, 99
Rd2-Dec. 6, 99
Rd3-Jan. 10, 00
Rd4-Feb. 28, 00
Rd5-Apr. 3, 00
|
Dec.
3, 99
Feb. 7, 00
Mar. 13, 00
May 12, 00
May 19, 00
|
Fall
start |
5.)
Dartmouth Coll. (Tuck)
|
Rd1-Dec.3,
99
Rd2-Jan. 18, 00
Rd3-Feb. 18, 00
Rd4-Apr. 21, 00
|
Jan.
18, 00
Feb. 21, 00
Mar. 27, 00
May 22, 00
|
Fall
start |
6.)
Stanford |
Rd1-Nov.
24, 99
Rd2-Jan. 12, 00
Rd3-Mar. 1, 00
Rd4-Apr. 12, 00
|
Jan.
17, 01
Mar. 28, 01
May 23, 01
|
Sept.
22 months |
7.)
London Business School |
Rd1-Nov.
24, 99
Rd2-Jan. 12, 00
Rd3-Mar. 1, 00
Rd4-Apr. 12, 00
|
Feb.
4, 00
Mar. 17, 00
May 5, 00
June 2, 00
|
Sept
start |
Dominic Basulto holds an MBA from Yale School of Management
and an undergraduate degree from Princeton. The strategy discussed below
has been successfully used to assist in the acceptance of Russian candidates
to leading MBA programs such as Stanford, Wharton, London Business School,
IMD, and INSEAD. For further information, please contact Pericles ABLE
in Moscow at 292-5188/6463.
There are two basic systems for admitting MBA candidates-
"rolling" and "by rounds" (also called "staged").
In layman's terms, rolling admissions means that a B-school accepts
candidates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once an application has
been submitted, a reply of "admit" or "deny" can
be expected within two months. On the other hand, a staged admissions
process divides the application cycle into a series of separate rounds
(usually three or four), in which candidates are compared only against
other peers who make the same deadline. For instance, a B-school may
establish a deadline of December 1, 2000 as the first round to apply.
All applications received before December 1 are considered together
at one time, meaning that an application received on September 1 will
be considered as equivalent to one received on November 30. These two
systems are not alike, and are guaranteed to yield a different applicant
pool. Thus, in order to maximize one's chance for admissions to an elite
MBA program, it makes sense to understand how to "crack" these
systems.
As will be demonstrated below, the best strategy in
either scenario ("rolling" or "by rounds") is to
apply as early as possible. This is generally accepted as the best strategy,
although some experts on the admissions cycle, such as Richard Montauk
(author of How To Get Into the Top MBA Programs), argue that no definable
advantage derives from an early application- except for those candidates
with a complex, hard-to-explain application (i.e. the candidate with
a non-traditional background in, say, theology, who suddenly decides
that a career on Wall Street is the next logical career move). Maybe.
But maybe not. The Dean of Admissions at Stanford has remarked that
candidates waiting until the final round have only a 2% chance of a
successful application. Wharton has also published data showing that
chances for admission decline from 10% in February to less than 2% in
April.
REMEMBER THAT DEMOGRAPHICS MATTER
Every business school maintains a highly segmented
statistical database of all candidates over a historical time horizon.
In addition to knowing fairly precisely how many people will apply each
year, a B-school knows the regions or countries where these people are
applying from and data on profession, age, gender, and race. Check out
any B-school brochure- there is almost always a series of pie charts
showing the representative profile of recent classes. In the name of
diversity, the admissions committees prefer to keep a fairly constant
balance between all these interests. This balance can shift for exogenous
reasons, however, such as when a business school perceived as being
too "regional" makes an effort to attract more international
students or when the demand/supply dynamic changes.
By extrapolation, any top business school will have
an "unofficial" range for the number of Russian candidates
that can be admitted each year. This is probably one of those dirty
little secrets of the admissions process that no one will admit, at
least on the record. Despite all disavowals, pre-set limits do exist.
Once the top number of this range has been reached, the chances for
admissions decline exponentially to zero. Thus, it makes sense to apply
as early as possible- once the places for Russians are gone, the odds
of being accepted after that point are quite low. For example, despite
the growing Russian applicant pool to Wharton, the number of Russians
offered acceptance in the incoming class has stabilized and will not
increase until the demand/supply dynamic once again changes.
THINK HOW THE "HURDLE" RISES OR LOWERS OVER
TIME
In rolling admissions, an MBA program establishes
a certain "hurdle" that applicants must clear in order to
receive an offer of admission. For instance, a B-school knows the average
profile of its incoming class for the preceding five years or so (see
"demographics" above). Then, it can establish a hurdle that
a candidate must pass in order to "roll" into the MBA program.
Some programs might establish a rating scale of 0-5 for several important
factors (academic excellence, work experience, extracurricular achievements),
and then basically say "any candidate who gets at least a 4 in
each category will be admitted." If the absorption rate of candidates
is too slow (e.g. the applicant pool is less talented this year than
in previous years), then the hurdle is lowered, to make it easier to
admit candidates. The converse is true as well, with the hurdle being
raised if too many candidates are being accepted too quickly. The key
point is that each candidate is not so much competing against other
current peers (i.e. other Russian professionals), as against the historical
norm for such peers.
Typically, the rolling process is set up to be front-ended-
meaning that 50-60% of the total class is assembled in the first few
months of the process, leaving only residual places left by the time
late spring arrives. It is the rare rolling process that is designed
to be perfectly balanced (neither front-ended nor back-ended). Over
time, as more candidates are accepted, the hurdle must rise, otherwise
too many candidates will be accepted. By April, the hurdle is necessarily
as high as possible, since the MBA program only needs to fill the last
few places in the program. Thus, it should be clear that during the
rolling admissions process, the hurdle can only rise (unless the B-school
is suddenly unpopular and having trouble attracting students, in which
case the hurdle lowers). Moreover, the more front-ended the process,
the faster the hurdle rises. Therefore, it should be obvious that applying
as early as possible is the only strategy.
Now, think of the admissions process that proceeds
by rounds. This process is a bit more subtle, and usually favored by
the elite B-schools (see chart). Typically, there are three or four
rounds, extending from early winter to late spring. Rather than establishing
a "hurdle" based upon historical experience as under the rolling
process, B-schools using the "rounds" process will establish
a "hurdle" based upon the composition of the current applicant
pool. All candidates meeting a certain deadline will be compared against
each other. Again, the B-school plans to "front-end" the process
by accepting a greater proportion of the entering class in the early
rounds, leaving far fewer places for the final rounds. The Dean of Admissions
at Dartmouth Amos Tuck indicated that in the four-round process, 150-175
might be accepted in Round 1; 100-125 in Round 2; 50 in Round 3; and,
well, any places left in the class would be parsimoniously allotted
in Round 4. This is a classic front-ended admissions strategy that clearly
indicates how odds decrease over time.
It is a popularly accepted fact that the most aggressive
and well-qualified candidates apply in the first round. For this reason,
most candidates who do not feel that they are the "best of the
best" will avoid this first round, preferring not to compete with
these superachievers, and even thinking about using the extended time
to boost their credentials or earn that next promotion. In part, this
strategy is well founded. However, it is known that some B-schools will
choose to defer borderline candidates (those who are not strong enough
to pass over the hurdle in Round 1, but obviously talented enough to
have a chance for admission later) until the next round. Thus, a strong
candidate will not be "rejected"- he or she will simply be
moved to Round 2.
CONSIDER THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ADMISSIONS PACKAGE ITSELF
Some candidates think that they can prepare a world-class
application package over a weekend or two. This is wishful thinking,
at best. Granted, after the first application package, the process becomes
incrementally easier for each successive application. The admissions
package, however, entails more than simply filling out standard information
such as "name of current employer." Any elite B-school will
demand transcripts, test scores, recommendations, and essays. The very
process of assembling all these documents, making sure that English
translations are available where needed, and taking time to personalize
the application package for each B-school takes time. Most people who
have been through the process advise starting no later than one year
before planned matriculation.
Business schools can always tell when a product has
been rushed to market (the essays are not personalized, the test scores
are "pending," and recommendations are either short or sloppy).
Since a major part in winning acceptance to a "Top 10" program
is convincing the admissions committee that the proper cultural fit
exists between B-school and applicant, it makes sense to spend the extra
time for starting early and choosing the most appropriate MBA programs.
All other things being equal, the Russian applicant who submits the
application early is viewed as a more aggressive, more dedicated, and
more prepared candidate. Moreover, applying earlier in the cycle means
more access to financial aid offered by the B-school.
Thus, the best strategy for gaining acceptance to
an elite MBA program is to apply as early as possible in the application
cycle. For MBA programs with staged admissions, this means no later
than the second round of the admissions cycle. For candidates hoping
for acceptance for a program beginning in September 2001, this summer
is not too early to begin the application process. There are many steps
that can be taken even between now and early Fall, such as lining up
potential recommendations, assembling financial resources, outlining
a few key themes for the application, and thinking about preparation
for the GMAT and TOEFL examinations. While these steps do not guarantee
admission to a "Top 10" program, they do guarantee that your
chances for admission to an elite MBA program are maximized.
Dominic Basulto is a 1998 graduate of Yale School
of Management and currently works as a consultant for Pericles ABLE
(American Business and Legal Education) in Moscow. Pericles offers a
full MBA advising program.
©
ANO Pericles, Moscow, 2000. ANO Pericles, American Business &
Legal Education Project, 1st Miusskaya str 22/3 office 310 tel. (495) 649-22-73 info@pericles.ru, www.pericles.ru
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