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Common MBA Application Mistakes And How to Avoid Them!

Find out how to craft the best possible MBA application and breeze through the interview process with the help of Amy Mitson, Dartmouth Tuck's senior associate of admissions.

Wed Aug 28 2013

BusinessBecause
The application process at business school is critical to getting onto the MBA of your dreams. Aced the GMAT? Think you have the perfect background experience to craft your admissions essay? Find out how to breeze through the application process with the help of the Admissions team at Dartmouth College: Tuck School of Business  - a leading MBA program that is currently ranked 16th in the world by the Financial Times.
 
The American based b-school admits only 20% of its applications onto the MBA program. With smaller than average class-sizes, they are a tough team to impress - and thus the perfect people to help you craft a fantastic application. Amy Mitson, Tuck's senior associate of admissions, says that the top mistakes students make are rooted in shallow preparation.
 
"You shouldn't apply before you are ready," she said. "Take the time to use an entry-point that suits you best. Most mistakes in the application happen before a candidate enters the application process.
 
"If you get pre-occupied with getting your application done in the earliest round, if you are not ready, will really hurt you later on in the process.Taking the time to prepare and reflect is something that is just part of a good application."
 
There are three critical steps to you impressing the admissions team and getting on the MBA program of your choice. And three common mistakes that applicants make time and again when apply to Dartmouth Tuck.
 
THE ESSAY:
 
"I've definitely seen that in the essays, to answer the question specifically and thoroughly really makes a difference at Tuck. You can't cut and paste from one school to the next because we’re all looking for slightly different things.
 
"The best way is to look at all the questions to see what we’re asking, and then sketch out the experiences that you’ve had, see which is the most impactful, and put it together in your story. Much like you would scope a project.
 
"Candidates always say, 'Do I have to keep to the word limit?' 'Can I put in an optional essay?' If they don’t bring out their experiences, then the essay wont pack the punch that they want it to."
 
THE INTERVIEW: 
 
"The most important piece of this process is preparation. I've heard stories from candidates who had long flights, had hotel rooms that flooded before the morning of their interview and didn’t get any sleep: but because they prepared, they sat down in the chair with me and I would have thought that they had the best nights sleep of their lives.
 
"When a candidate is nervous or fidgets in their chair, or doesn’t make eye contact, they haven't prepared! They have the great experience but they have not thought about how they want to talk about that experience.
 
"That candidate has their 30 minutes and I'm going to allow them every opportunity to put their best foot forward, even if they get off to a shaky start. But then with others, it can occasionally be a challenge to pull out the details. 
 
"And in those moments, I just wonder in reflection and after evaluation if they had time to prepare. You should prepare like it was a job interview, then you will know where to start and how to guide me through the next 30 minutes."
 
THE RECOMMENDATIONS: 
 
"The most impactful recommendation is from someone who has supervised your work professionally: directors, presidents or vice presidents, someone more senior in the candidates company.
 
"It comes down to that preparation again: if you have a certain deadline to get your recommendations, you can’t ask the recommender a week before, and then expect that they’re going to be able to turn it around in a week. Sometimes they need more time.
 
"Sometimes people are working with supervisors who may not be familiar with the MBA process. So it could be in the candidates best interests to first ask their supervisor to have a cup of coffee with them, and they can talk about what the business school will be looking for in the interview process
 
"It is not for the candidate to write it out for them and for them to sign it: make sure they know that it is their responsibility to write the recommendation and fill out the form. Give yourself and the recommender time, and you get a better recommendation!"
 
Amy says that the best recommendations for Dartmouth Tuck are the ones that show that you have a genuine relationship with the recommender, built while working together professionally. "The short answer questions are most impactful when they have a few anecdotes of how they work together," she added.
 
"That shows that the candidate has a relationship with the recommender and they haven't just chosen a senior person in the organization because they have a good title. I'm not impressed by that. 
 
"A reflection that they have a relationship with the recommender in a professional environment: that speaks volumes for a candidate."

 

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