Decoding the mind of the Adcoms during the MBA admissions process

We all know that to ace an MBA admission process, we need to ‘‘check all the boxes’’- a stellar academic profile, mesmerizing essays, impressive examples of leadership, and compelling Extracurriculars. However, is it all that MBA admissions committee officers are looking for?

The MBA adcom is the main body rendering admissions decisions by comprehensively examining applicants’ profiles to determine who would cut. Hence, to get an admit to your dream school, an interview with the MBA adcom is the last hurdle you need to cross. To do that, we need to understand their mindset, like what elements of the profile matter more than others for the MBA admissions committee?  What does MBA Adcoms consider as a strong profile? What kind of skill-set, character, and work experience are they looking for? And lots of other questions to know you and your fit- like about extracurriculars, scholarships, and post-MBA goals. 

In this article, we are going to take a sneak peek into the minds of MBA adcoms and deal with all these questions and many more one by one for you to help build a stellar profile from an MBA Adcoms’ perspective, ensuring that nothing is left out as we begin to count for the final days of the upcoming round 1 deadline!

First, you need to step into the MBA adcoms shoes to understand how they evaluate a profile in terms of your candidacy and what elements they are looking for!

 Try to answer questions like-

What sets you apart from the rest of the crowd with similar GPA and GMAT/GRE scores? Or, more specifically, people with the same educational and professional background!

Do you have the potential to become one of the finest leaders and lead a huge organization? Business schools need and love great future business leaders with the potential to change this world. And hence you need to be self-introspect about how you’ve grown as a leader. We help MBA applicants go through a unique Content Gathering framework that allows them to brainstorm a plethora of ideas around each aspect of their profile to ensure they present a 100% special MBA application. 

Demonstrate your fit. How will you be a good fit for the school you are applying to? What will you be assets to the school, and why should they select you? Read this article to know how you can demonstrate your fit to your target business school!

The following questions here will help you introspect on this further.

Also, among the most generic but equally important questions to be answered is the trio of “Why, Where, and What.”

Why do you think it’s the right time to go for an MBA, and what is your motivation/driving force?

(Where) What do you find unique about this school?

What are your aspirations regarding an MBA from this specific B-school, and how does it align with your post-MBA goals?  

Always remember that while answering all these questions, you must be very authentic with your examples, with utmost logic. In addition, each answer should be backed by desired results or relevant stats on your MBA profile!

The key is to connect with the MBA adcoms at an individual level and let them know who you are; hence you must ensure your MBA application features your character well and bring out a strong, vibrant personality. 

Furthermore, you could throw in a set of some interesting hobbies or even some entrepreneurship experience because at the end of the day, the MBA adcoms aren’t just looking at MBA candidates but future entrepreneurs and leaders capable of changing the dynamics of the business world!

We may have repeated this many times, but when we say -“Research is the most important component of your MBA application,” we can not emphasize it more. You will need to do deep research into understanding the right schools you should apply to and knowing them in and out to present an MBA application that resonates with the admissions officers of your target schools. 

Suggested Reading- How to choose the best-fit business schools for yourself?

I hope we provided some good insights into MBA Adcoms’ thinking. We do have a surprise for you! Recently we hosted a coffee session to answer a plethora of questions. Hence, we decided to give every aspiring candidate a chance to know more secrets from the MBA Adcoms!

Furthermore, suppose you still have doubts or want a more personalized approach to determine competitiveness for each aspect of your profile. In that case, it can often help to discuss with a trusted advisor before applying in MBA application rounds to understand the pros and cons of filing your application at a certain time!

If you need more in-depth information about any particular aspect of the application process, interviews, and course structure, feel free to hop on a 45-minute extensive 1:1 call with our team of experts. We’d love to add as much value as possible to your application journey. 

We at MBA and Beyond follow a stepwise procedure to ensure maximum efficiency, quality, and interaction to make sure we make your every minute on this call worth it! Furthermore, we have helped all applicants get into M7 and the top-notch business schools with huge scholarships. You can read a few success stories here. 

As it’s said, “Sometimes you need someone to see beyond your limits and guide you to greatness.” Happy learning! ☺