Surviving B-School

"It turns out business school is inherently extreme. Take 500+ hardworking, determined self-starters with a few years of work experience and a false sense of yuppiedom, then bring them to a hotbed of academia"

By Ellyn Charters

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Ellyn Charters
University of Chicago
MBA Class of 2010

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Life is full of applications. Some of the most intimidating include the following: jobs, loans, mortgages, and for those reading this article, admissions. For the egotistically challenged, the application process has a way of highlighting self doubt, insecurity, and fear of rejection. For the egotists among us, applications are time-consuming and tedious. Either way, the process is grueling. However, the culmination, if you've successfully targeted your efforts (and the admissions gods smile upon you), is rewarding: admission.

Before we get all warm and fuzzy, there are many hurdles before securing a seat at the school of your dreams. Deciphering the logic of the admissions process is a topic worthy of PhD study; it lacks transparency and, like Boston's street layout, is seemingly arbitrary. As an aspiring MBA student, you are likely a working professional with an insufficient amount of time to devote to the things in life you deem important, never mind applications. Further, depending on the level of disclosure your current position allows, you may be managing a highly clandestine operation for the next few months until you've scored your ticket to Hollywood. (Yes, that was an American Idol reference.) Given the situation, maximizing the efficiency of your efforts is, indeed, paramount.

I think this is the point where I am supposed to provide insight and offer some secret for cracking the admissions code. Instead, in my lack of expertise, I shall humbly offer you some tips. Aside from the obvious —ace the GMAT, be a Rhodes Scholar, find an alternative energy source— you can improve your odds and save time in the process by tackling applications with purpose. Time management is one of the skills you'll utilize most once you've elected to take the B-school challenge.

Once you've taken the GMAT and your name and demographic profile have been released to the admissions community, the courtship begins. We pick up at the part where you are thumbing through Barron's Guide to Graduate Business Schools and surfing BusinessWeek.com's MBA page trying to determine the highest ranked schools to which you have the greatest chance of admittance. Stop right there. Back away from the Barron's. Your admissions strategy lies in this rather simple process: Segment the market, identify your target consumer, align your brand with the needs of the consumer. (Ah, perhaps marketing is the hub of the wheel, after all…)

Segmenting the Market

Among the top-tier schools, there is relative parity: Each offers world-esteemed faculty, expansive alumni networks, recruiting relationships with Fortune 100 companies, and a virtually unlimited amount of incredible opportunities. Upon further segmentation, however, the nuances that separate one school from the next emerge.

There are many ways to break down the B-school equation: by tier, academic specialty, reputation, ranking, city, coast, to name a few. To be most effective, determine the features most important to you. In doing so, heed the words of our literary friend Hamlet, "to thine own self be true;" because after all, the success of this whole thing lies in landing you at a school with a culture, reputation, and value system in alignment with your own. If there's one thing the admissions dogs can sniff out, it's a phony applicant who lacks focus and is merely throwing applications at all of the top schools in hopes that something will stick.

Determine Your Target Consumer

The secret is to find fit; for me that means finding a place with people whom I genuinely want to spend my time. Chicago Booth has a tradition of academic rigor, a flexible curriculum, a collaborative learning environment, and grade nondisclosure; attracting a specific student body.