Business Schools Revamp the Application

The MBA application process is starting to change, with the GRE gaining ground on the GMAT, earlier deadlines, and some schools experimenting with audio and video

By Francesca Di Meglio

(Corrects reference in fifth paragraph to Chicago Booth’s elimination of Power Point presentations as part of the application process. The presentations are being considered for elimination.)

Change is a dominant feature of business schools. Curricula change, new courses are added or dropped every year, professors come and go, and entire programs are born, evolve, or die. But until recently one thing that hasn't changed much in many years is the application process: A paper application, set deadlines, interviews, and recommendations are still its component parts. Today, though, that process is beginning to undergo a transformation.

Some applications have become more inclusive by accepting GRE and IELTS scores, in addition to the more traditional GMAT and TOEFL scores. Some schools have made their first-round deadlines earlier, so they could provide decisions to applicants in mid-December and keep up with a quicker-paced world. The most compelling change, however, is the inclusion of video or audio components as a way to see the real applicant and his or her creativity.

This evolution is a solution to two problems facing admissions committees: an antiquated admissions process that is out of touch with the lives of applicants and overly packaged applications that lack substance, the result of coaching and consulting run amok, say business school admissions committee directors.

But evolution is slow. Business school applications are going high-tech at turtle speed. Although many schools are thinking about adding new components to their applications or going paperless, few have made any major strides. Many business schools admissions directors and independent admissions consultants consider the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business (Booth Full-Time MBA Profile) and the UCLA Anderson School of Management (Anderson Full-Time MBA Profile) as the leaders in creating innovative MBA applications that are true to the times in which applicants live and work.

Beyond PowerPoint

For the past few years, Booth has asked candidates to provide a PowerPoint presentation to show another side of themselves to the admissions committee. Although the committee is considering the elimination of the PowerPoint presentations starting with applications for the 2010-11 academic year, a new component—as yet undisclosed—will likely be in place this summer, says Rosemaria Martinelli, associate dean of student recruitment and admissions at Booth. The new addition to the admissions process may be something that MBA applicants will have to do after they get through an initial screening process, says Martinelli.

One argument for eliminating the PowerPoint slides, Martinelli says, is that they had become rote and entirely too easy to predict. They didn't showcase the applicant's personality and help the admissions committee determine who is and isn't a good fit, she said, adding that she hopes the new application procedure will do just that. "It's hard for us, especially when so much of the applicant pool is admissible," says Martinelli. "It comes down to who fits the life, spirit, and culture of an institution."

At the Anderson School, the most recent applicants had the option of answering one essay question in audio form, and more than 70% did. The school is now giving students the choice of responding to one of the essay questions with an audio or video clip in the hope that such responses will be more revealing than written answers. "A lot of business schools have concerns about authenticity," says Mae Jennifer Shores, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid at Anderson. "This was a way to get a more authentic view of a candidate."

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