Chat Transcript September 14, 2008, 1:38PM EST

MBA Admissions Tips

Author and consultant Paul Bodine answered questions from B-school applicants about the admissions process. Here's a transcript of the online conversation

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Business school applicants are always looking for advice and strategies to write winning essays, perform well on the interview, and get into their dream business school. Paul Bodine, author and admissions consultant, recently fielded questions from BusinessWeek reporter Francesca Di Meglio and the public at a live chat event about applications and getting accepted to top MBA programs. Here is an edited transcript of the chat with information on everything from the importance of campus visits to deciding how to handle the failure essay properly on an application:

PaulBodine2008: Starbot asked about applicants with weak postcollege extracurriculars getting into top-five business schools. [The question was accidentally deleted from the system.] Business schools understand that IB and consulting folks, for example, have to work ungodly hours, but poor post-college extracurriculars is still a weakness that you need to compensate for, especially at the top schools. If you have specific reasons, like a family crisis, then you should discuss that in an optional essay. Most of my clients who get into the top schools have strong undergraduate as well as strong postgraduate [extracurriculars].

Sandip: I want to know how much weight adcom gives to a GPA in an application of a person with six years [of work] experience.

PaulBodine2008: The more work experience you have, the less adcoms care about undergrad GPA. If your GPA is 3.0 or higher and you have a high (say 620 or above) GMAT, then you should be fine.

Of course, at the top schools any blemish could be a reason to ding you in favor of someone else, so it also depends on where you're applying.

Soni: When asked about failure-related topics, is it advisable to write personal or professional?

PaulBodine2008: Great question. It depends on what material you've used in the other essays in that essay set, as well as which of your failures are the strongest stories (for example, what taught you the most?). Given two failure stories of equal power, I might choose the personal one because it reflects less negatively on your career profile.

DWright: How important is it to visit a school's campus before applying? Does it appear as a "lack of interest" if you do not visit?

PaulBodine2008: Schools will tell you they don't care if you visit. But if you live in the Bay Area and never made it to Satnford's campus, that will hurt you. Talking about your campus visits is one of the ways you can personalize your business school discovery process—for example, to show the schools that you have made extra effort to get to know them. But INSEAD would not penalize someone from Mumbai for not making it to their campuses.

Starbot: From your experience as admissions consultant, do you see MIT Sloan's] preferred candidate profile to be different from perhaps Wharton's or Columbia's]? For example, would it be fair to say that MIT Sloan prefers those with Engineering/CS academic or career backgrounds, and have career goals in manufacturing/IT rather than banking/PE?

PaulBodine2008: No, I don't think MIT Sloan has preferred applicants in terms of applicants' academic or professional background. They want applicants to know about their strengths in multiple areas. The preferred applicant profile at MIT is someone who makes a strong case that MIT's resources fit well with their career goals.

Soni: When asked to prepare a presentation about self, what should be the approach?