MBA Insider: Admissions Q&A December 16, 2008, 7:56PM EST

Dispelling Georgia Tech's Engineer Myth

Paula Wilson, Georgia Tech's admissions director, talks about why the school isn't just for engineers and other reasons to consider the school

Paula Wilson
Georgia Tech

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The Georgia Tech College of Management may be a techie's paradise, with around 55% of students coming from an engineering background. But while the school could fill its entire 74-person first-year class with engineers, it simply chooses not to, according to Director of MBA Admissions Paula Wilson.

That doesn't mean the school, which climbed into the top 30 in BusinessWeek's 2008 rankings of full-time MBA programs, doesn't place a premium on quantitative ability, says Wilson. "We try to teach students how to think like engineers, teaching them how to pay attention to detail and how to be problem solvers," she says.

Wilson recently spoke with BusinessWeek's Alysa Teichman about the school's attitudes and shared a few points of wisdom to prospective students. Edited excerpts of the discussion follow.

Are you seeing more applications than in the recent past?
It's really a little too early for us to tell. Our first application deadline is not until Jan. 15. We're pretty flat over where we were at this time last year. That deadline is our biggest deadline because it's for international applications, too. Usually 50% to 60% of applications to the full-time program come in at that Jan. 15 deadline.

What's the most unusual or difficult essay question on your application, and what's your advice to students on how to tackle it?
The most unusual one that people really like is, "If you could invite any four people living or dead to a dinner party, who would you invite, and what would you discuss?" Of course we get answers like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Michael Dell, and Steve Jobs, but I've had some really interesting essays from people who have invited themselves at different points in life. I've also had people invite engineering failures, like the guys who designed the Tacoma, Wash., bridge. This essay gives applicants an opportunity to be creative in the admissions process, and of course makes the application a little more fun for us to read.

I don't know that we help them deal with it. Usually the other thing is if someone is asking me for my advice, I always like to stress that there's no right or wrong answer, and it's a time when they can be creative. As with any of the essays, they shouldn't say what they think we want them to say, but give us a true picture of themselves.

What do students tell you is the hardest part of the admissions process at your school, and how do you advise they deal with it?
I'm not sure if it's the hardest, but it's the part they're most impressed with. Interviews are by invitation only; students can't be admitted without interviews. They [also] interview with Jim Kranzusch, the director of career services. I think it's sometimes a little bit of a surprise that they're going to be meeting with both of us; then I think once they get here, they enjoy the opportunity.

Are there any benefits to being in an earlier round?
We actually admit on a rolling basis, and so even though we have three deadlines, we will go ahead and review an application as soon as it's complete. So we'll probably admit a few people, not many, before the holidays. We don't get many applications before, but the committee tends to be fairly conservative before Christmas; we're not sure what's going to be coming before that January deadline. We're not going to be making many offers for admissions or funding this early in the game. Our applications are not really in rounds because we will review them as they're completed, but we're not waiting until all those applications come in to make the decisions about a round. If last year is any indication, I think certainly it is going to be to an applicant's advantage to apply in earlier rounds and certainly not to wait until that last May 1 deadline.