MBA Insider: Admissions Q&A May 8, 2008, 8:41PM EST

Indiana Seeks Team Players

The Kelley School seeks smart, talented students who will make contributions in the classroom and flourish in a collaborative environment

Jim Holmen
Indiana University

Story Tools

Jim Holmen is director of full-time MBA program admissions at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business (No. 18 in BusinessWeek's most recent MBA rankings). Holmen has strong ties to Indiana University and the Kelley School. He received his graduate degree in higher education and student affairs administration from Indiana University, and has worked on the Kelley admissions team since 1991. In 1995, Holmen was named director of admissions and financial aid for the Kelley School's MBA program. Prior to joining the Kelley School, Holmen served as the director of new student orientation programs at the University of Vermont.

Holmen says essays are a crucial part of a candidate's application, and they provide students with an opportunity to bring their application to life. He recently shared other advice about putting together a successful application for Indiana's MBA program with BusinessWeek reporter Kelly Bronk. Here's an edited transcript of their conversation.

How do application numbers look this year compared to previous years?

We've had a great year this year. Our applications are up about 14%, and more importantly to us, this year we've seen a nice increase on the domestic side. Our domestic applications as of our last deadline are now up about 23% this year. This year we have received close to 1,400 applications, and our target class size for next fall is 225 students.

Have there been any changes to Kelley's application in recent years?

We haven't had any major or significant changes. We've adjusted a few essay questions here and there over the years, but for the most part, the application process and application itself have stayed pretty steady.

Do students apply in rounds? Are there any advantages to applying earlier?

We have four deadlines. Certainly, the sooner you apply, the sooner you'll have a decision. And we do consider our first two deadlines priority deadlines for financial aid consideration. Everyone offered admission is automatically considered for merit-based financial aid offered by the Kelley School. We have far more applicants in the class than we have merit-based financial aid packages, so priority is given to those who apply earlier. That being said, my advice to candidates is to apply when you feel like your application is at its strongest. I'd much rather see a late application that is strong than someone who rushes an early application and submits it when they don't have their essays where they want them to be or they don't have the GMAT score they want.

Are there any essay questions that are unusual or that applicants seem to have difficulty answering?

I'm not sure that any of our essay questions are particularly unusual. We do have an essay question that we've used for years because we enjoy reading it and I think many applicants really have fun with it. The question asks applicants to identify three people—they can be people who are alive now or people from the past—with whom they would like to travel on a cross-country auto trip. We ask who they would choose and what they would hope to learn from them. Over the years it's become an essay that I think many of the kids remember writing and thinking about, and it's one that we enjoy reading.