MBA Insider: Admissions Q&A September 7, 2008, 6:17PM EST

IE Business School Admissions Q&A

Lisa Bevill provides advice on the admissions process at Spain's famous international business school in Madrid

Lisa Bevill
IE Business School

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Lisa Bevill took on the role of director of international admissions at IE Business School in Madrid (previously known as Instituto de Empresa) earlier this year. A graduate of the international MBA program at IE, she also has professional experience in the U.S., Germany, and Spain.

Within the past three years, applications to IE have increased more than 20%, Bevill says. During the last application cycle, 30% of the applicants were accepted into the international MBA program. This year, around 300 students—more than 90% of them from outside Spain—will be enrolling in the international MBA program. For the first time, demand to attend is so great that a second group of students will begin classes next April.

Bevill spoke with BusinessWeek's Andrea Castillo about IE's international MBA program and its diverse student body. An edited transcript of their interview follows.

Are there any major changes to the application process this year?

We've had applications in English and in Spanish, depending on the profile of the programs. We've separated out the executive profile to focus on professional experience, to focus more on the strategic vision of the company and incorporate the experience the executive would bring to an executive program. As for the international MBA, we did make some minor changes, to both the application and the essays, to focus a bit more on the professional profile.

Are you seeing more applications now than in the recent past?

Yes. We've actually seen quite an increase in past years, and this year is no exception. We have a roughly 22% increase year over year for the full-time international MBA program. However, in general, across all programs, we have seen an increase in applications.

What's the most unusual or difficult essay question on your application? What's your advice to students on how to answer it?

As I mentioned, we want to give the application process and essays a specific professional aspect. The application is the first step in evaluating a student. Students are putting their thoughts on paper, starting with their self-analysis of why they want to study in the MBA program and why now is the right time in their careers. The entire application will focus on those aspects, to bring out the characteristics of the applicants and really understand their motivations, their expectations, and their aspirations.

The essays are a very personal part of the application process. We leave questions open to allow them to fill in their area of expertise and their interests. I think the most difficult question is really one focusing on what their challenges are, what difficult situation they've faced in the past, and how they can apply that knowledge to future situations.

We recommend that applicants think about the question and answer it in a precise and concise manner. They are not to tell the entire story. These are professional essays, but they should give insight about the individual. So answer the question concisely and truly, to show us who you are. This is a personal part of the application process.

What do students tell you is the hardest part of your admissions process? How do you help students deal with it?

We have a very diverse student body at IE, so I think no one part is particularly difficult. Each person tells a little bit of a different story. For those people who feel comfortable taking tests, the most difficult part is not the GMAT or the admissions test. It might be for others.

For those who struggle with the interview, our recommendation would be to recognize that interviews are going to be a fundamental part of the program. They need to learn to represent themselves and their ideas in speaking and feel comfortable with how they express and develop their ideas.

For others who say the most difficult part is the test, we say it's important to prepare. In fact, it's extremely important to prepare for each part of the application process. Depending on where your weaknesses are, you need to prepare those in even more depth.