,Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Why an MBA Degree?
2. The MBA Programmes
3. Choosing the School
4. Business School Rankings
5. The Basics: Application and Admission Procedure
6. Managing Timelines
7. Present Yourself: Understand the Principles
8. Ten Commandments of a B-School Application
9. Essays: Dos and Don’ts
10. Recommendations: Reinforcing You and Your Application
11. Ace Your Interview
12. Expect the Unexpected: Common Problems
13. Accepting the Acceptance
14. Financing Your Studies
15. Get Going with the Visa
16. Women in B-Schools: A Perspective
Appendix
Bibliography
,Disclaimer
Break the MBA Admissions Barrier is mainly the result of the personal experiences of the authors,
gathered while cruising through the admissions process and, hence, more of a personal take on the
entire admissions process. It has been written as a resource book using facts gathered from
university Web sites, mailed materials and brochures, official records, and the voluntarily provided
experiences of successful applicants.
The authors believe that following the outlined strategies would be of significant help to any
applicant. However, they agree that this is not the only way and many other techniques might be
equally effective, leaving the final decision in the hands of the reader. This book is neither
associated with nor represents any college or university mentioned, and does not guarantee
admission into any particular institution. All the information presented on a particular institution
is available in the public domain and has been provided with suitable references to protect the
copyrights of those concerned.
While every effort has been made to provide the most up-to-date information on all aspects of
the admissions and other processes, the applicant should still ensure they hold true at the time of
their application, given the frequent revision of rules and directives by educational administrations.
Finally, neither the authors nor the publisher:
1. can be held responsible for any consequences of actions or decisions taken on the basis of
the information provided in the text or the text itself;
2. shall be liable in any way if the reader reproduces, verbatim or in part, any of the essays,
sample recommendations or other such material from this text;
3. shall be liable for any violations of copyright by the contributors to the book or those
contained in information gathered from a given reference;
4. shall be liable for any claim, loss, damage or expense of whatever nature resulting from,
relating to, or arising out of the reliance on, or use of, any materials contained in this book.
Foreword
An MBA programme, especially from a leading international institution, teaches you many
marvellous things, but most importantly, it teaches you to learn to be an inquisitive student for life.
The programme teaches you not only to systematically analyse and gain mastery over, to the extent
possible, the chaos and complexities that surround business situations but also to make the most
optimal decisions in the face of risks that cannot be eliminated. It is indeed a noble calling, and
those who emerge from the programme are, without doubt, more effective managers and leaders.
No wonder then that every year, hundreds of thousands of hopeful aspirants from across the globe
apply to the hallowed institutions of business education. Limited supply and ample demand make
for intense competition, and only a fraction of those who apply get in. Clearly, the most talented
of the applicants have a better chance to make it, but the best prepared applicants can, and do,
dramatically swing the odds in their favour, and win at this brutally competitive game.
, In October last year, I had the privilege of being the alumni speaker at the Stanford Graduate
School of Business (GSB) admission conference at the magnificent ballroom of the Taj Mahal
hotel, Mumbai. After the GSB admissions officer had run through her presentation about the
School and its admissions process, it was my turn to field questions from the audience and to
answer them from the vantage point of someone who had successfully negotiated the myriad
pitfalls associated with applying to a top US business school.
Most of the questions went along expected lines, but there was one that I found rather
provocative but quite relevant. It went somewhat like this, ‘What chance does a normal person like
me, who is not an IIT graduate, have of getting into one of the top five business schools?’
The question was greeted with a fair amount of good-natured and polite laughter, not in the
least, I suspect, because the vast majority of the aspirants in the room were indeed IIT graduates.
If you too, dear reader, are an IIT product, then let me assure you that you have a clear cause
for joy. Even though the MBA admissions process is very competitive and calls for systematic and
sustained hard work from each applicant, no matter how qualified, it is my personal observation
that the odds are somewhat in your favour (for those statistically inclined, I am merely implying a
correlation, not causality). I am yet to undertake a scientific study on this but from my subjective,
personal experience this is what I have found—if you meet an Indian who has secured admission
to a top MBA school, you can safely assume that s/he is an IIT graduate as well.
And I am not alone in my belief. During my first week at Stanford, the one phrase that I
invariably heard from classmates and the faculty when I introduced myself was ‘Oh! You are from
India? How wonderful! So, which IIT did you go to?’ It will also be of great comfort to you to
notice that both the very accomplished authors of this wonderful book are also IIT graduates.
But what if you, dear reader, like the inquisitive aspirant from the Taj ballroom, does not have
a pedigree to boast of? Do you give up hope? Do you pre-conclude that a top school is beyond
your reach? Do you make more productive use of your time applying to lesser schools?
Heed my reply well: If I could do it, so can you. Consider this—I graduated from a rather
unknown college of Kerala. Even there, I was not the best student in my class. After college, until
I started my MBA programme five years later, I worked as an IT professional, one among a million
other Indians who could claim the same distinction. Neither of the two firms I worked at during
this time was considered the top IT company even within the country. And even then, I could count
many among my peers who were ahead of me at what I did. Turning now to my MBA application,
the first time I hurriedly put together an application package, even I found it so dishearteningly
mediocre that I decided against sending it, choosing instead to spend another year polishing it.
Probably the only thing I had going for me was a rather decent GMAT score but these days an
acceptable GMAT score is little more than a hygiene factor.
So what makes the difference? Surely some amount of providence; but in these matters, you
have to make your own good fortune, and work yourself into a position where luck has a chance
to help you out. In addition, it takes a lot of personal commitment, thorough preparation, blind
optimism and tons of good advice.
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Why an MBA Degree?
2. The MBA Programmes
3. Choosing the School
4. Business School Rankings
5. The Basics: Application and Admission Procedure
6. Managing Timelines
7. Present Yourself: Understand the Principles
8. Ten Commandments of a B-School Application
9. Essays: Dos and Don’ts
10. Recommendations: Reinforcing You and Your Application
11. Ace Your Interview
12. Expect the Unexpected: Common Problems
13. Accepting the Acceptance
14. Financing Your Studies
15. Get Going with the Visa
16. Women in B-Schools: A Perspective
Appendix
Bibliography
,Disclaimer
Break the MBA Admissions Barrier is mainly the result of the personal experiences of the authors,
gathered while cruising through the admissions process and, hence, more of a personal take on the
entire admissions process. It has been written as a resource book using facts gathered from
university Web sites, mailed materials and brochures, official records, and the voluntarily provided
experiences of successful applicants.
The authors believe that following the outlined strategies would be of significant help to any
applicant. However, they agree that this is not the only way and many other techniques might be
equally effective, leaving the final decision in the hands of the reader. This book is neither
associated with nor represents any college or university mentioned, and does not guarantee
admission into any particular institution. All the information presented on a particular institution
is available in the public domain and has been provided with suitable references to protect the
copyrights of those concerned.
While every effort has been made to provide the most up-to-date information on all aspects of
the admissions and other processes, the applicant should still ensure they hold true at the time of
their application, given the frequent revision of rules and directives by educational administrations.
Finally, neither the authors nor the publisher:
1. can be held responsible for any consequences of actions or decisions taken on the basis of
the information provided in the text or the text itself;
2. shall be liable in any way if the reader reproduces, verbatim or in part, any of the essays,
sample recommendations or other such material from this text;
3. shall be liable for any violations of copyright by the contributors to the book or those
contained in information gathered from a given reference;
4. shall be liable for any claim, loss, damage or expense of whatever nature resulting from,
relating to, or arising out of the reliance on, or use of, any materials contained in this book.
Foreword
An MBA programme, especially from a leading international institution, teaches you many
marvellous things, but most importantly, it teaches you to learn to be an inquisitive student for life.
The programme teaches you not only to systematically analyse and gain mastery over, to the extent
possible, the chaos and complexities that surround business situations but also to make the most
optimal decisions in the face of risks that cannot be eliminated. It is indeed a noble calling, and
those who emerge from the programme are, without doubt, more effective managers and leaders.
No wonder then that every year, hundreds of thousands of hopeful aspirants from across the globe
apply to the hallowed institutions of business education. Limited supply and ample demand make
for intense competition, and only a fraction of those who apply get in. Clearly, the most talented
of the applicants have a better chance to make it, but the best prepared applicants can, and do,
dramatically swing the odds in their favour, and win at this brutally competitive game.
, In October last year, I had the privilege of being the alumni speaker at the Stanford Graduate
School of Business (GSB) admission conference at the magnificent ballroom of the Taj Mahal
hotel, Mumbai. After the GSB admissions officer had run through her presentation about the
School and its admissions process, it was my turn to field questions from the audience and to
answer them from the vantage point of someone who had successfully negotiated the myriad
pitfalls associated with applying to a top US business school.
Most of the questions went along expected lines, but there was one that I found rather
provocative but quite relevant. It went somewhat like this, ‘What chance does a normal person like
me, who is not an IIT graduate, have of getting into one of the top five business schools?’
The question was greeted with a fair amount of good-natured and polite laughter, not in the
least, I suspect, because the vast majority of the aspirants in the room were indeed IIT graduates.
If you too, dear reader, are an IIT product, then let me assure you that you have a clear cause
for joy. Even though the MBA admissions process is very competitive and calls for systematic and
sustained hard work from each applicant, no matter how qualified, it is my personal observation
that the odds are somewhat in your favour (for those statistically inclined, I am merely implying a
correlation, not causality). I am yet to undertake a scientific study on this but from my subjective,
personal experience this is what I have found—if you meet an Indian who has secured admission
to a top MBA school, you can safely assume that s/he is an IIT graduate as well.
And I am not alone in my belief. During my first week at Stanford, the one phrase that I
invariably heard from classmates and the faculty when I introduced myself was ‘Oh! You are from
India? How wonderful! So, which IIT did you go to?’ It will also be of great comfort to you to
notice that both the very accomplished authors of this wonderful book are also IIT graduates.
But what if you, dear reader, like the inquisitive aspirant from the Taj ballroom, does not have
a pedigree to boast of? Do you give up hope? Do you pre-conclude that a top school is beyond
your reach? Do you make more productive use of your time applying to lesser schools?
Heed my reply well: If I could do it, so can you. Consider this—I graduated from a rather
unknown college of Kerala. Even there, I was not the best student in my class. After college, until
I started my MBA programme five years later, I worked as an IT professional, one among a million
other Indians who could claim the same distinction. Neither of the two firms I worked at during
this time was considered the top IT company even within the country. And even then, I could count
many among my peers who were ahead of me at what I did. Turning now to my MBA application,
the first time I hurriedly put together an application package, even I found it so dishearteningly
mediocre that I decided against sending it, choosing instead to spend another year polishing it.
Probably the only thing I had going for me was a rather decent GMAT score but these days an
acceptable GMAT score is little more than a hygiene factor.
So what makes the difference? Surely some amount of providence; but in these matters, you
have to make your own good fortune, and work yourself into a position where luck has a chance
to help you out. In addition, it takes a lot of personal commitment, thorough preparation, blind
optimism and tons of good advice.
