Digging Deep with Your MBA Program Research: Anecdotes & Advocates
Communicating with insiders (current students, alumni, and faculty members) can be beneficial to your MBA applications for a number of reasons. In addition to learning about a given school and your potential fit, you’ll also generate material for your essays, demonstrate your interest in the program, and perhaps even make an ally or two.
As you aim to go beyond the schools’ websites and promotional materials, we specifically recommend reaching out to individuals in a few key groups:
Current Students
People who are currently enrolled in a given program can obviously provide the clearest picture of the present state of the school community. They are often able to describe their school’s overall culture more vividly than brochures put out by the admissions offices. Current students can also help you understand the ins and outs of academic and extracurricular options.
So how do you get in touch with MBA students at your target schools? One strategy is to reach out to friends and acquaintances who are studying at a given school (or who know someone who is). It’s also helpful to get in touch with the leaders of clubs and programs in which you are interested; their contact information is generally available through the club website. This will help you to understand the club’s needs and priorities, as well as the impact you could make while on campus. Students can also provide a sounding board on this topic as you work to demonstrate your potential contribution during the admissions process.
Alumni
While students offer a great view of the program itself, a school’s graduates can often provide the best perspective on just how far an MBA from a given program can get you in a certain field. Meeting with alumni working in your target post-MBA industry (tracking them down either through your own network or school-sponsored events) may help you anticipate the program’s strengths and weaknesses in setting you on the right professional course. You might also gain some valuable insight that will help you to refine your career goals and better understand what short-term position would best prepare you for your long-term plan.
Faculty
Professors at business school tend to be a bit less accessible than students and alumni, but if you’ve identified someone whose research interests match yours or if you’ve sat in on a class that you found particularly intriguing, there’s no harm in sending a note to let the faculty member know and to ask them for a brief call or meeting. The individuals responsible for designing and delivering the MBA curriculum can offer great insight into the specific skills and lessons you would learn from one class to the next, and improve your understanding of the ways that an MBA would bridge the gap between your current skills and those you will need to achieve your goals.
So if you’re working on a business school application, consider reaching out! These folks are often happy to discuss their experiences with prospective students, and admissions committees also like thoroughly informed applicants (of course in all cases, patience and manners are of great importance). You might also gain advocates from your target b-schools, who you can later tap for unofficial ‘letters of support’ after you have submitted an application.
MBA Admissions Academy
Episode 1: How to choose target schools for application
MBA Applywire
Hello Alex,
Decided to post my deferred MBA specification after binging the Clear Admit podcast with you and Graham. Love the show and thank you for providing valuable, anecdotal advice for the world's aspiring MBA students!
I'm planning to apply to the aforementioned MBA programs as a deferred applicant, looking to obtain some work experience before matriculation.
I am currently in my senior year at a top 2 public university in California, majoring in a social science. I originally transferred from my local community college with a 4.0, and will most likely finish out my current quarter at the four-year university with the same GPA.
Ever since the beginning of community college, I have been involved in student organizations: I was the president of a business leaders student org, and a treasurer for an honors society during community college. I am also a founding member and VP of an economics club at my four-year university.
In addition, from the beginning of high school to before I transferred to a four-year university (6+ years), I volunteered and founded a recruitment program at my local senior center that harbored over 100 new volunteers. While the org was not an NGO, it did provide caregiving services for senior citizens in our local community.
I have had 3 wealth management internships: a top 10 mega RIA, a boutique firm, and a top 5 wirehouse. I have a return offer, which I plan to pursue, from the wirehouse and plan to partner with a senior advisor as an associate advisor on a 1.3B+ AUM portfolio. This will involve financial advisory and investment management services for UHNW clients, but I also foresee greater involvement and client ownership as I obtain my requisite designations.
I also founded a social enterprise that has received over 200K in pre-seed angel investment funding. I am working with a lean group of software engineers and social scientists to supply affordable business consulting and accounting for small businesses. While the startup is still in the seed stage, I plan to continue working on this throughout my pre-MBA career alongside my role in wealth management.
Not sure if this is relevant or something I should include in my application, but I also had a few side gigs during school to help pay for tuition. I worked as a server for over 3 years during the latter half of high school and throughout community college. I was also an account analyst in the university's department of wealth management during the first year. Then, I picked up an AI data annotation gig for the second year. One of the main reasons for choosing community college after high school was the cost savings, so it was imperative that I worked during college to help pay for tuition.
My intention in obtaining an MBA is to learn more about entrepreneurship or social entrepreneurship, looking to combine the explosion in the current tech/AI market with social impact. Also looking to learn management fundamentals for mid/late-stage startups.
While I do not have a test score at the moment, I do plan to take the GMAT Focus at the end of the month. I am hoping to get around the median scores of the M7; 685+. Also hoping to crush the quant component of the GMAT to mitigate quantitative doubts, but hopefully, some of my internship experiences with investment management help. I also took some entrepreneurship classes at the four-year university that involved accounting principles.
Looking for some advice on whether I am aiming too high. I am almost viewing my deferred application as an opportunity to shoot for the stars, but at the same time, I don't want to fall too hard. Any other advice on how to clean up my application is also welcome!
GPA: 4.0 Undergrad (Business Admin/Accounting)
Work Experience: 8 Years as an IT Director/Information Security Director
Test Results: Hoping to get a waiver but am willing to take an exam
Targeted Programs: Hoping to get into Kellogg Part-Time/Evening/Accelerated Full-Time, or Stanford preferred but open to options
I also do have my PMP and CISSP, which are not relevant pre se but was asked if I had one before. I am going to get CPA once I finish MBA or part of MBA due to state requirements. I am also white and have owned businesses and do have copyrights and trademarks due to a brand I own.
Does this profile seem good enough? I did have one of the admissions officers ask why even get an MBA, but I want one, and feel they are valuable. Also, scholarships would be cool but plan on self-funding if scholarships are unavailable.
Short-term: Short-Term (Post-Graduation, Pre-MBA):
After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan to work full-time in management consulting or a strategy/finance-oriented role within India. In the short term, my goal is to gain rigorous exposure to problem-solving, business fundamentals, and decision-making across industries by working closely with organizations that are navigating growth, transformation, or operational challenges. I aim to build a strong foundation in analytical thinking, stakeholder management, and execution while developing a practical understanding of how businesses operate on the ground in an emerging market context. These early professional experiences will help me identify real-world gaps where scalable, responsible business solutions can create meaningful impact.
Long-term: Long-Term (Post-MBA):
In the long run, I aspire to leverage an MBA from a top global institution to transition into leadership roles where I can build or scale impact-driven ventures at the intersection of business, finance, and social development. Drawing from my background in grassroots social work and exposure to entrepreneurship and consulting, I aim to work in impact investing, social entrepreneurship, or leadership roles within mission-driven organizations, with a focus on education, financial inclusion, and livelihood creation. My ultimate goal is to create sustainable business models that deliver measurable social impact while remaining financially viable, particularly in developing economies like India.
I am planning to apply for Deferred MBA this year. I am currently in the final year of my college at IIM Jammu
MBA LiveWire
Would there be any additional interview invites for international applicants? If do not hear by 19th, would it be a rejection?