Getting into a top MBA program

Lately so many people have asked me how to get into a top MBA program that I am going to just summarize what I tell others.

There are five key decision points around which an admission committee makes it's call:

- Intellectual Ability - Mostly manifested through your Academic performance/GMAT etc

- Professional Achievement - Some good indicators of this are #promotions, level of responsibility relative to your peers in the same profession

- Clarity of Future Goals/aspirations - Mostly reflected in the Why MBA? Why now? kind of questions - Again it is important to show a continuity of thought process in setting goals/aspiration from pre-MBA to post-MBA - even though these might be two different industries/career

- Personality - Who you are? What type of person you are? Are you a good person to work with?- These aspects are mostly reflected in your essays, choice of topics of your essays, recommendations and personal interview

- Quality of Recommendations - How others perceive you and how does that triangulate to your description of you that comes across in your essays/application. Consistency from all reference points - from essays to recommendation to personal interview is key here.

Apart from the above list, each school adds a slight variation/color to its selection process. It is best to get a good feel of that by talking to students from that particular school. About Wharton I could say these points - The list below is in no way exhaustive and is just IMHO:

- Wharton definitely gives a lot of importance to Intellectual Ability/Rigor - so your academic record/GMAT are critical

- Clarity of your future goals/Aspiration is critical

- Wharton tends to be more "Brand crazy" than other schools - For example, Wharton would admit a "slightly OK" candidate with an experience in a branded company such as Microsoft, Goldman etc but reject a "Slightly Better" candidate from a non-branded company/startup.

- Wharton is definitely lot more open to people with more than 5-6+ years experience than other schools

Go, light your bulb!

I was watching Swadesh for the nth time the other day and I have to say I am in love with this movie. Check this song out here - Yeh Jo Desh hai Tera - one of my favorites. Another great moment in the film is when Mohan Bhargava's (Shah Rukh Khan) boss say - Go, light your bulb!

And here is an article on the true life story that inspired the movie.

If somebody likes Gandhi, Forrest Gump and now Swadesh does it say something about their personality - I am sure it does - however I am not sure I am ready to accept the verdict!

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