You Ask, We Answer

This is the million-dollar question (or $200,000 since that’s what a lot of graduate degrees cost).

And the answer is: EVERYTHING.

Universities want interesting professional experiences, a strong academic background, cultural exposure, meaningful volunteer work, thoughtful self-analysis, awareness of global trends, clear career goals, soft skills, hard skills, and all skills.

No single thing will get you into school. But a little bit of everything will. That’s why you need to really analyze every aspect of who you are and what you’ve done, and then you have to figure out how to convey that in an application.

That’s usually where consulting comes in.

Not as important as you may think.

Yes, it’s absolutely a factor, but every year, 740 GMAT scores get rejected from Top 10 universities while 660s get in. That’s because schools care about their average GMAT/GRE scores, but they are open to a range.

Consequently, a high score doesn’t guarantee success, and a lower score doesn’t disqualify you. A great consultant will help you discover and leverage all the other aspects of your candidacy to ensure your GMAT is just one component of your profile, not its defining characteristic.

Crowdsource, but be selective in following advice.

You may have friends who have applied for MBAs, and their insights can be helpful. However, it’s important to note that each of them has applied one time, so their experience is limited and personal.

An experienced consultant has worked with hundreds of clients and can differentiate between anomalies and patterns, causation and correlation. Former admissions officers can be helpful because they’ve seen thousands of applications, but it also means they only see the final product; they often don’t know what it took to get there. A great admissions consultant has a unique blend of perspectives and experiences to help you discover what is exceptional about you and then present that to professional readers, who usually come from another country, culture, and background.

In short, listen to different viewpoints, but your best asset is to work with someone who already has all of those perspectives.

Passion. Knowledge. Skill.

First and foremost, your consultant must care about your success. It has to be more than just a job. If someone has been doing this for 20 years but is just in it for the money, you’re not going to get the dedication or focus you need and deserve. Conversely, if someone is new to the industry, regardless of how much they want to help, they will struggle to actually help.

You really need someone who is emotionally invested in your success, who understands diverse industries and subjects, and who has the unique skills necessaryto help you convey your stories effectively – both in your applications and your interviews.

This is one of the most important decisions you will ever make, so you obviously want to be sure you’re working with someone who has the ethics, skills, passion, and experience necessary to help you succeed. Here’s a quick list of questions that can help you get the answers you need before you sign with a company.

1. Are you the person I will be working with throughout the process?
2. If not, who else will be involved and what will be his/her role?
3. How many meetings can I expect with you specifically, and what percentage will be handled by someone else?
4. How long has this other person been working as a consultant?
5. What are his/her results over the last several years?
6. Do you have any testimonials that specifically mention the person I will be working with?
7. Are there any former clients who would be willing to speak with me to discuss their experiences?
8. Can I meet the consultant before I sign up?
9. Does the price I’m paying cover everything I need to succeed?
10. Are there any hidden charges for things such as pre/post-interview essays (e.g. MIT, HBS)?
11. Do you use names or photos in your promotional materials, and is there any chance mine would be used without my permission?
12. What are your areas of expertise, and how will those help me succeed?
13. What is your maximum client load, and will you have the time and resources to make me a priority?
14. What is your success rate? Is there any way to confirm that?
15. Finally, do you love what you do? Because this is really important to me. And I want someone who cares about this as much as I do.

These are just a few key questions that will help you as you shop around. In short, you want to know exactly what you will be getting and from whom. Additionally, there are no questions you cannot ask while making your decision, because you deserve absolute transparency and honesty from the company and individuals responsible for helping you achieve your dreams.

Simple. We only accept a finite number of applicants, but we hope a lot more people get accepted and achieve their dreams. All of our clients will succeed. That’s a given. That means we can root for other people to succeed as well.

Additionally, dream schools vary. While our clients tend to want (and get) Top 10s, there are a lot of great programs out there. All that matters is that you end up where you want to be. The #11 program in the world is still phenomenal. #30 is too. And we help applicants get there if that’s what they want.

We cap our clients because we will never deliver less than 100%. We never give an applicant a couple of meetings with the owner and then hand them off to someone else for the entirety of the process. This is your life, and we take that very seriously, which is why we only have a few spots left for Round 2.

Lastly, we highly recommend you look at the wide variety of programs available, because you may find they are a better fit for your goals. There are programs such as: 1-year MBA, Tech MBA, GMBA, MS Innovation/Entrepreneurship/etc., Data Analytics, Business Analytics, MPP, MPA, Law, Medicine, and dozens of others that can empower you to achieve your personal and professional goals.

Whether you apply with us, with another company, or on your own, Elite Admit wishes you the very best of luck in this challenging and life-changing process.

Well that would depend. How fluent are you? Because the answer to the second question is a pretty good answer to the first.

Obviously, your essay should be well written. It should not sound like your Line messages, or even your AWA essay. An admissions essay you spend 6 months working on should clearly be better than one you wrote under timed test conditions. But it should not sound like the queen of England wrote it, which is what a lot of people try for – consultants included.

There’s a simple reason for that last one: Editing is harder than writing.

As a result, the people you hire to help you will often write beautiful essays because it is easier than editing your essays. But that’s a bad habit. Not only is it unethical – it’s impractical. The schools have your verbal and TOEFL/IELTS scores. They know where you went to school. They have your transcripts. They know whether you should sound native, and they definitely know if you should sound like a literature major (you should not).

So you should sound like the best version of you. Obviously, you should check your grammar, and you should use the lessons you learned from GMAT Verbal (like the not only/but also rule I ignored in the previous paragraph). You can even use a thesaurus. But you should sound like you.

Here’s the good news: Schools want you to sound like you.

One, this isn’t a writing contest. If it were, Harvard would be full of novelists, not Investment Bankers. Thai engineers would not be going to Top 10s (which they do). MBBs would be everywhere (they’re only almost everywhere). But there is diversity in these classes, which means there is diversity in language level and style. Again, be the best version of you. Focus on the story, not the literary merit. Don’t let some invisible “editor” hand you Shakespeare. You will not get in. Ad coms are quite smart. Most importantly, they know if you’re willing to let someone else write your essay, you may very well be willing to lie about your achievements. Don’t do that either.

In short: It’s okay to be imperfect, because perfection is implausible. You will never use as many articles as a native speaker, because Thai doesn’t have articles. You won’t say “that” every 10 words, which is actually a good thing. You won’t use idioms constantly, because how could you possibly know that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush? And is it? I’ve never been sure.

That being said, you should not have comma splices. You should know parallelism. You should probably use adverbs appropriately. You should look like you tried, and like you belong in a great school. There’s a balance. And the best way to achieve that balance is to be the author of your own stories. And only then should you edit until you reach the highest level of reasonable excellence.

Increasingly so on both accounts.

Schools want to meet you in person(via video) instead of just read about you. They also know there are Literature majors out there overediting b-school essays into Shakespearean prose, so they want to know if you are the same person on video as you are on paper.

This is why you need a strategy consultantandinterview expert, not just an editor or (even worse) a ghost writer. You must write your own essays, and your consultant must ensure you maintain your unique voice even while improving the final product. Then your consultant has to get you ready to do the same thing verbally with 20 seconds to prepare, which is how video essays work.

A lot. 30-40 hours with an interview expert, and at least that much time practicing on your own or with fellow applicants.

The interview is by far the hardest part of the entire process, and it’s strange that more people don’t say so. But it’s pretty clear when you think about it. During an interview, you are essentially instantly writing essays, out loud, during one of the most stressful experiences of your life. This is not the kind of thing you get good at with a few mock sessions right before you interview. Most importantly, you need strategies, not just practice.This is why you need to work with a coaching expert.

You also need to keep in mind that interviews are constantly changing (and getting more difficult). Additionally, each school (and interviewer) has a unique style. You need to be prepared for all of them. And obviously this takes time. Even more than the time, it takes strategies and skills development, because very few people are natural TED talkers.

Even those people giving professional speeches aren’t being asked a new question every few minutes. They are controlling the conversation, which usually doesn’t happen in a graduate school interview. In short, work with an expert, and do so for several hours per week for several months.

What is the Difference Between an Admission Committee Interview and an Alumnus/Alumna Interview?

Big difference. Plus, there’s substantial variation within those categories as well. Let’s go through them from top to bottom. First, there’s AdCom (Harvard, Wharton, Sloan, etc.), Alum (Stanford, Kellogg, Booth, Haas, etc.), Professor (Oxford), or Current student (UCLA, Yale if you do Skype). I won’t list every school here. But they tend to be consistent.

Ad-Coms

For Harvard, not only is it an admissions officer, but you’re going to be at a hub. So add jet lag to the mix. It’s also one of the few non-blind interviews you will go through (they will probably have your essays in front of them, meaning they will have specific questions prepared just for you). These admissions officers are at the top of their field, but they are also relatively equal.

Conversely, the MIT Sloan interviewer for Thailand is not only one of the best interviewers in the world, but he’s also the Dean of Admissions, so it is fair to say he carries more weight than any other MBA interviewer in the world. He varies between CV probing (he does his homework), questions about your video, behavioral questions, and technical questions. That’s a make-or-break 30 minutes.

For Wharton, most of the interview will be a group exercise, so your interaction with the ad com will be very limited (and relatively stress-free).

Key takeaways: Ad coms are decision-makers. They can’t exactly snap their fingers after an interview and accept or reject you, but your time with them impacts your admission decision substantially more than an interview with an alum, professor, or current student.

Alumni

Tons of variation here as well.

The Stanford interviewers for Thailand are technically alumni, but the most famous of them is an American who has been here for decades, is a world-class interviewer, and heavily affects your admission decision. He is especially skilled at finding out how legitimate your stories are (all interviewers can do this, but he’s among the best). Easy solution: be genuine.

For Kellogg, you have the most variation, simply because every applicant gets to interview. So you might get a highly skilled interviewer who has been doing this for years (many of them may be reading this), or you might get a fresh grad who is just reading questions off of a piece of paper and scribbling answers as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t say that Kellogg necessarily gives substantially more weight to experienced interviewers (although some, for sure); the biggest difference is how well the interviewers probe your stories and write their evaluations.

Dissimilarly, Booth and Haas don’t interview that many candidates, so the interviewers are consistently experienced and skilled. Expect probing questions. Expect technical questions. Expect to be pushed.

Same for LBS, who also has a case study that can vary from ethical dilemma to actual business strategy.

INSEAD has two interviews, and they can be very different. As you can see, not all alumni interviews are equal. What alumni do have in common is that all of them are deciding not only if they think you’re a good candidate, but also if they would like to have you as a fellow alum. Act accordingly.

Professors

Oxford does this. It is a very different interview than you would get for American schools. In fact, it’s so different that I will cover it in a separate post. Just expect a lot more questions and a ton of probing.

Current Students

UCLA, Yale, and Tuck jump to mind. What to expect? It can be anything. They can take this honor very seriously and give you the full 30 minutes allotted. Or they can be running late for class and disinterested. It’s up to you to be great regardless.

To Simplify: Impact and style. An ad com interview matters more. That’s not debatable. But style varies more by person, not role. Behavioral, technical, friendly, combative, short, long. Your interview can be any of those things. So you obviously have to be prepared for all of them. Fortunately, you have a few more months before they happen for Round 2. Put in the work to prepare. We do at least 30-40 hours of interview coaching for our clients (group and private). And we expect them to practice on their own. It’s that difficult and that important. So again, be sure to put in the time. And good luck.

Absolutely (with a couple of exceptions).

Most top programs are now splitting their intake evenly between Round 1 and Round 2. So the old saying “they run out of spots” simply isn’t true anymore (except for Columbia, which is rolling). CBS also has a binding decision (as does Duke) that gives an advantage to those who apply early and are willing to commit. But for every other major program, Round 2 (or Round 3 for UK programs) is a perfectly reasonable time to apply.

Admittedly, while intake and acceptance rate don’t directly equate, for the most part, you can apply in January and have an equally high chance of getting in. That being said, you will want to make the most of your additional time.

With an extra 3-4 months to study for the GMAT, your scores should go up. The same is true of TOEFL/IELTS. So if you have GMAT tests remaining, use them. For language tests, you can always take more, so utilize those as well.

Making sure

1. your positioning is unique
2. your essays are great (and accurate)
3. your interview skills are strong
4. you’re ready for the difficulty and stress of video essays
5. you continue to be active outside of work
6. you find the right consultant, if that’s the way you want to go.

Obviously, if you do #6 well, numbers 1-5 are significantly easier.

It is difficult, but definitely possible. The key will be remaining mindful of the non-essay portions of the application (often overlooked by both other consulting firms and anyone applying on their own).

1) Transcripts

For most MBA programs, you can just upload official copies of your transcripts. You won’t need the originals physically sent to the schools until after you are accepted. That’s simple enough. The part that surprises candidates is that you also usually have to upload the official transcripts from any study abroad programs, even if those courses and grades appear on your primary university transcript. With schools closing for the holidays, you should contact them immediately or get the transcripts as soon as the schools reopen.

Also, for many MS programs, you will need “translated” transcripts, even if your transcripts are in English and using a 4.0 scale. This is often surprising because, intuitively, it seems unnecessary. But many schools require it nonetheless. Therefore, you will need to send your transcripts to a service such as WES. There is a long lead time on this, so start this process as soon as possible (you should have started weeks ago actually), and always pay for rushed processing if available.

Regarding all of the above, of course refer to each program’s requirements. But read closely so you can find out which options they demand.

2) Short Answers

This is essentially “filling out the application.” Many people think this is going to go quickly, but it’s more intensive than they expect. This is especially true for many UK schools, which often have 400-word short answers (conversely, the US might have 400 characters). Make sure these sections are thoughtful, comprehensive, and fully edited. There should be no gap between the level of writing in your essays and the rest of your application.

3) Video Essays

Make sure you know if these are required before completing the application, and then plan accordingly. There are three main types (pre-recorded, “pre-asked,” and “in the moment”). MIT is an example of pre-recorded. You know the question, record your response ahead of time, and then upload the file. This is the easiest because you can try as many times as needed. The second type (e.g. Kellogg) means you will know the questions, but you will have to record them in the actual online application. This usually means you only have one try. So you can practice extensively, but you only get one chance. The third type is the most difficult. You will not know the question or have multiple chances. It’s similar to a TOEFL speaking prompt. Just prepare as best you can for the various question types, and make sure you speak clearly and use all of your time. We coach our clients on all types, but many people do not. Do your best to prepare.

4) Recommendations

This is not an issue of content as much as timing. Submitting recommendations is more time consuming than many people think. As such, recommenders may not be able to submit numerous schools quickly. They are also likely unavailable during the holidays. So make sure you have created an online log-in for each school, registered each recommender, and notified them to watch their email. Next, you should ask them to submit early. Recommendations can be submitted prior to your portion of the application. This is best done before Jan 1, because again, post-holiday contact may be difficult.

5) Interview Preparation

Do not wait until you are invited to interview to prepare for the interview. We have been coaching our Round 2 clients since the beginning of December. In fact, we do 30 hours of group preparation and 6 hours of private – minimum. We meet multiple times per week for 12 weeks. It’s a very difficult process that requires intensive coaching. Make sure you begin putting in the time and effort early.

6) Resume

This should not just be a list of job responsibilities. That’s what short answers are for. A resume should be a great summary of your achievements and career progress. The writing should also be flawless, and the formatting must meet the various school guidelines. Some schools (especially UK) will even have templates. Follow those requirements, while still providing the best summary of your candidacy.

7) Everything Else

We support our clients in literally every aspect of the application, but if you are working with someone else or applying on your own, there are a lot of little things that can be missed. Read each application carefully, plan ahead, and execute to perfection.

We hope these insights are helpful, and we wish all of you the best of luck in your upcoming applications.

We always recommend not to do so. First, if schools want to offer you money, they will (more on that later). From a strategy perspective, if you ask for money, you’re requesting two things:

1. Let me in
2. Give me money

Since getting in is hard enough, it’s best not to ask for the second thing. Yes, they say it will have no impact on your admissions chances. But what they say, and what is reality, don’t always align. And it’s totally reasonable that if they consider you to be exactly equal to an applicant who doesn’t need money, they will choose the “free” option.

But most importantly, if schools want to offer you money, they will. You don’t have to ask for it. None of our clients asked for merit or need scholarships in Round 1, and they were still collectively offered over $600,000 in scholarships. This just means the schools REALLY want them. So if you do need scholarships, the best thing you can do is put together an amazing application and diversify your school list. Then, if you get multiple offers, you can choose the one that offered the best scholarship.

Lastly, while this should be no surprise, schools care about money. They ask how much you earn. They ask how much your family business earns. They ask what your parents do for a living. No, you cannot buy a building and get into a great school. That’s a myth. But money matters. If you can add to the quality of the program without detracting from their funds, they like that.

If you DO need help paying for your graduate degree, you should also consider the numerous corporate and government scholarships available in Thailand.

KBank, PTT, SCG, all the MBBs, most government agencies (BoT has a ton). Fulbright is great.

Some of these are before you get in while others are after, but that’s another post. For now, just know that asking a school for money is a big ask. Think about all the potential consequences, as well as your other options, before clicking the “yes” box on merit or need scholarships in a school’s graduate application.

Whatever you decide, Elite Admit wishes you the best of luck.