Blog: Archive for the “Admissions Myths Destroyed” Category

In the late 2000s, Harvard Business School (HBS) made a change to its application essay questions that surprised many. Its previously mandatory “long- and short-term goals” essay prompt changed its focus more broadly to “career vision” and became one of four topic choices from which applicants could select two. Immediately, MBA candidates tried to read … Read More  

The GMAT score is the sole piece of data that is truly consistent from one candidate to another. Therefore, many MBA applicants place undue emphasis on it, when the test is only one of several important aspects of a person’s application. In extreme cases, some candidates even consider quitting their jobs to focus on the … Read More  

We at mbaMission often receive panicked phone calls from applicants in their late 20s, asking if they are too old to get into business school. Why do so many candidates have this concern? Over the past decade or so, several top schools have declared their openness to younger candidates and have even been courting them. Harvard … Read More  

Our clients frequently ask, “If I write the optional essay about my [low GMAT score, low GPA, bad semester in college, long stretch of unemployment, etc.], will it call attention to that weakness and overemphasize it?” In short, no. Writing the optional essay about a weakness will instead allow you to control the narrative about that issue … Read More  

We often hear MBA applicants ask some form of the following question: “Do I need a 750 GMAT score to get into a top MBA program?” Although a 750 can certainly be helpful, it is not a prerequisite. We wanted to dispel this myth and put some who believe it at ease. Here are a few simple … Read More