Peterson's Crafting Your App Page 3
Given the mismatch between the number of seats and the number of
applicants, the application process becomes a competition; you will be
competing against others for a seat at the school of your choice. To do
this successfully, you must make yourself attractive to the school. You
must persuade the admissions committee that you will help them satisfy
their economic and social needs; that thought must guide you as you
create your application.
You need to create an application that will give a business school a
positive reason for accepting you. Two books that you should buy are
Getting Into Business School Today (an ARCO publication by Martinson
and Waldherr) and The Official Guide to MBA Programs. You can find
them at most bookstores or order them online at a discount.
Behind Closed Doors
What goes on behind the closed doors of the admissions office? Well, the
first thing that you should know about the admissions process is that there
is no one admissions process. Rather, each school has its own individual
admissions process, and its process differs somewhat from that of every
other school in the country.
At some schools, faculty committees make the decisions. At such schools,
decisions may be made by majority vote, or unanimous agreement may
be required before an acceptance is extended to an applicant. At other
schools, the decisions may be made by a single professional admissions
officer or by a dean of admissions. At still other schools, a committee may
make decisions, with members drawn from both administration and
faculty. And at some schools, students themselves may have some input
into admissions decisions.
The two most important factors in your application are your GPA and your
GMAT score.
