MBA Decoder

Master List of Booth Interview questions

Chicago Booth MBA Interviews are by invitation only. They are conducted by members of the Adcom, second-year students or alumni. Typically, an interview lasts for about 40-50 minutes and they are conducted blind, which means, the interviewer has reviewed your resume, but not the rest of your application. As such, you will have a chance […]

Five Mistakes you would never want to make in your MBA Resume

By Definition, a resume is a document that communicates your qualifications and sets you up for career success. For MBA applicants, it sets you up for admission success. An MBA Resume is normally the first document read by the admissions team, so it plays a pivotal role in setting the first impression. And, as an […]

OFTEN OVEELOOKED

Often Overlooked Advice While Selecting Business Schools

Every year we talk to hundreds of applicants advising them on questions related to selecting target MBA programs. During these discussions, we hear some confusing statements from almost all applicants.  So in this blog, I have put down my 10 years of experience of helping applicants as an MBA admissions consultant to help you in […]

The Case for Deferred MBA Admissions

“Reserve your MBA spot now, join later” Sounds Perfect, right?  How idealistic it would be if every MBA aspirant could reserve a spot in an esteemed MBA program while they continued to complete their undergrad education. This scenario is a reality thanks to the deferred MBA option offered by several top ranking MBAs. The deferred […]

Interview Series: Why Our MBA Program?

What do they want to find out when they ask you “Why our MBA program?” A couple of things: • The sincerity with which you are applying to their program • Are you a good fit We all know that ‘Why do you want to join us’ is almost invariably asked in a job interview. […]

Looking For Reasons To Admit, Not Reasons To Deny

Several years ago, an admissions manager at ISB told me, we look for reasons to admit applicants, not to deny them. This was a perplexing statement given the astounding number of applicants that apply to top business schools every year and the abysmally low conversion rates. However, over the years, I have repeatedly heard this […]

Make the best of the MBA Employment Report for B-school Research

Within the career development pages of b-school websites is a hidden gem that stores the most relevant information for prospective applicants: the MBA employment report. As a majority of applicants do an MBA for better employment opportunities, this is one data they must definitely research in their quest for finding the right MBA programs. B-schools […]

FIVE steps to overcome low GPA

“Your past mistakes are supposed to guide you, not define you” For a person deeply ingrained in the MBA application process, the first thing that hit me about this quote was a common MBA profile weakness- the low GPA. Every year, we work with applicants who have low undergrad grades. The reasons are several- they […]

GMAT and GRE Scores for top MBA programs

The GMAT and GRE scores are the most important evaluation metric used by business schools to assess applicants. While b-schools have always asked for GMAT scores, the GRE is gaining increasing acceptance among b-schools not just in the USA, but in Canada, Europe and Asia as well. As part of our series to make the […]

Campus Visit for Better Application

Its one thing to read about the method of teaching employed by your target b-schools, and its another to see it enacted right before your eyes- the Harvard case method for instance. Watching the intimidating cold call in action, the level of participation from students, the quality of their discussion and the faculty’s engagement, is […]

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