admissionado debunking myths

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Admissionado Ten Myths that Kill MBA Applications

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Admissionado

Ten Myths that Kill MBA Applications

A very, very serious presentation.

“You must unlearn what you have learned.”

-Yoda

-A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

The Next Forty Minutes…

Myth #1: “Admissionado can get me into bschool

because Jon has an HBS MBA from HBS.” • Jon Frank

– Brown University, undergraduate

– Real Estate Finance with ING, start-up, then Harvard Business School

– Three years as a real estate executive in Chicago

– Own and manage multifamily properties in Chicago

• Raj Patil

– Went to Brown University, undergraduate

– Film work pre-film school (worked with Michael Phillips, Neil Moritz:

Taxi Driver, the Sting, Fast and Furious; story development…)

– Film post-film school (editing, sound editing, directing…storytelling)

And then in 2007, Admissionado was born.

• Admissionado is elite, and essay-focused.

• We have solved the whooooole thing.

It’s kinda like the Matrix.

• We have editors, non-profit people,

former adcom, MBAs, writers, and of

course, us. The way we see it, there are

no competitors.

• But don’t get me wrong, we will make

you WORK. Just ask anyone in the

room who’s worked with us...

Myth #1: “Admissionado can get me into bschool

because Jon has an MBA from HBS.”

Myth #2. “I am going to learn a lot in my classes

at business school." What do you get from an Elite B-School?

• To Fill Gaps in Your Background.

• To Gain Leadership Experience.

• To Get Promoted.

• To Gain a Western Perspective.

• To have FUN.

• To meet people. It’s not what you learn in

the class, it’s what you learn from the dude

sitting next to you in class.

Myth 2A: I want to go to bschool for freedom.

I want to learn new things, meet new people,

and find myself. Who knows what I’m gonna

do after school…

– Recruiting starts in October. You have

four weeks to find yourself.

– Loans anyone?

Myth #2. “I am going to learn a lot in my classes

at business school."

Many applicants hope that the world will open up to them when they graduate;

but in fact, the opposite is the case. The world gets much smaller once you

arrive at bschool.

“Hey Freddie, at bschool,

we are Under Pressure!”

Myth #3. “Fit is important, when considering schools.

I like finance—so I should likely go to CBS.”

• The Golden Rule: Go to the best school you can get into.

– Network

– Getting a job

– Mileage in 30 years

• A case study: raising money in the film business.

• Do not choose a school based on a scholarship.

• If top ten (or even 15) isnt right for you, THEN start

to look at other factors:

– Geography

– Specialized programs

• But mostly, just go to the best school you can get into. “Fit” is a myth!

Myth #4. “Schools want me to change the world.”

• What do the best applications do?

– They connect your past experiences to your future goals.

– They show that you have thought through your plan, and have

researched it.

– They show that you are going to get a J-O-B.

I mean, don’t get me wrong—that’s good too. But…

The most important thing schools want to know, is that you can get a job. Change the world if you must. And please make money. But for God’s sake, please get a job.

Myth 5: “Bschool applicants make many different

tyAdmissionados of mistakes in their essays.”

• 95% of aaaaall the apps we see make two main mistakes.

– Jargon

– I convinced my lead designer to utilize a unique hardiboard construction that allowed

load limits to support up to eighteen thousand tons of dispersed force, far more than

OSHA guidelines allowed. When we withstood CAD 5 testing, I knew we succeeded.

• Would a 14 year old get what you’re saying? A dentist? My grandmother?

• If not, redo it…

– TELLING, not SHOWING.

– TELLING: I earned the buy-in of senior management.

– SHOWING: I reached out to the CFO and COO each in three separate private meetings.

– The resume is a great place to tell us what you did. But in the essays, you need to show

us HOW you have done it,

* Not really Jon’s

grandmother.

Myth #6. “Essay questions matter.”

• Ignore essay questions.

• The entire game is predicated on your putting your

best foot forward. You have 4 stories that NEED to

be told. It doesn’t matter what the essay questions

are—tell these four stories. At all costs.

• Don’t let the wording of topic of any one question

force you to use your seventh or eighth best story in

an app

• The same is actually true with interviews. But we

are getting ahead of ourselves…

The exception that proves the rule: admittedly, some

essay questions DO require their own unique strategies.

• Of course we can get as specific as you’d like…

– For a failure essay, the bigger the better.

Think…bellyflop.

– For a risk essay, it only works if you make

it perfectly clear that the risk youre taking

is HUGE. Spell out what happens if you

DON’T take the risk—that’s the key.

– For a creative essay (Stern, Cornell, Booth)

you have two choices: be creative in the

content, or in the format. Or…both.

Myth #7. “There is no place for storytelling and

drama in MBA applications.”

• An example: walk across the room.

• Three Key Ingredients:

– OBJECTIVE

– OBSTACLES

– STAKES

• Your readers are on autopilot. But THESE three items

create an itch, and create tension.

• After all, you only have 5-7 minutes.

Myth #8. “The guy with the best accomplishments

has the best chance of getting in.”

Person A

• Has built 8 buildings

• Applying to HBS

Person B

• Has built 12 buildings

• Applying to HBS

Person A

• Career changer—spent

four years in unrelated field

• American-born Chinese,

built the building in Dubai

Person B

• Inherited prominent family

business

• All buildings are in home

town.

Myth #9. “Beyond my essays, there isn’t really

THAT much I can do to improve my application.”

• Letter of Recommendation Strategy

– 70/30 rule

– Do not write for them, or even micromanage. Just send the basics…

– Without specifics, you are sunk.

– Watch out for tone.

• Wait-List Strategy

– Check in every 3 or 4 weeks, only with updates

– Feel free to find additional recommenders

– Follow the directions carefully

Myth #7A. “MBA interviews are hard.”

• Interview Prep

– First, prep the obvious questions. Plenty of sites have

plenty of lists. Figure there are 25 of em—90% of the time,

that is ALL you’ll be asked.

– Go in with YOUR stories. Ignore the questions—this will

be genius especially if you run out of stories to tell, or get

stumped

– MBAs like to talk. Let em talk…

– Back-up plans. This year is the FIRST year that we are

hearing this being asked. Same with how to finance your

MBA’s by the way.

Myth #9. “Beyond my essays, there isnt really

THAT much I can do to improve my application.”

Myth #10. “$200K, and Jon’s saying I may not even

learn anything there? Maybe it’s not worth it...”

• It IS worth it. With my MBA I have:

– Found investors for my RE deals

– Made some of the best, closest friends of my life

– Learned from my peers about different ways of seeing

the world

– Earned the credibility to get ALL of my jobs post-MBA,

get investors to buy my buildings, and launch this company.

As yourselves, would you be here if I didn’t have an MBA.

And in a way, you’re my investors.

–As always, we are here to help.