Many MBA admissions officers will tell candidates that if they can complete their applications and submit them in Round 1, then they should do so. Most MBA programs will also tell candidates that they should try to avoid Round 3, as the majority of the places in their classes will have been filled. So, what does that say about Round 2?

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Investment bankers. Consultants. Software Engineers. What do these three groups have in common? You may have answered, “over-representation,” and if you are among these groups, you probably groaned as well.  Well, all is not lost for the over-represented. While you cannot change your work history, you can change the way you introduce yourself to the Admissions Committees. So, we, at MBA Mission, have compiled a few simple strategies for introductory paragraphs, as they pertain to personal statements (Questions like: “Discuss your career history. How will an MBA help you achieve your goals?”), which will help you standout.

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Many MBA candidates believe that admissions committees have narrowed down their criteria for selecting applicants over the years and that each school has one distinct “type” that it is looking for. So, in this world of stereotypes, HBS is only looking for leaders, Kellogg is only looking for marketing students, Chicago is only looking for finance students and in some extreme cases people actually believe that MIT is only looking for “eggheads.”

Of course, these stereotypes are not accurate.

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I was visiting a top-5 MBA program a few months ago and asked the admissions staff a very direct question about alumni influence. A somewhat incredulous admissions official responded: “We get ten letters each year from [globally famous alumnus whose name mbaMission is withholding], telling us that this or that MBA candidate is the greatest thing since sliced bread. He gets upset when we don’t admit ‘his’ applicants, but what makes him think that he deserves ten spots in our class?”

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A few weeks ago, we speculated that application volume might fall this year. Nonetheless, application volume will still be near its highs at most top-schools, so many candidates are no doubt feeling added pressure as the first-round deadlines loom.  We have a few simple suggestions that we hope will enable you to minimize your anxieties and possibly even let go of your applications on deadline days.

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The unemployment rate (currently 9.7%) seems poised to move into double digits for the first time since June of 1983. The International Monetary Fund is predicting continued global economic contraction in 2009 and a return to growth in 2010. So, shouldn’t one conclude that if the future seems brighter than the present, many aspiring MBAs will seize the moment to apply to Business School now, ride out the economic storm and be poised to graduate in a much stronger economy in 2012? Intuitively, the answer might seem to be “yes,” but historical trends and current indicators seem to point to a more nuanced conclusion.

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