Ask Stacy Blackman

I'm a married female and I know that being a female applicant is an advantage because women are an underrepresented category. I was wondering if the same logic would apply to being married? Would married applicants have an advantage because they would represent an underrepresented category?

After doing research, I know that schools like Tuck and Kellogg let spouses/partners audit classes for free. Do you know of any other top business schools that have this benefit for spouses? This information seems hard to find. Thanks!

LOL! if by some weird twist of fate, this eventually turns out to be true, wonder how many more females would get married before they apped

<continuing further>

Imagine the horror of the incoming class when they realise that all the females in their class are married!! the joys of hoping to find that One and then paying off a combined loan is now dust! Or the other perpetual dream of finding a rich partner and then not having to pay-off a loan!

Sad day indeed

p.s. I am sooo jobless

Neo2000, I'm just trying to figure out what schools can be considered safety schools, reach schools, etc. My GPA and GMAT scores are above average for the schools I want to go to, but I'm applying to ambitious schools. It's hard to consider a school like Darden a safety school, etc., but maybe it is if I have additional advantages like VA residency, female, etc. That's why I asked the question.

Admissions officers try to keep diversity in the classroom. The rationale for possibly having an advantage for being married was the same as being female. The percentages of them were underrepresented and needed to be increased in order to promote diversity. If enough applicants applied to fill the entire class to be married and female (your example), my rationale says that those applicants would now be at a disadvantage to gain admission because they are now considered over-represented. And how does an entire class of married females provide diversity?

mbaapp,
My post was meant to be humorous.

However, i would caution you against assuming any school to be a "Safety". That is a theoretical concept-- just because an applicant's numbers look good against a school's numbers does not necessarily guarantee an interview/admission. It only means you have a better chance of getting invited to interview. There are many ways to mess up.
As an Indian applicant formerly in the I/I/M group, i know the lows of getting denied by a "Safety School".

As someone who's been on MBA forums for a long time, this is the first time i've seen someone ask if being married is an advantage. I know adcoms prefer diversity but i doubt that extends as far as marital status.

Diversity can be interpreted in many ways, and so far b-schools seemed to have defined that in terms of nationality, work-ex, type of work-ex, and GMAT. Being married is a life experience-- it is not an advantage or disadvantage. A lot of people dont believe in the institution of marriage (Susan Sarandon is a famous example)

As for you rationale that b-schools need more married women, i'm sorry but it appears that you could be biased in making such an observation simply because you are in that position. I'm not sure you would do the same if you are a single female. So far, no research has proven the merits of needing more married females in b-schools nor is there anything contrary to that.

You are focusing too much on the variables and not enough on the constants. You do not control how many married females will apply this year. Therefore you do not know how stiff your competition is. What you do know is yourself, your life-experiences and how your essays are going to shape-up. Irrespective of your competition, you should be strong enought to get into Darden on your own merit, not because you are a married-female.