The Application Process

How do I present to the AdCom that I want to use the MBA to explore future career options?

The reason I ask is that it seems like the admission essay advices all say you should have a clear picture of what you can offer to the school and what the school can do for you. So I guess if I knew the exact path I want to pursue, that'd make my essays more concrete, but that is not the case here.

A little bit of background information. I have narrowed down the focus to entrepreneurship (my undergraduate concentration), general management, and non-profit. I understand that these focuses are not mututally exclusive, but I'd appreciate any suggestions that would present this to the AdCom.

Also, if someone could present a list of MBA programs that excell at all three of those areas, that'd be awesome. I'd also be interested to hear which MBA programs are more lenient about exploring concentration options.

Current target schools in order of preference: Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, UPenn.

Those general terms will not get you anywhere. If you are interested in general management and entrepreneurship, as well as the non-profit sector, you need to emphasize how these are connected. For example, maybe you are interested in working in consulting that is targeted at the non-profit sector. In other words, you are interested in creating innovative approaches that will lead non-profits towards their goals of a high return to stakeholders, etc. You need to emphasize why you are interested in non-profits specifically. This is where you can state your beliefs, principles, and goals, and explain how these will be multiplied by an MBA.

Definitely stay away from statements like, "I would like to pursue an MBA, because of my interest in exploring entrepreneurship, general management, and various opportunities in the non-profit sector."

You definitely need to be more specific in regards to your post-graduation goals. Admissions committees know that many goals change as students progress in the program however you need to demonstrate that you have thoroughly thought through the decision to attend business school. You should be able to communicate why the timing is right, why the school is a good fit, and how the degree will help you achieve your goals. You have chosen great schools for general management and entrepreneurship. Also consider UNC (Kenan-Flagler), Carnegie Mellon (Tepper), and Dartmouth (Tuck).

Let me add my (soon to be: graduate in 11 days!) alma mater to the list: Babson College. It has been ranked #1 in entrepreneurship by US News and World Reports 15 years in a row. I can attest to the fact that the curriculum focuses on opportunity identification and evaluation. Entrepreneurs need to have a general understanding of business, so the program is very well rounded (ie not specifially focused on finance, marketing, etc but touches on each).

Best wishes,

Tatiana

Tatiana: Babson is indeed on my watch list as well.

I guess the point is not that I don't have a vision. I want to apply entrepreneurial style/innovation in a non-profit organization since I see similarities in entrepreneurial ventures and non-profit organizations. I am not sure which concentration would allow me to do that to the fullest extent, so I am looking for schools that have a broad spectrum. Thus, besides the obvious entrepreneurship/non-profit, general management fits the broad spectrum line of thinking.

Stanford and Berkeley are on the top of my list because they have excellent reputation in BOTH entrepreneurship and non-profit.

BlueRain wrote:How do I present to the AdCom that I want to use the MBA to explore future career options?

The reason I ask is that it seems like the admission essay advices all say you should have a clear picture of what you can offer to the school and what the school can do for you. So I guess if I knew the exact path I want to pursue, that'd make my essays more concrete, but that is not the case here.

A little bit of background information. I have narrowed down the focus to entrepreneurship (my undergraduate concentration), general management, and non-profit. I understand that these focuses are not mututally exclusive, but I'd appreciate any suggestions that would present this to the AdCom.

Also, if someone could present a list of MBA programs that excell at all three of those areas, that'd be awesome. I'd also be interested to hear which MBA programs are more lenient about exploring concentration options.

Current target schools in order of preference: Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, UPenn.

You're not going to like my response.

I think you are better off waiting a year (or at least a round) and clarifying what you want to do with your MBA than applying without a fairly strong direction. And entrepreneurship, non-profit management, and general management does not provide clear direction or a credible MBA goal.

I just finished reading Ahead of the Curve about and by an HBS student who arrived at HBS without a clear goal or even a good reason for being there and ended his two year tenure without a job. It made for a frustrating, expensive two years. Still educational. But definitely not what it could have been or should have been.

MBA students are so overwhelmed by the richness of the MBA experience and the opportunities available that you really need to have more direction when you arrive in order to prioritize and make the most of it. You should do your exploration before b-school and enter with direction. Then if new opportunities open up, you can change direction and take advantage of them. But don't start without an idea of where you want to end up.

Linda,

Thank you for your honest feedback.

I do have a vision/goal in mind, see quote from previous post.

I want to apply entrepreneurial style/innovation in a non-profit organization since I see similarities in entrepreneurial ventures and non-profit organizations.

Your response was exactly what I DO NOT want to elicit from the AdCom. I want to go to a school that has excellent course offerings in all three areas so to achieve my vision, and when I said "explore career options", I meant finding positions out there that would fit my vision. AleksandrM's post actually contained a few potential ideas regarding how I'd apply my supposed skill set (thanks by the way ).

Linda Abraham wrote: I just finished reading Ahead of the Curve about and by an HBS student who arrived at HBS without a clear goal or even a good reason for being there and ended his two year tenure without a job. It made for a frustrating, expensive two years. Still educational. But definitely not what it could have been or should have been.

I know this is off topic, but how was that book, and how did the author obtain acceptance without a career goal?

From the reviews I read the author is quite critical not only HBS but all business schools.