A School's Board of Directors

[RutherfordTheBrave]

Just a quick question here. How influential are a top MBA program's board of directors (often called Board of Trustees, Overseers, etc)? Do they ever weigh in on admissions or help certain students make it through? How does this work exactly?

[Kaneisha Grayson]

Hi Rutherford,

To be honest, I'm not all that familiar with schools' "back door dealings" type of admission activities. (I wasn't a well-connected applicant when I applied and most of my clients aren't either.) However, if one of the trustees, overseers, or board members of a particular school actually knows you well (and hasn't just met you a few times and had polite small talk over cocktails) and can vouch for your candidacy, you will want to consider having them write one of your letters for you or perhaps even making a call to the admissions office.

Your question will probably be answered a bit more satisfactorily by someone with more experience with these kinds of invisible modes of influence-but I also doubt someone with that experience will post on a public forum.

My short answer is: Go ahead and use the connection if s/he actually knows you well. Otherwise, it's a waste of time and could potentially make you look bad.

Best of luck with your application!
Kaneisha

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hey there,

Kaneisha is spot on - when we have clients utilize specific connections (e.g. trustees) we make SURE they know the applicant well. Cursory association actually does more harm than good. When the connection doesn't really know you very well and you try to drop their name or use them, it appears terrible and makes it look like you're trying to game the system by throwing in "advantages" you have. Most MBA programs don't want folks like that in their classes.

That said, if the person knows you well - then absolutely ask for their support. If they can make a case for why they think you're a strong applicant AND cultural fit, then an admissions committee will definitely take that into consideration.

This is, effectively, the same advice for any recommender at large. A manager who knows you really well is always better than a partner or CxO who couldn't pick you out of a line up.

Good luck!

Bhavik