A year and a half ago, I made a decision to pursue an MBA degree. The reason for my decision was two-fold. Although I loved my job as a senior IT analyst working for a major Canadian bank, I wanted to advance more quickly in my career. The second reason and perhaps more important one, was to be closer to my girlfriend living in the Maryland/DC area of the United States.

Here’s my story of how I got accepted to a top 50 (#44) school as ranked by US News with a relatively low 600 GMAT score and a very low 2.52 GPA.

Most MBA programs look at 6 main areas in considering whether to admit a candidate: Undergraduate GPA GMAT score Work experience Essay Interview References If you’re reading this, you likely already have your bachelor’s degree and several years of work experience under your belt. My goal is to help you ace the other parts of your application that will make you a standout candidate:

1) Resume

Your resume makes you stand out in a job application, but it can also set you apart in the MBA application process. Schools are not only looking for candidates that have worked for reputable companies and can demonstrate a series of steps highlighting career advancement, but mainly they want to enroll a student that can contribute something unique to the class. This is where I can help you develop your personal brand to help you stand out and align your strengths with qualities that are most valuable for the MBA program. Having had my resume completely revamped through the MBA career services, I can help you develop a professional looking resume that lists out key accomplishments rather than just tasks, as well as helping you determine what the best information to include would be that portrays you in the best possible light.

Pro Tip: The important thing to do is hone in on what your greatest strengths are that makes you stand out and that are most valuable for the MBA program by including key accomplishments rather than tasks, as I've learned from working with the MBA career services. And this is where an outside perspective can be helpful in terms of determining what best info to include that portrays you in the best possible light. "

2) Essay

Generally essays may vary in length and topic, but essentially the format for how to respond is the same. Questions may range from something specific as to how do you plan to use the MBA program to propel you forward in your career to something very general like Why Stanford? The key to success is to understand how to properly structure the essay to fit within the word limit while fully answering the question and ensuring a natural flow of thoughts and ideas. As an example, my admission essay for the University of Maryland had a 300 word limit and the question was how will an MBA from Smith benefit you in your future career?

Pro Tip: The best method is to structure your essay in a format that showcases your unique strengths and skillset without sounding boastful.

3) Interview Many candidates don’t pay serious attention to the interview and feel like if they received the interview, they’re almost guaranteed an MBA offer. This is certainly not the case as the interview process is almost as critical as the GMAT. In fact, according to Poets and Quants, “Business schools say that the single most important criteria for admission into a two-year MBA program is the interview with an applicant”.

Pro Tip: As a current MBA grad student who just finished my first semester, I know that the most important skill sets to highlight in your interview are: 1) clearly articulating why you are the best fit for an MBA program at that particular school, 2) learning to describe your unique value proposition, and 3) coming across as a likable person.

4) References

References can be a little tricky because you want to ask someone who knows you well and can attest to your recent accomplishments, so naturally the best person would be your current boss. At the same time there is certainly a risk factor involved because he/she will know that you plan to leave the company and you would be telling them several months in advance. Perhaps a better candidate to write the reference might be a teammate who is senior to you but not necessarily your manager and has directly witnessed your progress through the company and can testify to your accomplishments and successes. I can help you assess your network and determine who the best candidate would be to write you an awesome reference letter.

Pro Tip: If you find yourself in this situation, consider reaching out to a senior teammate and not necessarily your manager but has directly witnessed your progress through the company and can testify to your accomplishments and successes. It’s challenging enough to be admitted to a top MBA program, but that challenge is compounded further when you have a low undergraduate GPA and an average GMAT score. I know exactly how that feels because I’ve been in your shoes and have gone through the whole process before.

These are some insights that I wish I knew when I was applying - and if you have any questions about revamping your resume and personal essays, acing the interviews or knowing exactly what to say to best highlight your past accomplishments to be a standout candidate, feel free to message me or reach out to me at [email protected]. Happy to help in any way that I can!