A critical key to success in the MBA admissions process is targeting the right MBA programs for application. When commencing the MBA admissions process, it can be difficult to immediately identify which programs might be most suitable and where you might be most competitive.
A quick survey of MBA rankings may provide clues – and our own tiered ranking system provides additional guidance in terms of which programs are similar from a competitive standpoint – but beyond those basic resources, Clear Admit also has two unique tools to help you quickly arrive at your list of target MBA programs:
These tools will provide you with feedback on your candidacy while also helping you to understand how other candidates selected their programs – and what the outcomes were for those selections. Let’s take a look at each tool:
MBA DecisionWire: Identify Similar Programs
MBA DecisionWire is designed to allow successful candidates to post their decision journeys, from the schools to which they applied, to where they were admitted, and which MBA program they ultimately selected.
The filtering option within DecisionWire then allows other candidates to search individual programs and see where else enrolled or admitted candidates to one school may have applied. For example, a recent search on Michigan / Ross for enrolled students yielded more than 80 results. A quick perusal of those results indicates that 35 of those candidates also applied to Duke / Fuqua. Thus if you’ve already identified Ross as a program of interest, you might also consider Fuqua. This type of quick analysis can be repeated with different programs, until you’ve identified half a dozen programs that appear to fit your credentials and aspirations.
MBA ApplyWire: Get a Profile Review
Once you’ve identified a number of target programs, you can visit MBA ApplyWire and post that list of programs, along with details regarding your overall application profile and target industry(ies) and location(s).
At this stage, the applicant community, along with experts from Clear Admit and Veritas Prep, will respond by providing additional guidance, based on the content you have provided. You can also filter ApplyWire by MBA program and look at the advice other candidates have received to further help hone your application strategy.
Using these two tools early in the application process will help you to easily identify the right programs for you to apply and quickly move into the next phase of the application process: planning your application strategy and completing your applications. Best of luck!
