Among the many celebrations this time of year by candidates who are accepted to their business school of choice, there are also many disappointments. Even with a “perfect” application and high scores, the competition at top schools is fierce and the evaluation process is not “perfect”. Candidates who are dinged from their school(s) of choice should be encouraged by the opportunity to re-apply, however they need to understand the perspective of the admissions committee in order to do this effectively.

This post was originally published in Poets & Quants

As with many things in life, timing is the key for 3^rd round MBA applicants. Successful  applicants effectively demonstrate that now is the key point at which they need an MBA education to reach their career goals. Unfortunately the reasons for applying in the 3^rd round for applicants often relate to the wrong type of timing:  they were too unorganized to get the application complete during the 1^st or 2^nd rounds, or worse, they got dinged from their dream schools and are now making a “last ditch effort” to get into a “back-up” program. And the burden of proof is placed on the candidate to show otherwise.

As we have mentioned before, if you are interested in Entrepreneurship or simply have an idea for a business, this is the essay you should choose among the Columbia optional essays. Again, they are not evaluating the quality of your implied business plan, but rather that you understand the basics of one and can put together a compelling pitch.

As with many essays, an attention grabbing first sentence is critical. Your essay needs to represent an effective elevator pitch, and if the beginning is not interesting your audience will tune out before they get to their “floor”.

An interesting article on “Elevator Pitches” ironically comes from the HBR blog network. Check out thoughts from Jeffrey Hayzlett on the content and importance of the first “eight” seconds of an effective pitch, as well as other parallels that should be incorporated into your essay. 

A recent article in Deal Magazine provides a great overview of Private Equity, past and present, in the Windy City. It is useful and interesting information for anyone interested in roles in PE/VC.

One of the most common and critical questions MBA applicants have is “to what schools should I apply”? You are going to spend two intense years in an environment and it is critical that the school you choose has classmates, a curriculum, and career opportunities with which you match best. Career opportunities are best understood by learning the types and number of companies who recruit at each school. Here is a link to a very good summary by Poets and Quants of hiring industries at the top US MBA programs.