What You Don’t Know About MBA Admissions Data Forms
As we approach the new year and many of our readers begin to work in earnest on their round two applications for the January deadlines, we would like to turn our attention to an oft overlooked element of the MBA application process: the application data forms. These forms—typically referred to as ‘data forms’ for short—are the online forms that one fills out when applying to a business school. While the forms used to be straightforward and brief (essentially amounting to contact information, academic information, and work history), they have been expanding in some areas and have become an increasingly important part of the mix of application materials. In the wake of an industry-wide reduction in the number of essays required by each school, many programs have actually shifted questions away from the essays and into these forms (as ‘short answer’ questions). As such, it is important to pay close attention and address the data forms early—and to avoid leaving them for completion on application deadline day. In fact, it can be rather dangerous to not give data forms the same amount of time and care you would afford any other component of your application.
In this tip we will address the commonly asked questions across all school’s data forms. For our next admissions tip, we will examine some of the more unusual questions asked by a few schools.
Contact Information
Schools need to communicate with applicants at various stages of the admissions process. It is important that they are able to do so, so the contact information questions address this issue. Most communication these days will occur online, so obviously the e-mail address is important. It is probably best to use a personal e-mail address, rather than a work e-mail address, so schools can continue to communicate with you once you have left your work. You should also make sure the e-mail address is appropriate, mrhunk@aol.com might not send the right signals. For those students who are admitted, a regular mailing address will be used to send out more detailed information in the form of an “admissions packet.” Often times, schools will ask for a current address, and a permanent address. These can be the same, but the difference will occur, for example, when a candidate is working on a temporary assignment.
Background Information
Schools will ask a set of questions to better understand your background. They will generally ask about your parents, specifically their employment status and their highest level of educational attainment. This can be meaningful for the admissions committees who might be seeking out those candidates who have achieved careers that are very different from the achievements of their parents. It also signals those who are first generation in terms of attending college. This may signal a candidate’s grit and determination. On the other hand, a candidate who has parents who are highly successful and went to elite schools may benefit from a bit of an “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” bias. Some schools will also ask about siblings, partners and children.
The majority of schools also seek to learn if your relatives have connections with their program, or the wider institution.
Academics
The key to addressing the academics questions is to follow the specific directions of each school. They may want a PDF of a transcript to be uploaded of your undergraduate school record, or they may want all transcripts from all schools you have attended, whether for additional coursework, transfer credits and so forth. Most schools will ask for your overall GPA, and also will be explicit on whether to convert a GPA that is not on a 4.0 scale; the common rule in this regard is to not convert, and to identify what the scale is. Some schools ask specifically if you have covered course work in accounting, statistics, calculus and economics. These are not pre-requisites, but help schools identify your analytic skills. The majority of schools will ask for self-reported transcripts upon application and only require official transcripts after they have made an admissions decision, but some might ask you to bring those documents if you are invited to interview.
Work History
All schools will ask you to upload a resume. While some programs will be specific about the length of the resume, keep in mind that they generally prefer one page. Beyond uploading a resume, you will also be able to complete a work history section in the online application, where you enter each of your work positions. Most schools do allow a new entry for each new position, regardless of whether it is for the same company, a few require just one entry per employer. Each school will tell you specifically how it wants you to enter this data. For most schools you are asked a variety of questions, including beginning and ending salary, bonuses, and so forth. You should also have an option to complete your job function and role. This is a very important text box to complete with considerable thought. You will have a limited number of characters, usually, to establish your growth and impact. One or two schools do not have this option, which places more weight on your resume and essays. Schools will generally ask you how many years work experience you will have, at the time of matriculation, rather than the time of application. Some will also ask how many years of management experience you have.
Test Scores
All the schools we cover accept both the GMAT and the GRE tests. It is important to read the instructions for each school in terms of how to report your test scores. A few schools want to know all your scores, and may look at the individual breakdowns of components of the scores. A few schools also ask whether you plan to retake the test, after you submit your application, at least one school asks if you would retake the test if asked. Schools will also require a test for English communications for those who are not native English speakers (unless the language of instruction for undergraduate was English, in which case most schools will offer a waiver). While the TOEFL is the most commonly used test, there are also other tests that schools will use like the IELTS, so it is important to review the requirements of each school you are interested in.
Other Activities
Most, but not all schools will ask you about your activities outside of work, and your extra-curricular activities while you were an undergraduate student. They want to see if you are well-rounded, and seek to identify other passions you might have, that will make for a richer MBA learning environment for all. It is also a good place to show case additional opportunities for your leadership and ability to make an impact. Each school asks these questions slightly differently. Some schools ask about hobbies, some do not. Some schools ask you to list the most important activities in which you have been involved, forcing you to prioritize with a limited number, some schools have free-flowing text boxes for you to answer the questions. One school does not ask about these activities at all, but their instructions for the resume clearly state to include them in that document. Regardless, it is important to read directions carefully, and consider your application in a holistic manner.
Goals
Probably the biggest shift in the use of data forms in the last few years is the increasing use of this medium to examine your career goals. You may be asked about your short-term goal (e.g. your career path directly out of the MBA program) and some schools also ask about your long-term goal (the position you would like to hold 5+ years after earning the MBA). A few schools will also ask for an alternative short-term goal if your preferred goal does not work out. Addressing these questions with considerable thought will be crucial. Schools really want candidates that have thought thoroughly regarding why they are applying. Some school have stopped asking these questions in the essays, so they rely on the data form answers.
Marketing questions
Finally, a few schools use the data forms to understand how you first learned about the program, and what other marketing events you may have attended. They might also asked who you met and know, from the school, during the process of putting your application together. If you have developed a network of alumni at the school and these questions are being asked, make sure you highlight who they are. Much like the questions for background information, any time you can highlight your connections to the school can only be an advantage.
For our next admissions tip, we will explore more of the unusual questions that a few schools ask in their data forms, which cover issues like the feared “To which other schools are you applying?” as well a move to ask more internationally focused questions.
This article on MBA Admissions Data Forms has been edited and republished from our sister site, Clear Admit.
Check out more MBA admissions advice you cannot miss here.
NBMBAA Announces Georegtown McDonough Partnership
Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business has announced a new partnership with the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) as part of the first installment of the NBMBAA Collegiate Partnership Program. According to a press release, the program aims to increase awareness and facilitate access to graduate and business education programs in professional fields across the country. Continue reading…
What Is Your 2018 MBA Resolution?
For those who aren’t in a post-New Years Eve hibernation, 2018 is here, and that means actually following through on all those promises you hastily made an hour before the year officially began—including your 2018 MBA resolution.
You and every other person in a five mile radius will pack your preferred gym for the next few weeks, dutifully following through on the promises they made themselves. And while the frustration of waiting, waiting, and still waiting for the bench press to open up is inevitably going to sit in, you still have an opportunity to utilize that newfound resolution energy into your MBA degree.
Start of this new year by forming productive habits, achievable goals, and a vision of where you want to end up! #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/igYQmNtI3C
— FOX MBA & MS (@FoxMBA) January 2, 2018
But, where do you start?
2018 MBA Resolution Baby Steps
Ordering a multi-thousand dollar exercise bike at the stroke of midnight might have been a more curious impulse, but there are plenty of non-expensive efforts you can make going into a brand new year.
The MIT Sloan School of Management revealed some of its favorite books from the previous year from its distinguished faculty and alumni, including the timely “The Power of Little Ideas: A Low Risk, High Reward Approach to Innovation,” by senior lecturer David Robertson. Which, in itself, can provide a powerful set of ideas to harness that newfound resolution energy.
Looking to up your tech-savvy skillset? Head over to Product Hunt, which provides an impossibly lengthy list of new apps and tools from startup companies that can do almost everything: from learning valuable developer tools to reforming your daily task routine.
Be Wary of Impossible Goals
According to Chicago Booth behavioral science experts, people don’t tend to follow through on grander resolutions.
“‘The problem with big resolutions is that motivation tends to wane over time,’ says Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach, who studies motivation and decision making. People start out strong, but then reality sets in as they realize it’s easier to set goals than to carry them out. ‘The problem with persisting is that our priorities change in the course of a day, a week, a year,’ says Fishbach. We may wake up in the morning determined to watch what we eat, but by the afternoon, we’re distracted—and start snacking again. Or we may feel determined to invest more time in relationships, but that slips our mind when an important work deadline looms. ‘Successful goal pursuit,’ she says, ‘requires employing strategies that keep us on track as our priorities momentarily shift away.'”
An important part of Fishbach’s research revealed that setting more frequently occurring goals is important to stay on track. This means, “Instead of an annual goal, set a monthly goal. Instead of weekly, make it daily.” When more smaller, reasonable projects are completed, the end goal is more probable. And the more probable a goal is, the greater the motivation, according to Booth marketing professor Oleg Urminsky.
“Proximity to the goal increases motivation. If you’re a rat in a maze, you run faster the closer you get to the end.”
Embrace The Eventual Setback
Anyone who has gone through a diet is more than likely familiar with the concept of a cheat day. While scouring cake one week into your shiny new diet may feel like a small failure, it doesn’t mean it’s time to give up.
According to marketing researchers Marissa A. Sharif and Suzanne B. Shu, authors of the 2017 study “The Benefits of Emergency Reserves: Greater Preference and Persistence for Goals That Have Slack with a Cost” in the Journal of Marketing Research, having a few “mulligan” occurrences is normal and should not deter your overall aim.
“What this suggests is that the perfect goal to set for yourself is probably a tough one but with the explicit allowance for a mulligan or two so you won’t be discouraged by the occasional slip up,” writes Washington Post reporter Katherine L. Milkman.
It’s Time To Go After That MBA
We at MetroMBA may be vocal advocates of an MBA, but numbers speak for themselves. MBA salaries at the top schools in the world hit a record high last year, according to the Financial Times, sitting at an eye-popping $142,000 USD average by the start of 2017—a $7,000 jump from the previous year.
Some of the world’s biggest companies, such as Amazon, are on MBA “hiring sprees” as it rapidly expands its business, indicating the increasingly high demand for graduates.
And if all else fails, just embrace it!
I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions. At all. In fact, I vow to get fatter, more deceitful, spend more frivolously, and enter more toxic relationships. These are my New Year’s Regressions.
— ShinigamE (@WWEBigE) January 1, 2018
Gear Up For These January MBA Deadlines
The next round of MBA admissions is swiftly approaching, with the eve of 2018 almost here. Time to mark those calendars!
New York City
The NYU Stern School of Business, Columbia Business School, and Rutgers Business School, Newark/New Brunswick are the big headliners when it comes to deadlines in the New York City metro in January.
The Forham University Gabelli School of Business, and the Syracuse University Whitman School of Management Online MBA program also have deadlines in the first weeks of the new year. Click here for more information on upcoming New York City metro deadlines.
The third round for application deadlines to Cornell’s Tech MBA on its new Roosevelt Island campus arrives January 10, 2018.
Los Angeles
The biggest Los Angeles metro business school institutions all have a slew of deadlines ready to pass within the first weeks of the new year, including the UCLA Anderson School of Management‘s full-time MBA, USC Marshall‘s part-time program, as well as the Claremont University Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management‘s part-time MBA.
Take a look at the coming deadlines in the Los Angeles metro here.
Toronto
Two Toronto metro schools have deadlines in early January, with the Ivey Business School full-time, Accelerated, and EMBA deadlines all falling on January 8, 2018. The second round deadline to the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management‘s full-time MBA also falls on January 8.
Take a look at the coming deadlines in the Toronto metro here.
Chicago
Two of the most prominent business schools in the entire Chicago metro—Chicago Booth and Northwestern Kellogg—feature a bevy of full-time, part-time, and Evening MBA deadlines before January 10. As well, the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University’s full-time MBA for its annual spring intake arrives on January 15, 2018.
Just outside of the city, on the near border of Indiana, the Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business’ second round deadline for its full-time MBA program is set for January 9.
Get familiar with the coming deadlines in the Chicago metro here.
The second round of deadlines for the Northwestern Kellogg part-time and full-time MBA programs arrives on Jan. 10, 2018.
Boston
In Boston, the heart of America’s higher education, every January is a major month for several of the country’s most prominent MBA programs. Indeed, Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan, as well as the Questrom School of Business at Boston University, the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, and Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business all have MBA deadlines right at the beginning of the new year for various MBA programs.
Take a look at the coming deadlines in the Boston metro here.
For updated deadline information in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London, click here.
Kings of the North: Should You Get a Part-Time MBA in Chicago or Toronto?
In many ways, Chicago and Toronto are very similar world class cities: Both are situated on a Great Lake, host an “Original Six” hockey team, and both metros suffer from “second city” inferiority complexes. Both metros also have plenty of competitive business school options for professionals who want to earn an MBA. Continue reading…
How To Break Into the International Business World in San Diego
Known for its beautiful beaches, perfect weather, and being the home to Comic-Con, San Diego is the ideal destination for those seeking serious studies and fun in the sun. Located a mere 100 miles south of the entertainment capital of the world, San Diego is surrounded by some North America’s busiest ports, and due to its location directly on the border with Tijuana, Mexico, large portions of its population and workforce cross the border daily. Aside from being an economic powerhouse, Southern California’s diverse landscape and international visibility make it one of the premier tourist industries on the planet. The advantages of this region are innumerable, especially compared to the rest of the country. Natural Splendor aside, San Diego Also boasts a booming biotech industry and is located in the richest state in the nation. If California was its own country, it would have the sixth largest economy in the world just between the U.K. and France.
San Diego’s multicultural environment and bustling trade economy make it an excellent place to earn an MBA with a career focus in international business. Below, we’ve laid out four of our favorite SD schools to earn the degree.
Our Favorite San Diego International MBA Programs
California International Business University (CIBU)
The California International Business University offers an ideal San Diego international MBA. In addition to the San Diego campus, CIBU has campuses in China, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Denmark, it’s home country. From the time the school was started, its mission was to provide students with a unique international education that would ensure that they entered the business world with a well-rounded perspective upon graduation. Since the school has only 300 students, it is an excellent option for students seeking more individualized attention.
Fermanian School of Business – Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego’s Fermanian School of Business offers 10-day international trips to cities in Europe, Asia, and South America. These trips are open to all MBA students, in order to help MBAs gain a global perspective, and an understanding of the business practices and ethics in cultures around the world. Fermanian is also ideal for students looking to pursue their MBA in a values-focused environment, as the school integrates Christian principles into their curriculum and culture.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: What Are The Highest Paid MBA Salaries in San Diego?
Fowler College of Business Administration – SDSU
MBA students looking for an education tailored to international business would be wise to look at the San Diego State University Fowler College of Business Administration’s International Business Specialization. Students in this program are groomed to take on significant roles with multinational enterprises, nonprofits, and government agencies. This specialization offers electives such as international business finance, international marketing, and global supply chain management.
University of San Diego School of Business Administration
The International MBA (IMBA) at the University of San Diego’s School of Business Administration is an 11-month program that includes a site visit to Madrid, as well as an international consulting project that will involve working with companies in Asia, Latin America, or Europe. Students will spend one summer in Madrid before returning to the San Diego campus. Eventually, all students will complete an international consulting project that will give them the opportunity to problem-solve on a global scale.
