MBA: How an Underdog Got Admitted to an M7 MBA

How to Get Admission to a Top MBA

Typing up this article gives me mixed feels. Columbia Business School was my dream M7 MBA program, and I did everything in my power to get accepted, only to decline my admittance. I’ve gotten asked by a lot of different people how I got in, here’s my story. This method can be applied to any grad program (Law, Business, maybe Medicine?)

Before continuing on, it is important that you first read and understand this article. It is the core tool needed.

My Stats

First, like every single Top MBA admittance website, let’s go over my background, work experience, stats, etc.

Academic: BSc Finance, Arizona State University – W. P. Carey School of Business. I graduated in 2.5 years.

• Cumulative GPA: 3.74
• Major GPA: 3.93

Standardized Exams: I struggled with the GMAT and studied countless hours, my practice exams were always above 700 (710-760), but would not perform on the actual thing. That is why I knew I had to do something over and above to get accepted to an M7 MBA (Average GMAT for CBS was 732 when I applied)

• GMAT: 670
• Executive Assessment: 160 (this exam is created by the same company as the GMAT, and I ended up doing really well on it) Columbia’s average was 150.

Demographic:

• Age: 23 when I applied (born in 1996) – Columbia’s average age is 28
• Race: White
• Sex: Male
• Citizenship: United States/Lebanese

My Story at a High Level

An important part of your application is to make sure your messaging is consistent across your essay, extracurricular activities, student coffee chats, conversations with admissions, etc. It should help people remember you.

I will not bore you guys with my story, I will keep it high level.

• My Baba and Uncle were small business owners
• I got curious as a kid hearing them always talk about different businesses
• Later on, my Baba helped me open a brokerage account in 8th grade to further learn more about business and investing (this was before the Robinhood days)
• I fell in love with the concept of investing and knew I wanted to become some sort of investor, just was not sure what kind.
• While in high school, my first job was at a car wash as a detailer. The business ran into trouble and there was nothing I could do to help it as a high school student. Given my attachment to the business, this left me upset but helped shape my future.
• The struggling car wash helped me figure out what kind of investor I wanted to be. I wanted to go into distressed investing, buying up businesses to help them get back on their feet.
• I figured management consulting would help me understand businesses operationally, figure out what makes companies fail, and learn how to fix these operational issues. While at Deloitte, I worked on an operational restructuring and loved the work, but I realized I needed to also understand the other side of the picture, financial restructuring.
• I decided I needed to make the transition to restructuring Investment Banking to learn how to financially restructure struggling businesses. In the process, I would also learn how companies got into the mess in the first place.
• My purpose for the MBA was to transition to a restructuring investment banking role. Combining the consulting and financial restructuring skills, my long term goal was to open up my own investment firm that purchased distressed small businesses and turned them around.

The MBA Application: Essays

First, I gave you an overview of my stats and my story. Next, I will dive into the components of the application. After, I will mention the steps I took to make sure my application was not overlooked because of my below-average statistics. Lastly, I will mention any outside resources I used throughout the MBA application process.

CBS had pretty straightforward essays, which I appreciated because I knew exactly what I wanted to do post-MBA and long term. The hardest part of the essays was staying within the word count.

Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job? (500 words)

• The first half of my essay focused on the past actions that lead me to where I am today, and the last 250 words focused on my post-MBA goal and my long-term goal. My goal was to build up the suspense in the first part of the essay and make sure the interviewer understands my thought process for why I want to do what I want to do post MBA, and also keep them engaged. I basically took my cold calling “story” and expanded it into an essay form. So my message was consistent throughout the application.
• The goal for me was to make everything click. I wanted it all to flow together and I wanted the admissions committee and my interviewer to understand exactly why MBA. Make sure you answer the question being asked and make sure your post-MBA goal is realistic. CBS and other schools care about their employment reports, they want to make sure you will be employable post-graduation.

Essay 2: Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you? (250 words)

• For me, this was a super easy question. My first draft was almost 500 words, so I had to cut the essay in half.
• I focused mine on these 4 main categories:
  • I mentioned specific clubs/programs at CBS that fit my short term goal, and I mentioned the people I met with from those clubs, this shows commitment to the school and club.
  • Next, I mentioned a specific professor and classes that would help me achieve my long term goal.
  • Then I talked about how important the location was, and why I needed to be in NYC. I mentioned that I wanted to partner with the NYC Small Business Administration to analyze trends in small business bankruptcies so that I can learn common traits and best practices to turn around these small businesses.
  • Lastly, I wanted to show that I am also a normal person and that I can connect with my classmates outside of the classroom. I mentioned another club I was eager to get involved with, the basketball club.

Essay 3: changes all the time, so I will leave that out.

Optional Essay: Is there any further information that you wish to provide the Admissions Committee? If so, use this space to provide an explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history. This does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points.

• This is where I discussed my low GMAT score. I gave examples when I was trusted by my partners at Deloitte to speak in front of F500 executives and how my low verbal score on my GMAT is not indicative of my English skills.

The MBA Application: Other Parts

Letter of Recs: I was very close with a lot of the senior partners at Deloitte Consulting and could have asked them for a letter of rec. I did not think they would write me the best letter of rec because they would not be able to dig deep into specific experiences, which is what admission is looking for. I had 2 past managers of mine write my letter of rec because they could give different perspectives that could paint a full picture of me as a person. They also were no longer employees of Deloitte when I asked them for the letter of rec. That is completely okay!

• Manager 1: Strategy Manager at J&J – She was my first manager on a client project. She was able to highlight leadership, analytical skills, critical thinking, and attitude with specific examples from our project.
• Manager 2: Principal at BCG – He was also a manager at the time I worked with him, but he managed the Strategy & Innovation Practice launch (extracurricular). Here he was able to highlight my ability to work without structure, and my ability to navigate conversations with senior leaders. He also mentioned how I was able to take feedback and immediately adapt.
• Make sure your letters highlight complimenting characteristics. Do research on the school and figure out which features need to be highlighted in the letter of rec.

Extracurricular: I included 3 post-collegiate extracurricular activities and 3 collegiate activities. Remember, work-related extra initiatives count as extracurricular. Anything outside of your core job responsibilities. At Deloitte, we call them PRDs (also known as non-billable free work – also known as the worst thing ever)

• Post College:
  • Deloitte Basketball Team Captain (NYC)
  • Strategy & Innovation Practice Launch (Deloitte – PRD)
  • Head of Biz Dev at EVVA.io
• During College:
  • Harfouche Career Prep
  • Unico Cases (Founder)
  • LIFE (Lebanese International Finance Executives)

There is a section in the application to list all Alumni & Students you have spoken with. There is also a section to list all the events you attended. This helps admissions understand your commitment to CBS. By speaking to students, alumni, and attending events, this shows your commitment. I attended 3 admission events and 3 unofficial class visits. More on that in the “How to Stand Out” section.

The Interview: My absolute favorite part of the whole application process – she was the coolest person. First off, getting an interview means you are that much closer to the finish line. Killing your interview does not guarantee admission, but bombing your interview will kill your admission.

• Have smart questions about their career if it interests you. If it doesn’t, no need to get deep into their career
• Have a lot of focused CBS (or MBA of choice) questions prepared for your interviewer. This is an opportunity to learn more about the school and show him/her your excitement for the school.
• The question the interviewer is constantly asking himself/herself is “Would I want to have this person in my alumni network in the future?” and “Will he/she fit at CBS (or MBA of choice)?”
• By this point, you should have your story nailed down from all your cold emails/coffee chats.
• Be yourself. If you don’t click with the interviewer, it could be a sign you might not fit with the school’s culture. That is okay too!

How to Stand Out

Networking: This was the key to getting admitted in my opinion. Obviously no one knows the exact reason they get in, but I believe networking was the reason why admissions may have spent more time on my application, focusing more on my story and less on my statistics.

Below I’ll go into the details on what type of networking you should be doing.

• CBS Portal: Within the application, there is a portal where you can speak to current students. You are able to filter on different criteria, and the portal will present to you students from the Hermes society who you can speak with.
  • Take advantage of this. This was an opportunity to really learn about the school and the program. I spoke to someone from the basketball club, the distressed investing & restructuring club, and the private equity program. The students gave advice on the application, incorporated throughout this article.
  • If that current student really liked you and thought you could be a great fit at CBS, they will refer you to admissions. I spoke to 16 students, and 4 verbally told me they referred me to admissions.
• Alumni: Speak to alumni! Do an advanced LinkedIn search for alumni (learn how to do that here) and send them a cold email. I found that CBS alumni were extremely helpful and were always happy to hop on the phone to talk about their 2-year party at B school.

• Current Students: There might be a student you found on LinkedIn who interests you and does not appear on the CBS application portal. Send him a cold email/LinkedIn message. CBS email formats are all over the place, so you might have better luck just messaging him/her directly on LinkedIn.

Events: In addition to networking, you need to attend CBS sponsored events. This is an opportunity for you to:

• Show your commitment to the school
• Learn about CBS and specific programs, which you can then highlight in your essay. I used something I learned from an event in my essay. I also found out about the Executive Assessment test during an event.

Class Visits: There are 2 types of class visits

• Formal: These are the class visits that admission puts together. You will have other applicants in with you during that class visit. I personally never did a formal admission sponsored class visit.
• Informal: I attended 3 of these class informal visits. Most of the students invited me to attend class with them. Once you sneak into the class, you become just like any other student there. Personally, I preferred these because I chose which classes I wanted to attend, and it was in the most real-life setting, not a formal admission “selling” event.

Outside Sources Used

There is an infinite amount of resources out there when it comes to MBA. There are a bunch of admission consultants, different GMAT prep programs, etc. I used these resources.

GMAT:

• Manhattan Prep: I was not a fan of the Manhattan Prep hybrid program (online classes + self-study). I did the Manhattan prep program first and was not successful in achieving my score.
• The Economist GMAT: I preferred this program because it was an adaptive software that I could do at my own pace. Once you hit the start button, the software chooses which lessons and problems to throw in front of me.
• You don’t have to take the GMAT, you can take the GRE or EA. I don’t have experience with the GRE though and can’t speak to it.

Admission Consultant: You do not need an admissions consultant. I spoke to many consultants (all the famous ones you see online) and was told I had an extremely low chance of getting in and not waste my time. I ignored what they said and kept working on my application and ended up meeting an admission consultant who I really enjoyed working with. Before she met with me, my letters of recs were completed, my essay was on version 5, and my story was put together. All I needed the admission consultant for was to help make my essay come to life.

• Sparrey Consulting Group: I used this consultant for my essays. Andrea was amazing to work with, and she really helped me shave off words from my essay while making my story pop out more. I give her a ton of credit, and I really enjoyed working with her. Shout out to Andrea!

Friends: Finally, I had my friends go over my essay. I reached out to my friends who were successful in the MBA application process and who aren’t in business at all! You guys know who you are and I greatly appreciate the help, couldn’t have done it without you guys!

Things to Keep In Mind

• Admission always mentions they will take a look at your application in a “holistic” point of view. This is absolute BS in my opinion. Unless you have done something beyond impressive (cured cancer, went to the moon, sold your company for $XXX), they will treat you as another statistic. Admission does not want to hurt their statistics. These are some of the main points they care about (Standardized Exam, Job Offer by graduation, GPA)
• Employable: When admission is going through your story, they want to make sure your goals are realistic and attainable, they want to make sure you don’t end up in the unemployed statistic once you graduate because this will hurt the school’s stats.
• Keep Admissions in the Loop: Every time I attended a class, I would email admissions to let them know. They save these emails in your file. I swung by admission and put a face to the name as well, it helped that I lived pretty close to campus. I put in the effort to make sure my application was given a detailed thought and not a quick glance.
• Admissions Consultants are not perfect. There was lots of advice that I did not incorporate into my essay because I believed it was diverting from my true story. I did incorporate a ton of their feedback though, they helped my essay flow smoothly off the tongue while shaving off words.
• Essays: You can go 10% over on the word count

If this article helped you, please let us know in the comments below! We’d love to shout you out in the weekly Baba newsletter.