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Not all b-school applicants are quant superstars with a few years of Wall Street experience under their belt. If youre a nontraditional applicant, here are a few pieces of advice.
2. Demonstrate leadership.
Be creative if necessary. Influenced management at your company to undertake a successful venture? Led a dangerous mountain expedition? Oversaw a construction site with 300 workers? Started a non-profit that helps businesses become more sustainable?
Odds are that if youre a non-traditional applicant, you have a knack for leadership; otherwise you wouldnt be interested in management in the first place. Dont panic, however, if you feel there are no opportunities to display leadership in your current situation. Leadership is about action, not titles. Here are five lesser known, but real and substantial ways to demonstrate the quality: Mitigate or minimize risk for a group Influence others Achieve consensus across groups Recognize opportunity
only one in your circle with business inclinations. Make an effort to find some role models figures from the business world who started off as artists, journalists, and scientists and whose business careers were enhanced by their knowledge of something other than business. Notable examples include the poet Dana Gioia, former chair of the National Endowment of the Arts who received an MBA from Stanford. For a funny, candid account of business school from a former speech writer and self-named poet, check out the book Snapshots from Hell it doesnt try to sell the b-school experience, but if you read it and are still determined to go, you can be sure that business school is truly for you.
10. Get experiences that showcase other sides of your work personality.
Heres a question you should bank on getting from admissions officers: How will you go from being a leader in a creative environment to being a student in a quantitative, metrics-driven environment? Think about how you will answer that question and if you need to build any experiences that demonstrate your comfort with different professional situations before you start the application process. Remember: admissions officers will connect the dots in your application even if you dont. Dont write that you are a great team player if youve never worked on a team before. Especially as a nontraditional applicant, your story has to make sense.