QS Top MBA Admissions Q&A with ESADE Business School

TopMBA.com is speaking to MBA admissions directors from some of world’s top business schools in order to find out how you can make a winning impression on the MBA admissions committee.

Our interviewee this time is Keegan Pierce, associate director of international admissions at ESADE Business School. ESADE Business School, located in Barcelona, Spain, features in upper echelons of many MBA rankings, including a top 10-placing in the QS Global 200 European MBA ranking. Accordingly, getting in can be competitive. Below, Pierce offers some advice on crafting an application which will really make an impression on the MBA admissions committee.

As the ESADE MBA is a very sought-after program, how many applications does the admissions committee have to reject in ratio to those you are able to accept?

At ESADE we typically receive around three to four applications for every available place in our full-time MBA program. We therefore seek elements that prove to us the candidate can succeed in our program as we narrow down to the applicants that end up being accepted into the program.

Aside from the basic requirements, what are the most important aspects of a candidate’s admission application to ESADE Business School?

Beyond the application requirements themselves, we are looking for three key traits in successful MBA candidates:

1.  Do they have leadership potential? That is, have they taken on greater challenges and greater levels of responsibility during their careers?
2. Will they thrive in an international setting such as the one we have on campus? You do not need to have lived and worked in half a dozen countries but have you taken advantage of opportunities to expose yourself to different cultures, languages and business settings?
3.  Finally, do you understand our MBA and the kind of collaborative, teamwork-based learning environment we have here?

Candidates who receive an offer of admission usually have all three traits and may have other outstanding characteristics besides.

What is the most common mistake you see candidates making in the application process?

Sometimes candidates make the mistake of telling the admissions committee the story they think we want to hear. We are open-minded regarding your work experience, your education, and your post-MBA goals but when we review your application we want to see consistency and sincerity in your answers. That is especially important at the official interview stage.

What would you like to see candidates do more often when applying for the ESADE MBA program?

We love discovering that a candidate has been in active contact with current and former ESADE students. With LinkedIn, it is fairly easy to do and with nearly 50,000 alumni worldwide, candidates will often find they have several ESADE graduates as second or third-degree connections within their own networks. When candidates have spoken with ESADE students and/or alumni before starting the MBA admissions process, it shows the seriousness and thoroughness of their approach.

Can you walk us through your MBA application process at ESADE Business School?

First, candidates submit their full set of application materials. Their completed applications are reviewed by our MBA admissions committee.

The admissions committee decides whether to invite the candidate for an official interview, which can take place on our campus in Barcelona, in the candidate's region of residence or – in exceptional circumstances – via video conference.

From there, the full application is reviewed again by our admissions committee, which makes a final decision whether to offer admission to the candidate. From start to finish, the entire process takes between four to six weeks, from the moment the candidate submits all of his or her application materials – GMAT scores, English proficiency exams and so on.

Please give one tip on each of the following:

Essay(s) – Be clear and concise. Our admissions committee read lots of applications; a well-written essay should be like a 'user's guide' to your application, helping us understand who you are in a simple, straightforward way.

Interview – Try to meet us in person. The extra effort to come to an ESADE interview day in your region, or an on-campus session in Barcelona, shows your seriousness about the process. Also, come ready to ask plenty of good questions!

Letter of recommendation – We require two recommendation letters, so choose two people who know you well - not two people whose job titles you think will impress us. Also, if you do not have a recommendation letter from your direct manager, please explain why in your admission application.

CV – In some professional settings, it is common to create a 'full' version of your CV, which explains every project you have worked on and every publication or report you have ever produced. However, for the purposes of an MBA admissions application, the ideal CV should not run to over two pages.

School visit – Let us know in advance when you would like to visit our campus, and clearly state your goals and expectations for the visit. We are happy to customize an ESADE campus visit for you but we require a little time for preparation and have a clear sense of your goals so that we can put together a visit that meets your needs.