Meet the Recruitment and Admissions Team at Babson College, FW Olin Graduate School of Business

The F.W. Olin Graduate School at Babson College offers masters level degrees and graduate certificates for prospective students.

Faculty at the school consists of entrepreneurs, executives, researchers, and scholars, who teach at programs in multiple locations including, Wellesley, Boston, Miami, San Francisco, and Dubai.

Babson College offers a One-Year MBA Program, a Two-Year MBA Program, a 42-month Evening MBA Program and a Blended Learning MBA Program.

What characteristics do you think make a good applicant to graduate business programs?

One who has a strong academic background, but also displays motivation, tenacity, and an innate sense of collaboration. Babson students have an entrepreneurial mindset and the drive to creatively solve problems, whether by starting a new venture or driving change within an existing organization. The successful Babson student also has a strong global mindset, understanding and appreciating diversity. We look for candidates with business and nonbusiness backgrounds and students seeking to make a positive impact, both economically and socially.

What is the one characteristic you believe makes candidates stand out?

While it might sound cliché, the best and most noticeable quality is being genuine. Often, candidates provide answers they think we want to hear. What we’re interested in is developing a diverse class with individuals from varying backgrounds. We’re also looking for candidates who take initiative to bring about change and create value, be it economically or socially. While we certainly focus on academics and metrics, it’s a curious individual willing to take thought-out risks who often stands out in an application.

How do you run your admissions committee and how do you decide who is admitted?

Our admissions committee is thorough, and each candidate is evaluated either by a recruiter or a recruiter plus senior leadership. Representatives from Admissions, the Career Center, Faculty, and the Dean’s Office participate in the decision making. During committee meetings, discussions regarding each candidate focus on strengths, areas of concerns, and Babson fit.

We focus on GMAT, GPA, professional experience, career goals, and careful consideration is given to teamwork and leadership potential. Candidates overall fit is comparied to other applicants also. Once a decision is made, admitted candidates are then reviewed for scholarship awards. Committee meetings take place three to four times per year depending on the program, and electronically for programs focused on working professionals.

How do you involve current students or alumni in the admissions process?

We often seek the assistance of students and alumni in answering questions for applicants. Babson has a team of qualified graduate assistants that assists in the interview process. We utilize current students and alumni in offering on-campus events for applicants (Visitor Programs, Welcome Day, outreach,) and in the yield process (congratulatory phone calls, yield dinners). As we believe current students and alumni are our best recruiters, we ensure prospects have easy contact with the community.

What is your favorite place to travel to recruit business students?

My two favorites are likely Istanbul and Paris. I also enjoy traveling to Brazil, namely São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. I learn so much about how culture affects business and vice versa. I’ve been educated by the population, learning new things and getting connected to campuses around the world. Domestically, I really enjoy traveling to San Francisco and New York City, where I find the hustle and bustle and passion for entrepreneurship and finance contagious.

What one thing do you love about your city or campus?

Boston is an incredible city to pursue higher education, especially graduate business school. What I love most is you’re able to network with students from more than 100 schools in the greater Boston area. Babson is particularly fortunate as we’re located within easy access to the metro area, and also situated on a beautiful 350-acre campus in a residential area of Wellesley, Massachusetts. At graduate level, our alumni base represents more than 40,000+ from 115 countries and all 50 states.

What is the one piece of insider advice you’d give program applicants?

Go beyond grades and scores to showcase your innovation, drive, tenacity, leadership potential, and collaboration. While we want to ensure you’ll be successful academically, we also want you to contribute within the classroom and Babson experience. At Babson we encourage you to spend as much time getting involved outside of the classroom as focusing on courses. This starts by getting a true representation of your past experiences and education, as well as future goals—so make sure you accurately articulate what you bring to Babson, and what you hope to extract as well. Also, be sure to do your research and spell check your essays!

What do you think is the biggest myth about applying to business school?

I often think people only focus on inside the classroom and quantitative courses like Finance, Accounting, and Statistics. Often, candidates don’t realize business is omnipresent whether you work on Wall Street or Main Street, in education or in sales, for a Startup or the Big Four accounting firms.

Learning embraces strategy, negotiations, understanding consumer behavior, and persuasive business presentations to name a few. Business school also is very hands on and based in experiential learning which is uncommon for many candidates from large, lecture-based undergraduate colleges. Students should be prepared to participate, practice, and experiment, and know they will have a lot of fun along the way as well.