age 1 of 3

Hoderated by 6h|cago ooth

August 3, 2010
Ph||ade|ph|a, PA

hosted by the Penn A|umn| 6|ub and sponsored by Kap|an Test Prep


1nL ALICA1ICN
"were reodinq for your strenqths, not your weoknesses." - 5tonford

AppllcaLlon space ls valuable, be careful noL Lo repeaL Lhe same lnformaLlon ln mulLlple secLlons.
PlghllghL your sLrengLhs, and downplay your weaknesses. Schools recognlze LhaL no one ls perfecL.
uon'L pursue an acLlvlLy or [oln a club slmply Lo add lL Lo your appllcaLlon.
8uslness schools are well aware of Lhe demands of each lndusLry and recognlze LhaL you may noL have Llme Lo
pursue lnLeresLs ouLslde of your [ob. Admlsslons offlcers wlll look aL your undergraduaLe acLlvlLles as an lndlcaLor
of your lnvolvemenL whlle a full-Llme sLudenL.
Schools may or may noL cllck on llnks Lo blogs or oLher slLes LhaL you lnclude ln your appllcaLlon.
lf you can'L Lell your employer LhaL you're pursulng buslness school, explaln LhaL brlefly ln Lhe addlLlonal
lnformaLlon secLlon of Lhe appllcaLlon.
1o crafL a successful appllcaLlon, you don'L need Lo have accompllshed exLraordlnary feaLs. Says SLanford, Cur
classrooms are full of people who have done ordlnary Lhlngs very well."

ALICA1ICN LSSAS
"Let qo of the ideo thot youre tryinq to stond out. 4nswer the question." - norvord

Show schools LhaL you can answer Lhe quesLlon and follow dlrecLlons.
8eslsL Lhe urge Lo be overly creaLlve. LlaboraLe Lales and exLended meLaphors don'L work ln your favor.
LeL your wrlLlng reveal your personallLy, buL do noL lnclude lnLlmaLe deLalls.
Adhere Lo word llmlLs, wlLh a margln of error of a few senLences. Says 8ooLh, lf you're over by a page, lL speaks Lo
your [udgmenL" - noL Lo your LhoughLfulness or wrlLlng ablllLy.
8emove buslness [argon from your essays, everyone should be able Lo undersLand whaL you've wrlLLen.

age 2 of 3

kLCCMMLNDA1ICNS
"kecommenders shou/d know you we//. 1it/e, were unimpressed by." - 8ooth

Clve your recommenders ample Llme Lo compleLe Lhelr recommendaLlons. An oLherwlse fanLasLlc
recommendaLlon could be [eopardlzed by lack of Llme.
Ask your recommenders lf Lhey are wllllng Lo glve you a recommendaLlon, and glve Lhem leeway Lo opL ouL. An
unenLhused recommender wlll noL help your appllcaLlon.
SlL down wlLh your recommenders and dlscuss Lhe recommendaLlon quesLlons, buL do noL Lry Lo dlcLaLe whaL
your recommenders wlll say abouL you. SLaLes SLanford, ?ou may rob your appllcaLlon of rlchness lf you Lry Lo
shape Lhe recommendaLlons Loo much."
8ecommendaLlons from cllenLs are accepLed, as are unblased sLaLemenLs from famlly members.
College sLudenLs should look for recommendaLlons from pasL lnLernshlp supervlsors, 1A or 8A supervlsors, or
faculLy members wlLh whom Lhey've had a close worklng relaLlonshlp.

1he followlng aspecLs of your recommendaLlons have no poslLlve or negaLlve effecL on your appllcaLlon:
All of your recommendaLlons come from Lhe same flrm.
?our recommenders have an lmpresslve LlLle or a senlor sLaLus.
?our recommenders are alumnl from Lhe school Lo whlch you're applylng.


IN1LkVILWS
"Your job when you qet to on interview is to prepore." - 5/oon

8esearch how Lhe lnLervlew flLs lnLo each school's process, and know Lhe facLs abouL your lnLervlewer.
8ooLh's lnLervlews are hollsLlc." 1hey are 30-43 mlnuLes long, and Lhey could be aL 8ooLh or ln a ma[or clLy near
you.
kellogg does bllnd lnLervlews, uslng Lralned sLudenL lnLervlewers who have only seen a copy of Lhe candldaLe's
resume. 1hey have noL seen Lhe appllcaLlon lLself.
Parvard warns LhaL whaL you say ln your lnLervlew musL be conslsLenL wlLh whaL you wrlLe ln your appllcaLlon. 8e
prepared Lo glve speclflc examples of Lhe polnLs on your appllcaLlon.

8-SCnCCL A1MCSnLkL
"lts intense, not competitive." - norvord

8ooLh: SLudenLs are cooperaLlve, engaged, and lnvolved ln Lhe communlLy.

Sloan: ConLrary Lo popular bellef, Sloan looks for as dlverse a class as posslble-noL [usL Lhose wlLh englneerlng
backgrounds. 1hlrLy percenL of maLrlculanLs come from humanlLles backgrounds.
SLanford: LxpecL Lo be worklng 90 hours per week, buL also expecL an aLmosphere of collaboraLlon.
kellogg: SLudenLs have Lhe equlvalenL of an 80-100 hour work week, buL people brlng one anoLher along."
WharLon: eople are ofLen surprlsed by WharLon's dlverslLy, and Lhey're exLremely surprlsed by how much Lhey
learn from Lhelr peers.

ADMISSICNS CIIICLkS' L1 LLVLS

"uont enter /eove comments on the opp/icotion or recommendotions thot opp/y to o different schoo/." - ke//oqq

Parvard: uon'L descrlbe yourself as unlque. Pow do you know whaL oLhers look llke? And lf you descrlbe yourself
as 'dlverse,' you have someLhlng elLher blologlcally or psychologlcally wrong wlLh you.
8ooLh: uon'L wrlLe Lhe same lnformaLlon on your resume, essays, and presenLaLlon essays. All appllcaLlon space ls
valuable. Also, buslness schools know one anoLher's essay quesLlons and can Lell a copy-pasLe [ob when Lhey see
one.
age 3 of 3
Sloan: 1ake Lhe lnLervlew serlously, and prepare. uress approprlaLely, and do some research on your lnLervlewer.
We need Lo know LhaL you are ready Lo sLand ln fronL of recrulLers aL our school.
SLanford: no name dropplng wlLhln Lhe SLanford communlLy ('l vlslLed SLanford on Lhls daLe and meL wlLh Lhls
dean.'). And don'L sLarL your essays by descrlblng your enLlre LhoughL process ('1hls ls a dlfflculL essay quesLlon.
AL flrsL l LhoughL l would wrlLe abouL Lhls, buL Lhen l LhoughL abouL Lhls.').

1nL AGL IAC1Ck

"l just to/ked to one person who soid, ot 28, his friends to/d him he wos too o/d for business schoo/. 1he next person l
to/ked to soid thot, ot 2l, his friends to/d him he wos too younq." - 5tonford

SLanford: Age geLs mlsrepresenLed as exLremely lmporLanL Lo admlsslons, buL lL's [usL a consequence of people
feellng Lhey are ready for buslness school. SLanford admlLs a small percenLage (1-3) of people comlng sLralghL
from undergraduaLe degrees, wlLh no necessary full-Llme work experlence. SLanford's average age of admlLLance
ls 27.
Parvard: no one ls admlLLed wlLhouL work experlence. undergraduaLes can apply, buL a poslLlve ouLcome ls
deferral. Parvard's average age of admlLLance ls 26.
Some people from overrepresenLed flelds, such as consulLlng and flnance, feel LhaL Lhey'll have an advanLage by
sLaylng ln LhaL fleld for one more year. 1hey wlll noL.

nCW DC I CCMLNSA1L ICk A LCW GMA1 SCCkL?

"were /ookinq for ono/ytico/ preporotion." - whorton

lf your CMA1 score doesn'L show analyLlcal success, hlghllghL oLher parLs of your appllcaLlon LhaL do. Maybe you
dld well ln a calculus or a sLaLlsLlcs class.
lf you have a learnlng dlsablllLy LhaL affecLs your sLandardlzed LesL scores, feel free Lo menLlon lL ln Lhe appllcaLlon.
WharLon: uon'L Lake Lhe CMA1 only once and Lhen clalm LhaL you're a bad LesL Laker. eople generally have Lo do
someLhlng several Llmes Lo know LhaL Lhey're bad aL lL.


SnCULD I AL IN kCUND 1 WI1n A LCW GMA1 SCCkL, Ck SnCULD I WAI1 AND 1AkL 1nL 1LS1 AGAIN?
"lf you know you con do better, then woit." - 8ooth

lf you're ready for 8ound 1, apply ln 8ound 1. lf you're noL, Lhen lL pays Lo walL unLll 8ound 2.
Schools acknowledge LhaL 8ound 3 ls more compeLlLlve Lhan earller rounds and advlse you Lo apply ln 8ound 1 or
2, as long as your appllcaLlon ls as sLrong as you can make lL.