Why All Business School Applicants Must Showcase their Diversity

A former Wharton admissions officer now working at Stacy Blackman Consulting says, “More important than being from a particular industry is that you’re a ‘super star’ at work, especially for traditional profiles applying to Harvard, Stanford or Wharton.

“Being high performing — for example if you’re ranked above peers or obtained quick promotions — is valued, as is project, people management or operating company experience.”

According to US-based admissions consultant Karen Marks, those with more traditional professional profiles can stand out by highlighting diversity in other elements of their life.

She says, “Schools want to learn more about you: are you first generation college? From a socioeconomically underprivileged household? Multilingual? Do you have a cross-cultural viewpoint, a military background, strong artistic skills? Weave it into your essays and interview responses — schools really do want to know and will value what you bring.”

Each business school has its own unique focus on what it considers to be a priority of diversity, so it may be necessary for MBA applicants to tailor their application to individual schools.

For instance, a previous Harvard admissions team member says, “At HBS, the trend in recent years is to prioritize heavily underrepresented sectors, such as mining, construction, technology firms (Google, Facebook), start-ups and family businesses.” So even if you’re from a traditional background but have worked indirectly with companies like this, that could aid your MBA application.

However, some business schools still place a premium on candidates from more traditional backgrounds. “Finance isn’t over-subscribed at Kellogg, as they’re constantly competing with Booth and Wharton, which have reputations as ‘finance schools’. Kellogg is eager for more finance applicants, as it has a strong curriculum and diverse class,” says a former Kellogg admissions officer.

While traditional profiles may need to be sold a little harder these days, those with completely different backgrounds can find it difficult to make them relevant to a business school.  

At NEOMA, Murat says, “a candidate with a non-traditional background must demonstrate high motivation and engagement, as well as an understanding of the challenges business school represents.

“The objective is to avoid a set-to-fail situation, which is highly detrimental to the person but also the class as a whole. In that respect, a candidate with a non-traditional background needs to be even more convincing throughout the admissions process than others.”

Citing examples of diversity, she says NEOMA has admitted Navy officers, a book publisher, an Olympic medallist, a yoga coach, and the founder of a Haute Couture fashion house for disabled people.

She goes on to say that, often, people neglect to stress in interviews what makes them unique because they think it’s not relevant. Murat says, “For example, a gap year is too often considered as an impediment, not to be mentioned in the application, whereas it can be a time of discoveries and personal enrichment, which is definitely relevant in an application.”

Candidates from all backgrounds should stress their diversity throughout every element of the application process, including essays, recommendation letters and interview. NEOMA once accepted a candidate from an emerging country who gave an impromptu Blues singing performance during his admissions team interview, Murat says.