Are applicants who don't request an interview in the fall at a disadvantage?
No. Certainly many candidates interview in the fall, but the majority will interview after they submit their applications. That's
partly driven by distance for some, especially international candidates.
Do you have any programs targeted to specific population groups, such as women or minorities?
We are a member of the Consortium for Graduate Studies Management. The Consortium just celebrated its 40th anniversary and Indiana
University is one of the three founding schools of the Consortium – we've been in it since the beginning.
The Consortium is designed
to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities in MBA programs and in management careers. We work with the other member
schools in the Consortium to recruit qualified candidates, and along with the member schools and corporate partners we offer full
tuition fellowships.
With respect to women, we are a member of the Forté Foundation which is another organization of top MBA
programs and corporations that is working hard to increase the presence of women in MBA programs and management careers. We do
some collaborative recruiting with that organization. We offer Forté Fellowships and other scholarships and do the best we can
to show what great opportunities there are right now for women in our program, and what great career opportunities there are as well.
What do you think is the best way for applicants to differentiate themselves from the crowd?
There are a couple of ways.
If they do have a chance to visit campus or meet with us when we are traveling around the country
and around the world at various recruiting events, these are great opportunities to get know us and to provide us the opportunity
to get to know them.
But another very simple way is to take time to put together a really good application. When applicants write
their essays, they shouldn't try so hard to write an essay that they think an admissions committee of a business school will want
to hear but be truthful and honest and hopefully help us get to know them. Good applicants are people who read the instructions and
provide good information and who show their interest and allow us to get to know them and all they will be able to contribute.
Would you say the essays are the most important part of the application?
There really is no one part of the application that I consider any more or less important. We really look at everything together;
there's far more art than science in the admission decision. After reading a candidate's essays, I always ask myself, "Have I learned
anything more about this applicant than before I started?"
We certainly have a lot of information from their resume and from the
application form and what not. But sadly, there are a lot of applicants where after reading their essay, I haven't learned anything new.
They play it very, very safe and don't really let any of themselves or their personality out.
What do you advise a waitlisted candidate to do?
They should continue to show their interest after receiving the offer to be on our waitlist. They can always ask for feedback
to see what in their application made them less competitive than those who were initially offered admission. And if they are
provided feedback and it is something that they can do something about in several months, they may want to do so.
There are
always some waitlisted candidates who perhaps contact us too frequently and never have any new information. But someone who
appropriately contacts us with an update or a new accomplishment – that can make a difference.
If I'm looking at several
waitlisted candidates and there's a candidate who expressed their genuine interest and provided us with updated information
and I'm looking at others who never said a word after they got their waitlist certification – all things being equal, those who
expressed their continued interest will probably get the nod.
How are re-applicants viewed by Kelley and how can they be successful?
We do have a number of reapplications every year. The people that are most successful in that process are those who seek feedback
from us and then make efforts over the next year to improve whatever aspects of their application that were not as strong.
There
are always some candidates who reapply with the same application – everything exactly the same as it was before. They shouldn't be
surprised if the decision is exactly the same as it was before!
The successful re-applicant should simply try to demonstrate what
is new, what is different, what is improved, and what they have accomplished since their last application. They should help us
understand how and why they are a stronger applicant than they were the year before.
What information would you like to share with applicants who would like to visit the campus?
Do so. It's a nice trip to Bloomington. We'll help make arrangements. If they come to visit campus while school is in session, we'll
arrange for them to spend time with current students who will take them to class, take them on a tour, and take them to lunch. We
host information sessions every day during the week. We encourage visits and will make sure that prospective students have a great day.
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