What Nontraditional Applicants Should Know About Applying to Business School
When one thinks of a “traditional” business school applicant, what usually comes to mind is someone who has work experience in a particular industry or functional area, such as accounting, banking, or marketing. This person might or might not have an undergraduate business education. For example, many consultants actually majored in history or political science.
If you’re interested in pursuing an MBA and don’t have a traditional business background, you might be wondering, “Can I even get into an MBA program?”
Absolutely! Yes, you can.
Many business school applicants who don’t have a traditional business background apply – and more importantly, get accepted – to MBA programs every year. These “nontraditional” candidates might not have experience in what typically qualifies as a “business” job, but they add value to MBA programs by providing a different point of view, which creates diversity in the student community and can lead to some very interesting discussions in the classroom.
For example, Military candidates, for example, don’t have a lot of experience in traditional business functions, but many have managed hundreds of people, valuable equipment, and million-dollar budgets. Other common nontraditional backgrounds for business school applicants include the law, medicine, education, the Peace Corps, Teach for America, and the performing arts, just to name a few. During my career in MBA admissions, I’ve even admitted a few professional poker players, and they ended up doing very well!
If you are a nontraditional applicant, there are some special considerations you should keep in mind as you proceed through the application process.
To start, in your application and interview, you must be able to articulate what perspectives and contributions you will bring to the classroom, the business school community, and/or a future employer. No matter your previous experience, admissions officers want to hear about times when you exhibited teamwork skills, leadership, management of others, communication skills, and other capabilities that are critical for MBA students to succeed academically and professionally. Start making a list of examples from your life that demonstrate these kinds of skills so you can weave them into your application.
You must have a clear goal for earning your MBA. It’s not enough to say that you want to get the degree so you can switch careers or make more money; you need to know what you want to do after you graduate, why the MBA will help you attain that goal, and how your background has prepared you to get that new job. The abilities you have acquired thus far in your career and that you will need for your target post-MBA role are called “transferrable skills.” Make a list of your transferrable skills so you can convey to the adcom what you already know how to do.
Begin with your “soft skills,” which are more difficult to measure but are highly valued by employers and critical for maintaining good relationships in the business world. Think about your ability to persuade others, attention to detail, cultural awareness, conflict resolution skills, creativity, willingness to listen to others, open-mindedness, decision-making capabilities, and emotional intelligence.
Your “hard skills” are ones that can be quantified and measured – they include things that you’ve learned in your job. For example, a nurse has likely learned how to draw blood or give injections, a teacher is able to quantify students’ grades, and a computer engineer knows how to code. Applicants from nontraditional backgrounds can measure some skills using test scores, grades, or certifications. For example, let’s say you work as a receptionist at a spa, but you’ve also been charged with creating a website for your small company. You might have to learn Java/basic coding or graphic design to accomplish this task. Or maybe you’re a teacher who had to perform a lot of statistical analysis to create an equitable grading system. Or you might have been put in charge of a project and had to learn to use project management software. Or maybe you came up with a cool idea for an app and figured out how to structure it with the help of a tech-savvy friend.
In general, look at what you do on a daily basis at your job that requires any forecasting, pricing, computer programming (even at a very low level), or even using ChatGPT or AI.
With those skills in mind, research the type of job you think you’d like to have after graduating from the MBA program, or the kind of company you’d like to work for, and see what options you have. Figure out what skills you would need to develop to do your desired job, and what you would need to learn. This is the best way to be seen as knowledgeable about your professional objectives when writing your goals statement or in your interview. Of course, your plans might change once you get to school, but as an applicant, you need to show that you have thoroughly considered this decision and that obtaining an MBA will move you one step closer to reaching your goals.
You will need to rewrite or reformat your current resume to transform it into a business-school resume. If you need guidance on how to do this, you can find lots of examples online, or you could call us at Accepted for advice. Don’t try to be “cute” or creative with the format or font. Be clear, succinct, and focus on results. Prepare yourself to answer questions about why you left each job, why you were promoted, why you changed industries, and so on. You will need to convince the admissions officers that you are someone they should take a chance on.
If you have not yet been in a position to manage or lead a team as part of your job, think about activities you’ve engaged in outside of your work sphere, such as community service or volunteering. You might find ideal examples of times when you’ve led or managed people.
Finally, academics matter. Adcoms will look at your undergraduate transcripts to see what classes you took and how you performed in those classes. They will also carefully assess your test scores (GRE or GMAT) to determine whether they think you can succeed in their MBA program. The biggest hurdle for many nontraditional candidates is a lack of quantitative skills. You might not plan to specialize in finance, but you will still have to be able to get through some basic finance, accounting, and statistics courses!
Nontraditional applicants get accepted to and thrive in MBA programs around the globe. Although you might have to work a bit harder on your application to make sure your unique qualities shine through, the effort will be worth it. Business schools will appreciate what you can bring to their program and community. Consider connecting with one of Accepted’s expert consultants today so we can help you get started.
Dr. Christie St-John has more than 25 years of higher ed and admissions experience, including ten years in admissions at Dartmouth Tuck. She was formerly the director of MBA recruiting and admissions, director of international relations, and an adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt University. Having also served on the board of directors of the MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance and the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, Christie has a deep knowledge of MBA and other graduate admissions. Want Christie to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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