Monthly Archives: August 2015

MBA Acceptance Rate by Country

Most elite American business schools brag about how internationally diverse they are. Although American business schools try to make sure they have students from all over the world, the reality is that there are winners and losers. Applicants from some countries have an easier time than others. In this analysis I calculated the MBA acceptance rate by country and region for American MBA programs.

MBA Acceptance Rate by Region

MBA Acceptance Rate by Region International Business SchoolSince there is limited data for many of the countries, first I grouped the countries to look at MBA acceptance rates at a high level. Not all regions apply to the schools in the same proportion. In fact European applicants tend to apply to the higher ranked schools with lower acceptance rates. On the other hand applicants from India are more likely to apply to lower ranked school with higher acceptance rates. I calculated the expected acceptance rate for each region based on the school application distribution.

The regions that have the highest acceptance rates are the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. If you limit Europe to the large western countries such as England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, then the acceptance rate for Europe jumps to 31%. The USA has a slightly higher acceptance rate than average. On the other hand, Asia, Australia and India are all at a significant disadvantage when applying to business school in the United States.

GMAT and GPA by Region MBANext I looked to see if the difference in acceptance rates could be explained by GMAT. GPA isn’t a good indicator because different regions have different average GPAs based on how much grade inflation there is in the area. Most regions are clustered around the average GMAT of 722 with two exceptions. Latin America has an average GMAT 16 points lower than average and still has an acceptance rate 6% higher than expected. Africa has an average GMAT that is 34 points lower than average but it only hurts them a small amount. Asian applicants have the highest average GMAT, however Asian MBA acceptance rate is 6% lower than average.

MBA Acceptance Rate by Country

MBA Acceptance Rate by Country International Business SchoolNext I looked at MBA acceptance rate by country for those countries with high enough application volume. I excluded all countries with lower than 20 applications. It is not surprising to see United Arab Emirates and Israel at the top given that the Middle East has a high acceptance rate. Chile, Mexico and Brazil all helped to pull up Latin America’s acceptance rate. The United Kingdom and Russia are the European countries with the highest acceptance rates.

Viet Nam, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea all have acceptance rates that are below average. The only Asian country with a high acceptance rate is Japan. Given that Asian acceptance rates are so low, I would recommend using the help of an admissions consultant if you are applying from one of these countries.

The data for this analysis came from the GMAT Club forum. If you are looking to increase your GMAT, check it out.

McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate Analysis

McCombs School of Business is a top MBA program and part of University of Texas Austin. The full-time program is small; the class of 2017 is 267 students. McCombs average GMAT is 694 and average GPA 3.40. The acceptance rate is at the higher end of the spectrum at 35%. UT Austin also has an evening business school with more relaxed admissions criteria. For the evening MBA, GMAT is 640 and GPA is 3.34.

McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate by GMAT

McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate by GMAT MBA Business SchoolGMAT has a strong impact on acceptance rate at McCombs. If you raise your GMAT by 100 points, from 650 to 750, your chance of admission increases by 120%. Even with a relatively low GMAT of 650, an applicant still has a respectable 1 in 4 chance of admission.

McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate by GPA

McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate by GPA MBA Business School
Although GMAT is critical when applying to University of Texas Austin, GPA does not appear to be important as long as it is above 3.0. When I built the acceptance model for McCombs, GPA was one of the first variable eliminated. As you can see in the graph above, GPA seems to have no impact on acceptance rate. Data is sparse below 3.0, so I cannot be confident how low an applicants GPA can be before it hurts them. However, if you have a low GPA and want to go to a top 20 MBA program, then McCombs is a great place for you to apply.

McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate by Application Round

McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate by Round MBA Business School
When applying to McCombs, the round you apply during matters. Round 2 acceptance rate is not statistically different than round 1, but there is a penalty for applying round 3. Round 3 applicants are 25% less likely to by admitted than applicants from the first two rounds.

Other Factors that Impact McCombs MBA Acceptance Rate

Although a quarter of applicants studied engineering for their undergraduate degree, McCombs does not seem to love engineers. The acceptance rate for engineers is two thirds that of non-engineers. On the other hand, McCombs loves economics majors. Applicants who majored in economics are 70% more likely to be accepted to McCombs than other majors.

Data for this article was collected from GMAT Club, one of the best websites for preparing for the GMAT.

Kellogg Interview Questions

Kellogg Interview Questions Preparation MBA Business School NorthwesternKellogg is somewhat unique in that it allows anyone who applies to interview. Kellogg MBA interviews are typically off-campus with an alumnus, although it is also possible to interview with an admissions committee member on campus or over Skype. Interviews with Kellogg tend to vary greatly based on who interviews you. You can expect anywhere from 6 to 14 Kellogg interview questions. Kellogg interviews are on the longer side, sometimes lasting an hour to an hour and a half. If you are interviewed by an alumni, typically they will have already read your resume but not your whole application. Below are the most common Kellogg interview questions, ranked from most to least common. Your chance of being asked each questions is in parenthesis.

Most Common Kellogg Interview Questions

  1. Why Kellogg? (87%)
  2. Why get an MBA? Why now? (87%)
  3. What is your greatest accomplishment or what is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Sometimes when this question is asked, you are limited to an accomplishment at a certain company you worked at. (67%)
  4. Walk me through your resume. (60%)
  5. What will you contribute to the program? What will you get involved with at Kellogg? (60%)
  6. Tell me about a time you faced a challenge. Frequently the interviewer asks specifically about a challenge or failure in a team environment. (53%)
  7. What is your leadership style? (53%)
  8. Tell me about your education. Why did you choose your major? (40%)
  9. Is there anything else you would like me to know? (40%)
  10. Why did you pick your company or industry? (27%)
  11. What are your hobbies outside of work? (27%)
  12. How would your coworkers or peers describe your strengths and weaknesses? (20%)
  13. What role do you take within a team? (13%)
  14. What inspires you? (13%)
  15. What words would your classmates use to describe you? (13%)
  16. Tell me about a time you took an initiative. (13%)
  17. What are your long term goals? (13%)

You may also be asked specific questions about your resume or experiences. At the end you will have time to ask a few questions. For additional interview tips check out my MBA interview preparation guide. The questions for this article were collected from Clear Admit.

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate Analysis

Yale School of Management, also known as YSOM, is a prestigious school located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is difficult to gain admission to Yale’s MBA program, similar to their undergraduate school. The YSOM class of 2016 has impressive statistics, with a median GMAT of 720 and median GPA of 3.56. Only 22% of applicants who apply to Yale will be accepted.

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate by GMAT

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate by GMAT Business School AdmissionsSimilar to all other schools, a high GMAT score will increase your chance of being admitted to Yale. Although the average GMAT score for the class of 2016 is 720, the average score for applicants is 7 points lower at 713. The GMAT range of the middle 80% of Yale MBA students is 680 to 760. However, the difference in acceptance rate for the bottom of that range is substantially lower than the top. An applicant with a 760 is more than three times more likely to be admitted than an applicant with a 680.

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate by GPA

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate by GPA Business School AdmissionsA high GPA also raises the acceptance rate at Yale. The middle 80% students in the class of 2016 have a GPA between 3.17 and 3.87. An applicants with 3.87 is surprisingly only 50% more likely to be admitted than one with a 3.17. Even a perfect 4.0 only raises Yale MBA acceptance rate to 32%.

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate: GMAT vs. GPA

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate GMAT vs GPAThe chart above shows that GMAT is more important for admission to Yale than GPA. A high GPA will only increase acceptance rate by 4%, while a high GMAT results in a 10% higher chance of being admitted.* If you have a low GPA and a high GMAT, Yale is a great school to consider. For example, an applicant with a 3.0 and a 770 has a 34% chance of admission.

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate by Application Round

Yale MBA Acceptance Rate by Application Round Business School AdmissionsWhen applying to Yale, it does not matter whether you apply during the first or second round. However, applying in the third round is a huge disadvantage. Your chance of admission is less than half as likely compared to the first two rounds, so be proactive and submit your app early.

Other Admissions Factors

Indian applicants are at a significant disadvantage at Yale, with only a 6% acceptance rate. On the other hand, Yale seems to really like applicants with experience working for consumer packaged goods companies. Their acceptance rate is shockingly high, almost three times higher than average.

*A high score is defined as one standard deviation higher than average.