HELP! My Co-Worker is Also Applying to MBA Programs
MBA applications are competitive enough when it’s you against the world. But, they can be even trickier if a coworker with similar qualifications and experience is applying to the same target schools in the same rounds with similar goals.
If you’re applying from a larger company that feeds multiple b-schools every year with MBA candidates, then this situation is very common and it won’t dramatically affect your chances of admission. For example, every year hundreds of consultants from MBB management consultancies apply at the same time.
However, if you’re from a smaller firm in a random niche with a smaller class of MBA-aged employees, the AdCom may draw comparisons and choose the better candidate. Think about it from their perspective - how many “Aquaculture Investment Analysts from Mowi ASA in Norway” does the AdCom want in their class? The answer is probably only 1.
The idea for this blog came from personal experience. A close friend of an SWC team member was frustrated that her coworker was applying for MBAs at similar schools as she was, in the same round. Not only did the coworker have similar experience and goals, but she also had the exact same extracurricular - a podcast! Our friend was trying to be a good sport about the whole thing, but she was rightly worried about whether it would affect her admissions chances.
While preparing this blog, we read lots of other advice about how you could collaborate with them and share insights and notes. We disagree. Get real; in the real world, it’s you against them. So, in this blog we’ll take a more competitive approach.
How should you navigate a close colleague applying to the same programs at the same time while maintaining professionalism? Here are 4 ways to differentiate your profile from theirs and secure the admit to your dream MBA program.
Focus on Extracurriculars
In a scenario where your coworker has a similar professional background as you, your extracurriculars become crucial differentiators. Especially in over-represented industries like consulting, finance, or tech, where it’s much more challenging to stand out as strong candidates. So, it’s all the more important for them to have quality engagements outside of work that make you memorable to the AdCom.
If you’re super unlucky, your co-worker’s extracurriculars might also overlap with yours (like in our friend’s example with the podcast). In this case, you’ll want to play up your unique strengths and identify what’s different about you. Lean towards extracurricular stories that demonstrate your leadership and consistent engagement with a cause or community you are genuinely passionate about.
Choose Schools Strategically
If you’re on good terms with your coworker, you might want to compare notes on your target schools. If possible, consider applying to different schools. Or, to be even more strategic about it, you could agree to apply to different schools in R1, and then swap in R2. This would help to mitigate the direct competition and leave you both in a better position.
As you consider which schools to apply to with your colleague, check out our essay guides:
3. Time Your Recommendations Carefully
In the situation where a close colleague is applying to the same MBA programs at the same time, letters of recommendation could be a nightmare because you might be asking for letters of recommendation from the same recommenders! In this case, you should be careful about the timing of your request.
Option 1: Ask for your LORs after your colleague. It might be best to let the recommender write the LORs for your colleague first. This way you can make extra sure that your letters of recommendation are different from those of your colleague because you can guide your recommender to write different LORs. This reduces the major risk that the recommender might copy your LORs for your colleague, which would be a disaster for both of your applications.
Also, if they write your letters of recommendation second, your recommender will be more familiar with the process, and you might benefit from their additional experience.
Option 2: Ask for your LORs before your colleague: On the other hand, if you wait until later, your recommenders might be tired and bored of writing recommendations and the novelty might have worn off. Also, they might be annoyed at you for requesting your LORs later and putting them under pressure.
4. Maximize your GMAT Score
As you compete directly against your close colleague whose work experience is similar to yours, your GMAT/GRE score is a great way to differentiate your academic readiness and quant strengths from those of your coworker’s. This will be especially important if they have a better undergrad university on their resume or a higher GPA.
To maximize your GMAT score, consider hiring a personal GMAT/GRE tutor and create a solid test strategy and study schedule. Your tutor will help you to identify your weaknesses and understand how the test is structured so you can nail your timing.
Here’s how Matt worked with our in-house GMAT tutor Rowan Hand to improve his GMAT score by 70 points and secure an admit to Yale SOM.
Want to build your application strategy to stand out from the competition? Book a free chat with our team.
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