Interaction with MBA admission officers of various B-Schools

It is very important to have very good relations with the MBA admissions team of all the Business Schools. They can make or break the deal. As much as your scores are important, your attitude matters a lot too.

If you can attend the MBA information sessions, there is nothing like it. Be sure to have a small chat with the officers, make an impression. Ask all your questions, clear all your doubts. No doubt is too small or too silly to be asked. It is silly to have doubts and not have them clarified :)

Get their business cards of the Admission officers and keep them with you safely. This is very important. You can use the cards for "name dropping" at the time of your interview, if there is one (either in person or on the phone). You can always say "Oh, I remember meeting you on that day and you had given me this advice". You see there... instant connection! I personally believe that it is easy for an MBA admission officer to reject someone whom he / she does not know rather than reject someone whom he already knows.

If you take the pain to research about the Business School and the faculty and the admission officers, then, they shall take the pain to be nice to you and help you. Hey, they are human beings too, like you and me. And most of them are nice people (which is why they were hired in the first place!)

It is also important to send thank you notes or emails if you have had an interview or if you have had an information session. The MBA admissions officers work hard. The job they do is not easy. How nice it would be if you could show that you appreciate what they do. And if your appreciate their time, energy and patience with the loads of files on their table? Makes sense, eh?
What goes around, comes around. If you are nice to them, they will be nice to you. Being nice and polite also shows that you have self control and are civilised and polished for the MBA program.

If often wondered "does the school make a student or does the student make a school". Wel, in the end, the school needs good quality of students too. They can not take all crude ones and polish them. Show them that you are polished. Show them that they should chase you because you are worthy and not vice versa!

Shall type more soon, GTG.