Welcome to F1GMAT’s #askAtulJose series. In today’s episode, I will cover how to differentiate yourself from the competition.

1) Emotional Intelligence

I could see a remarkably common trait among Stanford MBA admits in just the first call. There is a certain vulnerability that comes across. Although the applicant has an impressive career progression and client appreciation letter/awards as proof, there is still some doubt whether they are Stanford MBA material. And this doubt and emotional intelligence to reflect and find one’s vulnerable moments help humanize their journey. They are open to ideas. When presented with the idea of rewriting essays or approaching recommenders, they have a calm and persistent way of problem-solving. There is no panic. The essays have expressions of disappointment and hurt, but the overall tone is optimistic. They want to change the world.

2) Commitment to Work

This is not a cool thing to say, but applicants who get into M7 schools are workaholics. Everybody is to a certain degree. For these applicants, there is a clear direction and purpose in how they approach the problems. The most obvious differentiating factor is that they don’t deprioritize their work while writing or rewriting essays or preparing for the GMAT/GRE. It is always their personal time that is sacrificed. And this is evident in one form or the other in how the recommenders highlight certain traits. Consistently, their ownership of tasks/projects and client needs are mentioned in the recommendation letter.

3) Creating Opposite Stereotypes

American Investment bankers, Indian IT professionals, and Chinese manufacturing or real-estate applicant all have certain stereotypes in how they approach problem-solving. These stereotypes are overrepresented in any application pool. So, it is very easy for schools to eliminate certain applicants if their essays convey this stereotype.

There are certain stereotypes even in extracurricular – Indian applicants actively involved in Cricket and their college festival. American applicant with half-marathon and marathons. Chinese applicants trained in Violin from childhood. These are all stereotypes. And even if you have other differentiating experiences and traits, these stereotypes take the attention away from your unique experiences.
Applicants who differentiated themselves had a deep awareness of these stereotypes and shortlisted achievements, volunteering, and extracurricular accordingly for the resume. They created unique narratives and, while interviewing, maintained consistency in stories that matched their personal brand.

I hope you have a clear understanding of how to differentiate from the competition for MBA application:

1) Demonstrate Emotional Intelligence
2) Show commitment to work
3) Create stereotype opposites before starting the application.

For help in standing out from your competition with the resume, essays, and recommendation letters, reach out to me, Atul Jose