Why do you want to go to business school? What are your post-MBA career goals? These are the two classic essay or interview questions that help the admissions office to get a better sense of how business school will build on your personal and professional development to date, and the clarity and realism of your longer term plans.
For Lisa Bevill, former director of admissions at IE Business School and my co-director at Fortuna Admissions, the responses to these questions are the perfect platform to share the coherence and achievability of your longer term goals."This is a great opportunity to show an impressive level of self-awareness, portraying a clear picture of where you’ve been, where you are headed, and why an MBA is essential for getting you there. Business schools are looking for students who are poised to get the most value from their MBA experience by going on to great things in the future. Your ability to express a logical and motivating career vision signals your commitment to the MBA journey, even if the destination changes en route."
The new dean of IE Business School, Martin Boehm, will be joining me at the CentreCourt MBA Festival in London. In the run up to the event, I am turning the tables on the business school by asking them to answer three questions drawn from the essays that they and other top schools ask of MBA applicants.
Dean Boehm chose two essay questions adapted from the applications of Stanford GSB and Duke Fuqua, in addition to one from the IE application.
What matters most to your MBA students, and why? (inspired by Stanford GSB)
A Place for “Soul-Searchers”
While we don’t explicitly advertise, or mention this anywhere: IE is the perfect environment for students who we call “soul-searchers”. These are the kind of MBA candidates that, when they begin the program, don’t have clearly defined ideas about what exactly they want to do post-graduation. They are keen to start the ride with open eyes and look forward to experimenting, moving well beyond their comfort zones, while ultimately seeking to find new purpose or direction. What matters to them most is being stimulated by the many options we provide as part of a carefully planned menu. Millennials need to believe in the deeper purpose of what they are doing (and why), while feeling the positive impact they are striving to create on business and society. Contrast this with “I want to get a job in consulting.”
A Strong Sense of Community: “Bleeding Blue”
IE’s extraordinary sense of community also matters to our MBA students. While we aim to create the right atmosphere from the start, it is ultimately up to students to fill the community with meaning in each MBA generation. What really matters to those students is the protective, strong bond of the “IE Family” within work groups, MBA sections and MBA intakes. Given our brand color, we have coined the term “bleeding blue” to exemplify the IE spirit. A recent example of showing solidarity was when MBA students collectively chipped in to buy a new laptop when that of a fellow student was stolen.
Tell us five random things about the business school. (inspired by Duke Fuqua)
Did you know that… IE’s campus in Segovia, a town founded by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago, is actually a 15th century convent? While the Inquisition ruled in Spain, the very same place housed a torture chamber in which some cruel practices may have taken place. Fortunately, this space has been carefully locked in present times, whereas the modern interpretation of “MBA torture” now means to boast a highly demanding program…
Did you know that… IE’s Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño was the longest-serving Dean of a European business school from 2004 to 2017?
Did you know that… IE Business School (then known as Instituto de Empresa) was launched in 1974 without any upfront investment whatsoever? In fact, the first tuition fees collected funded the very first operations and subsequently enabled the gradual take-off of the ambitious entrepreneurial project.
Did you know that… IE will soon experiment with the notion of “horizontal education” by adding to its portfolio a 160-meter-tall building that will redefine the skyline of Madrid and can house up to 6,000 students?
Did you know that… Our MBAs consistently win the best supporting team award each year at HEC’s MBA Tournament. They are known for their loud cheering and singing, while also winning trophies in the coveted sports disciplines.
And finally, adapted from IE Business School's own MBA application, which asks applicants,
How do you envision the business school of the future?
The business school of the future will have to respond to three fundamental trends – the changing expectations of the students entering our classrooms, the talent demanded by the labor market and the type of classroom.
Students entering our classrooms ten years from now will expect an educational experience that is highly social and interactive. They have grown up in a world where social networks are a fundamental part of everyday life. Business schools must respond by adapting their educational models to be more experiential and social in nature.
In 10 to 20 years from now, we will also see a fundamental change with respect to the job market. Studies indicate that 80% of jobs in 2025 don’t yet exist today. In fact, few could have imagined 20 years ago that big data scientists or full stack developers would be the hot jobs in 2017. Business schools must prepare graduates for jobs that don’t exist now by focusing on developing habits of mind instead of simply imparting knowledge that could be obsolete by graduation.
At IE Business School, we are reinventing the classroom of the future and we are convinced that more learning will take place online. Our first milestone on this journey was the WOW Room, which was launched in October 2016. The aim of the WOW Room was not just to replicate the immersive experience of the traditional classroom, but also to leverage the fact that the class is taking place in the virtual space, and enhance that experience for faculty and students.
