That’s how Shaifali Aggarwal breaks down the candidates for top MBA programs. The Harvard Business School (HBS) graduate is the founder and CEO of Ivy Groupe, an MBA admissions consulting firm. 

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“I have two types of clients. The first says, ‘These are the only schools I want, and it needs to be one of these schools. And if I don’t get in, that’s fine. I’ll just go down the path that I’m on,’” she says. “And then there’s another type of candidate that says, ‘I do want the MBA. I realized these are tough schools and I’m willing to broaden beyond.’”

There are two main tiers to the top MBA programs in the country. The most prestigious and competitive, the M7, consists of:

• Harvard Business School
• Stanford Graduate School of Business
• University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• Northwestern University (Kellogg)
• University of Chicago (Booth)
• MIT (Sloan)
• Columbia Business School

The top 15, or T15, includes the above, plus schools like the University of Michigan (Ross), Yale University, Dartmouth College (Tuck), New York University (Stern), University of Virginia (Darden), Cornell University (Johnson), Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper), University of California–Berkeley (Haas), and Duke University (Fuqua).

While some of the biggest schools enter students just during the fall (and have several admission rounds), other schools have multiple opportunities throughout the year, including spring and summer, to apply. 

Applying to one of the top programs requires a great deal of preparation, about a year to be exact, says Natalie Grinblatt Epstein, an MBA admissions consultant with Accepted, who also previously held MBA admission leadership roles with the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Ross) and Cornell University (Johnson).

“I’ve had clients do this: calling us up right before the deadline wanting to go through the full gamut of things,” she adds. “It’s probably not the most productive thing.”

To succeed in any MBA admissions process, having a high GMAT or GRE score, plus a good undergraduate GPA can significantly help one stick out. However, at top programs, applicants need much more to fight against the very low acceptance rates. Students also need to have a deep understanding of self, authenticity, and a compelling story to tell. 

In which ways can you best express this introspection? Through:

• Essays
• Letters of recommendation
• Interviews + post-interview tasks

Essay: How to differentiate yourself

While it’s important to cement your profile with strong test scores and a high GPA from your undergraduate school, essay and short-answer questions mark the first chance you get to differentiate yourself among other applicants.

“Now, do schools accept people who have lower scores? Yes, they do,” Aggarwal says. But there’s usually something really unique about them. The open-ended essay questions asked by top programs provide applicants an opportunity to tell their story and require a lot of deep thought, she adds.

For the class of 2027 applicants, HBS just changed its admissions essay requirements. Instead of one question, the No. 1 school in the country now asks three questions centered on business, leadership, and growth. 

On the other hand, Stanford asks, “What matters most to you, and why?” Other schools, such as Columbia and Wharton, ask more specific questions, like, “What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal?” and “What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA?”

As part of MIT (Sloan) and Northwestern (Kellogg)’s admissions process, students are also required to respond to a prompt via a recorded video. Schools are increasingly adding these human-centered requirements to fight against the rise of generative AI, like ChatGPT, especially because students are potentially using the technology to write essays.

Erik Rasmussen, who graduated from HBS in 2024 and now consults prospective students, encourages applicants to stay away from using generative AI during the essay writing process, unless for helping with grammar or spell check.

“Even if it is, if it sounds better on paper, it might not actually sound like your real voice,” Rasmussen says. “Your real voice is probably what’s gonna get you into school anyway.”

Letters of recommendation: Who knows you best?

“The best recommender has a really good sense of strengths and weaknesses from a supervisory level,” Epstein says. “You can have peers that really understand your strengths and weaknesses well, but are they going to be as honest as a supervisor?”

However, it’s important to be discerning about who you ask to write a letter of recommendation. Some supervisors or others in management could see applying for an MBA program as an impending end to your employment.

It’s also always better to have someone who is close to you write a recommendation instead of forcing an alumni recommendation, MBA admissions experts agree. It could be helpful to strike a balance between asking someone who has written strong recommendation letters before but not writing any for others this year.

Most schools ask for two letters of recommendation, though some may ask for fewer or greater.

Once you’ve settled on whom you’re going to ask, Epstein suggests compiling a list of characteristics and personal stories to share with recommenders along with your résumé to aid their process and to ensure important points are hit. MBA admissions candidates should never write their own letters of recommendation just to have a recommender sign off on it, however, she adds.

Interviews: A chance to speak up

To begin, do not consider an interview invitation—or lack thereof—to be a major win or loss for your entire MBA search. You may get invited to interview at one school then not be invited to another that are relatively similar in ranking. 

Among the top business school programs, you’ll find a variety of interview styles: individual versus group and blind versus non-blind. Interviews may be conducted with admissions officers, program alumni, or current students.

At HBS, applicants are interviewed by admissions officers who know their profile ahead of the interview; this is considered a non-blind interview. Wharton applicants participate in group interviews and a short 10-minute individual interview. Stanford interviews are heavy on behavioral questions and are conducted by alumni or admissions officers who likely have a similar background to the applicant, Epstein says.

The time after the interview process is largely a waiting game. While Epstein deters applicants from contacting admissions officers, she says there can be a chance for “shout-outs” from alumni, including an informal email or a phone call to people in the admissions office or the dean. These shout-outs could address characteristics the specific school is looking for such as teamwork, leadership, persuasion, commitment, and diligence, she adds.

“I always tell people, ultimately, when you hit that submit button, you want to hit it and not have any regrets,” Aggarwal says. “You want to truly make sure you have put your best foot forward throughout the process so that whatever happens, [there are] no regrets.”

Following the interview, there may be a post-interview reflection. At HBS, for example, applicants are asked within 24 hours to write a response to a prompt that allows students to open up about their application experience. Take this just as seriously as the interview since it may be just what an admission officer needed to hear to accept or deny your candidacy. 

The takeaway

Unfortunately, this is no secret recipe for applying to any MBA program, especially a top-ranked one. Experts agree across the board that as long as you put in the effort in terms of research programs and, most importantly, understanding yourself and your goals, you may have a decent chance of getting in. 

According to Clemens Kownatzki, associate dean of full-time and part-time programs at Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School (home to the no. 74 best full-time program and no. 14 part-time program, according to Fortune’s rankings), admissions teams take a holistic view of applicants.

“We are looking for the potential to succeed by evaluating their critical thinking skills, communication skills and their motivation to better themselves towards increasing their sphere of influence for positive impact,” Kownatzki explains.

Overall, applying for a top MBA program can be stressful and even take up a lot of your time. The best way to get ahead is to start early. That way you not only have plenty of time for introspection and crisp, authentic writing, but you also can be sure to not miss application, scholarship, or fee waiver deadlines.

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