Applying to Business School as an Entrepreneur

For the vast majority of business school applicants, pursuing an MBA is primarily about the opportunity to secure employment at their dream corporations. If you are one of the  the ambitious few who are interested in entrepreneurship, your MBA dreams may align with incubating your own venture and forgoing the sanctity and security of the more traditional post-MBA career paths. Applying to business school as an entrepreneur sets up a  very specific set of considerations applicants should be aware of, however.  Let’s discuss a few things  that should be considered before applying to MBA programs as an entrepreneur: Chances of Success: How confident are you in the viability of your concept/business? Applying to business school as an entrepreneur is very risky from an application perspective. The Admissions Committee will surely scrutinize your plan and its potential for success, so it is important you have run a similar  Ã¢â‚¬Å"stress test† on your concept or business. Generally, business  schools  want to make sure their students  are employed after graduation   an MBA  who is not placed at a job at graduation (or 3 months after) can not only bring down the statistics of the schools post-graduation employment report, but it can also cause that graduate to be an unhappy alumnus, which can lead to a negative perception of their MBA experience. As such, it will be best to make  sure your entrepreneurial ambitions are clearly achievable, to both yourself and to the Admissions Committee. Back-up Plan: A high percentage of startup businesses fail. Do you have a contingency plan if your concept  fails or if you just decide entrepreneurship is not for you? Schools will be looking to know that you have thought through all of the permutations and combinations of your decision. This can commonly manifest itself as an application question, essay prompt  or an interview question, so have an answer ready that is well-thought-out and aligns with your past experiences. Program Support: Are you targeting MBA programs that have a track record of supporting entrepreneurship? The more your school is receptive to the challenges of the entrepreneurial lifestyle, the more well-received  your application will be. Don’t think this makes your chances of admission much higher, as these schools are also looking to weed out those less committed to their goals. Also, some programs support entrepreneurs as alumni through funding and loan forgiveness,  which could be advantageous during those lean early years of launching your business, and  will be handy to keep in mind as you compile your list of target schools. Timeline: Does your timeline for diving into entrepreneurship make sense? Often, applicants will identify entrepreneurship as their short-term post-MBA goal. However, if the  road map to starting your business appears a bit murky, shifting this short-term goal to the long-term may help make a better case for your profile. The Admissions Committee tends  to be a bit more forgiving with long-term goals, given that so many things can happen before reaching them, but with short-term goals, the expectation is these should  be highly achievable. Applying to business school as an entrepreneur can be challenging, but can also  represent a tremendous opportunity to pursue your dreams. Consider the above factors before you start your own  application process. Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or  request a  free MBA Admissions Consultation  for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on  Facebook,  YouTube,  and Twitter. Dozie A.  is a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His specialties include consulting, marketing, and low GPA/GMAT applicants. You can read more articles by him  here.