MBA Candidacy Assessment
Before investing significant time in applications, get an experienced admissions perspective on your candidacy as a whole. I'll review your professional and academic background, accomplishments, career direction, MBA goals, and potential school choices to identify what strengthens your candidacy, what may raise questions, and where additional attention could make a difference. Our conversation will go beyond credentials and application requirements. We'll consider how your experiences fit together, whether your goals and MBA plans are clear and credible, what you could contribute to an MBA community, and how effectively you are presenting yourself as a candidate. You'll leave with a clearer understanding of how your candidacy may be viewed through an admissions lens, the issues you should address, and where to focus your time and effort as you move forward with your applications.
What's included
Before our session, you’ll answer and send to me focused answers about your professional background, MBA goals, timing, and any candidacy concerns, along with your resume. I’ll review everything in advance so the full 90 minutes is focused on your MBA strategies. This is for the person asking: How can I best position my experience and career goals for an MBA application.
- Our session starts with your candidacy and a thorough resume and career progression review.
- You will receive an assessment of your strengths and experiences that are most likely to differentiate you as an MBA applicant.
- We will go over potential concerns, gaps, or questions an admissions committee may have.
- We will clarify why MBA, why now, and what you want the MBA to enable in your career.
- We will discuss the value and perspective you could bring to an MBA community.
- I will provide guidance on school and program considerations based on your goals, career stage, and profile.
- We will set clear set of application priorities and recommended next steps.
Meet your expert
Donelle B.
11 Years Leading Kellogg Part-Time MBA Admissions
I spent 11 years leading admissions for Kellogg’s Part-Time MBA Program, where I recruited, interviewed, and evaluated candidates and helped build four incoming cohorts each year. That experience gave me a firsthand understanding of how admissions professionals assess not just individual parts of an application, but the strength and credibility of the candidate as a whole. Today, I bring that perspective to my work with MBA applicants. I help clients step back from the individual requirements of the application to understand what is distinctive about their candidacy, where questions or gaps may exist, and how their experience, goals, and reasons for pursuing an MBA fit together. My broader career has included leadership roles in higher education and my current work in workforce strategy and policy. Across these roles, I have spent my career evaluating, developing, and advising people at important points in their education and careers. My coaching style is thoughtful, candid, and highly individualized. My goal is not to manufacture a version of you that you think an admissions committee wants to see. It is to help you make sound strategic choices and present a clear and well-supported case for your MBA candidacy.
