Requisites and Provocations for Admissions in B Schools

Abstract

In Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, the most selective B-school in the U.S., 94 of every 100 applicants will be turned down. Harvard Business School will rebuff 9 out of every 10 applicants. Although increasingly becoming the “Mecca of the young,” global professional, let's just say that business school is not everyone's cup of tea. Admission committees are meeting huge challenges to make hard and often painful choices for jittery candidates. MBA/PGDM admissions are more art than science. It is a methodology that gives more weight to the ability of an institute to add value, rather than merely perpetuate the brand myth. More importantly, B-schools are incorporating processes and systems that have become the norm in various industries. For example, Alliance Business School, Bangalore, has embarked on an ambitious plan to implement PCMM (people capability maturity model), used in the software industry. Under this, all processes—from admissions to career mapping to interfacing with stakeholders—have been identified and key metrics have been developed and implemented.