How to Highlight Analytical Skills in MBA Applications

Analytical skills play a key role in numerous professions, like in the medical or legal ones, but nowhere is its focus so big as in business, which is why business schools accord it particular emphasis.

So, how do you showcase your analytical skills in MBA applications? In fact, the term HBS uses is ‘analytical aptitude and appetite.’ Which qualities in you reveal that you have them? Here is a list you can check out on:

• You treat results that you arrive at analytically with the respect and recognition they deserve, despite the fact that they don’t match your preconceived ideas, or expectations, or biases.
• Your understanding of past events, and your strategies and planning of future courses of action are based on objective analysis.
• You have the ability to use language as an analytical tool. When your teammates are confused, you can verbally separate the different elements of a problem, discuss their implications with clarity, and explain the significance of the individual parts in the overall picture.
• You have a tolerance for ambiguity, and find as much information as you can, and consider various alternatives, before arriving at a decision.

If you can demonstrate evidence of the above qualities in the application process, particularly in your essays, you are certain to make a good impression on the adcoms concerned.

GPA

Adcoms see a high GPA as an indicator of your suitability for a top MBA program. In particular, they will want to look at your grades in courses that require an appreciable amount of analytical thinking and aptitude, like Economics, Statistics, Accounting, Finance, and Calculus. If your performance in these areas leaves a little to be desired, you would be well advised to take additional coursework at a community college or local university.

Other Factors

High quant scores in your GMAT report are taken as another evidence of your analytical aptitude. Along with this, pre-MBA experience in areas such as consulting, banking, engineering or accounting convey the impression that you are good with numbers.

Finally, you could request your recommenders to highlight your analytical prowess by providing appropriate examples.

Sandip Bhattacharya, Director, MBAEssayConsultant

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