Rethinking Applications

Applications for business schools have been around for decades. Many institutions transitioned to online applications in the early 2000s, and the innovation stopped there.?

Do you agree??

OK, about five years ago, technology allowed us to incorporate pre-recorded video essays in recent years, but more significant changes??

No!

So, let’s rethink applications.?

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... coming back to the application. What is the purpose of applications in the first place??

Identifying the best talent for the respective programs that have a high probability of getting successfully employed upon graduation. Or create the impression of a very selective process but everybody who spends the time applying has a good chance of getting in.?

Really??

No judgment here but it might be a little bit of both.?

Imagine you plan to launch a new Master's Degree. A Master in Digital Marketing or a Master in Business Analytics. Let’s imply that you are looking for professionals with minimum work experience.?

What do you need to know from the candidate??

• Personal Details? Yes, you want to be able to reach out!?
• Academic Credentials? Yes, they need to have at least a BA Degree.?
• Professional Background? Yes, you require at least two years of experience.?
• References? OK, maybe. It’s good to have third-party opinions.

To how many countries did you travel? Are you traveling professionally? Why is our institution the best institution to study? Describe yourself!?

Does this influence the admissions decision??

Still trying to figure it out. You will get more information about the candidates. Rejecting a candidate because s/he (only) traveled to 5 countries? Anyway, which of those questions can’t be answered in an interview? Even more, an interview is spontaneous and makes pre-crafted and peer-reviewed answers more challenging.?

At eduALTO , we look at University Success . To achieve success, you can't think in silos but holistically. In our concept, there is a close connection between student recruitment and successful graduates.

What a revelation!

How do you get successful graduates? You build a fantastic Career Service Team. This team spends many resources to help students develop their LinkedIn profiles: Group Seminars, External consultants, and 1-2-1 sessions. ?

Right??

Nowadays, Career Services emphasizes the importance of LinkedIn as a professional networking tool and job opportunity platform.?

How about Alumni Relations?

For the Alumni Department and the institution itself, LinkedIn is one of the few tools on hand to see their graduates' professional and academic progress.?

So, why wait until the final stages of student life to use Linkedin??

Wouldn’t having candidates applying with their LinkedIn profiles be great?

A Linkedin Application? Yes!?

In a recent survey, some people perceived it as a fantastic idea, while others found it incredulous.?

Let’s see how it might work:?

1. You create a simple application with basic contact information. Think about the information you need to process the application.

Birthday? Maybe not. Check the Eduardo Blog for an answer if you are curious.?

2. Charge your application fee at this stage if you wish.?

3. Create a dedicated LinkedIn profile for this Application Process.

Why so??

It helps you to have better access to the candidates' information when you are a 1st connection with the candidate.?

4. Once the application has been submitted, acknowledge the reception and ask them to follow your institutional page and connect with the dedicated profile. As they are interested in getting admitted, they will surely do it!??

5. Let’s have a look again at the previous NEED TO KNOW list:?

Personal Details: Check. We have them through the mini-application, and the LinkedIn profile is now connected to the dedicated profile.?

Academic Credentials: Check: you will find the past degrees on the profile. Some might already be digitally verified by credential organizations. The doubt about authenticity will be gone.

Professional Background: Check. nicely listed on the Profile and very easy to read!?

Recommendations: Check. You might ask the candidate to have received at least two recommendations on their LinkedIn profiles and given at least one (gratefulness goes both ways). As recommendations are provided for different purposes, they become more authentic and genuine.?

A Reference Letter for B-school is geared toward creating a positive image of the candidate for the sole purpose of the admissions process. There is a perception that the more “important” the referer is, the better. To the point that, on occasion, the referrer doesn’t even know the referee and signs whatever document is presented to him.?

Value for the Admissions Committee: 0

Entrance Exam: There is no doubt that you can request to submit GMAT or GRE scores. But why not ask the candidate to do the skills assessments relevant to the degree they plan to study??

An assessment of Google Ads or SEO would be a great way to see how qualified candidates are for the Master in Digital Marketing.?

Skills You can evaluate the skills endorsements the candidates received from his network.?

6. With all the information, you have sufficient knowledge about the candidate to proceed with the interview. This interview can be conducted virtually through the very same LinkedIn platform.?

Now is the time to be creative so that candidates perceive the selectivity of the admissions process.?

7. Once the candidate is admitted, you can request additional information to produce the enrolment contract and other administrative documents.?The candidate will undoubtedly provide these details in no time as s/he is anxious to formalize the admission.

8. The enrolment confirmation could be connected to the invitation to the Linkedin Group of the Master in Digital Marketing to start student engagement.?

Wow! Is this a great idea? Or still too incredulous??

What is the additional value??

In a traditional admissions process, candidates would hardly connect with university staff. Here, you can instantly see how they relate to your institution through alumni connections and how valuable their network might be if they join your institution.

How can candidates stand out??

LinkedIn has many “hidden” profile sections that a candidate can complete to add value to the application and the profile overall.?

Being involved in Admissions for 20+ years, my suggestion to candidates was always to highlight all actions they feel personally proud of. Let the Admissions Committee and future stakeholders judge whether it’s relevant to them.?

Will this work??

Yes, why not? There are almost no obstacles:

1. It’s free without costly web developments and data integrations.
2. LinkedIn becomes popular even for 16-24-year-olds in many countries in APAC, according to GWI. So, you can target even younger age groups.?
3. It can be excellent as a first-mover advantage for an innovative Master program launch.

Consider this as a wild idea as of now. I can see it happen “tomorrow” for smaller cohorts or very niche programs (in alignment with available skills assessments).?

Who knows, this application system might become mainstream by 2040…?

I’m happy to hear your thoughts!?

Let eduALTO know if are rethinking your application and admissions process. We have the expertise to help: edualto.com/team .