16 Comments
 

It may go against you, especially in Bay Area and to a lesser extent NYC. Schools are seeking diversity in terms of where students are coming from.

Berkeley/Stanford I think is actually tougher for locals given that many are looking to stay local and the # of slots far exceeds the # of qualified applicants. They don't say it explicitly but there is likely a target # of slots for locals...

 

Yes and no. It depends on your story and post-MBA goals. If having a strong local presence helps that story, than it can certainly help. But a desperate play to show local interest is easily read through and can backfire in more than one way.

Most local skews in employment reports are due to demographics (more folks in Chicago apply to Booth than MIT) than to a true skew towards local apps.

 

Regional school with strong regional ties may prefer local people, but the national schools strongly prefer diversity. Being local can work against you, unless you, like Johnny's friend make a really good case for staying local, and probably have a lot of other strong qualifications too.

I've seen "being local" work against applicants more than for them at national programs, mainly because a lot of people want to stay close to home.

Linda

Linda Abraham President, Accepted | Contact Me | Admissions Consulting
 

Yes, absolutely. So long as you show personal interest in that locale. Specifically: volunteering/community involvement/immersion in locale that subtly comes out in resume/essays/story in b-school applications.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewco
 

Would love for someone familiar with MBA adcoms to chime in. Your network effects your placement, which in turn impacts how attractive you are to MBA programs - so my hunch is yes.

 
Most Helpful

I spent 10 years reading applications at a top MBA program. While there is value to the 'network' that an applicant has coming in, the location of the network is somewhat irrelevant at a national caliber school. In fact, a candidate from the Bay Area might be very attractive to Wharton because they can help organize a Silicon Valley Trek for their peers. Honestly, I don't recall taking a very close look at where someone was located when they applied unless they were within a few hours drive and hadn't bothered to come and visit the school. Good luck!

Susan Cera Director of MBA Admissions Stratus Admissions Counseling - www.stratusadmissions.com FREE Profile Evaluation - www.stratusadmissions.com/consult
 

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