Differentiating yourself in the MBA process as a PE Professional?

Here are a few things I've seen that can help:

1) Why MBA? - convey why you NEED an MBA. Truth is, these types probably often don't need an MBA as they likely could go on to accomplish great things in their career without one. It's more like they simply want  another accolade to add to the list. It's hard for an MBA adcom to justify letting in such individuals (at the expense of another admission), if this person really isn't going to be able to fully utilize the experience.

As such, justifiable reasons might include: to be a better manager/leader (You plan to be a partner at your firm one day, but haven't really managed junior level employees yet and need to build your management skills), add a strategic/operational perspective to your financial core skills (you are a great modeler but need to understand how businesses operate outside of the numbers), etc.

2) It's all relative - while such work experience is quite impressive, keep in mind there is a degree of relativity to all of this. For instance, if you come from a family of big name bankers/PE mavens and had every advantage growing up, is that really more impressive than the applicant who may just have a standard corporate FP&A background but came to this country with migrant farmer parents where English is their second language and they are the first in their family to go to college? There's obviously no right answer, but you get the idea. 

In this case, show the adcom how you also overcame challenges (e.g. your parents aren't rich and you grew up working class).

3) Recommendations - Make sure your recommenders support your MBA move. This can be an issue if you are well-regarded at your firm as your boss likely doesn't want you to leave. A classmate of mine had this issue; she had to make sure the individual recommenders she chose really were "in her corner."

4) Competition - Keep in mind the bucket you are competing in. You aren't up against ex-military or non-profit candidates so it's silly to look at their GMATs and work experiences as a yardstick. You are being compared to other brand-name PE applicants. You need to do something that sets you apart in YOUR BUCKET. Have things that few people in your peer group possess (e.g. meaningful volunteer work).