Why Reach/Target/Safety Is the Wrong Framework for MBA School Selection
The reach/target/safety framework gives MBA candidates a structure for school selection. For most profiles, it provides the wrong one.
Most applicants treat school selection as a sorting exercise: pull rankings, identify a tier, categorize schools by perceived difficulty. The list looks reasonable. It rarely accounts for what admissions committees at each program are actually evaluating, what a candidate’s specific background signals across different admissions contexts, or why a school that appears to be a target on paper can function as a reach for a specific profile.
The right school list is built differently. It follows goals. It accounts for what each program is actively seeking in their class. And it requires understanding how your background reads in a specific admissions context not how it reads in general.
What this event covers:
- Why reach/target/safety produces the wrong calculation for candidates from specific backgrounds and industries and what it costs in the round
- How admissions committees at different programs read the same profile differently, and why school selection has to account for that before a single application is started
- Why the school list is downstream of goals, and what that sequencing actually requires before you can build one that holds up under scrutiny
Sia Admissions Founder Susan Berishaj will break down the structural problems with how most MBA candidates approach school selection — and what the right framework requires.
Live Q&A included. Replay accessible on demand.
Which schools make sense for your profile requires your specific background, your goals, and an honest read of what each program is building and whether what you bring aligns with it. Request a written profile evaluation and see where you stand. If you want to talk about working together, book a strategy consultation. Read the Sia Method