Tyranny of the MBA application

I cannot believe the farce that the whole MBA application process has become!

Diversity

Most schools apparently craft their class profiles so that they have a balanced cross section of society. This pretty much means that the poor Indian IT males are doomed - unless of course you are the CEO of your own company. But then doesn't that mean that among two exceptional individuals (lets say Einstein and Newton) from an Indian IT profile and an average third individual (Joe Schmo say an opera singer), chances are high that only Joe gets chosen? And then since the chances of Mr. Schmo becoming a CEO are high, if the school reports are to be believed, Schmo would eventually control the careers of Einteins and Newtons, wouldn't he?

Moreover the bar of diversity has now reached a prohibitively high level. Social service is no longer diverse. Most candidates who apply now have social service on their resumes - doesn't matter if it means serving soup at a soup kitchen for a day. This makes it very hard to distinguish between who has served soup for the sake of a line on the resume and who has spent real sweat.

Essays

Most essays center around having to wax eloquent about oneself through anecdotes. Most people I know have faked their way through this. Recurring applicants get to the extent of being able to precisely craft stories not only for themselves but for others too. Also, in most cases people who have suffered personal tragedies and issues have it made as it makes for impressive stories.

This also is a clear benefit to polished writers. Sure most people who have work experience should be able to communicate. But being successful at work does not necessarily mean that one would have superb writing skills as well.

Networking

Business schools apparently give you the unparalleled opportunity to network with CEOs and other successful individuals who may help you get jobs. Sure they may. But do they also ensure that you would do your job well? Merely getting a job because you can schmooze and have beer with the CEO does not mean that you are the right person for the job. Taking the wrong position not only affects your career but also all your subordinates careers as well.

In my opinion, the MBA is a huge industry to loot hundreds of thousands of dollars from largely mixed candidates (of course this is not a generalization) to land them in positions they may not deserve. These people then create a clique of exclusivity based on a false brand and ensure that the new people who get in are as randomly chosen as they were further propagating the mismatch of talent and jobs, jeopardizing careers and the economy.