As admissions season gears up for 2012, we get back to our ongoing series of interviews with MBA admissions directors. This time, we speak to Lee Milligan, admissions director of the full-time MBA program at Copenhagen Business School.

Copenhagen Business School has 48 full-time MBA students from 24 different countries. How does maintaining this diversity affect MBA admissions decisions? Do you cap admissions from certain countries?

We don’t have any specific caps, but we try to make the program as international as possible, while also trying to maintain the quality of the students. I guess it is a bit of a balancing act. There’s no specific group to whom we would say there’s only a specific number of students.

Do you ever see major spikes in terms of the number of applicants from specific countries?

It really varies from year to year. The more I’m in this job, the more I think it has a great deal to do with economic conditions in the world.

If you look at Germany, for example, two years ago, when the economy was going down, if you went to an MBA fair, for example in Frankfurt, it was absolutely packed. Last year, when suddenly jobs were more readily available, the fairs were extremely quiet. I think it has to do with economic conditions in specific parts of the world and that there is a link with the number of applications from specific regions.

Given the very international makeup of the MBA participants, how much do you expect applicants to know about Copenhagen and the local job market?

I think it’s very important and that it’s one thing that all applicants should do whichever school they are applying to: really research the area they’re going to. It’s after all a big move. Obviously, a lot of the companies you are going to meet on the program are going to be international companies, but locally based. So, you should really think about the area you are moving to in terms of jobs.

Sometimes in interviews I will ask candidates to tell me about Copenhagen or Denmark, and they will have very little information, which I always find surprising. So, I’d say people should research the country and city you are going to culturally, economically, and business-wise as much as they can, especially before the interview.

And how much should applicants know about the school?

They don’t have to know too much, but they should know a bit about the school and its strengths. They should have a reason they are coming to this school – the specific reasons why they want to target your school, your city, your country. Because you need to be motivated. It’s a tough year. You need to know you are in the right place and in the right program, which is why I would always recommend students – wherever they are applying – to go for a day visit and maybe spend the weekend in the city.

Beyond things like the GMAT, what are some hallmarks of a good candidate for the CBS MBA program?

We look at people with a good amount of experience, a good variety of experience, and preferably international experience. It’s one of the most experienced full-time classes in the world. The average age of this class is going to be around 33, with around 9 years of work experience. Obviously, some students are (as young as) 25. But we are unusual in that we will accept students in their 40s. We see a great advantage in that because they can divulge their experience.

It’s a small class, so we want people to be communicative. We want people to share their experiences and also listen to others. So, we really look for the right personalities, as well. The word ‘personality’ is not mentioned enough in the MBA world, because it’s valuable not only in the classroom, but afterwards. Your CV will get you to the interview stage, and it’s your personality that gets you that final step – and the job.

Given that networking is so important, what are the advantages of small class sizes for an MBA program?

Basically, the Scandinavian way of teaching from a young age is about interaction. It’s about discussion, debate, challenging theories and ideas. In an MBA class, that means sharing the challenging experiences you have been through. The smaller the class size, the more you can contribute. The more comfortable you feel. When you have a class of 100 or 200, it’s obviously more difficult to get your opinion across.

The other thing is that the students genuinely get to know each other. We make sure they are put into groups – whether for leadership or entrepreneurship study groups – and they get a real network; not just people they’ve said “hello” to in a lecture.

The MBA recruitment fair season has arrived. Do first impressions matter here for prospective MBA students attending these events?

The best thing they can do is show they’ve done some research. Come with some questions beyond the brochure or website. Those are the people that interest us. They are people that want to know more, and not just about scholarships and how much the program is.

Photo Courtesy Lee Milligan / Copenhagen Business School.