University of Iowa MBA Program Ends Tweet for Free Admission

University of Iowa has ended a popular and novel promotion where an applicant to the MBA program earns free admission with the best Tweet.

A couple years ago, to spice up the application process, school officials started a Twitter contest. The applicant who most effectively pitched their case for admission through a Tweet - 140 characters or less - earned a full-ride scholarship to the Tippie School of Management's masters of business administration program. 

It wasn't the only part of the application process, but essentially that Tweet was worth about $37,000.

The initiative generated national buzz and sparked a wave of creative application efforts at other schools around the country. At Iowa, they expanded the Twitter promotion and drew applicants from around the world.

"It was very successful," Jodi Schafer, Tippie’s director of MBA admissions and financial aid, said after they announced the first winner - a Texas man who submitted an eight-word haiku. "It's created an enormous buzz. We received applications from individuals who wouldn't have considered us otherwise."

But, in the end, the university wasn't getting what they hoped for.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that while applicants loved it, Iowa officials had hoped for more innovation, such as links to a PowerPoint or video or something that provided another dimension to the applicant but wound up largely with entries that used it as a short cut.

“In the end, we had more disappointing entries than great ones,” Schafer told Bloomberg. “Many of the applicants saw this as a bit of a shortcut they could take. I think they wanted to showcase their talent but were hoping not to spend more than an hour and a half doing so.”

Iowa isn't giving up, though. Applicants must include a photo with a 350-words or less essay explaining its significance. It's still early, but so far, so good, Schafer said.