Top 10 Tips for Getting Into Business School: Advice to Follow Before You Apply

Getting into a top MBA program also implies greater job opportunities, a much higher package, and wider name recognition. That is why it is tough to get into. You can follow these tips to strengthen your place in the competition.

1.    Speak from the heart - You need to be introspective while you try to present the best of yourself in your application. Be genuine in your essays, write what you feel, what you are passionate about, your strengths and clearly define your career goals. Your application essay has to be something that comes from within you.

2.    Know what the GMAT score means – the GMAT itself is very much self explanatory. It says a lot of things about you while you apply to any school. It is a good correlation between how you do on the GMAT score and how you will do academically in your core classes. If you have secured a high GMAT, it’s one piece of evidence that you might do well in the academic portion. It’s obviously nice but it certainly isn’t everything.

3.    Find your fit- The admissions people may not necessarily remember what your GMAT score is but they will remember certain things about you that you reveal about yourself in your essay or in your interviews. The admission officers are in constant search of candidates who can complement the school’s culture well. You need to choose a school that is an excellent fit for who you are and that’s going to have a lot of benefits. A place where you can get much more out of the experience both personally and professionally.

4.    Don`t try to game the process – The MBA class is collection of students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. As it is definitely a rigorous academic program, the admissions people prefer students who are strong in academics and have strong interpersonal skills. Discuss your personal and professional traits, your experiences, your career goals and your interpersonal skills precisely. Try not to grandiose your skills or merge different kinds of experiences resulting in a puzzle.

5.    Visit schools – It is suggested to personally try visiting schools. You’ll get so much more information just by seeing the school with your eyes and hearing what students have to say about their experiences. The more you research, the more you know about the schools and it will give you a clear idea about why that school is important to you or why that school fits you.

6.    Know what you want and why you want it- Business school is a place to enhance your skills and not to develop them. You are the best person who knows what you are and what you want. Pen down your thoughts and creative ideas into a paper and introspect carefully if it meets the needs of your dream school. Seek suggestions from your friends, colleagues or relatives as sometimes they see the aspects in us which we are blind to.

7.    Be consistent – You have set your short term and long term goals and have very well explained them to the admission people, but the admission officers want to see how consistent you are in your statements and vision before, during and after the admission process.

8.    Don`t be desperate- You need to have a lot of patience while you undergo the rigorous process of selection. Control your emotions, and mask your excitement or else your thrills can be overly irritating and can ruin the entire game.

9.    Apply when you`re ready- Give adequate time to your preparation process. Do not take decisions hurriedly. The admissions people have thousands of applications lying with them and you might not just fit the criteria that the admission officers have set for the pool of competitive applicants.

10.  Know the admissions officers are people too- Some key features of your application package include your professional experiences, recommendations, interviews and mainly how you portray them in your essays. You must be wandering, what the admission panel looks for in a potential business school candidate? What are the things that can impress them? And how do you craft your essays that would be the most convincing? The admissions people do not solely focus on your application but while selecting applicants, they keep in mind that they also need to create well shaped class. There are certain areas they specifically focus on like your academics, your professional experiences, your interpersonal skills, your visions, your goals, etc.