Applying for your MBA? What Matters Most on the Path to Admissions

I'll never forget how nervous I was when I was first started applying for my MBA. The whole process can feel like a terrifying experience when you first start applying to schools, but should you put in the work and time, you'll be accepted to a great program and on your way to obtaining your MBA in no time.

Looking back, I wish I had someone to help me get through the MBA application process. Don't get wrong; the application itself wasn't hard to figure out. The most difficult process was knowing what areas I should focus the most energy on, whether it be my GMAT scores, letters of recommendation, work experiences, or volunteer time. If you're about to start the MBA application process, here are four areas you should focus on the most.

Work Experiences

It's easy to say you have an interest in something; it's an entirely different story to prove that you do. Before turning in your MBA application, make sure to draw attention to any and all work experiences that indicate you have a strong interest in business administration. People with all different kinds of majors eventually decide to get their MBA, but what matters most to admissions is what you did with your degree(s) after college. If you have absolutely no work experience, perhaps it would be a good idea to take a job at an evolving, ambitious company for a while and mention that unique experience when you decide to apply for your MBA the second time around.

Letters of Recommendation

On paper, we can make ourselves sound fantastic, but without people to back us up, we are just spouting a bias point of view. Whenever you're applying for your MBA, seek out those teachers, mentors, and colleagues who inspired you to drive forward in your career and ask them to write your letters of recommendation. It's always best to choose someone who knows you and your work ethic very well, so your letter will sound genuine as opposed to generic.

Essays

I think essays are the most important part of the admission process. Think of it this way: the essay is the only place in the whole application process that you really get to express your passion, creativity, ambition, and enthusiasm. Through your words, you'll be able to emphasize why it is you want an MBA and what you plan to do with it years down the road. Never underestimate the importance of essays because the last thing you want to do is put your enrollment opportunity in jeopardy just because you didn't care enough to write one or two essays well.

Academic Performance

Sorry to break the news to you, but your prior academic performance is one of the most important things to MBA admissions. So if you did extraordinarily well during your bachelor's or master's degree program, that's great; make sure to highlight that in your application. If you didn't do that well, perhaps you should focus more on the areas in which you did succeed, such as work experiences, awards, volunteering, etc. It's not a complete deal breaker if you didn't get straight A's in college, but just remember that an MBA is an educational program, so you'll certainly have to put in the work to do well when and if you do get accepted to a program.

GMAT Scores

Last but certainly not least, the GMAT is one of the most important factors in applying for a good MBA program. The GMAT is a strong indicator of your potential for academic success, so it's important that you dedicate enough time preparing for this required exam. If you've been out of college for a few years, it's probably best you spend a little extra time studying for this exam. Should you not do all that well on the GMAT, however, you can always take the test over again, and although your GMAT score is important, it's only one part of the admissions process. To get into a great MBA program, focus on creating a well-rounded application and don't fret too much over your GMAT scores.

Getting an MBA isn't for everyone, but should you find yourself interested in getting a business administration degree, make sure to put the most work into these four areas of your application.

Katheryn Rivas is a freelance writer and resident blogger at online universities, a site dedicated to distance higher education. She welcomes your comments at katherynrivas87@gmail.com.


Don’t Bend the Truth when Applying to Top B-Schools: 4 Things Admissions Will Always Check

When it comes time to apply to business school, the process of application can often be more overwhelming than the decision about which school to attend. There are so many I’s to dot and T’s to cross, that making sure you have included the correct information on your application can take some effort. And, because all the information in this tiny acceptance packet can either make or break your chances to get into the B-school of your choice, it can be tempting to, shall we say, bend the truth here and there. However, the top business schools in the country are more than prepared to thoroughly vet their applicants. Once your application has been accepted and moves into processing, it will be gone over and verified. Here are the top five areas where admissions will make sure applicants have their facts straight:

1. Undergrad Attendance

The first thing that a business school will check on is that you actually did attend and graduate from the schools that you listed on your application. Make sure that you include the correct dates, and the correct institution names.

2. Grades

You may feel the desire to bump up your GPA by rounding up. But, remember, this will be one of the first things schools will verify. If it looks like you don’t know how to round properly, your business school application may be thrown in the trash.

3. GMAT Score

Business schools will always check up on your GMAT score. Even if you include the correct documents, the admissions department, or an outside company, could be required to make follow up calls to verify that your GMAT scores are above board.

4. Employment Information

If you are thinking about bending the truth about your employment history, you are going to need a long trail of falsified information and collaborators. Business admissions will surely make calls to the past employers listed on your resume, regardless of the amount of time you spent there. They have the power to do as much fact-checking as they like about everything from start and end dates to salary.

5. Recommendations

If you list someone to vouch for your character, whether it be personal, professional or academic, make sure that they will be able to verify any of the information you have used as part of your application. If stories don’t match, it could signal a red flag for admissions

This is a guest post by a Houston-based writer, Jane Smith blogs about the importance and difference a thorough employment background check can make. For more information feel free to contact her at janesmith161@gmail.com.

How to improve your chance of getting into a business school?

As everyone of you might know, there are two stages of getting accepted into a business school. Your written application in which you need to market yourself and your interview in which you need to sell yourself. Improve on these two and you improve your chance of getting accepted. Simple?

Improving written application: A business school written application has many pieces, some of which you can improve and others you can't. Ideally, to stand qualified and competitive for a top-notch business school, all the pieces should be up to the par, which couldn't be possible for many. So the idea to improve your overall chance is to improve your best on the pieces you can improve to compensate on those which are below average and couldn't be improved. Below listed are the written application pieces:

1. GMAT: Try to score good i.e. 720+. This might compensate for the low GPA.

2. Resume: A good one page Resume could create a lasting impression. Jump to my earlier post to know about resume building in detail.

3. Essays: Your stories are the most important and could set you apart. They must be compelling but at the same time easy to comprehend.

4. LORs (Recommendations): This is also a very important piece and depends on how well you select your recommenders. Your recommenders must know you well and could back up your stories.

5. Professional Growth in both title and responsibilities: The companies you have worked with and the growth curve both in the title and responsibilities are very important. Remember, schools are looking for the leaders both in professional and personal life. Secondly, how many from your company have made into good business schools makes a difference. Means if you are working in company X where 1 of every 10 gets into a business school, improves your chances quite a bit.

6. Extra Curricular and community work: You can't improve much on these except you are planning to apply after a year or two and have enough time to work on these. But don't join just for the sake of the mentioning it your application. Be very serious about it, else they will make out in the interview.

7. University and GPA: Where are you graduated from? If it is a renowned university like IIT and is heard by the admission committee makes a difference. You can't improve these but could compensate.

Improving your interview: Interview is the final but the toughest part of the admission game from your side. No matter how perfectly who have marketed yourself in your written application, but if you can't sell it in the interview, they won't buy you.

You are at the interview stage means admissions committee likes your application and is interested in knowing more about you. Mostly a business school interview goes for 30 to 60 minutes and this is the time where you need to back up your written pieces, most importantly your essays and professional responsibilities, in a very smart and impressive manner, and this requires your soft skills, improving those is not easy and demand a lot of time. Below listed are a few ways:

1. Keep your responses short, succinct and to the point.

2. Rehearse your responses before the interview. You could record your responses for the basic interview questions (like why MBA?) and improve by listening and practicing them time and again. You could also practice in front of a mirror to get more confidence.

3. Take mock interviews with your friends and ask them for the honest feedback.

4. Take mock interview with the experts. There feedback is worth the money.

5. If you have enough time and not good enough communication skills, join a communication course / class and improve your communication skills to the best you could.

Hope this helps improving your chance of being accepted into a business school.

Best!

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An upcoming webinar from The Art of Applying

By now you must have heard about the The Art of Applying. For those who haven't,  it is a brand new career coaching service by Harvard grad, Kaneisha Graysson. Visit http://theartofapplying.com/ to explore.

There is a webinar event coming up on August 26, 2010. The topic this time is: “School Choice, Quick-Start Essays, and Killer Recommendations.” Link to Register: http://theartofapplying.com/bdo/join

Please feel free to visit http://bschoolodds.com/free-webinar for past seminar from The Art of Applying.

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