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Thinking about applying to B-School beforehand and not at the last moment is always a good thing to do. First-round applicants have fair chances of getting admitted and spending their Christmas holidays with friends and family and not hunched over the essays.
Here is a list of strategically important things one should start doing well in advance before actually beginning to work on an application.
1. Take the GMAT
This test is a necessary evil that is better to be gotten rid of as soon as possible. This way you won’t have to dwell on it for the whole year. It’s not a fun time when all of your spare time doing “fun” things is spent thinking “I should be studying right now.” Or in the middle of the summer, your friends ask you to go out and you say “I can’t I have to study!”
2. Think about your story
Your story will become who you are for the next couple of years, so you might as well start thinking about it now.
Everyone everywhere you go will ask you “What do you want to do post-B-School?” ”Why do you want to do it?” ”How does what you’ve been doing fit into what you want to do?” You better have an answer for this.
3. Start taking notes
Get a five-ring binder and use it when you talk to current students, past students, other applicants, people at MBA Fairs, people when you visit B-School. Keep this binder until you begin writing essays because it will come in handy! You need to take notes and follow up on them. That’s how you dig deeper.
4. Determine your MBA objectives
This list will be a work in progress but that’s okay. If you have an idea of what you like, then you will most probably find schools that have those qualities. You want to end up in the best place otherwise you will be miserable for one or two years of your life.
5. Identify weaknesses in your application
Whatever you think your weakness is, it will be brought to light during the application process. While you may not want to dwell on the weakness, you will need to address it. It’s much easier to address the weakness if you can follow up and say “I know my weakness is ______ but I’ve done X, Y, and Z to counteract it.”
6. Reach out to current students
Who do you think knows more about how to get into say…. Harvard? Someone who is applying to Harvard the same cycle as you or someone who is a 1st year at Harvard? Make sure that you start reaching out to students now! However, in reaching out to current students, do understand that they are busy. No need to email people every day or call them on the phone in the middle of a night.
7. Network with other prospective students
This group of students is another one that will become your lifeline throughout the application process. While your friends and family do care what you’re going through, they don’t want to hear about it as often as you’re thinking about it. Nor will they understand it to a full degree. Besides, these people might well become your classmates and then part of your professional network.
8. Save your money
Remember that you are going to have a lot of spendings (application fees, campus visits, hotel rooms, GMAT preparation). Needless to say, if you get accepted to the B-School, housing and tuition will not be cheap by any means.
By Irina Shuvalova, MBA Strategy
