{"id":11272,"date":"2012-05-02T22:38:46","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T05:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=11272"},"modified":"2013-04-10T12:45:52","modified_gmt":"2013-04-10T19:45:52","slug":"applying-to-mba-programs-first-things-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/applying-to-mba-programs-first-things-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Applying to MBA Programs? First Things First&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You decided: you\u2019ll apply to MBA programs this year! Yes! The first thing you want to do is go visit those programs, each one\u2019s website more enticing than the next. You\u2019ll deal with other stuff, GMAT included, while you check out the schools.<\/p>\n<p>A common approach, but not the wisest.<\/p>\n<p>I came across a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classycareergirl.com\/2012\/04\/ccg-04-how-to-prepare-for-a-mba-while-working-full-time\/\" target=\"_blank\">podcast<\/a> on the website <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classycareergirl.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.classycareergirl.com<\/a> (guys, keep reading) on which Anna Runyan answers listeners\u2019 questions. One person asked how to prepare for the MBA while balancing a demanding job. In her wise answer, Ms. Runyan describes how, once she decided to apply, she put aside everything except work and family and started studying for the GMAT every night after work for several months. Three cheers for common sense, focus, and self-discipline. This approach will enable you to (a) do your best on the GMAT, and (b) visit appropriate target schools \u2013 which you can\u2019t do without knowing your GMAT score.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s painfully true. Probably every year for the 13+ years I\u2019ve been working with MBA applicants, I\u2019ve seen people spend time and money (and emotional energy) visiting Stanford, Wharton, and Harvard while preparing to take the GMAT, sometimes even starting the applications. Then they take the test, assess their overall qualifications, and conclude they are not competitive enough to justify applying to those programs. Not a great place to be as deadlines near.<\/p>\n<p>Plan your MBA process logically; certain decisions and steps build on others. Here are some helpful resources for this process:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2012\/01\/11\/the-ultimate-timeline-for-round-1-2013-mba-applicants\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Ultimate Timeline for Round 1 2013 MBA Applicants<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2012\/02\/10\/round-1-timeline-for-mba-applicants-infographic\/\" target=\"_blank\">Round 1 Timeline for MBA Applicants [INFOGRAPHIC]<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/smarttimelinewebinar.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Create a Smart Timeline for MBA Admissions Success!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And here is a resource I prepared on creating a list of the right schools to target: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/Choosingprograms.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Best MBA Programs \u2013 A Guide to Selecting the Right One<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Since you\u2019ve decided to apply this coming season, why not start that GMAT prep ... now?<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/editors.aspx?editorid=3\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-2961\" title=\"Cindy Tokumitsu\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/cindy.jpg\" alt=\"Cindy Tokumitsu\" width=\"77\" height=\"75\" \/><\/a>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/editors.aspx?editorid=3\" target=\"_blank\">Cindy Tokumitsu<\/a>, author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her last thirteen years with Accepted. She can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and develop a winning MBA admissions strategy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>This article originally appeared on the <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2012\/04\/24\/applying-to-mba-programs-first-things-first\/\" target=\"_blank\">Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a>, the official blog of Accepted.com.<\/em><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><br \/>\n<span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-0f45121d-d3ea-4b96-af01-90a77c39bf14\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"> <span id=\"hs-cta-0f45121d-d3ea-4b96-af01-90a77c39bf14\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-0f45121d-d3ea-4b96-af01-90a77c39bf14\"><br \/>\n<!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><br \/>\n<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd\" id=\"hs-cta-cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd\"><br \/>\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]>\n\n<div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div>\n\n<![endif]--><br \/>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/58291\/cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/58291\/cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd.png\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n    <\/span><br \/>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        (function(){\n            var s='hubspotutk',r,c=((r=new RegExp('(^|; )'+s+'=([^;]*)').exec(document.cookie))?r[2]:''),w=window;w[s]=w[s]||c,\n                hsjs = document.createElement(\"script\"), el=document.getElementById(\"hs-cta-cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd\");\n            hsjs.type = \"text\/javascript\";hsjs.async = true;\n            hsjs.src = \"\/\/cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com\/cs\/loader-v2.js?pg=cc837497-e44f-4307-91bf-65e994aa64fd&pid=58291&hsutk=\" + encodeURIComponent(c);\n            (document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")[0]||document.getElementsByTagName(\"body\")[0]).appendChild(hsjs);\n            try{el.style.visibility=\"hidden\";}catch(err){}\n            setTimeout(function() {try{el.style.visibility=\"visible\";}catch(err){}}, 2500);\n        })();\n    <\/script><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You decided: you\u2019ll apply to MBA programs this year! Yes! The first thing you want to do is go visit those programs, each one\u2019s website more enticing than the next.&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,775,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11272"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17836,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11272\/revisions\/17836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}