{"id":33039,"date":"2016-05-12T13:01:36","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T20:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=33039"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:37:00","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T22:37:00","slug":"the-importance-of-defining-your-mba-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/the-importance-of-defining-your-mba-goal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Defining Your MBA Goal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Need<\/a>
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Be sure you can define your MBA Goals<\/p>\n

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Goals are not an afterthought in MBA admissions. They are front and center in the minds of many admissions directors. Put them front and center in your mind as you prepare to apply.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is an MBA Goal?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A goal is something you want to\u00a0<\/span>do<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b>(not just study), and for MBA admissions purposes it should relate to a specific industry. For some applicants, geography is also an important element in their goal. Your goal should be based on your experience, not television, not what your parents\/significant other or friends think you should do, and not simply what will make you a lot of money.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am not saying that you can\u2019t change careers. You clearly can, because roughly 50% of\u00a0<\/span>MBA students are career changers<\/a><\/span>, and many estimates place that number much higher. But you need to have a realistic vision of your future based on skills and character traits you have developed and experience that you have had.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defining Your MBA Goal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clear, well-defined goals are as much a requirement of MBA admissions as\u00a0are your <\/span>GMAT<\/span><\/a>, GPA, and work experience. Define your goal in terms of the function you want to perform and the industry in which you want to perform it.<\/span><\/p>\n

To define your objectives for b-school, first look inward: <\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> What do you enjoy and where do you excel?<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Examine what you have done off the job and see if there are lessons in your non-professional life for your professional life.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Clarify and mine\u00a0your interests and past experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then look outward:<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Examine professional paths that will take advantage of your strengths and give you more of what you find satisfying.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong>\u00a0Research the schools<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to find those that support your professional goals and provide an educational environment where you can thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Establish specific goals you want to achieve within a given program\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/b>a career direction for your post MBA years.<\/span><\/p>\n

What's Your Goal?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A\u00a0<\/span>strong, clear MBA goal<\/span><\/a>\u00a0should guide your admissions research and\u00a0your choice of target schools. And expressing your goals clearly in your essays will help show adcoms why you belong in their programs. Defining your goal is an important first step in the MBA admissions process, and we can help! <\/span>Check out our MBA admissions consulting services<\/a><\/strong> and work one-on-one with an advisor who will help you define your career goals and apply successfully to your top-choice program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Read<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Accepted<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Why MBA<\/a>, a free admissions guide
\n\u2022\u00a0Choosing And Visiting Business Schools<\/a>
\n\u2022 MBA Admissions Advice for Career Changers<\/a><\/p>\n

This article<\/a> originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goals are not an afterthought in MBA admissions. They are front and center in the minds of many admissions directors. Put them front and center in your mind as you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,939,775,113,243],"tags":[446,276],"class_list":["post-33039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-mba-goal","tag-mba-goals","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33039","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=33039"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33043,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33039\/revisions\/33043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}