The Round 1 deadlines for the MBA applications are a little over five months away. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So if you if you are planning to apply to Business school this year, \u00a0NOW is the time to get started.\u00a0 Some MBA hopefuls I have talked to have already aced the GMAT and are in the process of researching schools. \u00a0Year after year, I have seen that my most successful students have been the ones who had started their preparation ahead of time- about 6-8 months before Fall deadlines. \u00a0This proves that by planning ahead and starting early, you can make the application process rewarding as well as enjoyable.<\/p>\n
Here is the step- by- step plan you can follow:<\/p>\n
Beat the GMAT\/GRE: <\/strong>First and foremost, get this biggest hurdle in your journey out of your way. GMAT is the biggest parameter you will need for making a list of your target schools. \u00a0If you take your GMAT now, and do not get your desired score, you will still have some time to retake it before you begin focusing on other parts of the application package (school selection, r\u00e9sum\u00e9, essays, and recommendation letters). \u00a0Dealing with GMAT preparation as well as essays, recommendation letters, resumes with deadlines drawing close, and that too with professional commitments, will put you under tremendous\u00a0pressure, making it extremely challenging for you to produce quality work. \u00a0I have worked with candidates who started the process pretty late (1 month before the deadlines) and then simultaneously worked on essays and GMAT prep, along with their demanding professional and personal commitments. \u00a0They obviously found it too stressful as they were not able to give their hundred percent to essays. \u00a0I now advise them to first get the GMAT out of their way before beginning to work with me on their application. \u00a0By allowing yourself sufficient time, you can avoid this unnecessary stress and enjoy the application process.<\/p>\n Begin School Selection Process: <\/strong>After getting the GMAT out of your way by earning your desired score ( I recommend 730+), begin researching your target schools. Selecting your schools is again an extremely time consuming process. \u00a0To be a successful applicant, you must be able to demonstrate thorough knowledge of the MBA program to which you are applying. \u00a0With proper planning, research and initiative, you can definitely pick out schools that will align with your credentials and aspirations, but give yourself significant time in researching and selecting your schools. \u00a0For selecting the right B school<\/a>, you will have to consider many factors e.g. geographical location, loans, scholarships, key projects\/courses, employment reports, and companies that are regular recruiters over the years. Do your research and decide on which schools are the best \u2018fit\u2019<\/a> for your credentials and aspirations. \u00a0You should research faculty, curriculum, student groups, clubs, and organizations that match your interests and goals. \u00a0Try to find answers to the questions: \u201cWill this school help me meet my objectives (in the areas of education, networking, and career)?<\/p>\n Along with your research, you should also start reaching out to people with MBA experience: colleagues, friends, current students, and alumni, etc. \u00a0Their feedback will help you determine if their perspectives and experiences align with your findings or not. \u00a0In addition, make sure to attend MBA fairs and school information sessions; this will provide you relevant information on your shortlisted schools. \u00a0If possible, visit the schools- attend a class or two, meet with a faculty, talk to students, and take a tour of the campus. \u00a0All these steps should enable you to identify three schools that are your dream schools, three that are your reach schools, and three that are your safe schools.<\/p>\n Build Your Resume: <\/strong>Now that you are ready with your list of target schools, it\u2019s time to work on constructing your r\u00e9sum\u00e9. MBA r\u00e9sum\u00e9<\/a> is very different from a job r\u00e9sum\u00e9, so you will need a significant amount of time and effort in building it. MBA r\u00e9sum\u00e9s are brief and concise stories of your skills, interests, experience and key accomplishments. I would like to quote Ross Admission Director Soojin Kwon, \u201cFor me, the r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is just as important as your essays. Think of it as a trailer of the movie about you.\u201d \u00a0By making an engaging trailer (r\u00e9sum\u00e9), you are building Ad Com\u2019s interest in your movie (essays and recommendation letters).<\/p>\n Contact Your Recommenders: <\/strong>It\u2019s also time to reach out to your recommenders.\u00a0 Please note the best recommenders are not just those individuals who agree to write a letter or you; they are people who know you well and are interested in your future goals. Once you have chosen your recommenders, start having conversations with them regarding your plans to apply to B schools. \u00a0It is important to make sure that your recommenders get enough time to write the recommendation letters<\/a>. \u00a0They are busy people, so you may want to apprise them of this favor that you would expect from them in the near future. \u00a0I would encourage you to request a meeting with each of them to discuss the key themes you would like to showcase in your application.<\/p>\n Brainstorm Stories for Essays: <\/strong>After having accomplished all this, you may be wondering \u201cMy target schools have still not released essay questions. What do I do now?\u201d \u00a0Well, before B-school roll out their essay questions, begin thinking about your story! \u00a0Everyone has a unique story; spend the time now to think about yours. \u00a0Even though B-schools change their essay topics from one year to another, there are going to be concepts that are the same among business schools. \u00a0For instance, all schools will expect you to write your goals essay; so take your time to identify your short term and long term goals. \u00a0Make sure your goals are realistic as well as ambitious. \u00a0Also, start thinking of your greatest leadership experiences, accomplishments, your background, life experiences, your greatest strengths (and weaknesses, too) and how these will help you add value to your target school.<\/p>\n Some of the most common themes you can organize your thoughts on are:<\/p>\n By establishing your stories in advance, you will already have some raw material in hand which you can develop, edit and tailor to individual essays for specific programs. \u00a0When the candidates sign up for my services in the summer, I require them to fill out a questionnaire of 25 questions pertaining to their goals, accomplishments, background, cultural experiences, strengths and weaknesses etc., so when the essays come out, we are able to use most of this material for specific essays for their target school.<\/p>\n Take Initiatives at Work: <\/strong>To strengthen your profile, take initiatives at work and look for opportunities to manage challenging projects or teams. Try to go above and beyond your regular job responsibilities and volunteer for leadership roles. \u00a0For example, you may mentor a junior employee or organize a company-sponsored volunteer event. \u00a0All of these steps will sure add value to your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and also give you extra material to write about in essays, or discuss in an interview.<\/p>\n Get Involved in Extra- curricular Activities: <\/strong>It\u2019s true that business schools value academic background, professional experience, and career progression. But they also give significant weight to your extra-curricular and community service activities<\/a> because they are looking for candidates who \u00a0are not just focused on work but are well- rounded individuals who \u00a0have other interests as well , and who have shown a commitment to serving their community . \u00a0So it is never too late to volunteer for new experiences at work and outside of work. \u00a0Try to get involved in an activity you are passionate about. \u00a0Whether it is practicing sports, singing in your church\u2019s choir or volunteering in a temple or a Gurudwara, get involved on a regular basis and consider roles that will allow you to take a leadership position and create \u00a0impact.<\/p>\n Thus, the key is- with proper planning and timing,\u00a0 you <\/a>will\u00a0 not only reduce your \u00a0stress of the MBA application process , but will also \u00a0make the process\u00a0 delightful and rewarding. \u00a0Of course, you can tweak the above plan as per your individual needs, circumstances, and preferences, but make sure to commit enough time to put your \u02dcbest foot forward.\u2019<\/p>\n Good luck on your MBA application.J<\/p>\n Are you interested in conversations with some MER students who were accepted into multiple schools? If yes, click at the following links and learn about their MBA journey in their own words.<\/p>\n Nithish:<\/strong> Rice , Kelley & Mays Admit with scholarships<\/p>\n https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/category\/student-interviews\/<\/a><\/p>\n Sathish <\/strong>\u2013Foster & ISB Admit<\/p>\n https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/student-interviews\/an-indian-applicants-story-5-interview-invites-and-2-admit-offers\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0Eduardo<\/strong>- Kellogg , Yale & UCLA Admit \u00a0with scholarships<\/p>\n https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/student-interviews\/a-brazilian-candidates-journey-to-kellogg-interview-with-mer-myessayreview\/<\/a><\/p>\n Carlos <\/strong>\u2013Cornell , Richard Ivy and Emory Admit with scholarship - https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/student-interviews\/interview-of-a-cornell-student\/<\/a><\/p>\n For questions or free consultation on your profile, you can email me at poonam@myessayreveiw.com<\/a><\/p>\n LinkedIn<\/a>\/ Facebook<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n This article<\/a> first appeared in myEssayReview<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Round 1 deadlines for the MBA applications are a little over five months away. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So if you if you are planning to apply to Business school this year, \u00a0NOW…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41445","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\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41445"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41449,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41445\/revisions\/41449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n