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| MBA-Gate.com : application : overview |
Business school admissions committees consider your GMAT scores, undergraduate performance, career experience (they want at least a few years, so you should not apply too early!!), essays, recommendations, and interviews, but not necessarily in that order.
A quick look at who's accepted reveals that without a threshold GMAT score, usually in the low to mid-600's, you will probably not be eligible for admission to top schools. Once you reach that threshold, though, the rest of your application becomes for more important than the difference between say a 680 and a 740. Take a look at our description of what the GMAT involves, and if you want more help than that, you should think about taking our comprehensive test-prep course
Essays are probably your greatest opportunity to make yourself stand out among those truly being considered for top business schools (candidates with sufficiently high GMATs). You should not short-change yourself on this segment of the application. Think long and hard about how you want admissions boards to see you, then think about how to get that image across. If you know that your writing skills are somewhat lacking, let us help you. We are offering a special promotion in this, our first year of essay consulting. We want to accumulate a body of successful sample essays to use in the future. Take this opportunity to look at our promotion and let our professional, ivy league editors make your essay its best. Even if you consider yourself a strong writer, and do not think you need the help of a personal editor, have a look at our tutorial. Its free!!
Your job experience is weighted fairly highly by admissions committees, which is why you should not apply after only a few years of working, and why you should use your essays carefully to portray your job experience in a unique, exciting light. A very small percentage of top B-school classes are comprised of students with two-years or less experience. A surprisingly high percentage of top B-school classes are made up of those coming from non-conventional backgrounds. Take this as a tip off, even if you do come from a consulting or finance background (if you haven't guessed, those are the conventional ones), play up the aspects of your job experience that are unique--the type of work that not every consultant/invesment banker does in their first five years of work.
The GPA plays a surprisingly small role in your admission to B-school. Sure. If you graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, that will help you out, but if you didn't, or even if you partied your way through college, earning a modest 2.7, you are not out of the race. Use your essays to show why you deserve another chance, and be sure you get your GMATs to where they need to be.
Finally, the admissions committees look at recommendations and interviews. These provide the same kind of opportunity that the essay does, to provide a subjective picture of yourself, but they are not weighted as highly. Tips and recommendations for those are provided in the tutorial section on this website! To sum up, most applications to MBA programs consist of the following components:
- Application Forms:
Each MBA program requires that you fill out their specific applications. By now, most business schools have made their application available on-line. If you choose not to download the application, you can call or write to the institution to have one mailed to you. Be sure that your application is impeccably neat. A messily filled out form reflects badly on you immediately. You should type the various pieces of personal information on the page rather than writing them by hand. Write out the responses to short answer questions on a separate sheet first, so as not to have crossing out or white-out on the final application sheet.
- Transcript:
Business schools require that you provide your undergraduate transcript along with your application. Be sure that you request that your undergraduate institution sends it in plenty of time to meet the application dealine. Although your undergraduate transcript is an important part of the application, it does not weigh as heavily as your post-graduation experience, GMAT scores, essays, etc.
- GMAT scores:
Again, be sure that you take the GMAT in plenty of time to meet the application deadlines of the MBA programs you intend to which you intend to apply. You must request that ETS (who creates and administers the GMAT) send your scores to the institutions of your choice. Your GMAT scores are an extremely important part of your application. Prepare for the GMATs as much as possible. You might even consider taking a prep course.
- Essays:
The essays questions for each school are included in the application that you will receive upon requesting it from the Business Schools that interest you. Most MBA programs also put a copy of their application on-line for you to download. The essay is another extremely important component of the application. Be sure that you write an essay that is unique and truly descriptive of you. Again, consider getting professional advice about your essays.
- Recommendations:
The number of recommendations required varies from one MBA program to the next, but there is no limit to how many you can send. You should include as many favorable letters about you as are pertinent and appropriate, but be sure that they all say different things about you and come from people who know you in different capacities. You do not want to bore the admissions committee. Also, letters from relatives or your next-door-neighbor when you were growing up are not advised. Your letters should come from someone who knows you in a on a professional or academic level..
- Interviews:
Most schools do not require interviews. Still, they are strongly recommended. They are a chance to put a face and personality to the name. Unless you know that you are a truly poor interviewer, you should take advantage of the opportunity. Be sure to prepare for your interview, as well. Try to anticipate the types of questions that will be asked of you, know something specific about the program, and have some good questions ready.
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