In January, you might have shortlisted top 10 Business Schools. Many have contacted me and sought the chances of getting into each school. If you not done it yet, use our Basic Profile Evaluation service.
GMAT, which many have yet to take, will be a crucial differentiator. I have seen brilliant applicants procrastinate till August to take the test.
650-690 becomes the borderline score that jeopardizes your chances.
1) Prepare for the GMAT
If you are not yet in a study schedule, read our GMAT study plan.
GMAT 730+ has become the safe score for most top MBA programs in the US.
If you want to see which score is safe for European and other international schools, read Top MBA - GMAT and GPA (Average and Median).
Most GMAT preparation for those who are working full-time requires routines and smart-study. For instance, in GMAT Sentence correction, you don't have to know all the rules in English grammar, focus only on these.
For those who are traveling as part of work (sales and consulting), set aside the first-half an hour of your morning routine, for problem-solving (Quant). Allocate another 30 minutes during lunch break for Verbal. Any extra hour(s) for GMAT study will be a bonus, but don't verge away from the routine.
2) Reflect on your current industry
Switching job functions will be a reality for most top programs, but switching industry is tough. So if you a hint of exhaustion or awareness that your industry is on a decline (Energy, Finance), using a creative narrative as a motivation and a post-MBA goal becomes the foundation for your MBA Application.
3) Find out opportunities in your target post-MBA industries
I am sure you might have researched and shortlisted the best programs for General Management, Finance, and Consulting. We have gone further and shortlisted top MBA programs by 19 specializations.
The choice of specialization should be based on your demonstrated performance in work, extra-curricular, strengths/weaknesses, depth of the curriculum (experiential learning opportunities and internship) and opportunities in the target industry.
By 2025, Financial institutions are likely to see profits fall by 20% as more start-ups disrupt the industry with AI, cryptocurrency, contactless payment services, and blockchain implementations.
Most top MBA programs are recruitment machines for Consulting, Technology, and Finance. If you are planning to enter any other industries apart from the three, do extensive research.
Even if you are planning to enter Consulting, Technology, and Finance, there are hidden gems outside the top 10 rankings. Each program has their strengths and weaknesses despite their rankings. You should do your independent research (Global rankings and US rankings)
For career switchers - US MBA programs with their 2-year duration and internships have an edge. Many internships become the launchpad for future job offers.
We have noticed that most applicants don't have the patience nor the knowledge to research about their target industries. I have made it easy for you with our analysis of 24 industries.
Don't get carried away about rankings and forget that the rankings are based on less than 40% alumni survey response. Alumni satisfaction and career switching capability are not a big factor in these rankings.
4) List your base and secondary skills for MBA Admissions
We have covered extensively about how to list your base and secondary skill here.
It is not your interest that dictates your base and secondary skills.
Even if you hated your job, the daily responsibilities would develop a set of secondary skills that will be useful in your post-MBA career.
Your base skills will be based on your experience, passion, and aptitude.
For example, if you are a Technologist with a passion for Finance, secondary skills would include the ability to set up the technological environment for data modeling and analysis.
MBA should contribute towards the base skills.
Your passion through extra-curricular should have contributed in developing at least a few base skills.
We had a client - a technologist, who was passionate about Micro Cap investing even though it was not his day job. He had set up a simulator and tested a few scenarios to find a lucrative winning strategy.
Last year, he received admission to a top MBA program and funded his MBA with the help of the profits he earned by executing the strategy.
His base skills was not a creative interpretation to match with his post-MBA goal, but a real passion that was supported by his action.
5) Find your authentic story
From our experience in consulting, it takes at least 5-6 set of questionnaires with at least 30 questions to capture the strengths and weaknesses of an applicant.
Many weaknesses that the applicant reveals will be different from the real weaknesses.
We had a client who after 3 sessions, found out that he thrives working independently. Not a great result when you are applying for an MBA program that requires team interactions and group exercises. But on digging deeper, he shared a story of a previous failure that resulted from trusting his colleague completely. His reputation was permanently damaged. I assured him that failure was just an event and doubted that his colleagues judge him by his one failure.
Your daily contribution defines your brand.
For the client, ‘Lack of Trust’ was the real weakness and not ‘working independently’
There are so many such aha moments we reach only through a series of questionnaires. Consultants like me depend on your answers to find your true strengths and weaknesses
Be Authentic.
Answer the questions completely. Start here for initial free MBA Admissions consulting.
If you are planning for a long Q&A session, purchase Detailed Profile Evaluation Service.
MBA Application - February Plan (Summary)
- Prepare for the GMAT
- Reflect on your current industry
- Find out opportunities in your target industries
- List your base and secondary skills
- Find your authentic story that connects your strengths, weakness, and skills (base and secondary) with your post-MBA goal.
