MBA Application Timeline: 12+ months before applying

 

 

Succeeding in the MBA application process requires a high-degree of self-awareness, so self-assessment exercises can be very valuable. Starting a journal and committing to making regular entries will increase your self-awareness as well as provide much-needed practice expressing your thoughts and feelings on paper. In addition to recording thoughts in your journal about daily experience and career goals, explore what motivates you, where your strengths and talents lie, and what you truly value. Self-assessment takes time and effort to yield results.

 

 

Developing deeper relationships with mentors and superiors and building connections with current students and alumni from the schools you’re interested in will pay major dividends when it comes time to apply. Some candidates feel that there is something disingenuous about systematically cultivating relationships that will help their chances of acceptance. Our belief is that if you wait until you need these people to start connecting with them then it can be disingenuous. Instead, you want to develop these relationships over time, so that you can be of service to these people long before you ask them to be of help to you. This isn’t just about increasing your odds of getting into business school; it is a key step in building the foundation for a successful career.

 

You’ll want to start your career planning work long before it’s time to sit down and write a career goals essay for your business school applications. Of course, defining your career goals is one of the first steps to deciding whether or not to pursue an MBA degree in the first place. At this stage, start to think about your short-term and long-term career goals and research industries and jobs that peak your interest.

 

 

In the months and years before you apply, you need to start thinking like an admissions officer so that you can identify the strengths and weaknesses in your MBA candidacy and take proactive steps to reinforce your strengths and counteract your weaknesses long before it’s time to assemble your application. With advance knowledge of your potential weaknesses, you can take steps to mitigate your shortcomings whether they are in your academic profile, career story, or portfolio of leadership experiences.

 

 

While cultivating self-awareness, you should also start to build “school-awareness.” Too many candidates rely exclusively on the rankings and what other people have to say about MBA programs. Start learning about the schools before you start working on your application and when it comes time to answer an admissions officer’s question about why you are applying to their school, you will have plenty of points on which to build a convincing case. Time invested in school awareness means that you’ll be making the best-informed choice of programs when the time comes time to apply.

 

Finally, we think it’s best to get the GMAT completed early in your preparation process. GMAT scores are valid for five years for most MBA programs, so you can start studying and complete the test at any point within five years of when you plan to apply. You definitely don’t want to be worrying about the GMAT, while holding down a full-time job and engaging in the heavy lifting required to assemble a top-notch application.