Applications | The Official GMAT Blog

Make the Most of Your Time: Setting Yourself Apart

Posted on February 3, 2012 by GMAC

So far, we’ve discussed how you can get a jump on strengthening your academic profile, optimizing your work experience, and building leadership skills in the years before you apply to business school. At this point, you may be wondering: what more is there to an MBA application? The simple answer is: you! Business school admissions committees are truly interested in getting to know the person behind the application and, specifically, learning about what sets you apart from the many other qualified applicants they’re considering. In this installment, we’ll talk about ways to cultivate these important differentiating factors.

MBA programs strive for diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and interests in their student body, and typically want to admit well-rounded students who have active lives outside of the office. In other words, someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes financial analysis may be very successful at work, but probably won’t make for a very interesting classmate. For the sake of both your sanity and your MBA applications, make time to pursue interests and hobbies unrelated to your career.

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Make the Most of Your Time: Be(come) a Leader

Posted on January 27, 2012 by GMAC

Along with the hard facts of a candidate’s academic background and professional history, MBA admissions committees also place a good deal of emphasis on the softer skills people use at work. The business school experience is highly collaborative, as students work together on class assignments, cooperate to run clubs and plan conferences and events, and share industry insights and interviewing best practices during the recruiting process. Admissions committees therefore seek applicants who have demonstrated teamwork and leadership skills.

While it’s fairly common for MBA applicants to have some experience working as part of a group or a team, not everyone will have had the opportunity to manage others or take ownership of projects. Setting out to build a track record of leadership before business school will not only help you stand out in the admissions process, but also develop skills that will serve you well throughout your career.

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Make the Most of Your Time: Optimizing Your Experience

Posted on January 20, 2012 by GMAC

For many MBA programs, work experience is the heart of one’s candidacy. While academic preparation is essential, an applicant’s professional history informs his or her ability to contribute to classroom activities and integrate each course’s subject matter into a broader framework. Further, schools want to admit students who will go on to be successful alumni, and past performance is a strong predictor of future performance.

If you’re planning on applying to MBA programs down the road, it may seem obvious that you should try to excel in your career today. Still, some may find that objective so broad that they aren’t sure how to act on it. Knowing about the specific markers that admissions committees consider when evaluating a candidate’s work experience can help you to focus your efforts and take an active role in your ongoing career development.

MBA admissions committees often begin by considering a candidate’s overall career trajectory. At the most basic level, they’re looking for movement or change over time: among varied projects, into new or additional roles, or between functions or organizations. For candidates who have gained all of their full-time experience working for the same organization, business schools typically expect to see signs of upward progression, such as promotions, raises, or increases in responsibility. If you plan to stay the course with your current employer until it’s time for your applications, be mindful of this and take proactive steps to build momentum. For example, you might speak with your supervisor about paths to advancement in your firm, lobby for assignment to high-profile projects or clients, or volunteer to take on additional tasks outside of your basic responsibilities.

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Make the Most of Your Time: Evaluating Your Academics

Posted on January 13, 2012 by GMAC

Planning for an MBA often begins early in one’s career. Because business schools typically prefer that Master’s applicants have several years of full-time work experience before they enroll, even those who know after their first undergraduate economics class they want an MBA may want to work for several years before applying immediately out of college. For the early career professional intent on an MBA, the question becomes: how to make the most of the intervening years? Over the next few weeks, we’ll be offering a series of tips about steps you can take now to enhance your business school candidacy, even if your applications are years down the road.

While most of our advice will focus on looking forward, this first installment involves looking back. If you’ve already graduated from an undergraduate program, it may seem like there’s little you can do to improve this element of your candidacy, but this is actually far from the case. By examining your academic history and considering your educational profile as it compares to students at the schools you might want to attend, you can identify and address potential weaknesses before they become problems for your application.

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