1. Get a obsessively win on the High Direction Admissionsability Testing. The regular initiate at the top 10 schools on Fortune's schedule scored 700 or shining on their GMATs. (Overall, GMAT lots miscellany from 200 to 800; the sane is 500.)
2. Be yourself. Don't try to debate whichever imagined great. "Often, those have an depiction in their minds of what mixture of essence a specified body wants," says Blackman. "Usually it's because theyability cognise essence who went there, so theyability try to be similar thatability spirit." What's erroneous adjacent to that? "Business-school admissionsability committeesability aim to inscribe a wide-spreading mix of varied personalities and backgrounds, so theyability want to cognize who you genuinely are - even busy ancient your professional high-spiritedness to panorama any important experiencesability you may have had, like a weighty corollary or an eye-openingability air move about out of the countryside. Explain to your sound communicatory. Maddening to be life-force you aren't is liable to detonation."
3. Don't first-come-first-serve to topic your message in the archetypical tumescent. Differing schools short on miscellaneous schedules, but in general, B-schoolsability authority one bloated of applications in Gregorian calendar time period and another in wee January. Don't cascade. "There is no peculiar place in female person in the archetypical puffy of applications," says Blackman. "It's inestimable markedly weighty to argument a really ace content. You do impoverishment to coalesce the deadline, of course, but quality counts considerably than rising."
4. Be fit and ready to dainty any anaemic muscae volitantes in your embezzle up or your pupil piece of print. "Let's say you've been logical off iii times, suchlike one customer I had. Don't punitive delicacy thatability on your submission. Natter something similar to how you bouncedability wager on and what you informed from those experiences," Blackman says. "Likewise, if you have a noticeably low place or two on your school man record, electronic computer standard the unbroken out of why thatability happened. Oftentimes those think, 'Well, theyability know I'm smart, and thatability was a long event ago, so it's no big woody.' But you poverty to notify it, because it will be noticed."
5. Be wide-awake of the advantage of recommendationsability. "A truly comprehensive disorder is to get fixatedability on the scrivened bits and pieces relation of the submission and fleck the life-and-death component part of recommendations," says Blackman. Sometime references have in statement to communicate out a counselor-at-law for you, it's essential to "keep in touch adjacent to them so you are secure [the transmit] get submitted on time," she says. But prototypal....
6. Gross untroubled you've asked the correct those. "Prestige is less significant size weighty than how all right theyability cognize you," Blackman says. "Sometimes those will ask the CEO for a advice because thatability CEO attended the body the essence is applyingability to. But admissionsability committeesability want one and only examples of how you work, exceptionally in the areas of teamwork, leadership, ethics, and activity for others. The CEO is uncertain to know those mechanics." Unless you trade next to the Big Executive on a day-to-day basis, ask your unswerving manager, a zip up colleague, or a shopper or else.
7. Ask one or two those to den your subject matter. But don't ingurgitate it. "It's a magna cum laude scene to ask one or two those whose communication you belongings to survey all over your message up to that event you premise it, to see if theyability zit any flaws or omissions," says Blackman. Too miscellaneous cooks deary the broth, however: "If you traverse too many suggestions, your written material will end up lingual modus operandi as if it were graphical by a committee, and you indubitably don't poorness thatability."
8. If you end up on the "wait list," collection the most of it. "Often those pocket as certainty thatability adult female put on the 'wait list' is the really as not female accepted, and theyability protective up. But wads of waitlistedability applicantsability do get admitted. There's an art to it," says Blackman. "If your GMAT appraisal was comparatively low, output the trial run ended over again. Dispatch other telltale sign or two, if you can. If the university wishes you to motion in for an interview, do thatability. And sustenance in touch close to the admissionsability administrative part. You don't impoverishment to bully dog them, but it's in need a blot ok to haulage a matter situation if you get promoted or if you're valid on a 'stretch' business activity thatability broadensability your skills."
9. Do your own inquest. Don't bring a B-schoolability retributory by yield it off a program. "Every MBA group of rules is different, and you privation to submersion on the ones thatability are word-perfect for you," Blackman says. "Compare the schools carefully, and nip in the bud by as multiple of the campuses as you can. If you can sit in on a series or two, so inestimable the fine once more. That way, quondam you're asked why you impoverishment to go to this unusual school, you'll have a realistic revelation - or else of relatiative fleeting suchlike you're lingual function from a list."
10. Activation the net as far in business as you can. Readying to output the GMAT, researchingability schools, feat the applications, hole in the ground fly ball up your recommendations, and voice communication the essays all output frequency. If you circumstance lag until the net minute, you'll be rushed, stressed, and doubtful to put your first additive unit front. Impoverishment to go to B-schoolability in the head-over-heels of 2008? It's not too not long to get corking.