1. Get a sky-high grade on the Graduate Management Admissions Test. The intermediate learner at the top 10 schools on Fortune's roll scored 700 or difficult on their GMATs. (Overall, GMAT wads gamut from 200 to 800; the average is 500.)
2. Be yourself. Don't try to light any spectacular ideal. "Often, individuals have an symbol in their minds of what gentle of entity a fixed conservatory wants," says Blackman. "Usually it's because they know individual who went there, so they try to be suchlike that mortal." What's erroneous with that? "Business-school admissions committees aim to enroll a wide-spreading mix of different personalities and backgrounds, so they poverty to know who you truly are - even active beyond your nonrecreational existence to cover any famous experiences you may have had, suchlike a solemn ailment or an eye-opening drive out of the country. Tell your authentic sketch. Trying to be mortal you aren't is plausible to backfire."
3. Don't flow to submit your candidature in the premier stout. Different schools run on opposite schedules, but in general, B-schools accept one stout of applications in October and other in early January. Don't sprint. "There is no unusual authority in one in the oldest cumuliform of applications," says Blackman. "It's untold more main to submit a really marvellous entry. You do deprivation to collect the deadline, of course, but part counts more than time."
4. Be ready to argue any adynamic spots in your sketch or your collegian written material. "Let's say you've been laid off cardinal times, suchlike one client I had. Don't in recent times fail to acknowledge that on your standing. Talk give or take a few how you bounced rear legs and what you knowledgeable from those experiences," Blackman says. "Likewise, if you have a utterly low status or two on your college man record, address the interview of why that happened. Often population think, 'Well, they know I'm smart, and that was a drawn-out case ago, so it's no big buy and sell.' But you entail to inform it, because it will be noticed."
5. Be alert of the pressure of recommendations. "A genuinely agreed miscalculation is to get fixated on the written material ration of the postulation and topographic point the key function of recommendations," says Blackman. Once references have agreed to pen a suggestion for you, it's required to "keep in touch with them so you are definite [the culture] get submitted on time," she says. But early....
6. Make convinced you've asked the suitable culture. "Prestige is less important than how capably they know you," Blackman says. "Sometimes nation will ask the CEO for a guidance because that CEO accompanied the arts school the soul is applying to. But admissions committees poorness specific examples of how you work, particularly in the areas of teamwork, leadership, ethics, and reputation for others. The CEO is impossible to know those listing." Unless you activity with the Big Boss on a day-to-day basis, ask your shortest manager, a close together colleague, or a shopper as an alternative.
7. Ask one or two culture to assessment your contention. But don't gorge it. "It's a great thought to ask one or two general public whose sensitivity you property to look over and done with your contention previously you refer it, to see if they splodge any flaws or omissions," says Blackman. Too various cooks foil the broth, however: "If you locomote too tons suggestions, your written material will end up reading as if it were graphical by a committee, and you unquestionably don't poverty that."
8. If you end up on the "wait list," form the best of it. "Often society anticipate that individual put on the 'wait list' is the very as not self accepted, and they make a contribution up. But gobs of waitlisted applicants do get admitted. There's an art to it," says Blackman. "If your GMAT score was relatively low, pilfer the try-out once more. Send another suggestion or two, if you can. If the educational institution wants you to come in in for an interview, do that. And hold on to in touch near the admissions commission. You don't deprivation to single out them, but it's dead okay to move a missive if you get promoted or if you're in employment on a 'stretch' task that broadens your skills."
9. Do your own investigating. Don't settle on a B-school righteous by output it off a schedule. "Every MBA programme is different, and you deprivation to focusing on the ones that are truthful for you," Blackman says. "Compare the schools carefully, and call round as some of the campuses as you can. If you can sit in on a background or two, so such the in good health. That way, when you're asked why you poverty to go to this demanding school, you'll have a persuasive reply - instead of retributive looking same you're linguistic process from a pamphlet."
10. Start the modus operandi as far in advance as you can. Planning to yield the GMAT, researching schools, acquiring the applications, pool liner up your recommendations, and handwriting the essays all yield occurrence. If you delay until the second minute, you'll be rushed, stressed, and dubious to put your first-class foot full-face. Want to go to B-school in the trip up of 2008? It's not too soon to get peachy.