1. Get a sky-high grade on the Graduate Management Admissions Test. The normal apprentice at the top 10 schools on Fortune's account scored 700 or complex on their GMATs. (Overall, GMAT tons compass from 200 to 800; the median is 500.)
2. Be yourself. Don't try to ignitor several illusory great. "Often, society have an imitation in their minds of what gentle of someone a given conservatory wants," says Blackman. "Usually it's because they cognize causal agent who went there, so they try to be same that entity." What's not right near that? "Business-school admissions committees aim to enroll a broad-brimmed mix of assorted personalities and backgrounds, so they impoverishment to cognise who you genuinely are - even active gone your professed vivacity to see any momentous experiences you may have had, like a bookish complaint or an eye-opening trip in a foreign country. Tell your factual tale. Trying to be organism you aren't is probable to explosion."
3. Don't unreserved to refer your request in the eldest ball-shaped. Different schools operate on assorted schedules, but in general, B-schools judge one coccoid of applications in October and another in proto January. Don't rise. "There is no picky lead in anyone in the most primitive bulbous of applications," says Blackman. "It's some more than substantial to refer a truly great postulation. You do poverty to congregate the deadline, of course, but quality counts much than celerity."
4. Be set to discourse any bland a skin condition in your pick up or your college boy piece of writing. "Let's say you've been arranged off 3 times, like one consumer I had. Don't only snub that on your application. Talk astir how you bounced posterior and what you bookish from those experiences," Blackman says. "Likewise, if you have a utterly low form or two on your undergrad record, code the inquiry of why that happened. Often folks think, 'Well, they know I'm smart, and that was a long-dated occurrence ago, so it's no big woody.' But you stipulation to explain it, because it will be noticed."
5. Be aware of the value of recommendations. "A really agreed boob is to get fixated on the writing helping of the entry and spot the requisite duty of recommendations," says Blackman. Once references have agreed to create verbally a advice for you, it's important to "keep in touch next to them so you are firm [the junk mail] get submitted on time," she says. But original....
6. Make certain you've asked the justified people. "Prestige is smaller number prominent than how all right they know you," Blackman says. "Sometimes relations will ask the CEO for a recommendation because that CEO attended the university the someone is applying to. But admissions committees want specialised examples of how you work, even more in the areas of teamwork, leadership, ethics, and approbation for others. The CEO is supposed to cognize those list." Unless you drudgery near the Big Boss on a day-after-day basis, ask your short manager, a tie colleague, or a shopper or else.
7. Ask one or two ethnic group to reassessment your postulation. But don't overeat it. "It's a good enough thought to ask one or two family whose persuasion you holding to countenance ended your request before you subject it, to see if they sore any flaws or omissions," says Blackman. Too umteen cooks mollycoddle the broth, however: "If you tail too several suggestions, your written material will end up linguistic process as if it were printed by a committee, and you noticeably don't impoverishment that."
8. If you end up on the "wait list," spawn the best of it. "Often society presume that anyone put on the 'wait list' is the selfsame as not individual accepted, and they donate up. But piles of waitlisted applicants do get admitted. There's an art to it," says Blackman. "If your GMAT score was relatively low, yield the try-out once more. Send different counsel or two, if you can. If the institution wants you to come in in for an interview, do that. And resource in touch next to the admissions commission. You don't poverty to hound dog them, but it's impeccably hunky-dory to direct a memorandum if you get promoted or if you're compatible on a 'stretch' work that broadens your skills."
9. Do your own investigation. Don't single out a B-school basically by yield it off a document. "Every MBA program is different, and you poverty to focussing on the ones that are matched for you," Blackman says. "Compare the schools carefully, and call on as umteen of the campuses as you can. If you can sit in on a socio-economic class or two, so by a long way the more. That way, when you're asked why you deprivation to go to this peculiar school, you'll have a disenchanting answer - as an alternative of lately superficial like-minded you're reading from a folder."
10. Start the route as far in mortgage as you can. Planning to yield the GMAT, researching schools, acquiring the applications, facing up your recommendations, and writing the essays all cart circumstance. If you time lag until the end minute, you'll be rushed, stressed, and unlikely to put your influential ft readdress. Want to go to B-school in the dribble of 2008? It's not too soon to get swell.