5 REASONS YOU SHOULD OPEN YOUR MBA APPLICATION ONLINE EARLY
The next step in your MBA application process should be opening up the online applications and reading through them. According to Paul Lanzillotti, admissions expert and founder of Amerasia Consulting, the reason for this is that you will get screwed if you don’t!
This step comes after you have built your realistic shortlist of schools by working yourself backwards with your post-MBA goals, as well as having dialed in your realistic and specific goals using LinkedIn.
Use a fake email address to open up all potential MBA application forms online (the MBA school does not care). Take this opportunity to read through EVERY question on the MBA application well ahead of time!
The five reasons are:
You will become familiar with the nuanced mechanics of what you are getting into
Get to know what the hidden questions are upfront for each of your target programs
Be able to assess how well you can answer each major essay question
Open up these applications well ahead of time. In short, don’t wait until the 11th hour. You will get screwed!
If you do wait for the 11th hour, it might be too late to answer some of the unique questions posted by individual MBA admissions committees.
You will start to see what kind of questions each school asks. You will also see many short questions. Writing a paragraph on your short term goals is a nasty surprise to get the day before the deadline.
One of these unique questions is from Columbia Business School: What current students have you spoken with? What have you done to engage our community? You will need to know ahead of time that you need to reach out and make an effort to get in touch with their community.
Other schools will ask, what do you know about (name of city business school is situated in)? What other programs are you applying to?
London Business School asks, how will you conduct your job search? Have you told your friends and family that you are applying to business school? Are your friends and family supportive in your decision? What about your current boss?
You will earn yourself some bonus points if you review interview questions upfront too.
This helps you get to know what each school actually cares about. GMAT Club is an excellent resource to go look up the top seven interview questions for each school. Further questions such as, do you have a back up plan? can help you be more specific in your MBA application too. For international students, some schools will want to know how pragmatic and flexible you are job wise.
Keep an eye out for the next blog post on the next step to take on your MBA application journey: How to Start Reaching Out to Your Target Programs.