You’ve made it so far. All of your application components came together to create an impressive portrait of a candidate that earned you an interview invitation. Now you need to prove that you’re as impressive in […]

When preparing for your business school letters of recommendation, there are two major questions you’ll need to answer: Who should write your recommendations? And how can you best prepare that person so that he or […]

Unlike your application essays, which will receive a good amount of attention, your resume will probably get less than a minute of the adcom’s time. So why bother spending valuable time working to perfect […]

It’s important that you have some idea of what your goals are before you begin your MBA application, not just because it’ll make writing your goals essay easier, but it’ll help you determine which schools are best […]

In the last “episode” of Essentials Of An Awesome App, we asked the question, “Do you have enough extra-curricular or volunteer experience?” Today we’re going to stick to the “do you have enough” vein, but this […]

You do not need a title to lead. Eisenhower defined leadership as the “art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” No mention of title or hierarchy there.

What you do […]

If you’re applying to B-school in fall or winter, then we hope you’ve already begun assessing your profile. In this series we’ve already discussed taking the GMAT and evaluating your GPA; today we’re going to examine extracurricular activities and volunteer experience. The main question you’ll need to ask yourself is: Do I have enough…[Read more]

This is the second installment in our new series, The Essentials of an Awesome MBA Application . Last time admissions consultant Linda Abraham addressed the role of the GMAT in MBA admissions; this time, she tackles today the importance of the GPA, or grade point average, which in the U.S. is on a 4.0 system. It makes [...]

Greetings 2013 applicants and welcome to a new series on applying to top business schools. Each of the articles in this series will address important topics and provide expert tips on how you can prepare and complete the MBA application process and win a seat in a top MBA program. Your first hurdle:  The GMAT. What score [...]

To wrap up our series on major application essay topics, here are a few thoughts on the weakness essay. I bet it’s your favorite! You, like everyone else, doesn’t like to write about (or think about) your flaws, especially when you are striving to present a desirable portrait of yourself. But if that’s what the application [...]

It’s like the beginning of a bad joke – how do you cram 10,000 elephants into an economy-class sedan? Answer: You don’t. When writing answers to short essay questions , you find yourself in a similar predicament: How do you cram all of your hundreds or thousands of pearls of wisdom into a mere 200-300 words? There’s only [...]

Next up in our series on major MBA application essay topics:  responding to criticism. A typical essay question in this category may be something like, “What is the toughest criticism/constructive feedback you have ever received, and what did you learn from it?” Yes, you’d much rather write about your achievements and the great reviews you’ve gotten [...]

You’ve just spent hours – or more likely weeks – writing the two to four essays that most top MBA programs require. The last thing you want to do is write another essay…unless of course that essay will help you. How do you know if it’s worth it to spend the time composing an optional essay? Answering [...]

One way to blow your MBA essay on leadership is to talk about your leadership skills in general terms without providing examples or elaboration. When answering the leadership question, your goal should be three-fold: Identify your specific leadership traits, show examples of those attributes, and reveal the impact you had. 1. Identify Your…[Read more]

Once you’ve answered the question, “Why do you want an MBA?” you’ll likely be faced with a follow-up question: “Why now?” I assume that you already know why you want an MBA.  (If you don’t, see last week’s tip, “ Three Essential Keys To The Goals Essay .”) Consider the following when you respond to “Why now”: Do you have the [...]

There are 3 essential ingredients to a successful MBA goals essay, arguably the most common and important essay in MBA applications. Your MBA goals essay must be: Focused Anecdotal Realistic Let’s take a peek under the hood of each element: Focused: Your short-term goal should include one function you would like to perform and one or two…[Read more]

If you wanted to boil down your goal in writing the reapplication essay to four words, they would be: Show how you’ve grown. The adcoms may compare this year’s application with the past dinged one – or at least with the notes from reviewers. And they’ll be looking for improvement, plain and simple. To show that [...]

You’re staring at a blank screen with a jumble of MBA essay questions dancing wildly in your head. With so many schools and so many essays, where do you start? How do you make sure that each essay works on its own, while simultaneously complementing the other essays in that same application? Or maybe you are [...]