Mapping Out Your MBA Application Timeline

MBA application timeline

  • Spring and summer of your application season is for research, test-taking, and application strategy and development
  • September and October—Round 1 deadlines
  • Early January—Round 2 deadlines
  • Late March/early April—Round 3 deadlines. Spring deadlines are ideal for deferred MBA admissions for college seniors and part-time and EMBA programs.

Once you’ve decided to pursue an MBA, your work is cut out for you. Applicants must fit in test prep, visit schools, and develop essays with other personal and professional commitments. The best way to do this is to put together your MBA application timeline several months before your target deadlines.

If you’re planning to apply to business school in the fall, come up with a game plan now. That way, you can complete the admissions components within a schedule that doesn’t necessitate sleepless nights and a jumbo bottle of Tums.

Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership to test prep to hourly help with targeted tasks. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.

Your MBA application timeline should allow time for:

Community Involvement 

Now is a great time to deepen or establish your involvement with a community organization. Have you remained active with outside activities over the last couple of years? Then consider stepping your activities up a notch. Offering to organize an event is a great discrete activity. It allows you to work in a team, make an impact, and show results. Think up roles that will allow you to take a leadership position and create a real impact before September.

Listen to B-Schooled Episode #104: The Importance of Extracurriculars and Community Service

MBA application timeline

Essays and Test Prep

The amount of time MBA aspirants will spend on their applications will vary, depending on writing abilities and general work efficiency. That said, plan to spend between 40 and 60 hours preparing four to eight applications. Non-native English speakers will also likely need to allot more time to their applications, particularly on writing, revising, editing, proofing, formatting, and inputting essays.

The other piece of this puzzle is, of course, the GMAT or GRE. Have you completed the exam and feel satisfied with your score? If you still need to take the exam, you have a lot of work ahead of you, as applicants typically devote at least 100 hours to test preparation.

Did you know that Stacy Blackman Consulting also offers test prep services? Request a free game plan chat with SBC’s lead test prep coach by emailing testprep@stacyblackman.com

Depending on where you are in the process, you may have to take a prep class and perhaps take the test more than once. The good news is that round one is still nine months out on your MBA application timeline. So, you have enough time if you get serious soon.

Bolstering your Quant Profile

An undergraduate GPA hovering around 3.5 is generally considered fine. If your GPA is 3.2 or below, or you majored in liberal arts, you may want to consider taking quantitative classes to enhance your academic profile. The MBA canon generally consists of Calculus, Statistics, and Microeconomics.

Did you take any of those classes as an undergrad and score a C or below? If so, you should retake the classes now. Where you take the class is much less important than the course material and grade (aim for A’s!!). A local community college is a great option.

Hear straight from SBC consultant Sherry, formerly in AdCom at Duke Fuqua, as she shares her tips for low GPA applicants:

@stacyblackmanconsultingMath for Management: MATH X402 at UC Berkeley Extension Mathematical Solutions for Businesses: MGMT X 110 at UCLA Extension? original sound – Stacy Blackman Consulting

Structured Work Sessions

Some people work most efficiently when they can break up tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces. Meanwhile, others prefer to devote several hours to their writing in one sitting. By now, most MBA applicants know how they work most effectively. Structure your writing and editing sessions accordingly.

We typically recommend that candidates allocate two to three hours each time they sit down to work on their essays, particularly for the first few drafts. Approach the essays holistically. You won’t have a compelling final product if you’ve only snatched 15 minutes here and 30 minutes there.

Conversely, most applicants should also avoid the “marathon session.” Few people are still sharp or creative eight hours into a writing and editing session. If you need to make up for lost time, try breaking it up with a session in the morning and another in the evening.

MBA application timeline

Thoughtful Revisions

Applicants should also build several weeks for reflection and feedback into their MBA timeline. If you can return to your essays days later with fresh eyes, you’ll often think of a better example or more inspired language to illustrate a certain point. This won’t happen if you’re forced to work at warp speed.

Distributing your writing and editing over a reasonable period also makes it easier for friends, family, or colleagues to provide feedback. It’s unfair to ask someone to turn around comments in a 24-hour period. Build a few days into your MBA application timeline to allow them ample opportunity to give you their critiques. Also, leave yourself adequate time to reflect upon and incorporate their feedback.

The b-school application process is stressful, but careful planning with an MBA application timeline will make the experience manageable. Also, it can help you channel your energies into continually improving your candidacy until the moment you submit your applications.

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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership and Interview Prep to hourly help with essay editing, resume review, and much more! Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant. 

Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.

SBC’s star-studded consultant team is unparalleled. Our clients benefit from current intelligence that we receive from the former MBA Admissions Officers from Harvard HBS, Wharton and every elite business program in the US and Europe.  These MBA Admissions Officers have chosen to work exclusively with SBC.

Just two of the many superstars on the SBC team:
Meet Anthony, who served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise.

Meet Andrea, who served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions Marketing at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years.

Tap into this inside knowledge for your MBA applications by requesting a consultation.

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