In a recent MBA Podcaster podcast, Top 10 Tips for Getting Into Business School: Advice to Follow Before You Apply, Janet Nakano offers the lowdown gleaned from admissions directors from NYU Stern and Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

A drum roll, please, for the…

Top Ten Tips for Getting Into B-School

1. Speak from the heart– Business school applications force you to be introspective and while you’re trying to present yourself in the best light possible, make sure you stay true to yourself.

2. Know what the GMAT score means– All it shows is the correlation between how you will do academically in your core classes in your first year, says Isser Gallogly, executive director of MBA admissions at NYU Stern. A high GMAT score is nice to have but it certainly isn’t everything, Gallogly stresses.

3. Find your fit– Admissions officers are looking for candidates that will compliment the school’s culture. You really want to choose the people very, very carefully, says Gallogly. Choose the people and the fit first, and then look at some of the other factors second.

4. Don’t try to game the process– There’s far more arts and science when makes an admissions decision. It’s like putting together a puzzle looking for different kinds of expertise, different kinds of experiences that makes the classroom environment far richer and everyone’s experience through the MBA program far better, says Jim Holeman, director of admissions at Kelley School of Business.

5. Visit schools– If possible, don’t rely solely on websites, blogs, message boards or podcasts to get a feeling for your school of choice. Nothing beats the experience of walking on campus, talking to students, sitting in on a class if you can. By making a personal connection with a school, you’ll be able to more accurately convey why the fit works for you and your application will benefit.

6. Know what you want and why you want it– Business school is a place to get it done, not to figure it out, Gallogly says, adding that it’s not a time for self reflection and self discovery. If you’re not really pretty clear in what you want to go do, take the time to figure that out and then apply to business school.

7. Be consistent– Admissions officers like to see your application as one complete story of who you are, Nakano says. Imagine a unifying thread that connects everything from your GMAT score, academic record, essays, recommendations and interview.

8. Don’t be desperate– You know how difficult getting into a top program is; some business schools accept a mere 10% of the applicant pool. Even if you would be thrilled, or would kill to be in that group of admits, remember to keep your cool and don’t beg, bribe or badger the admissions committee, Nakano advises.

9. Apply when you’re ready– My advice to candidates is always apply when you feel that your application is at its strongest, says Holeman, adding that he’d much rather see an application come in for a later deadline that’s strong than someone who rushed to meet an early deadline but is not satisfied with the submission.

10. Know the admissions officers are people, too– It all still comes down to whether the individual reader digs what you’re trying to say or not, Holeman explains. Because of that it goes back to the whole concept of being yourself and being engaged and being sincere about who you are, what you’ve done and what you want both in the essays and the interviews because that is what people will remember.

To hear this podcast of top ten tips for getting into business school, click here.

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If you are feeling stumped by your application essays and need some additional guidance, check out our NEW series of essay guides for MBA applications. Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton available now. They are seriously terrific and we are proud to say that almost every person who has ordered one has come back for more!

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Chicago Booth School of Business is now accepting applications for the January 6th Round 2 application deadline. With that in mind, we’d like to pass along Booth’s tips to make sure your application is as polished as possible.

Know thyself
Strong applications demonstrate self-awareness and a clear picture of your goals and reasons for pursuing the MBA. Remember, there is no one item or area in your application that can make or break you. It’s the complete picture of you that is important!

Answer the questions
Take the time to read each essay question closely. In order to clearly answer the questions that are posed, you must pay close attention to exactly what you’re being asked. Read associate dean Rose Martinelli’s blog titled “Don’t Forget to Read” for more tips on answering Booth essay questions.

Check with your recommenders
Confirm that they are aware of the deadline and procedures in submitting letters. Remember that Booth will accept Letters of Recommendation on your behalf up to one week after the Round Two deadline.

Spell check
Your computer’s spell check function won’t catch all spelling and/or grammar errors, so check your work manually to be sure your writing is the best it can be.

Have someone read your application
Is your application so familiar that you aren’t objective about improvements that can be made? You may even become blind to simple errors. Have someone read your application to make sure it all makes sense, is easy to read and that your messages are clear.

The optional essay
This can be a great opportunity to provide greater explanation of any anomalies in your application, but it is not an opportunity to write another creative essay or expand on your work experience. Use this space only if you feel it’s necessary in providing greater clarity around some aspect of your application.

Know what’s next
A few days after the Round Two deadline of January 6th, all applicants will receive an email from Admissions with a timeline for the application process. You’ll see information about your application status and the interview invitation process.

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If you are feeling stumped by your application essays and need some additional guidance, check out our NEW series of essay guides for MBA applications. Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton available now. They are seriously terrific and we are proud to say that almost every person who has ordered one has come back for more!

We are on Facebook – join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

Queen’s School of Business in Canada was ranked as the top non-US business school in the last BusinessWeek MBA rankings for full-time as well as EMBA programs. The full-time program is only 12 months long, providing a flexible option for candidates who prefer to take less time away from a career. Queen’s team based program focuses on personal development, even providing a personal coach to help students achieve their goals.

When approaching the essays for Queen’s MBA application it will be important to highlight your interest in the unique program, as well as the qualities that most MBA programs are seeking: academic achievement, leadership and teamwork skills, demonstrated progression at work.

With a limited amount of words overall, it will be important to focus strategically and make sure you are highlighting your best features in this application.

Essay 1: Please explain why you are applying to a team-based MBA, what you expect to bring to this program, and what you expect the challenges and rewards of this learning model might be. (500 words)

This essay is an opportunity to describe why you are interested in the Queen’s program, and to demonstrate how you will bring experiences from your life and work to contribute to your classmates. An example from your past team experiences, whether work or extracurricular, will provide solid evidence of your own skills.

Essay 2: Tell us something about yourself that we would not find on your resume. (500 words)

This open-ended question allows the flexibility to bring in any aspect of your application strategy that cannot be covered in the other two questions. If you are a fairly typical candidate in many ways, this is a place to describe a unique background, hobby or interest.

A specific example is a great way to focus the essay and demonstrate credibility. By asking this question Queen’s is demonstrating interest in your personal qualities, and the best way to understand your personality and motivations is through an example from your life.

Essay 3: Please describe your short-term and long-term career objectives, and how you expect our program to contribute to them. (500 words)

Ending this set of essays with a standard career goals essay, Queen’s is asking for a significant amount of information in 500 words. It will be important to focus clearly on the key moments in your career that have led to your current goals rather than describing your entire work experience. Focusing most of the essay on describing your career goals, the link between your short- and long-term goals, and why a Queen’s MBA will lead you to achieve your plans will provide the best information for this essay.

If you’re not familiar with Queen’s, researching by visiting the website, attending admissions events, reaching out to current students and even visiting blogs will be helpful to provide specifics about the program that appeal to you and fit with your career goals.

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If you are feeling stumped by your application essays and need some additional guidance, check out our NEW series of essay guides for MBA applications. Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton available now. They are seriously terrific and we are proud to say that almost every person who has ordered one has come back for more!

We are on Facebook – join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman
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The UCLA Anderson admissions committee instructs candidates to “be introspective, genuine, and succinct,” which is great advice in approaching any set of MBA application essays. In a novel approach, UCLA has a video or audio option for essay 4. Like the creative essay option, this may be a blessing or a curse, depending on your material and how it fits with your application strategy. We recommend taking a look at these tips Anderson provides for the essay.

The close knit UCLA Anderson class is diverse and international, though Anderson is often most attractive to Los Angeles based applicants. Anderson is probably the most prestigious local MBA program, and attracts many applicants interested in Entertainment and Real Estate, some of LA’s more popular industries. Anderson has a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, and it will be important to be familiar with the many UCLA research center programs and electives when preparing your essays.

For applicants who prefer the part time option, UCLA FEMBA is an excellent executive MBA for anyone in the Los Angeles area.

The four required essays for first-time applicants are:

1. Describe the ways in which your family and/or community have helped shape your development. (750 words)

Starting this set of essays with a personal question about your background establishes Anderson’s interest in seeing the genuine person you are. When approaching this question, keep your overall application strategy in mind, and make sure you are presenting a holistic view of yourself. Brainstorming a theme that can take you from the personal tone of Essay 1 to the career goals in Essay 3 may be helpful.

This essay may be an opportunity for you to demonstrate diversity in your background or family circumstances, especially when your diversity is not entirely clear from other aspects of your application. Like other MBA programs, UCLA is interested in a class that will enable each participant to learn from each other’s unique experiences.

Specific examples are always a smart way to demonstrate your personal qualities without sounding generic. In this essay you are invited to tell a personal story. You are unique and a vivid personal memory can be an effective way to set the tone for your application holistically. If you choose effectively, your personal memory will support the overall theme of your essay and support what you say about your family, community and personal development.

2. Describe the biggest risk you have ever taken, the outcome, and what you learned in the process. (500 words)

A behavioral question like this requires a specific example that describes how you operate on a very pragmatic level. It will be important to focus on how you work, think and act in any give situation. This requires being very specific about your thoughts and actions as you respond to this essay question.

Taking risks demonstrates courage and leadership. You should clearly describeyou’re your action was a risk, what was the possible negative outcome, and why you decided the positive implications were worth it. Overall this essay will demonstrate what drives you to accomplish above and beyond your job description or responsibilities.

A key element to this essay is the lesson learned. Whether your risk had a happy ending or not, if you learned crucial skills or life lessons from it that is a positive outcome. Briefly explain what this experience taught you, and preferably where you applied that lesson to a subsequent successful experience.

3. Describe your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA now and how will UCLA Anderson help you to achieve your goals? (750 words)

A fairly typical career goals essay, UCLA is asking for a clear set of career goals that will demonstrate the need for an MBA from UCLA Anderson. Drawing a thread between your past experiences, your MBA from Anderson, and the short- and long-term goals you plan to pursue will be most effective.

Because you have effectively set the stage with questions one and two, you will likely have answered the questions about the passion for your chosen career path and how you operate under pressure. That will allow you to spend more words demonstrating your fit with UCLA and why it is the right program to pursue your MBA.

4. Select and respond to one of the two following questions. We would like you to respond to the question by recording an audio or video response (up to 10Mb maximum) for upload in the online application. If you are unable to submit your response via audio or video, then please prepare a written response instead. (250 words)

In a continued effort to learn more about you as a person, UCLA would like to hear you speak or watch you speak and gesture on video. If you do pursue the video or audio option, it will be most effective to write out what you plan to say ahead of time and have someone help you by providing feedback and recording for you.

The video response may require some editing expertise, though most PCs have basic video editing software you can use. Speaking with poise will be especially important for either the video or audio essay. If you choose video you also need to consider what you wear, and where you decide to record the file.

This essay may be a great opportunity to demonstrate your personality, or it could be risky, depending upon your choices. You may submit a written response if you think that will present your thoughts and personality more clearly to the admissions committee.

a. Entrepreneurship is a mindset that embraces innovation and risk-taking within both established and new organizations. Describe an instance in which you exhibited this mindset.

If you have entrepreneurial goals, a history of working on innovative projects, or simply take a creative approach to your work, this may be the right question to answer. As in a written essay, provide a clear example for your musings on the subject.

b. What is something people will find surprising about you?

If essay 1 did not provide an opportunity to differentiate yourself from others in the applicant pool, this may be the right question to answer. This question is entirely open ended, which could be a gift. Try to remain focused, consider your overall application strategy, along with your strengths and weaknesses when answering this question. Think of a specific example of what you will be discussing, and explain why others would find it surprising.

OPTIONAL: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words)

Focusing on explanations in this essay, rather than excuses, is very important. Potential extenuating circumstances may be a very low GPA, academic probation or using a recommender other than your current supervisor. Clearly explain the situation, and if it is a situation from the past, explain why you have changed. Providing evidence that you will not repeat the actions in question will be very important.

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If you are feeling stumped by your application essays and need some additional guidance, check out our NEW series of essay guides for MBA applications. Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton available now. They are seriously terrific and we are proud to say that almost every person who has ordered one has come back for more!

We are on Facebook – join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

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