The Application
Timeline
The general timeline for the business school application process is as follows:
Applications Released: Mid-Late August
First Round Application Deadline: Mid-late October
Second Round Application Deadline: Early January
First Round Notification: Mid-Late January
Second Round Notification: Mid-Late March
Third Round Application Deadline: Mid-March
Third Round Notification: Mid-May
General Application
Each school has its own general application which is where you’ll provide information on your name, address, GMAT scores, current job title, and other basic information. Most, if not all, schools will make this available electronically and expect it to be submitted electronically as well.
Essay Questions
In addition to the basic questions, each school asks applicants to complete essays on between 4 and 6 different topics. Common questions include: “Why are you interested in this school?”, “Why do you want to go to business school?”, and “What are your short- and long-term goals?”. The essay questions vary from year to year and are released at the end of the summer leaving just over a month to complete the essays before the First Round Application deadline. Essays are generally 500 words in length (or a single page, single-spaced) and many consider them to be the most important part of the application process. Each essay should include specific examples. For instance, if you say you are a leader, use a short story to illustrate how you have used your leadership skills. It is also extremely important to indicate why you are interested in attending a particular school and to tailor each essay to each school. DO NOT use generic essays! Multiple iterations and the use of outside readers are highly recommended. These essays are also generally submitted electronically.
Resume
Because business schools rely on the experiences of their students to diversify and enrich classroom discussions, an applicant’s resume is also a key part of their application. Your resume should demonstrate that you have a proven track record and emphasize any and all leadership experiences, time spent working in teams, and other “extracurricular” activities (i.e., volunteering, work on professional committees, publications, etc.). Resumes used in application should be reviewed as carefully as they are for job interviews because it is yet another opportunity for an applicant to differentiate themselves. Resumes should be limited to one page.
Transcript
Business schools will require an official transcript from an applicant’s undergraduate institution. Be sure to put these requests in early as undergraduate registrar’s offices can become extremely busy during high application periods (i.e., fall). Consider taking courses in calculus, economics, statistics, financial accounting, marketing or strategy. Enrolling in such classes not only allows you to see if you like these types of courses, but it also demonstrates to business schools that you have an interest in business and have a foundation in business concepts.
Letters of Recommendation
Schools will require between 1 and 3 letters of recommendation as well as a secondary form that allows recommenders to rate applicants along a series of criteria. Most schools prefer that all, or the majority, of letters come from people with whom you have interacted on a professional basis (supervisors, peers, clients) and discourage the submission of recommendations from professors. While each recommender will require differing amounts of time to complete the letter itself as well as the evaluation, it is generally recommended to give the recommender a minimum of 4 weeks, and preferably 6, to complete the application process.
There is a divide in the application community over the proper way to ask a recommender to write your letter of recommendation; several advisors will recommend providing the recommender with a list of attributes you wish s/he to focus the letter on (these are often things that may not be readily apparent in other parts of your application or which may appear to be weaker skill sets). Others believe that doing so limits the effectiveness of the recommender’s letter because it appears too “coached” to application readers. Clearly, individuals have had success with each method, and in the end it is a personal decision regarding how you choose to approach the letters of recommendation. However, whichever method you choose, be sure that your potential recommender feels comfortable writing a strong recommendation for you.
