Five Things you can do..

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Five Things You Can Do to Improve Your Application Today!

1. Aim for GMAT scores between 680 and 740
The GMAT matters more than you think. However, if you have taken a test prep program and this is your third time taking the test and still the score is below 660, we suggest you consider taking a couple of quantitative courses and getting As in the class to demonstrate academic aptitude.

2. Leadership, leadership, leadership
Think of the 3 Cs of leadership: College, Career and Community Leadership. Very few people are strong across all three areas of leadership. You can’t change your college leadership if you have already graduated but you could significantly change your work and community impact. Seek out a visible, cross team/functional project at your job. Better yet, raise your hand to lead a component of this project and look for opportunities to initiate something new, manage people, or overhaul a process/system. It’s never too late to get involved in your community. Find a non profit that aligns with your background/interests and find a way to volunteer. Seek out board role or an opportunity to lead in some capacity. It is better to have 8 months of volunteer experience than no experience.

3. Be Interesting and diversify your experience!
Don’t be shy about seeking out an international project. Whether it’s going abroad to Italy or Singapore to work with a client or actually transferring to an office in a different country….this experience broadens your perspective and makes you more appealing to the admissions board especially given the global insights you will bring to their programs.

4. Line up Brand Champions!
Don’t wait till the admission deadline is upon you to seek out the people who will write recommendation letters for you. Make sure to identify a winning team of senior professionals who are very familiar with your work and understand your brand. If you haven’t cultivated these relationships, it’s never too late. Start today! Map out a game plan of who you want to have on your team, create a plan of attack of how you plan to win them over and then over the next few months discuss your plans for business school with them.

5. Start early!
Research the MBA programs of interest and narrow down your school. It is important to cast a broad net while hedging your bet. However, it isn’t time effective to apply to 10 MBA programs. Think about the law of diminishing returns plus you don’t want to have a “cut and paste” application. And of course it’s never a smart strategy to overburden your recommenders. By doing your research (visiting schools, speaking with students and alumni) you will be able to have a clear sense of the brand of a school and whether you can see yourself there. By pairing down your list to 5 schools at the most (one-two stretch programs, two likely programs and one possible program) you will be able to select MBA programs that are a fit with your brand. The outcome is a focused application that captures the attention of the MBA Board.