My 4 Main Pieces of Advice for People Preparing for Business School

#1: Take the GMAT early

The GMAT is generally accepted up to five years after you take it, so if you take it during your senior year or right after college, you won’t have to worry about taking it later.

After a year or two of work life, it’ll be hard to get back into the habit of studying. The best way to avoid this is to take the GMAT when you’re still fresh from student life.

#2: Start Talking to MBA Grads

Business school isn’t for everyone. It might just be better for you to continue working. Or you might want to go to a different type of school.

The best way to find out about what particular business school have to offer is to talk to those who’ve already been through the MBA process. Talking with MBAs is also great in terms of learning application tips for their specific school.

#3: Start Building Your Leadership Experience

If you don’t have any substantial experience in extracurricular involvement, community service, or professional work life, you’ll have an extremely difficult time applying to a top MBA program.

These experiences don’t really add much to your MBA application unless you’ve been doing them for two or more years, so you have to start thinking ahead in terms of useful application experiences.

#4: Start Your Application Process Early

You should start approaching recommenders and working on your essay process at least several months before the application deadline.

Starting early takes away a lot of the stress of the application process and ensures that you have enough time to put your best work into your applications.