To insure that all of the hard work that you’ve put into your MBA applications has the best chance to pay off, we recommend running through a Pre-submission Checklist. While checking off every item below won’t guarantee that you’ll get into your target programs, it will provide you with the certainty that you’ve avoided some of the biggest admissions missteps.
THE CHECKLIST
❑ School Research & Outreach Complete
Check this one if:
- you’ve learned everything about the programs, not only in terms of what they offer students but also in terms of what they can specifically do for you;
- you’re able to bolster your candidacy by illustrating how you can be of benefit to the schools;
- you’ve joined enough events and met with enough alumni that the admissions committees will see that your interest in their MBAs is genuine.
❑ Admissions Resume Flowing
Check this one if:
- you’ve illustrated your relevant strengths, consistency and impact in a concise and engaging manner within the confines of one page;
- you’ve run through multiple drafts, only selecting the truly relevant points and leaving out anything extraneous, jargony or dull.
❑ Essays Revised to Near Perfection
Check this one if:
- you’ve gone through a lengthy ideation phase, allowing you to identify content that plays well with the other elements in your applications without being unnecessarily repetitious;
- you’ve matched the tone that admissions is looking for while building essays that will make you memorable;
- you’ve gone through many revisions informed by research and external feedback to make sure that you’re hitting the right notes.
❑ Recommendation Letters Carefully Coached
Check this one if:
- you’ve selected the right recommenders—rather than just those that were convenient—to vouch for your personal and professional excellence;
- you’ve provided the recommenders with all of the necessary information, and actively worked with them to identify and create content that properly complements the rest of your application;
- you’ve helped the recommenders to submit the letters on time.
❑ Delay More Costly than Beneficial
Check this one if:
- the written parts of your application cannot be improved upon significantly;
- you don’t have any promotions, large projects or job transitions in the near future that will increase the attractiveness of your candidacy;
- you’ve got as high a GMAT/GRE score as necessary for your profile;
- delaying to a later round or admissions cycle will be made difficult because of timing, employment or personal reasons.
So, how many were you able to check off? If you’ve got most of these covered, you should feel reassured about your applications. However, if you found this to be a difficult exercise, there’s no need to worry—you may just need to delay a bit to prepare a stronger package.
For those applicants interested in being absolutely sure that they’re submitting the right applications at the right time, take the opportunity to connect with our Admissions Experts.
