Beat The GMAT - the MBA Social Network

Here’s a question I often hear around this stage in the MBA application process: Is it better to apply Round 3 or to wait until Round 1 of next year? Answer: It depends. Round 3 applicants are accepted at lower … Read More

From time to time, we at mbaMission visit admissions officers from top schools, giving us the opportunity to ask rather frank questions. On a visit to a top-5 program, we pushed an admissions officer on the extent of … Read More

Business schools want to know who you are when they consider your application. Résumés and transcripts and GMAT scores give useful information, but admissions officers also want to hear real people talking about you. … Read More

With second round deadlines just around the corner, you might be feeling the pressure mounting. If finishing MBA applications were not stressful enough, add to that the increasing demands of family over the holidays. A … Read More

Clients of mine often ask what the most important part of their business school application is. Is it their GMAT score, undergraduate transcript, essays, interview, letters of recommendations, or something else? Ask most … Read More

I’m excited to share another segment of the Beat The GMAT Exit Interview Series; an initiative where I interview Beat The GMAT members who have been successfully admitted to business school. Yesterday I sat down … Read More

After you have identified potential recommenders, focus on spending quality time with these individuals. You should potentially even re-establish ties with someone from a previous company or an old college professor in … Read More

If you applied to one or more MBA programs in Round 1, by now you may already have a feel for how it’s going and  you may already be looking at Round 2 differently than you did just a month ago. If things are going … Read More

I want to address the one reference letter question that terrifies almost all applicants and some references too: Tell us about the applicant’s weaknesses. My clients ask me what is a “good” weakness to … Read More

At mbaMission, we are always emphasizing effective written communication (written communication, written communication, written communication!).  Indeed, there is no real “trick” to gaining admission to your target … Read More

Most business schools will ask your recommenders to describe a weakness of yours, or a time when they offered you constructive feedback.  You may face great temptation to ask your recommenders to avoid writing anything … Read More

Anyone who’s familiar with the MBA application process knows that August moves forward at an accelerated pace, and come September, entire weeks seem to disappear.  To help this year’s Round One applicants avoid the … Read More

Writing your own recommendation letters can seem like a blessing. Suddenly, you have the power to control an aspect of the application process that was previously beyond you. So, your downside risk in these letters is … Read More

MBA programs are not one-size-fits-all. Business schools offer a variety of formats and areas of study that can be tailored to fit your career goals. So how does a prospective MBA student choose which type of program to … Read More