Application Criteria       Getting into business school will be one of the hardest challenges you might have to tackle in your career path. Many business schools apply particularly strict guidelines in their application criteria to ensure that the candidates admitted to the programme will be able to cope with and benefit from the tough MBA curriculum. So it is well worth spending plenty of time and effort on putting together a convincing and compelling application. More and more business schools will outline what they are looking for in their printed material or on their website.

Harvard Business School for example specifies characteristics such as habits of leadership, capacity for intellectual growth and an active engagement in community citizenship; other business schools are not as explicit in what they are looking for but all will assess your application by a number of application criteria: your GMAT, the admissions essay, your years of work experience, your past academic record, the admissions interview and the recommendation letters you submit. Additionally, the timing of your application can be an important part of your admissions strategy.

The GMAT is generally considered the first hurdle. Although there is no distinct rule about this, the GMAT is often the first criteria by which admissions officer assess your application. The higher your GMAT score the better of course, but it’s important to keep in mind that the MBA programme of your choice should match your overall career goals and your expectations. In other words, the business school with the best programme for you may not require a GMAT in the 700s and a lower GMAT score might be perfectly acceptable. However, a GMAT score of below 600 is typically not going make for a successful application and we recommend that you take the test again if your score falls below. Most MBA programmes now publish their median 80 percent in their brochures or websites as a guideline. Our article MBA Admissions Tests has more information on the GMAT (LINK).

The second most important element in your application is the admissions essay. The essay is your best opportunity to highlight those skills and characteristics that are of interest to the admissions officer. It is in this essay that you can point out your leadership skills, your teamwork experience, how unique you are, elaborate on your past successes and get across to the reader who you are as a person. Although it is always better to have a strong GMAT score and a strong essay, an outstanding essay can make up for some other shortcomings in your overall application. For more tips and advice on how to write a winning admissions essay, see our section Writing a Successful MBA Essay.

The question of how much work experience you must have to be admitted to an MBA programme has been much discussed recently and a number of changes have happened in this arena. While up until recently the general rule was that no candidate with less than a minimum of two years of work experience would have any chances of being admitted to business school, more and more programmes are making an exception to this rule, most notably Harvard who specifies that there is no minimum work experience required for their MBA programme. However, most programmes will still require no less than two or three years of work experience as a basic requirement, others will prefer candidates with four to six years of relevant experience. It is important that you don’t apply to business school too early – you will more likely have better chances of getting into the MBA programme of your choice when you have a background of professional experiences that demonstrate your abilities and successes.

Even though your undergraduate records may be something long forgotten and far back in your past, they do matter for your business school application. A superb first degree will certainly be in your favour in the applications process, however, if your undergraduate grades are less than convincing, admissions officers do apply leniency, particularly if you have a strong professional record. In case of a weak undergraduate record, admissions directors often look at the overall picture to assess a candidate’s qualities.

Getting recommendation letters is often one of the most time consuming elements of an application. Most people are busy in their daily lives and getting the right recommendation at the right time can prove challenging. Most business schools will ask for two recommendations from relevant people. It seems obvious, but make sure to choose people that will have nothing but praise for you. A recommendation letter should not try and explain your weaknesses or shortcoming, even if they are presented in the most positive light. In most cases it makes sense to have a professional reference and an academic reference. This might be a challenge if you do not want your current employer to know of your MBA plans, but you might be able to get a recommendation from a past employer, a colleague you can trust or even a customer you have close ties with. Recommendation letters are in reality often a joint effort and you will need to let the person writing it know what it should focus on and what it should contain. This does not mean, of course, that you should write it completely.

The admissions interview is the final hurdle in the admissions process and it’s important that you are well prepared for this interview. This interview is the ideal opportunity to confirm what you have communicated about yourself in the essay. Interviews can be a daunting task but it is important that you remain calm, personable and likeable in the interview. As long as you are well prepared you have nothing to be worried about. Our article The MBA Admissions Interview gives more tips and advice on the MBA interview.

Finally, make sure you consider the timing in your MBA application. Typically there are three admission cycles and deadlines – October, January and March. This is where the numbers game begins. Approximately 45% of all intakes are accepted in the first cycle, another 45% in the second cycle and the remaining places are filled in the final admissions cycle. Generally speaking, the first cycle is looking for the best candidates, the second cycle considers balancing the class and in the final cycle, candidates with an interesting but atypical background have the strongest chances. While it seems tempting now to apply for the second or the third cycle, consider also that the number of applicants will go up with each cycle. As a general rule, if you feel you are a strong candidate – apply early. The competition for places on good MBA programmes is becoming increasingly tough and by the third round of admissions there are often only very few places left.