Getting into Business School

Higher Education

Getting into Business School

Application Materials

Business school application materials generally include:

Complete undergraduate transcripts
GMAT score
Two or three letters of recommendation
Entrance essay
If you're a non-native English speaker, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOFEL) score

Pre-requisites

Strong GPA: Many business schools have no formal minimum requirement, but a 3.0 or better is often the informal standard for any serious consideration. Relative competitiveness of your undergraduate program and difficulty of your major will be taken into consideration.

Strong GMAT scores: Again, many business schools have no formal minimum requirement, but most admissions committees like to see scores of 600 or higher (out of a possible 800.) Highly selective business schools may require scores of 700-750 or more.

Two or three years of work experience: Most business schools strongly recommend or require it. Many of the concepts taught in business schools take on a much greater practical meaning when understood in the context of the real business world, rather than from a strictly academic viewpoint.

"Managerial Potential": This is demonstrated mainly though your essay and the letters of recommendation from your current and/or previous supervisors. The letters of recommendation should focus on your leadership skills, on your ability to think critically and to work as part of a team. Your entrance essay should support these letters of recommendation by detailing your key abilities, relevant accomplishments you've made in your professional and/or academic career, and how you expect your MBA degree to help you achieve your future goals.

Introductory coursework: You don't need an extensive background in business-related coursework, but some business schools require candidates to complete a few credits worth of basic courses in accounting, finance, economics and statistics, either before applying or before entering the program. Others may require you to have completed college-level algebra or calculus. If you have enough relevant work experience, many or all of these requirements may be waived.

An undergraduate degree in business is not necessary for admission to business school. Admissions committees are looking for talented students who earned high undergraduate GPAs, and scored well on the GMAT, whatever their majors.

Work experience need not be relevant to your area in business school. As long as your work experience has given you a basic sense of how organizations work, it will satisfy the requirements of most business schools. If your experience has provided you with the opportunity to work as part of a team, or to take a leadership role, that's important, too.

GMAT

The GMAT is the standardized entrance exam required by many business schools. According to the GMAC (the organization that distributes the GMAT), "The GMAT is specifically designed to measure the verbal, quantitative, and writing skills of applicants for graduate study in business. It does not, however, presuppose any specific knowledge of business or other specific content areas, nor does it measure achievement in any particular subject areas." The GMAT consists of four separately timed sections. Each of the first two sections contains a 30-minute writing task; the other two sections are 75 minutes each and contain multiple-choice questions.

Because the GMAT may be taken year-round in hundreds of locations, because it only takes about two weeks for scores to be mailed, and because re-taking the GMAT is not encouraged, you can actually plan to take the test fairly close to the date you plan to submit your applications. As soon as you're certain you want to apply to business school, you should examine the GMAT website, and call to inquire about available test dates. Equipped with that information, you should be able to determine when you need to schedule an appointment to take the test.

According to GMAC, You may not take the GMAT more than once in any calendar month, and, beginning January 1, 2002, you may not take the test more than five times. Although you may choose to take the GMAT more than once, doing so is unlikely to result in a substantial increase in your score. If you do repeat the test, both your most recent and your former GMAT scores will be sent to the schools you've applied to.

Interview

Business schools typically schedule interviews only after reviewing applications and narrowing the applicant pool to those they are seriously considering.

A good or bad interview can do much to sway an admissions committee. In general, a candidate who is mediocre on paper, but warm, confident, and highly focused in person stands a better chance of getting into business school than a candidate who is stellar on paper, but arrogant, scattered, or otherwise awkward in the interview.

Post-Grad Business Degrees
Choosing a Business School