Here it is, the moment you’ve been working for you think you’re finally ready to submit your MBA application. After all of that drafting and crafting, polishing and perfecting, twisting and tweaking to complete your business school application, it can be a challenge to know when you’re done and it’s time to hit that “submit” button.
What criteria can you rely on to know when you’ve got your MBA application ready to submit? If there’s something potentially wrong, incomplete or missing that might cause the admissions committee to deny you your seat in the b-school class of your dreams, that’s going to have you kicking yourself.
Instead of lying awake at night, wondering, worrying, pondering, maybe even obsessing, “Is my resume clear and correct? Are my short answers consistent? Are my essays compelling? Is this the best app I can submit?” – partner with The MBA Exchange to help ensure a great application and a good night’s sleep.
What to check before you submit your MBA application
What steps should you take to complete your MBA applications? You’ll need to check that every element of your application materials, from your essays to your MBA resume to your letters of recommendation, is in line with your strategy for MBA admissions success. All required elements need to be present, internally consistent, and correctly formatted and uploaded before your MBA application is ready to submit.
Before you click the button that will make your MBA application submission irrevocable, you want to make sure you’ve got everything perfected and properly put together. Out-of-place elements make you look sloppy and can trigger awkward questions later in the acceptance process if they don’t get your application thrown out on early elimination screens.
Support with your ready MBA application
Could you feel more confident if your application was reviewed and critiqued by an experienced MBA admissions consultant? If so, consider getting an AppCheck™ review. An expert admissions consultant from The MBA Exchange analyzes your application materials (including recommendations if you have drafts) and shares constructive, actionable feedback and light editing within two days so you can make any improvements and submit your very best application.
Or you can choose an MyAdcom™ review. You’ll work directly with a former MBA admissions officer from a highly selective b-school. They review your entire application (including recommendations if you have drafts) as if considering your candidacy for admissions, and send you overall impressions from an adcom perspective. A one-hour phone or video chat lets you address any additional questions.
Is your MBA application really ready?
How does an MBA fit into the larger trajectory of your life’s story? How does it relate to where you’ve been, and where you want to go? You’ll get furthest in the MBA admissions process if you’ve got a clear sense of your direction, intention, and reasons before applying to an MBA.
You need to be able to show that you’re the right person to fill valuable real estate in incoming classes at top-tier b-school programs. All of the steps to complete MBA applications are related to this key need. When your materials give your authentic answer to questions of purpose and direction, provided in an attention-catching package with unerring internal accuracy and consistency, then you’ll know you’re really ready to submit your MBA application.
But that’s kind of abstract. Here are some more actionable tips to make sure your MBA application is ready to submit.
4 tips before you submit your MBA application
A ready MBA application is the result of lots of small steps to complete MBA applications, combined with diligence and double-checking. Follow these tips for a ready MBA application.
Tip 1: Prep yourself
Know MBA facts before you apply. When you’re well-prepared with key information about your target programs and the admissions process, you can ensure that all of your application materials remain on target.
Tip 2: Essay editing
Check on your essays and short answers a few final times. It can be helpful to reread your short answers and essays out loud. This lets you catch small mistakes in syntax or grammar that spell-check may have missed. It can also be beneficial to have a close friend read your essays to confirm that the content really sounds like you, neither too arrogant nor too humble but in that sweet spot of on-point authenticity.
Tip 3: Perfect your resume
Make sure you’ve used optimal techniques, design, and phrasing to write your MBA resume. Review our tips and tricks for transforming a looking-for-work resume into an MBA-application-ready resume that fully captures your professional, academic, and personal accomplishments.
Tip 4: Check for errors
Finally, before you submit any MBA application, double-check one last time to be sure that you haven’t used the name of a different school in the application you’re sending in. (Trust us, it happens more often than you might think!)
What to do next? 3 suggestions after your MBA application is submitted
You’ve taken all the right steps to complete MBA applications. Take pride in that accomplishment! But some applicants find it impossible to do anything after they submit an MBA application. So, they decide to make a second (or third) visit to campus to show enthusiasm hoping to “accidentally” bump into an admissions officer, oops. Or perhaps they email the adcom just to say, “I really really REALLY want to attend your school.”
Such impulsive actions convey a lack of confidence in your candidacy. That’s not the impression that you want the admissions committee to have while they’re determining your fate. Since some of you won’t believe that “doing nothing” is the right way to go, here are some other suggestions:
1. Start to prepare for your admissions interview
The MBA admissions interview is the last hurdle between you and your seat. You can support your performance by doing some additional online research about the school, talking with friends and family about your strengths and experiences, or practicing answering the toughest questions you can imagine such as explaining that “C-” in freshman calculus or the 2-month backpacking trip in between jobs. Working with an expert on MBA interview prep can ensure that your time is well spent.
2. Get an expert evaluation of your applications
Even though you’ve already submitted them, having some objective feedback on your strengths and weaknesses will help you prepare for your upcoming interview or worst case for your waitlist campaign or reapplication campaign. Submit your free evaluation request today.
3. Apply to more schools
Yep, more apps! If you’re having serious doubts about the competitiveness of your candidacy or the quality of your submitted applications, don’t just obsess about it, harness that energy into a search for other good schools whose deadlines have not yet passed. Learn more about MBA rankings and expand your targeting sights. How will this help? Well, if you submit more MBA applications, your chances of getting admitted somewhere can only improve. Or maybe you’ve confirmed for yourself that your original applications are solid, you’re super competitive and you can finally relax.
When you’re ready … submit and succeed!
You’ve completed the marathon event that is getting an MBA application ready to submit. When your MBA application is ready to submit, it’s time to go for it! With The MBA Exchange in your corner, you can come out strong in the finish, securing your spot in the b-school program that will boost your future success.
