An MBA program is an opportunity for career advancement, experts say, but it’s hard to use that opportunity to the fullest if you don’t start business school knowing what you hope to gain from the experience .

"I would advise students to make sure they have very clear and defined goals in mind for their professional roadmaps before applying," Katy Tripses, a 2016 MBA graduate from Hult International Business School in London, said in an email.

When she began her MBA program, Tripses was uncertain about her career plans, she says. "If you had asked me back then what it was I wanted to do after getting an MBA, I wouldn't have been able to provide you with an answer," says Tripses, who is now the head of growth for StudySoup, an education technology startup. "I just knew I wanted more opportunity."

David Simpson, admissions director at the London Business School , says an MBA can provide a chance for career exploration and career change.

“The period before an MBA is a great time for reflection and mentally preparing yourself to potentially reinvent yourself," he says.

Here are five ways experts say prospective MBA students can maximize their chances of success in the MBA admissions process.

1. Choose an academic focus: Lilian Ngobi, an MBA student at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, says the vast array of courses and extracurricular activities at MBA programs can be overwhelming at first. She says it is important for MBA applicants to set priorities about what they're most interested in learning, so they can make an informed choice about where to apply.

3. Overcome math anxiety: Ngobi of Carnegie Mellon says business schools provide abundant academic support in quantitative courses, so prospective MBA students shouldn't stress about the math component of business school. However, she says, MBA applicants need to be vigilant about their standardized test preparation.

4. Speak with current MBA students, recent graduates and potential classmates:"Wherever possible, speak to students and alumni to really understand the culture of a school – what it is, what it isn’t, and what differentiates it,” Simpson of London Business School suggests.

Simpson says prospective MBA students who have admissions offers from multiple business schools should make an effort to meet their potential classmates at these schools.

"Your classmates are pretty much going to be your greatest educators and your greatest asset in your business school education," he says. "Of course, amazing professors are a huge part of your learning, but in your personal development, the people you’re surrounded by for hours on end – the other students – are often going to be the ones that build your global understanding."

5. Imagine life after business school: Preston of Oxford says that once he realized he wanted to be an entrepreneur, every aspect of the business school admissions process became easier because he had a sense of purpose. MBA applicants should consider what they hope to accomplish in their career before they begin writing their admissions essay, Preston says.

Simpson says a little self-awareness goes a long way towards helping prospective MBA students choose the right business school.

"When it comes down to it, this is a very personal decision, and you have to build your own framework of what’s important," he says.