Tip # 1: Start early.
As you begin to think about going back to get your MBA, It’s important to spend the timeresearching schools and developing a list of schools that you are interestedin. Each program is unique and you want to make sure you have a goodfeel for the program: academics and career fit as well as the environment,city, community, and culture of the school. It’s a big investment for you to give up working for two years to come back to school full-time, so we believe it’s important to takethe time to visit schools (if you can in person) or at least be able to meetwith alums or school representatives when they are visiting a city near you.Some programs may also offer informational interviews before you apply to theirprogram (either through Skype, phone, or in person) and that is a great way totalk one on one with someone from the admissions team to discuss yourparticular background and interests and determine if that program is a good fitfor you. Talking to students, alums, admissions staff, and career advisors areall good ways to invest your time before you apply. 对于在职人士来说，申请MBA 意味着很早就要准备你感兴趣的学校，抽空去学校看一下，如果没有机会，最好找该学校的校友了解一下你感兴趣学校的特点。
Tip # 2: Develop a game plan. Once you have done your research and youknow what schools you are planning to apply to, you need to create a game planand timeline for when you will be ready to submit your application. Each schoolhas different deadlines and some of the earlier deadlines are funding rounds, so you want to pay closeattention to what each school requires and when their deadlines are.With that said, you also want to make sure that you apply when your bestapplication is ready. We would rather receive your best application in one ofour spring deadlines, than one in that fall that didn’t allow you to proofreadyour essays or re-take the GMAT.
Once you submit the application, thereis not a way to go back and make changes, so you want to make sure yourapplication is complete and you’ve taken the time to submit all of thesupporting documents and materials that are also required (resume,recommendations letters, submitting test scores, transcripts, etc.). You should create a spreadsheetwith a checklist for each program that you’re applying to. This will allow youto easily manage deadlines and keep track of the items you’ve already submittedto one school. 做一个excel 表格，记录每个学校需要的材料，每个学校的申请截止日期。这样可以做到万无一失，而且很好的控制你的时间。
Tip # 3: Remember it is a holistic process. There is not any one part of theapplication that outweighs everything else. Even if someone scored a perfect onthe GMAT or the GRE, it doesn’t mean they are automatically admitted to theprogram. We do read through your entire application and it’s important to keepin mind that there are several factors we are heavily considering when weevaluate an application. We look at the quantitative side – past academic work, your GPA, where youstudied, your degree, the courses and curriculum you took. We also look at anyMasters or Graduate work you’ve already completed. On the qualitative side,we’re looking at work experience and contributions you’ll make to the MBAprogram. Again, it comes back to that “fit” we discussed in Tip # 1. Aswe are reading your application, we are evaluating you under three underliningitems: academic fit, career fit, and community/peer fit. 几乎所有学校审核材料的时候都是整体的看。但是优异的GMAT一定会帮助到你，尤其是优异的quant 部分。当然还有你的以前工作经历， GPA，你的本科学历，课程设置等等都在考虑范围内。
Tip # 4: Invest time to prep for the GMAT or GRE! If you’ve been out of school for awhile, it’s probably been some time since you last took a standardized test. You want to make sure you spend proper time preparing for whichever test is required. Some schoolsaccept either GMAT or GRE and others may require one over the other. It’s moreof a personal preference how you prepare, but it’s very important that you takethese tests seriously, as they do play an important role in the admissionsprocess.
The GMAT or GRE are really the onlyproven method of academic success within the core MBA curriculum. They also putall applicants on a level playing field for comparison. Whereas the othercomponents of your application are unique to you, the test score is a way tocompare applicants more apples to apples. If you do take the test multipletimes, we will not average your scores, but we will take your highest score. You want to aim to be competitive with the averages and 80% ranges which each school will publish ontheir website. Doing well on the GMAT or GRE is also a good way to overcome a lower GPA, ifyour undergraduate grades are lower than the school average. For all of thesereasons, I cannot stress the importance of studying and preparing. Don’t go inand take these tests cold turkey. Make sure you’ve invested time in studyingand taking practice tests. GMAT的重要性无容置疑，因为这个是个标准化的考试。如果要使自己有竞争力，努力考到学校官网上的80%的范围左右的成绩。
Tip # 5: Be Yourself. The essays are really your chance for us to get to know you better. My best adviceis to be yourself and this is an opportunity to show what value you add to the classroom dynamic. If there is something we should know about you or something you think could be a concern about your application, utilize the optional essay that most schools allow to address anything additional you want us to know. Make sure you answer the questions directly and be yourself. I can assure you that we cantell when people are writing what they think we want to read, instead of whatyou probably wanted to write about. Be genuine and let your personality comeout. 恰恰和GMAT 标准化考试相反的，你的个人陈述是你可以写自己的目标，经历的地方。
Tip # 6: Prepareyour recommenders. Most programs require at least two tothree letters of recommendation. Make sure to speak with your recommenders,tell them why you are planning to go back to business school, and why thatprogram is a good fit for your background. Give them a copy of your resume and refresh them of anyspecific projects you may have worked on in the past that could be good forthem to highlight in their recommendation letters. You want to selectrecommenders that you know are going to write a positive letter stating whythey think you would be a good fit for the MBA program. Most programs prefer that you have professionalrecommendation letters. If you cannot get a letter from your current employerbecause you do not want to put your job at jeopardy, we will understand and youcan address that in the optional essay. 你的推荐人需要对你足够了解，所以发一封你的简历给他们让他们事先了解你的要求和你平时的工作职责非常重要。
Most people will have a combination ofpast or current co-workers, supervisors, clients, or customers. If you work fora family business or do not have the traditional corporate experience you mayneed to think about other organizations or activities you are involved in.Maybe you participate in an organization, serve on a board or help plan acommunity event in your neighborhood. Anyone who has the ability to speak toyour performance and ability to perform in an MBA environment would be a goodperson to ask. Choose wisely!
Tip # 7: Finalreview. Now that you have spent all the timepreparing and getting your application ready to submit, make sure to reviewyour entire application and ensure all fields and essays are complete andaccurate before you press submit. I always advise students to have a friend, co-worker, or colleague do afinal review of your essays. 最后，提交之前一定要叫一两个你的朋友，或者是同事帮你审核一遍，语法拼写错误一定要避免。 | 
