Applying to Grad School - My November Part Time Job

I've noticed that many of my fellow classmates have provided very useful posts about the application process and figured that it might be worth sharing my process (I use the word process very loosely) to offer a different view on how things can turn out well. In other words, I hope to point out that there's many ways to put together a great application.

To refresh your memory on my situation (or in case you are not an avid blog reader - shame on you!), I am one of those people that did not know that I wanted to go to grad school. I never had a master plan that involved an MBA, and although I had thought a lot about it, this time a year ago, when most of my classmates were in the throws of the application processes, I had not even registered to take the GMAT.

I tell you this, because for those of you who are interested in applying, but feel like you are behind the curve, I really believe that it is not too late. Yes, I acknowledge that putting together the application, writing your essays & studying for the GMAT is a lot of work, but the application deadline is still almost 3 months away. And, since I feel like I was a rockin' (aka - good) candidate, I am sure there's more people like me out there.

So, now....

Johanna's Tips


Tip 1: Decide which school you want to apply through.
LFM allows you to apply through either the School of Engineering for the engineering degree you'd pursue or through Sloan. This makes a difference for 2 reasons: 1) If you don't get into LFM, that school will review your application for their degree program and 2) GMAT versus GRE. I applied through Sloan.
I'll leave it at that since I think this is largely a personal decision.

Tip 2: Figure out who your recommendors will be & talk to them.
I think this is a big one because it is important to find people who will represent different strengths that you have. No one person knows everything, so the key is finding people who have worked with you in different environments and that can accurately capture your EXCEPTIONAL qualities. Once you've identified someone, talk to them! I had very candid conversations explaining not only why I was applying but why I wanted THEM to write my recommendation. I gave them over 2 months to submit the recommendations and am thankful that all of them finished WELL before the deadline.

Tip 3: The essays are very important.
In my (not so professional) opinion, I think the essays are the most important part of the application because they offer the best insight to who you are... forget the GMAT scores or your undergrad GPA - in the essays this is your chance to talk about who you really are. This is the portion of the application where I spent the most of my time. Yup, while others spent close to or even over a hundred hours studying for the GMAT/GRE, I decided to invest time in my essays. The reason I decided to do this? Well, because a number is a number, but a story... now that's something that people remember.

Tip 4: Study for the GMAT or GRE. (Ok, you had to know this was coming next.)
Don't get me wrong, I studied and bought books. There were two 9 hour plane rides between Los Angeles & Puerto Rico during which I am sure I did dozens of practice problems. Sunday afternoons were spent in front of the TV rooting on my fantasy football players while doing practice problems during commercials I put my hours in and felt prepared. And, since I didn't start studying until October, I waited until 17 days before the application deadline to take the GMAT. In hindsight, sure I wish I had more time to study and to get a score that I could brag about to my kids (ok, not really), but the reality is, life was busy, and I couldn't do everything. Plus, I know standardized test taking is a weakness of mine, so I focused on making my strengths even more prominent.

Tip 5: Don't forget the details & don't wait to submit until the last minute.
There's a lot of little things that need to be completed for the application... a transcript, a list of classes taken during undergrad, filling out a lot of random information. I actually logged in and started filling out some of the easy stuff (name, birth date, etc...) well before I needed to. This way, the last thing I did was a few days before the deadline

Ok, that's it! Hopefully it's not too general to be useless, but I really did not want to get into details and duplicate the great advice of my classmates, because you can read it there.

I'm going to end with a few caveats/notes.

First, I'm not on the admissions committee. This means, I don't really know the answers, I just know what worked for me.

Second, I am not going to promote my methods as the best. But, I think, as an individual, it's important to know your strengths and do everything you can to play them up so you look as rockin' as you likely are.

Third, Once I committed to applying (paid the GMAT fee), I was totally in. I built a spreadsheet to track everything that needed to be done and I got myself focused. So, despite my laid back approach, organization and dedication were absolutely required to get it all done.