criteria)

MBA Interviews Before you get all bent out of shape, let me explain. I agree that the interview can be a critical part of the admissions decision and should not always rank dead last in order of importance. But its importance varies dramatically from school to school. At some schools, your...

Your recommendations I'll let you in on a little secret that even most admissions officers don't know (or won't admit to knowing): A significant percentage of applicants to top B-schools write their own letters of recommendation. I know this because I'm on the "sell side" of the admissions...

Your work experience I've already talked about the type of experience applicants have (see application element number 2 -- the Application Essays). Here I want to talk about the amount of work experience you bring to the table. Most of you know that the average number of years of full-time work...

Your GPA Surprising, isn't it? You would think that your undergraduate GPA would be weighted more heavily, but at most schools it isn't (and for good reasons). First, most B-school applicants were not planning to apply to graduate programs, so they might not have focused on playing the grade...

timing your application If you don't apply early, you probably won't be going to a top school. There is so much competition among schools for the best candidates that admissions officers can't afford to pass on good applicants in the early rounds. Consequently, there are very few open spots...

mba application essays Once you've gotten your GMAT score into the proper range, the most important thing you can do is write good essays, not try to push your score up a few more points by retaking the exam. An extra 30 points will not be worth nearly as much as a well thought out set of essays...