Creating Your MBA Application Plan
I am often asked by clients and posters on message boards a number of questions, such as
Which business schools should I target?
How many business schools should I apply to?
In which round(s) should I apply?
And so forth…
Answering these and other related questions are all part of developing your MBA Application Plan. Your MBA Application Plan is really your blueprint for optimizing your chances of admittance to your top business school(s).
Prerequisites – MBA Application Plan
The prerequisites for creating this MBA Application Plan are that (1) you already have an idea as to the type(s) of graduate business degree programs and schools that best suit you and (2) you have an idea as to your overall competitiveness for these programs and schools. If you are still wish for greater clarity, you can explore your options in our blog post on the different graduate business degree options in addition to browsing the sidebar Research tab on the MBAPrepAdvantage MBA Early Application Planning page. Also, other MBAPrepAdvantage articles, such as evaluating your MBA admissions chances will help you prepare in creating your MBA Application Plan.
Number of Business Schools – MBA Application Plan
Managing Your Time and Resources
This is the magic question. But the answer is not as simple as say, five business schools. The reason is that the number of business schools depends on many variables, such as the time left until the admissions deadlines, the difficulty of each application and the similarities among the applications of the different business schools to which you are applying. More time will enable you to prepare for the GMAT or GRE and complete each part of the application. A more difficult application will require greater introspection and essay revisions. A higher degree of application overlap will allow you to judiciously reuse certain parts of your story. Although make sure you answer each question as carelessly reusing different parts of your application will hurt your overall MBA admissions chances.
Knowing Your Best Alternative To Attending School – BATAS
But time and resources in preparing applications are not the only variables in creating your MBA Application Plan. Opportunity cost is an important variable too. Opportunity cost represents the income and other opportunities you will realize from forgoing attending an MBA or other graduate business school program. This alternative I call your BATAS – Best Alternative To Attending School. The term BATAS is derived from BATNA (Best Alternative To A Negotiated Agreement) which you will learn in a Negotiations class. Every negotiator must decide whether the benefits of reaching a deal outweigh the status quo. You likewise face the same decision in choosing programs and schools for your MBA Application Plan. You must decide which schools have positive outcomes that exceed your BATAS.
Prioritization of Business Schools – MBA Application Plan
Now comes the nitty-gritty. If life were perfect, you would apply to every school above your BATAS threshold. But in developing and executing your MBA Application Plan, you are constrained by time and resources. So, you need to determine when you will be applying to each program on your application list. In doing so, you will factor application deadlines, each admissions committee’s decision-making process as well as your own ranking of each program both in terms of your personal preferences and school selectivity.
I recommend you create a spreadsheet with the admissions deadlines of each of your target programs in your MBA Application Plan. You can use the sidebar on the MBAPrepAdvantage Business Schools page to select each school and export this list to a spreadsheet. For business schools with rolling decisions, applying earlier in the process is better because less spots have been filled. Likewise, applying to business schools with Early Decision or Early Action rounds increases your admissions chances, because you are demonstrating a commitment to the program. Early Decision is a greater commitment than Early Action. Early Decision means you will accept if you apply, whereas Early Action means you will need to decide earlier, often because you need to make a larger deposit. Columbia Business School has an Early Decision round; Dartmouth Tuck School of Business and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School have Early Action rounds.
Finally, some business schools explicitly say applying in a certain round is better, while other schools say this does not make a difference. Stanford Graduate School of Business states that “If you plan to apply in round one or two, we strongly encourage you to apply in round one. Over the last few years, the number of applications we receive in round two has increased, making it more competitive.” Conversely, Harvard Business School says “We encourage applicants to apply in the first or second round, as space in the class may be limited by the third round.”
Remember, the overall goal is to optimize your MBA admissions chances. So, you are trying to apply to the greatest number of programs at the earliest points in time that make a difference in the schools’ admissions processes, while still ensuring your applications are of a high quality.
MBA Application Plan Example
Here is one example of a real client who is juggling multiple variables in deciding which schools to target and when. This client has determined her BATAS is just below the top 7 business schools, but that she is not too competitive for Standard Business School. She has decided to apply to HBS by 9/9/15; INSEAD by 9/16/15; Northwestern Kellogg by 9/22/15; Wharton School of Business by 9/29/15 and Dartmouth Tuck School of Business’ Early Action Round by 10/07/15. She builds flexibility into her MBA Application Plan by recognizing that she might apply to INSEAD the subsequent 10/14/15 deadline, because INSEAD is not her top choice; INSEAD has a more complex MBA application and making that 9/16/15 deadline is not as important to her overall MBA admissions chances as making the 1st round for other schools with less rounds.
If you need help in creating your MBA Application Plan, signup for an Free MBA Admissions Consultation with MBAPrepAdvantage and/or purchase MBAPrepAdvantage hourly admissions consulting or school packages. Creating the MBA Application Plan is only the start of the process. Now you need to execute by crafting a powerful resume, essays and applications. Contact MBAPrepAdvantage for a partner in optimally navigating this process.