MBA APPLICATION : TIME MANAGEMENT

Most of the aspiring MBA applicants are surprised when I tell them that I started my Application process in Feb 2011 for the MBA batch which starts in August 2012.Thats almost 18 months. I think one of the most important ingredients which will help you securing admission in the college you like is time management.

Most applicants use the tackle one at a time approach so GMAT is the priority and most spend months studying for GMAT then comes applications and essays and in the end is the interviews. This approach is not entirely wrong if you have timed yourself well .Timing is everything and you need to make sure you have enough time for each of the above.

School Selection: 2 month at least: Please don’t be part of a RAT race in selecting your college. Just because you are in INDIA, ISB doesn’t become the best school for you or just because Havard tops all MBA ranking it’s not the best value for you. It’s important to recognise the set of right colleges which fit your criteria and bill. Research online, attend the info sessions if you can, talk to aluminise. (Refer to my post on college selection)

GMAT: 5 Months: It’s not a difficult exam and is more about common sense and skills rather than theory, calculus or advanced statistics. Join a prep program immediately and give the exams when in top form. Leave enough time for a second attempt.

Application: 1-2 month per school: Writing good about yourself is the most difficult thing in the world and if you are the kinds who take a week to write your CV you better budget a lot of time to each essay. There would be overlaps in essay but every school is looking for a different you. You need more time if you have more schools simple.

Interviews: Prepare in advance:you will get about between 10 days to a month for interviews but if you have applied to multiple schools the interviews would fall in the same month. So its better to prepare certain key questions in advance.

Financing and scholarships: 6 Months – 1 year: In case of INSEAD you can apply for 5 scholarships and a good scholarship essays would take time like your application essays. Financing you MBA can be the most difficult and sometimes harrowing experiences especially if you are in INDIA and don’t want to spend your parents hard earned money. You need to arrange for appx 75 lakh Indian Rupees and only you know how much time you would take to arrange for the same.
So if you are looking at the batch starting August 2014 you need to start in Jan 2013 Max.

I will detail more on each of these important factors in my upcoming posts