Planning Tips
Tips on how to structure your time and tackle the challenging process of applying to business school.
Published: December 2, 2025
Admissions Tip: Managing Round 2 MBA Deadlines
Anyone who’s familiar with the MBA application process knows that December moves forward at an accelerated pace, mixing work with holidays and application preparation. Come the New Year, Round 2 application deadlines come swiftly. See just how many deadlines overlap in our handy chart of Round 2 MBA application deadlines. To help this year’s Round 2 applicants avoid the classic time crunch, we’ve compiled some basic advice on how to approach the MBA deadlines at a reasonable pace. Plan to be busy in December. If you are not bogged down by professional obligations in December,
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Published: November 27, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Applying to Business School as a Younger Applicant
It has become increasingly common for younger individuals to apply to MBA programs. Whereas the average age and years of work experience at the leading business schools has traditionally hovered at around 28 and five respectively, many programs are now carefully considering the more youthful end of the applicant pool. Of course, the fact that admissions officers are taking a closer look at younger applicants does not mean that getting accepted to a top program is easy for this group. In fact, it may be difficult for younger applicants to present themselves as fully prepared to
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Published: November 13, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Selecting & Preparing Recommendation Writers
If you’re applying to business school in the coming weeks, your letters of recommendation are a critical variable in the MBA admissions equation. They allow the admissions committee to get an outside perspective on your skills and strength, and to learn about your work experience beyond that’s covered in your essays and resume. Who Should Write My MBA Letters of Recommendation? First, your recommenders should hold a position that is senior to yours – unless the school specifically asks for a peer recommendation. The adcom gives greater weight to statements made by your superiors rather than by a peer because
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Published: November 11, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Addressing Unemployment or Gaps in Employment
Given the emphasis that MBA programs place on a candidate’s work experience, it is important to be proactive in addressing unemployment or gaps in employment. When applying to business school, many candidates worry about how the adcom might perceive gaps in employment. Gaps in Employment It’s not unheard of for an MBA candidate to have a gap in employment, and this will not necessarily make a negative impact on someone’s candidacy. Gaps might be due to anything from Covid to lay-offs to periods of travel. As a rule of thumb, MBA applicants should explain gaps in employment that are three
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Published: November 6, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Defining Your Post-MBA Career Goals
Having clear and realistic post-MBA career goals is essential to the business school application process. Though essay prompts tend to vary year to year, the two things that nearly every prospective student can count on being asked are “What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals?” and “How will Business School X help you achieve these goals?” Even if this sort of question doesn’t appear in the essay portion of the application, rest assured that you’ll be asked this question in the data forms and/or during your interview. Identifying clear post-MBA career goals will help in everything from
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Published: October 23, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Considering the Campus
Whether you’re winding up for Round 2 or thinking about your Round 1 options, there are many factors that go into deciding whether to apply to or attend a specific school, one of which is the physical place where you’ll be spending 1-2 years. That’s why we’ve rounded up some campus visit tips. Whether speaking with current students or touring the campus for yourself, it’s helpful to approach these information-gathering experiences with as clear a sense of what matters to you as possible. Campus Visit Tips: Factors to Consider 1. Facilities Are state-of-the-art classrooms and impressive new architecture a priority
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Published: October 16, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Making Your List of Business Schools
You’ve decided the MBA is the next stop on your career path. What now? The smartest applicants are those who take the time to create an informed MBA application strategy—a well thought-out game plan that can help you obtain your goals as effectively as possible. This includes making a list of your target business schools. One of the first tasks you’ll need to tackle is school selection: strategically choosing which schools to apply to, while considering how your experience and stats compare to those of current students (or, how “competitive” your application will be at each program). How many MBA
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Published: August 7, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Should I Apply in Round 1 or Round 2 to My Top Choice School?
In terms of application strategy, one of the biggest questions prospective MBA applicants wrestle with is whether to apply in Round 1 or Round 2 to their top choice school. Overall, if you are an outstanding candidate and have had adequate time to prepare your candidacy, then you should apply as part of the first round. If you are a strong candidate, but perhaps are not in the top echelon or would benefit from a little more time and experience in the application process, consider delaying your application to your top choice school until Round 2. In the meantime, apply
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Published: August 4, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Selecting & Preparing Recommendation Writers
If you’re applying to business school in the 2025-2026 admissions season, your letters of recommendation are a critical variable in the MBA admissions equation. They allow the admissions committee to get an outside perspective on your skills and strength, and to learn about your work experience beyond that’s covered in your essays and resume. Who Should Write My MBA Letters of Recommendation? First, your recommenders should hold a position that is senior to yours – unless the school specifically asks for a peer recommendation. The adcom gives greater weight to statements made by your superiors rather than by a peer
Read more
MBA Admissions Tip: Applying to Business School as a Younger Applicant
It has become increasingly common for younger individuals to apply to MBA programs. Whereas the average age and years of work experience at the leading business schools has traditionally hovered at around 28 and five respectively, many programs are now carefully considering the more youthful end of the applicant pool. Of course, the fact that admissions officers are taking a closer look at younger applicants does not mean that getting accepted to a top program is easy for this group. In fact, it may be difficult for younger applicants to present themselves as fully prepared to
Read more
MBA Admissions Tip: Defining Your Post-MBA Career Goals
Having clear and realistic post-MBA career goals is essential to the business school application process. Though essay prompts tend to vary year to year, the two things that nearly every prospective student can count on being asked are “What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals?” and “How will Business School X help you achieve these goals?” Even if this sort of question doesn’t appear in the essay portion of the application, rest assured that you’ll be asked this question in the data forms and/or during your interview. Identifying clear post-MBA career goals will help in everything from
Read more
MBA Admissions Tip: Addressing Unemployment or Gaps in Employment
Given the emphasis that MBA programs place on a candidate’s work experience, it is important to be proactive in addressing unemployment or gaps in employment. When applying to business school, many candidates worry about how the adcom might perceive gaps in employment. Gaps in Employment It’s not unheard of for an MBA candidate to have a gap in employment, and this will not necessarily make a negative impact on someone’s candidacy. Gaps might be due to anything from Covid to lay-offs to periods of travel. As a rule of thumb, MBA applicants should explain gaps in employment that are three
Read more
MBA Admissions Tip: Considering the Campus
There are many factors that go into deciding whether to apply to a specific school, one of which is the physical place where you’ll be spending 1-2 years, which is why we’ve rounded up some campus visit tips. Whether speaking with current students or touring the campus for yourself, it’s helpful to approach these information-gathering experiences with as clear a sense of what matters to you as possible. Campus Visit Tips: Factors to Consider 1. Facilities Are state-of-the-art classrooms and impressive new architecture a priority for you? Would you prefer a school that is headquartered in a single building to
Read more
MBA Admissions Tip: Making Your List of Business Schools
You’ve decided the MBA is the next stop on your career path. What now? The smartest applicants are those who take the time to create an informed MBA application strategy—a well thought-out game plan that can help you obtain your goals as effectively as possible. This includes making a list of your target business schools. One of the first tasks you’ll need to tackle is school selection: strategically choosing which schools to apply to, while considering how your experience and stats compare to those of current students (or, how “competitive” your application will be at each program). How many MBA
Read more
The Cost of the MBA Application Process
If you’re looking to pursue an MBA, you have probably already considered the costs. You may have thought about tuition, for example, the fees, or the cost of relocation. You may have even gone so far as to add up the price of new attire, hoping to look sharp and make a good first impression. But have you considered how much it might cost you to apply in the first place? The fees and associated costs of the MBA application process are numerous, and often overlooked. Almost every element of
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Published: April 29, 2025
The Best Business School Laptop for You
Preparing for business school means many things: connecting with future classmates; figuring out coursework; and brushing up on your writing and quant skills. It also means ensuring that you begin your program with the equipment you need to succeed—in particular, your laptop. Choosing the right device is a crucial part of ensuring readiness for the strenuous MBA curriculum. To help you do so, we’ve rounded up recommendations from leading MBA programs and highlighted a few options for you to consider. The Hardware: What do Business Schools Recommend? To be the perfect fit for business
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Published: April 22, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Consider Pre-MBA Courses Before Applying
As you prepare for the MBA admissions process, you might want to consider whether you should undertake additional undergraduate-level course work before you apply. Who Should Take Additional Pre-MBA Coursework? There are two reasons that it might benefit a candidate to complete additional coursework as part of their MBA application strategy. If your undergraduate transcript is devoid of quantitative coursework, the admissions committee might be concerned about the lack of data points as they assess whether you’re prepared for an MBA curriculum. Taking additional college-level coursework to demonstrate proficiency in this area can alleviate this concern. Of course, if your
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Published: April 15, 2025
MBA Admissions Tip: Reapplying to Business School
Thinking about reapplying to business school? It hurts to get a “no” from all the MBA programs you applied to, but it happens to a lot of applicants – especially those who apply to the very best business schools in the world. The good news is that it’s quite common for unsuccessful applicants to apply a second time. While it’s important to take some time to deal with the disappointment, it’s never too early to begin thinking about the next admissions season. And the goods news is that there are a number of concrete steps you can take to improve
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Published: February 13, 2025
Sweethearts & Success: Applying for an MBA as a Couple
For career-minded couples, it sometimes happens that applying for an MBA makes sense for both partners, often at the same time. And because attending the best business school in one’s field can often mean relocating, it’s natural to want to attend the same program as your love. But how do you navigate this in the admissions process? Applying for an MBA as a couple may come with its challenges – including compromising if you aren’t both admitted to your shared first choice school – but it’s definitely a realistic possibility. In fact, we previously featured a
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Published: December 17, 2024
MBA Admissions Tip: Addressing Unemployment or Gaps in Employment
Given the emphasis that schools place on a candidate’s work experience, it is important to be proactive in addressing unemployment or gaps in employment. When applying to business school, many candidates worry about how the adcom might perceive gaps in employment. Read our ‘MBA Admissions Tip: Addressing Unemployment Gaps in Employment’ to learn strategies for effectively managing unemployment and employment gaps during your MBA application process. Gaps in Employment It’s not unheard of for an MBA candidate to have a gap in employment, and this will not necessarily make a negative impact on someone’s candidacy. Gaps might be due to
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Published: December 10, 2024
Digging Deep with Your MBA Program Research: Anecdotes & Advocates
Communicating with insiders (current students, alumni, and faculty members) can be beneficial to your MBA applications for a number of reasons. In addition to learning about a given school and your potential fit, you’ll also generate material for your essays, demonstrate your interest in the program, and perhaps even make an ally or two. As you aim to go beyond the schools’ websites and promotional materials, we specifically recommend reaching out to individuals in a few key groups: Current Students People who are currently enrolled in a given program can obviously provide the clearest picture of the present state of
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Published: November 28, 2024
MBA Admissions Tip: Round 1 B-School Rejection Reflections
While we always hope reports of success will dominate MBA LiveWire, the reality is there are only so many seats in a class and leading business schools need to dole out more rejection notices than admits. This MBA Admissions Tip is here to help you move forward in the admissions process if you did not receive good news in Round 1. Reconfiguring Following Rejection If there is any good news when it comes to being rejected in the first round, it’s that it’s still early in the application season, and not too late to readjust your
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Published: November 19, 2024
MBA Admissions Tip: Making Your List of Business Schools
You’ve decided the MBA is the next stop on your career path. What now? The smartest applicants are those who take the time to create an informed MBA application strategy—a well thought-out game plan that can help you obtain your goals as effectively as possible. This includes making a list of your target business schools. One of the first tasks you’ll need to tackle is school selection: strategically choosing which schools to apply to, while considering how your experience and stats compare to those of current students (or, how “competitive” your application will be at each program). How many MBA
Read more
Published: November 19, 2024
MBA Admissions Tip: Business School Recommendation Letters & Writers
Your letters of recommendation are a critical variable in the business school admissions equation. They allow the MBA admissions committee to get an outside perspective on your skills and strength, and to learn about your work experience beyond that’s covered in your essays and resume. Who Should Write my Business School Letters of Recommendation? First, your recommenders should hold a position that is senior to yours – unless the school specifically asks for a peer recommendation. The adcom gives greater weight to statements made by your superiors rather than by a peer because a peer is assumed to be essentially
Read more
Published: August 27, 2024
Understanding Visas For Your MBA Abroad
The benefits of studying an MBA abroad are plenty. New job opportunities, new experiences, new people – and the chance to expand your educational horizons. The only downside appears to be the challenge of jumping through the bureaucratic hoops required to set up residence in your new country and apply for that all-important visa. To clarify the process, we’ve put together this guide to help you. Read on to get a breakdown of the visa situation across six different countries! USA If you’re an incoming international student to a U.S.-based MBA program, you’re
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