4 Don't be afraid to use an admissions consultant

You're about to make a major life decision and tens of thousands of tuitiondollars and years of your life are at stake, not to mention future career paths.You can find a good consultant who will cost you less than you'll spend onapplication fees and GMAT test taking. A good consultant should help youidentify your best personal strategy to gain admission and steer you towards thebusiness schools for which you're best suited. They are also perfect forproofing essays (see #5 above) and they can really help ease your stress duringthis taxing time period.

5 Know why you are going to business school

Be prepared to explain why you are leaving your job or why you want to pursuean MBA right out of undergrad. You can be sure you will be asked this questionat least once in an essay or during the admissions interview. If you are employed and youremployer does not know you are considering an MBA, make arrangements to get areference from a trusted colleague.

6 Make sure your application and essays are immaculate

Often times, the admissions staff reading your application and essays willnever meet you in person. Do not squander this "first impression" byallowing any stains (applicable only to applications submitted via snail mail),misaligned page margins, or inconsistent fonts. These types of things canmake the difference between being admitted and being rejected, so I wouldencourage you to take this to heart.

7 Have someone proof your admissions essays

I can not overstate the importance of having a third party review yourapplication essays. Make sure the proofreader has good grammar and is committedto spending quality time with your essays. Do NOT try to proof your own essaysall by yourself. You may catch a lot of your own errors, but chances are somesilly ones will get by you. Why? Because when you wrote the particularly awkwardsentence, you know what you meant to say. Unfortunately for you, the admissionsstaff is not likely to be as impressed by the unclear and awkward sentence.

8 Prepare for the GMAT and TOEFL if applicable

Don't take this test unprepared. Also, this may sound strange, but I do NOTrecommend a GMAT review course. I took one and disliked it. The course moved atthe pace of the group's slowest student and I had to drive to a classroom when Icould have spent the commuting time studying instead. I recommend buying a goodbook or two and studying at your own pace and at your own optimal hours.
Based on numerous emails I have received, it seems many of you areinternational applicants to whom English is not your native language. I wish Icould tell you something more but you should study for the TOEFL (test ofEnglish as a foreign language).

9 Identify business schools of Interest

Develop criteria such as geography, recruitment, school reputation, tuition,faculty, student body, etc. In this first step you want to start with thelargest number of schools and then apply your criteria and narrow down yourchoices. Although the schools you are currently considering will end up in thenarrowed down list, you may be surprised to uncover some other schools as well.Keep in mind that you don't want to undersell yourself and automatically excludethe top schools. If you're even close to borderline for admission, there arethings you can do to increase your chances. (Read on.) Establish criteria suchas courses offered, companies that recruit at the school, opportunities forinternships, study abroad, etc.

10 Research post MBA career opportunities and business schools

First make sure you know why you want to go to school and have a clear ideaof what you may want to do when you graduate. Often times, as in college, yourcareer goals will change. However, you are about to make a big investment ofyour time and money, so make sure you give your decision the proper amount ofthought and research.