5 Things I Wish Every MBA Applicant Knew Before They Started

After working with hundreds of MBA applicants over the past eight years, I have noticed a pattern that almost no one sees.

The applicants who get into the top business schools are not the ones with the highest GPAs or the most prestigious jobs. They are the ones who understood the process before they started. My latest video covers the five things I wish every applicant knew before opening a single application, because the most costly mistakes happen before an essay is ever written.

Here are the highlights:

1. The application starts earlier than you think. It does not begin when applications open in the summer. It begins the moment you decide to apply which is ideally 12 to 18 months before your target round. Strong narratives, recommender relationships, and aligned experiences cannot be manufactured in three months.
2. Do not choose schools before you understand your own story. Admissions committees are evaluating fit, not just capability. You cannot make a compelling case for a school until you have done the work to understand who you are, what you want, and why.
3. Essays are one of the last steps, not the first. Strong essays come from a strong strategy already in place. When your narrative and your school research are clear, the essays almost write themselves. If you are stuck on essays, the problem is almost never the essays.
4. Recommenders are an active part of your strategy. The best letters come from people who love you, know your work in detail, will openly express their admiration, and have time to write something thoughtful. That requires you to identify and brief them early.
5. An application is a portfolio, not a form. Every piece - essays, resume, recommendations, activities, interview - should reinforce one clear narrative. Applicants who treat it like a checklist end up forgettable. Applicants who treat it like a portfolio get remembered.

Watch the full video HERE.

That’s it for this week.

Keep showing up, keep cheering each other on — and as always, happy applying! 💛

Caitlin Andersen

Admissions Coach & Oxford MBA