Early July is about two months before the first regular-decision MBA application deadlines. If you’re preparing to apply to business school, you’re likely pretty overwhelmed by all there is to do, but it helps to lay out the tasks in steps to keep all the moving parts together. Here are some things you should do in July:
1. Revise your essay outlines.
Ideally, you’ve already spent significant time on introspection and self-reflection in preparation for outlining your essays in June. It’s extremely helpful to outline essays before you start writing them in full sentences and paragraphs. Outlines allow you to determine if you’re on the right track before you get too far along wordsmithing and discover you’re off on a tangent.
For each school, put all essay prompts and your associated outlines in one document so you can see how they look all together. That’s how admissions committees look at essays. And don’t shove one school’s essay into another school’s prompt. Admissions committees can see through this, and it doesn’t work! See “Six Keys to Successful MBA Application Essays” for more essay tips.
2. Revise your short answers.
Each school asks its own short-answer questions, which are separate from the essays and often pertain to your short- and long-term goals. For example, the Stanford GSB includes two mini-essays in its short-answer section—so don’t ignore these until the last minute! It’s helpful to collect everything a school requires in its application and then put all of it into one document. When you’re working on outlines, you should include the short answers as well so you can ensure the content in all parts of your application is complementary and does not overlap.
3. Continue conducting school research.
Learn about specific classes at each program that can help you reach your goals. Which courses, both core and elective, will allow you to fill the gaps in your knowledge or skills base? What professors at that school are doing cutting-edge research in your field? What resources might there be at the university level—perhaps institutes or centers—that align with your goals, such as a health-care center or a leadership institute? See “25 Questions to Ask Students and Alumni While Researching MBA Programs” for more guidance on school research.
4. Start your online applications.
This is busy work. You can start this now and save yourself a lot of annoyance later. There’s not a Common App for business school, so you’ll have to fill in all your information—including all the jobs you’ve had as well as basic biographical information—for each school’s online application.
Start now by making a list of all the extracurricular activities you’ve engaged in dating back to college, including the roles you had in the organizations, a brief line about your responsibilities, and the dates you were involved. If online applications are available, take a break from the challenge of essays and enter your contact information along with any other information that won’t change.
5. Formally ask for recommendations.
If you don’t work directly with one or both of your recommenders, ideally you’ve been staying in touch and keeping the relationship current with informal meetings, coffees, lunches, etc. July is the time to formally ask for your letters of recommendation, maybe before your recommenders go on a summer vacation. When you make this request, share your goals with your recommenders and highlight your accomplishments at the organization. See “Four Steps to a Five-Star MBA Recommendation” for more insight on recommendations.
6. Write your first draft of essays.
When you are pleased with your outlines for each school’s essay prompts, it’s time to start writing the essays. Write a draft and share it with a trusted advisor who will give you honest feedback. For each school, put all the essays together in one document and compare them against the short answers in the application to ensure there’s not too much overlap and the pieces complement one another.
7. Create or update your resume.
Admissions committees will likely review your resume for less than one minute, but you can craft a resume that grabs their attention and makes a lasting impression. In that short time, they are getting an impression of you as a person, an employee, and a potential student at their school. Also, be sure to keep your resume short and sweet. MBA applicants typically have three to six years of work experience, so there’s no need for your resume to be longer than one page.