Students who want to do an MBA must remember that applying to the top business schools is extremely competitive and intimidating and that’s why one cannot afford a single mistake.
It can cost your chances of admission and jeopardize your career. To known what mistakes to avoid in MBA applications, read the whole blog. Everyone talks about what a student should do but no one talks about what not to do in order to avoid mistakes. Today we are going to cover the top ten mistakes to avoid in MBA applications.
1. Not Researching the School Thoroughly
A pupil must research all the institutes and schools properly and that includes knowing the specialization they offer, the faculty they have, school culture, and more. For example, if you want to join Taxila Business School or FMS, then you must know their curriculum specialization and so much more.
If you fail to do your rigorous research it can harm your career in a bad way. Apply to schools only when you know every minute detail of it. Then draft an application based on the school’s characteristics. Don’t make just ‘one’ application and share it with every school. Instead, tailor your application to fit the institute’s expectations.
Read about the school’s values, curriculum, activities, events, programs, alumni and other relevant courses. Your MBA goals must be fulfilled if you’re applying for that school.
2. Ignoring the Importance of GMAT/GRE Scores
GMAT or GRE are not the kind of exams you appear in just for the sake of it. They hold value and if you are not going to score a decent number or fail badly in these exams, top-tier MBA colleges might not give you a chance in their school. Take these exams seriously and prepare for them. As the test scores are used as a criterion to examine your analytical and quantitative skills, you must make sure, you don’t score super low. For that, you can take coaching or classes that can help you to score fair.
3. Third Mistakes to Avoid in MBA Applications: Failing to Showcase Leadership Experience
Bright students are generally good with leadership and that’s what top BSchools want in their students. Make sure your application highlights your leadership qualities; point out how you’ve influenced others, solved problems, and driven results apart from showing your job titles and day-to-day chores. The best way is to share your leadership experiences in your essays and interviews by emphasizing what impact you’ve made through your leadership skills.
4. Overlooking Personal Branding
It’s all over the internet on how personal branding is one of the most important aspects when you want to stand out in the crowd. Be it a job application or getting into your dream Bschool. It’s okay to share your academic and professional achievements. However, the interviewer should know what makes you outstanding and for that prepare a coherent statement of who you are and what differentiates you from other candidates.
A student can do that by identifying their basic themes such as their resilience in specific aspects, passion for a particular industry, or international experience in their resume and interviews.
5. Writing Vague or Generic Essays
Over 2 lakh students appear for the CAT every year. So, you can imagine the number of applications admissions committees have to read to select perfect candidates for their institutes. Make your essay different, don’t write vague and generic sentences just to fill up the essay column, be different and try to integrate your experiences and aspirations to make it more unique and interesting.
6. Weak Letters of Recommendation
As per so many admission departments, students generally make the mistake of not choosing the right people to write their letters of recommendation. If your recommendation is to write a strong letter highlighting your abilities and talents then my friend the letter is as good as a blank paper. Don’t hurt your chance of admission and get a letter from a recommender who knows you and can write a letter with a personal touch mentioning all your good qualities.
7. Another Mistakes to Avoid in MBA Applications: Ignoring Work Experience Quality
Quality is always considered over quality and that’s what you need to focus on while drafting your application. If you are thinking of listing a number of tasks to impress the panel don’t forget to show the quality in your work done. Your progress, impact, and leadership are all qualities you need to show with the number of projects you’ve accomplished.
8. Not Able to Explain Career Goals Clearly
During interviews or essay submissions, it’s vital that you clearly state your vision of joining their schools or what your goals are post-MBA program. If you are focused enough and clear with your objectives, that gives the schools a solid reason to accept your application; set your short, medium and long-term goals and present them silver-tongued.
9. Submitting Incomplete or Inaccurate Applications
This is obvious but then also schools see hundreds of applicants doing that. Doing what? Submitting the applications without completing or filling in irrelevant details. Stop doing these! Please! Rushing to deadlines is one thing but leaving a half application is not accepted. Try to start your application some days or weeks before. Recheck it if you’ve missed anything, proofread and then send it.
10. Procrastinating on the Application Process
This has to do a lot with the previous mistake we have mentioned. Many a time, students apply in a hurry and they leave the application in half or are not completed. Start early, even if you can’t write the whole application in one go, divide your time and sections accordingly. Start by outlining the topics, then subjects, check headings and body followed up by the conclusion. Manage your time and don’t wait till the last day.
Conclusion
These are the kinds of mistakes to avoid in MBA applications. Applying to the top MBA schools is competitive enough, don’t make any mistakes while applying because you can lose out terribly. One silly mistake might not seem like a big deal but it can cost you your career. Be very careful while applying and read the entire guide again and again to not miss out on anything. And for such helpful blogs, keep coming back to MBAROI!
We are making your MBA journey easy and helpful.
Also, read these:
https://mbaroi.in/blog/cat-2024-exam/
https://mbaroi.in/blog/india-vs-canada/
https://mbaroi.in/blog/clicks-vs-bricks/
https://mbaroi.in/blog/quick-commerce-vs-brick-and-mortar-store-the-battle-for-retail-supremacy/
