Prospective students must apply to an MBA program. The application can be completed by hand and mailed to the address provided, but most graduate schools post their applications online. Make sure your application responses are accurate and complete.
To apply for admission to an MBA program, you must have an undergraduate degree. Some MBA graduate schools require undergraduate degrees be in the business administration vein, while others do not. To verify this, you must submit an official transcript--a record that lists all classes taken, grades in each class and your overall GPA--as part of the application process. You must submit transcripts from every college you attended.
Unlike traditional graduate programs where you can go straight from college into graduate school, this is frowned upon by MBA graduate schools. Many MBA programs require prospective students to have either a minimum number of years of work experience or experience in certain fields, such as accounting, management or finance before applying to their MBA program. An exception to this would be if a student completed internships or worked in his chosen career field while pursuing his undergraduate degree. Prospective students must submit resumes during the application process to verify their work experience.
MBA programs require students to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). A small portion of MBA schools will accept the Graduate Records Examination (GRE), but the GMAT is the most common for MBA admission requirements. Applicants must send test scores to each MBA school to which they are applying. For most top MBA graduate schools, the GMAT score is one of the most important factors for admission.
MBA programs require two or three professional letters of recommendation. These letters can come from former or current supervisors, co-workers or professors who are familiar with your abilities.
MBA graduate schools want to know about you and your motivations. Most important, they want to know why you think their school should grant you admission into their MBA program. The tool used most often is an essay that summarizes you, your career plans, and how their program fits into them. Take the essay seriously. Top MBA programs place a high level of importance on how prospective students explain their goals and motivations for attaining MBAs.
An interview may or may not be required, depending on the school. The interview is similar to a job interview and could be completed one-on-one with a department head, or by committee with two or more department members.