What Should I Do If I Want An MBA?

Here is the game-plan to get an MBA and some key points that you might want to consider. I will not go into philosophical questions here, assuming that you gave this idea a good amount of thinking, made your decision and just need to have a practical guide into the next steps:

There are a lot of components in the application process. But, to me, it comes down to the below three main strategies.

1. GMAT

Begin with this first before even starting to think about the essays.

To successfully apply to the best schools, you have to score the top percentile and leave no chances to luck. Once you get the score above 700, focus on the rest. You simply cannot combine your preparation for the test and soul searching, which is key when writing the essays. Try to focus on one challenge at a time. Don't spend your energy of hitting the best score possible. This is not what will set you apart!

2. Essays

This is the most important part of the application process and where you can truly demonstrate your unique personality and stand out. It is a soul searching process, where you speak your heart out. Take your time to identify what makes you unique and how you got to where you are now. I don't really know your story, but I believe that every person is UNIQUE BY DEFAULT. It is simply up to YOU to bring it out and tell your story to the admission committee.

What do you want them to know when they read your essays for the first time? What are the one or two things you want them to remember? Talk about your past, the challenges you overcame to get to where you are today. And most importantly why you decided to take such a big step in your life: quitting your job and stable income, for example, leaving your loved ones (for at least one year) and embarking on a new journey. The unknown. Think about what school X or school Y will give you to achieve your dream. What do you aspire to do in the future?

3. Which school?

It is very important to demonstrate that the school X is the right fit. Surely, a lot of people think that Harvard Business School, for example, is the best. But it’s not for everyone. Certainly it was not for me (no offence to HBS folks). My advice will be to reach out to those who did an MBA in the schools that are in your radar. Try to understand how one school is different from the other. What is it that makes these schools unique?

If you have an opportunity, go visit the campuses! Normally, MBA schools offer prospective students the opportunity to attend classes, see the campus, talk to students and admin. The school location is also very important for your next career step. For example, if you are aiming to find a job in the US, check out the US schools that will help you in terms of network and more targeted recruitment. If you are open to the international arena, check out European schools: INSEAD in France and Singapore, IE in Spain, IMD in Switzerland, LBS in UK. I hope you get the idea.

My personal experience

Having done an MBA at INSEAD in France and Singapore, I can say that one thing that is common to all the students attending this school is an international or global mindset. INSEAD is the most diverse school in terms of nationalities of the students represented without one being significantly more dominant than the other. This global mindset can be seen in two ways: Whether it is something you lived and breathed all your life (in my case, I was born and raised in Russia, but lived in South Korea for 12 years before INSEAD), OR this is something that you aspire to learn from the most global school in the world (for example, you lived and worked in country X all your life, yet you felt that you didn't fit into conventional rules or thinking of the company Y and you always felt that you were different).

So, I want to wish the best of luck to you in your future journey to challenge yourselves to learn from the best, to meet like-minded people, to inspire and get inspired. Just that one thought already takes a lot of courage.

GO FOR IT! YOU CAN DO IT!