Three Tips to Improve Your MBA Application After Submission

Now that many round one MBA application deadlines have passed, particularly in the US, many business school applicants are anxiously waiting to hear whether they’ve been accepted, waitlisted or rejected. Most people would believe that their part in the process is now over and that everything now rests in the hands of the various MBA admissions committees in question. However, considering the highly competitive nature of the application process at most schools, and the length of time that it takes to review all of the applications that are received, you might actually be able to improve your ‘standing’ and the strength of your application even after you’ve already sent it in.

First, it’s never too late to retake the GMAT. As long as your application is in on time, most schools will accept ‘updated information’ that is relevant to the admissions process – and that includes a more recent (and hopefully better) GMAT score. The GMAT is one of the few pieces of the MBA application that you have the potential to improve relatively quickly. Under GMAC’s current retesting policy, test takers can now retake the GMAT 16 days after a prior attempt - just keep in mind that you’re allowed a maximum of five attempts in a 12-month period, though. Assuming that you have not used all of your attempts up, you have the opportunity to take the GMAT at least once more before the MBA admissions committees will be done reviewing all of the applications received in round one. If you have a clear sense of the areas that you need to work on, investing in some new practice materials and putting in some extra study time could help you to replace a competitive GMAT score with a fantastic GMAT score.