The Application

These pages present both my personal journey as well as my analysis of what I did to get into business school. It is more an analysis than a personal journey, because I focus on understanding the involved issues. Most of the advice is high-level and strategic, because you can read up most of the tactical advice in the numerous books on the subject matter.

Disclaimer: I have applied only once and I'm not an expert at getting into business school. I didn't even get into all the schools I applied for, so this remains a personal account. Use it at your own risk, I make no claims whatsoever.

I started early, very early, long before I faced a specific application deadline:

• My story

Eventually, it was time for the application itself:

• Overall process

And its components:

• GMAT preparation
• Essays (tbd.)
• Recommendation letters
• Interviews (tbd.)

One word of caution, as you embark on this task: After Stanford's Derrick Bolton called me on the phone, I was on a high for several days. If the frenzy of the BusinessWeek Online Forums about "getting in" is any indicator, not being accepted may bring you down mightily, so you might want to maintain a calm attitude.

• Admissions (tbd.)

If you are in the midst of applying, you may find it hard to believe, but for me, applying to business school was big fun. These pages show how it is a cooperative chess game between you and admissions, a formidable intellectual challenge. They want you, but only if they feel you are right for them. If you are, they seem to be willing to go a long way.

So, stretch your muscles, but be sure you are in good shape before you do!

If you have any feedback, please let me know.