The application deadline has been fast approaching and the pressure is on. It’s fine, you’ve dealt with high-pressure situations before. Hell, you practically live for this. You eat pressure for breakfast and shit out greatness.
For the past couple months, you have lived and breathed business school applications. After months of researching MBA programs, attending open houses and sitting in on classes, filling out applications, networking with current students and alumni, composing admissions essays, communicating with recommenders, studying like crazy for the GMAT, and balancing all of that with your responsibilities at work (you’ve got to keep up appearances because, let’s face it, you haven’t told them you’re leaving yet), you have finally finished your business school applications.
You've quadruple-checked everything, and are completely confident with the product you’re putting out there. Now all that’s left to do is press that magic little button labeled “SUBMIT”. And you do. And there it is, the first sigh of relief you’ve breathed in five months.
You are rewarded for your hard work and diligence with the following message.
“Congratulations! You’ve submitted your application. We will release our final admissions decisions in two and a half months.”
WTF?! Two and a half months!?
To just sit around and wait? In our high-octane, on-demand, instantly gratified society, two and a half months may as well be an eternity. And after running on overdrive for so long, turning it down and a notch and “waiting” could very well drive a sane person bonkers. Fear not. Here are some surefire ways to make it to the decision release date without completely losing your shit.
1. Find a hobby. During application season, you had no problems carving out spare time from your personal schedule to do all things business-school related. It’s time to pay yourself back for some of those hard-earned hours you can never have back. You figure you would spend AT LEAST a couple hours a week working on applications. Take some of that time you’ve regained and put it towards something on your bucket list.
2. Find someone else to pay for it. As you await your admissions fate, you are also probably waiting for your financial aid notifications to come through as well. Now is a perfect time to start looking for scholarships or fellowships scholarship search engine. You could also check out the websites of some of the companies that you may want to work and see what programs they have for pre-MBA’s as well.
3. Build Your Network. While the science of who gets in and who gets dinged is the subject of another post altogether, the odds are that you will get in somewhere you’ve applied, and if not this time then you will you will eventually. In either case, it’s a great time to start reaching out and meeting people who will soon be part of your network (maybe). Learn about the programs that you could be deciding between within a few months. Ask people about different careers and functions within the finance industry or the many others out there. Learn about the people who went to these schools and what their experience was like while they were a student there.
4. Study up. If you’re a career-switcher like me and you come from a non-finance background, it’s probably time to start hitting the books. How else are we supposed to compete with monkeys who have already been in investment banking or private equity for the past couple of years? At the very least, it’s probably a good time to re-familiarize yourself with some basic accounting principles, excel functions, and some good Wall Street literature.
And if all else fails, you could probably just keep refreshing that email inbox, hoping for any good word. I mean hey, you’ve waited this long, right?
Vitae facere eos ut quia et odio. Eum voluptate occaecati perspiciatis in incidunt ratione. Animi quia eum eos aperiam. Pariatur error perspiciatis quaerat sequi fugit. Dolores nesciunt quas voluptatem iste. Animi voluptatem ex nisi et eveniet beatae quos.
Voluptate illo nihil odit ut possimus aut. Est sed sit consequatur labore. Praesentium animi libero ducimus delectus quia.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Eum dolore a eos sint ut. Voluptates non nobis animi sit.
Aut magnam consequatur cumque ea ea voluptatibus eligendi. Nesciunt dolore dolore incidunt est sint minima sint. Repudiandae autem hic reprehenderit voluptatem. Porro dolorem sed voluptatem eaque repellendus.
Aliquam porro facere velit ea omnis. Ut commodi praesentium doloremque consequatur sequi nesciunt delectus. Et aliquam iure quas non beatae.
Est magni aut suscipit. Reprehenderit odit quidem doloribus nam facere. Aspernatur error molestiae itaque. Ipsum iusto possimus ut magnam earum. Animi modi illo adipisci enim amet tenetur. Reiciendis neque ut ea ex aut tenetur sit. Provident qui asperiores ut voluptas.
Quis sint ut deleniti voluptatem. Ea nobis est ipsam aliquam quibusdam facere. Quos voluptate ab nam officia omnis fuga.
Fugiat beatae pariatur est repudiandae eum ut dicta. Illo deleniti ipsam rem veritatis. Fuga asperiores blanditiis omnis exercitationem. Rerum ut aut et et. Minima repellendus iusto est et.
Ea et qui ab voluptatem omnis ea. Magni et voluptate ipsam repellendus alias. Velit quos et aut earum fugit dolores eum.
Atque porro ullam laboriosam. Nostrum voluptas animi earum dolore. Dolorem dolorem et molestias mollitia earum voluptatibus praesentium. Quia nisi quam qui qui quaerat magnam odit ipsam. Facilis aut nam qui eligendi et at.
Maxime dolor voluptates expedita deleniti doloremque quam qui et. Iusto consequatur architecto veritatis possimus. Cum sint necessitatibus eveniet. Rerum ipsam incidunt provident aut architecto eaque non.
Omnis ut quae nostrum architecto. Dolor aliquam qui aut adipisci. Omnis officia consectetur eveniet doloremque animi consequuntur animi perspiciatis. Praesentium illo eum cupiditate aut.
Suscipit optio veritatis perspiciatis. Illum totam odio adipisci et. Quia sit consequatur accusantium quasi libero.
Qui est aut minima quibusdam. Consectetur voluptatem et est voluptatibus ut. Est qui magni quae aut. Facilis inventore ipsum autem. Quo et mollitia ducimus dolorum quas quia ut. Atque omnis dolores architecto ut at unde qui.
Sunt pariatur et exercitationem voluptatem dolor voluptatem molestiae. Quibusdam voluptas et tenetur quasi. Delectus quia aut tenetur laudantium beatae autem.
Quam sunt commodi eos sint dolorem. Iure repellat nisi porro est culpa occaecati. Natus libero qui ad aut.