Applying To Business School

How do I apply to business school in the US?

To apply for a course at U.S business school, you will need to:

• Decide whether it's the right step for you
• Choose which business school(s) you want to apply to (take a look at current business school rankings too)
• Write your business school personal statement and look at some examples
• Prepare for and sit your GMAT exam.

How do I choose a business school?

To apply to the right U.S business schools for you, we recommend you consider the following factors:

1. Location
2. Your business career path
3. Facilities and resources
4. Preview/open days
5. Alumni feedback
6. Admission requirements
7. U.S business school rankings
8. Graduate employment record
9. Funding options

See our choosing a business school guide for more tips and advice.

What are the best business schools in the US?

According to U.S News, the best business school in the U.S currently is Stanford. This is followed by:

• Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• Northwestern (Kellogg)
• Chicago (Booth)
• MIT (Sloan)
• Harvard
• California (Berkeley Haas)
• Columbia
• Yale
• New York
• Virginia (Darden)

How do I write a business school personal statement?

To write a successful business personal statement, think about:

• Your current achievements in your college degree and experiences outside of the classroom, including any paid/voluntary work
• Brainstorm ideas
• Start drafting it early
• Write a memorable opening and conclusion
• Back up all your statements with evidence
• Be specific - don't spend your statement telling your life story
• Revise and edit (at least several times!)
• Ask for feedback from family and friends
• Check for errors and submit it along with the rest of your application form.

For more information and advice, please see our Business School Personal Statement Writing Guide.

Where can I see some business school personal statements?

You can look at some business school personal statement examples here at Studential.

Please don't plagiarise any phrases, sentences or whole paragraphs, as your application may be penalised.

Remember - your business school personal statement has to be your own work, written in your own unique voice.

What is the GMAT and how do I take it?

The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, is an important part of the business school application process.

It is is a multiple-choice, computer-based and computer-adaptive standardized exam that is often required for admission to graduate business programs (MBA) globally.

GMAT scores are used by graduate business schools to make admission decisions.

You can register for the GMAT at MBA.com.

How much does the GMAT cost?

The cost of taking the GMAT exam is currently $250.

There are no fixed, official dates for taking this exam, so you can choose a day that is suitable for you.

What is in the GMAT?

The content on the GMAT is broken down into four scored test sections, two of which are scored separately, and two of which are scored separately but are also combined to generate your composite score:

1. Analytical Writing Assessment
2. Integrated Reasoning
3. Quantitative
4. Verbal

You will be able to choose the order in which they take GMAT test sections. You will choose your section order at the test center following the computer tutorial, just before you start your test.

There are three orders you can choose from:

1. Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), Integrated Reasoning (IR), Quantitative, Verbal
2. Verbal, Quantitative, Integrated Reasoning, Analytical Writing Assessment
3. Quantitative, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, Analytical Writing Assessment.