给非典型MBA申请者的建议

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More and more applicants are bringing diverse educationaland work backgrounds to the MBA program.  What do they all have in common?A desire to sharpen and perfect their business skills…and to become leaders.

Loads of non-traditional students already have many of thesoft skills necessary to excel in a leadership position. They have been leadingprojects, or managing patient loads, or running programs at non-profits – allsimilar experiences to their counter parts in the more traditional fields.While the missions of the organizations may be different, several of thefunctions are very business oriented.

What donon-traditional students sometimes lack? Quantitative analysis skills, howeverthis seems to be much less so for those coming from the engineering or medicalfields. But either way, these skills can be learned. Potential students canattend classes at other universities, either in person or online to build uptheir quantitative skills before they apply. Not only do you want to show admissions committees that you have taken the time to learn and masterthese skills, you want to do it for yourself, so that when you start certainMBA classes you are prepared.

很多非典型的MBA申请者可能会缺少需要的数据分析能力。 当然这些技能都能在学校学得。 所以尤其对于quant不太好的同学，可以选择在申请之前学习一些基本课程.

As a non-traditional applicant you have to be prepared to answer the question - Whydo I want an MBA? Really it may not be different that the more traditionalapplicant: to learn business and strategic planning; because you like creatingorganizational vision; because you enjoy teaching & training others andmaybe even supervising people, or if not people then projects!

Another reason for wanting an MBA may be that you don’t havea supervisor to lead and guide you (it could be because you’re in a sole orsmall operation, or because of the nature of your organization, that’s just notyour supervisor’s forte.) An MBA can give you the leadership guidance that youneed to be successful in whatever endeavor you’re in. It can also give you theneeded confidence to embark on a new venture – be it your own new company, or acareer change to field you have always desired to break into.

When it comes right down to it, most schools are going tolook at you the same way they’d look at other candidates – by reviewing yourapplication, resume, personal statement, transcripts, GMAT scores and lettersof recommendation.  

Because you are a non-traditional applicant you need to ensure that you meet the admissionsstandards, and then highlight and embrace what makes you different. Make sureyou study sufficiently (that’s almost not a strong enough word) for the GMATbecause that’s the one factor that isn’t decided yet about you – your transcripts are what they are, as is your previous work experience. Study in multiple ways – for instance Julie did the following:

• Purchased The Official Guide for the GMAT Review and The Official Guide forthe GMAT Quantitative Review study books to prepare for the exam.  

• Purchased a series of books designed to refresh the quantitative basics:Forgotten Algebra, Forgotten Calculus and Forgotten Statistics: A RefresherCourse with Applications to Economics and Business.  

• Took online GMAT practice tests and set aside a number of hours a day tostudy.

You maybe an outlier in terms of not being a typical applicant, but you should usethat to your advantage. So much of an MBA program is the make-up of the class.You learn a tremendous amount from your cohort and their various experiences. If the class were incredibly homogenous in educational and industry background,imagine how boring it could be. Being able to relate experiences from anunusual perspective brings so much more to the educational process. Find aschool that also embraces this.

在整个MBA班级成员中你可能是属于特殊的几个人， 但是这也是申请时候需要体现出来的优势， 突出你与众不同的地方，同时也做好常规申请部分， 比如说有竞争力的GMAT, TOEFL

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