A typical MBA candidate has several years of full-time, post-undergraduate work experience. The strongest candidates are dedicated, disciplined and focused on their intended career paths; they know what is required of them to achieve success and are clear about the particular area of interest they plan to pursue after obtaining an MBA degree. A good MBA student demonstrates evidence of leadership potential and consistent academic achievement. Other abilities include creativity, dedication, commitment and professionalism.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you possess entrepreneurship and leadership capabilities?
• Are you competent at language and communication skills?
• Do you possess a non-judgmental attitude, humanistic values, decision-making and analytical skills, interpersonal skills, and collaborative focus?
• Do you have a strong personal sense of direction, self-discipline and ethics?
• Are you able to define who you are in terms of what is important to you?
• Are you able to describe what kind of lifestyle you desire and what level of financial security you aspire to?
• Can you define what job satisfaction means to you?

It is also important to identify how your aspirations - within your capabilities - will match up with your priorities, which includes the question whether you are ready to be a student again for two or more years. Many first year students - having been out of school for many years - find it hard to adjust to the routine of being a student again i.e. attending lectures, doing schoolwork and turning in homework. Also, while few people are satisfied with just a career, how else will your education contribute to you leading a fulfilling life?
The most important work accomplished by organizations today is through the combined efforts of groups of people sharing their ideas and expertise. However, to function effectively on such teams, MBA students need to develop their interpersonal skills to bring out the best in each team member, to foster creativity and co-operation, and to channel conflict constructively. Effective team members do better at analytical and critical decision-making; they also discover how their input affects the behaviour of fellow team members, direct access to diverse information is improved, and they can more easily keep track of progress updates and tasks.

This is what all applicants to an MBA program need to ask themselves when they apply to any school to be admitted into their MBA program. Remember that the admissions officers and those professionals, who process your application, are also asking themselves if you will make a good candidate for their MBA program.

As the MBA is a very intense program, not to mention very expensive, schools are looking out for those applicants who come across as having prior knowledge about the program and are also clear about what they want from the program. As an MBA aspirant, you too, should do your best to be perceived as the ideal candidate for an MBA. The following areas are where you need to make your mark and put your best foot forward.

The Application for MBA

Once you have decided on some schools for an MBA program, the next step is to apply to those schools. Your application is the most important aspect, which will determine whether or not you are accepted into an MBA program. People think of the interview as the tough part, but if your application does not make you stand out as a great candidate, then you may never reach as far as the interview. Here’s how you can better your MBA application:

Have a really solid and complete application file. List down all your qualifications and your work experience in a way that complements them. Do NOT leave any part of the application form blank.

The essay that is required with the application should be written sincerely and should be so compelling that the person reviewing your application finds it tough to put your essay down.

Prepare for your GMAT test beforehand so as to have a high GMAT score in your application form.

The letters of recommendation with your application should stand out from the others.

Remember that only as little as 20% of all applications received by MBA schools, are actually considered further for the next stage in the admissions process. So make sure that you do the best possible job with your application so that it goes on top of the ‘in’ pile and does not get relegated to the ‘out’ pile.

Interviews for MBA Programs

If your MBA application is as good as it should be, then you may be short listed for the interviews. This is another critical aspect of the MBA admissions process and here the interviewer can physically determine how good a candidate you are for their MBA degree. Here are some tips to help you get prepared for the interview:

Portray Yourself as Part of a Team: Convey what you wish to get out of the MBA course, but more importantly, tell what you will contribute to it as well. Most MBA graduates consider their classmates and other students to be a big help during the course. So present yourself as a quality student and a valuable team member.

Be Sincere and Truthful: Do not give answers to questions that you think the interview committee wants to hear. They are great at their job and can easily differentiate among students who are being sincere and those who just give the ‘expected’ answers. So be honest about your expectations from the MBA course and why you have decided to pursue the particular program or school.

Prepare Yourself: Make a list of expected questions and then decide how you will answer them. But do not prepare actual questions and answers as then they will seem rehearsed and not spontaneous.

Many students seem to think that cramming their studies into a couple of nights before a big examination is the way to go. Cramming may help you pass a test or examination but there is a better way to achieve scholastic success. One of the keys to having success in school is to develop good study habits. What follows is a list of seven study habits that successful students use.

Routine

An important part of good study habits is to study in the same place at the same time every day. A good place to study is a place where you’ll be able to accomplish the most amount of work with the least amount of interruptions. Regarding the time-frame to study try to keep the same schedule each day, only changing it if you have to. And after each hour you study take a small break to help keep the mind relaxed and fresh.

Due Dates

Many college professors and instructors distribute a syllabus at the beginning of the semester. A syllabus usually outlines the course plan, expected readings, dates of exams, and deadlines for homework and term papers. The syllabus is a great tool to help you effectively schedule your study time so that you can turn in your work in a timely manner.

Read Ahead

As we have already mentioned professors include the semester’s reading in the syllabus, and there is a good reason for this. If the student knows what to read then are more able to prepare themselves for class discussions or an unexpected pop quiz. That’s right! Many professors like to give a pop quiz from assigned readings. If you don’t read a particular section or chapter you may not pass the quiz and this can affect your grade.

Whenever reading academic literature be sure to take notes and highlight important points. This is especially helpful when you are ready to review material for an important test or final examination. Also, when you takes notes it will much easier to recall information during class discussions.

Take Notes

We have already mentioned the benefit of taking notes while you are reading, but you should also take notes during lectures and class discussions. Taking notes while the professor is lecturing helps reinforce material you have read, and visa-a-versa. Also, most professors use a large part of their lecture material in their quizzes, tests, and final examinations.

Quick Review
After each class take a minute or two to review what was covered in that class. Also, have these little review sessions throughout your day as time permits. This helps reinforce your lessons and keeps the information fresh.

Rest and Sleep

It is a proven fact that the most successful students are the ones who have good study habits and are well rested. In fact, fatigue is a contributor to poor grades in that the student may fall asleep during class, thus missing out on valuable information, or be so tired during an exam that the brain can’t properly process information to correctly answer test questions. Successful students have an established sleep schedule and leave the partying for the weekend.

We have covered some very valuable information to help you develop good study habits. If you use these habits your grades will improve, become more consistent, and lead you to a successful educational experience.

Success is not something we are born with; it is something we make for ourselves. Success is also not about having knowledge as there are many knowledgeable people in the world who are not successful. Instead success is something of a mixture of our efforts, our knowledge, and our communications. And communications comes in two forms, verbal and non-verbal or body language. Successful people not only know how to verbally communicate effectively, but they also know the power of non-verbal language. Let’s look at some examples.

Eye Contact

Every successful person maintains eye contact with the person or audience they are talking to. When we maintain eye contact we are showing that we are interested in the other person and what they are saying. A fact about eye contact is that when are looking directly at the face of someone speaking we are usually in listening mode.

When a successful person is speaking their eye contact demonstrates their sincerity and trustworthiness. However, when you are speaking to a group of people your eye contact should bounce from one person to another of those who are listening. This shows not only your sincerity, but also that you are confident in what you are saying.

Listening

Some people may think that listening isn’t a type of non-verbal communication, but it most certainly is. To be begin with if you are listening that means you are not talking and this alone makes listening a non-verbal type of communication. But listening has body language components in it as well. As we noted previously when a successful person listens they maintain eye contact with the person who is speaking and this is body language that send the message to the speaker that you are interested in what the speaker has to say.

Also, when we listen we often project other body language that demonstrates our interest or disinterest. For example, our head, facial, and body movements speaks volumes about how interested we are in hearing what another person has to say. If you are moving your head from side to side, looking around, and you are fidgety chances are very good that you are not interested in listening to the other person.

Posture

Body posture is a body language that also says a lot about you. Successful people demonstrate a calm and confident body posture. When standing successful people stand erect and don’t slouch over, keeping their head and shoulders level. The feet are placed comfortably apart, generally eight to ten inches, and any body movement is done from the pelvis.

The hands and arms of the successful person are in a relaxed position, either loosely linked together at the front or comfortably resting at their sides, but never buried in pockets or crossed over in front of the chest. When speaking the successful person may move their hands about, but the movements are light and smooth with the palms up. Palms down indicate dominance and aggression.

We have covered some body language points that successful people use when they are communicating with others, however they are many more. These are presented to you to give a place to start in developing your own.