Five Years to B-School: The Fourth Year

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There are things you can do to prepare for writing the essays and interviewing with alumni or admissions committee members. The first thing you should do is take a self-inventory, says Flye. Where have you had an impact? What have you learned? What skills are transferable for the move you want to make post MBA? Answers to all these questions should be included.

You also might consider keeping a leadership journal. In the journal, you should take notes as you demonstrate leadership on the job or in your extracurricular activities. These notes will come in handy as you write your essays and think about what you will say in an interview. Write down anything you think could be relevant because you can always leave it out of the essay if you end up having stronger examples. In the essays, you're going to want to illustrate not just what you accomplished but also why it is important, says Barefoot. Keep this in mind as you track your examples.

Mock interviews with your mentors or other trusted contacts who have gone through the MBA application process can help applicants prepare and stand out, says Roeder. If the MBA application interview is the first one you've had in four or five years, you will likely have trouble, he adds. Practice certainly can only help you.

By now, you should have taken the GMAT at least once. If you're still not satisfied with your score, take it again. While most programs will not disclose their minimum GMAT scores, you can get a hint for what it will take to get accepted by checking out each school's profile and looking up its average GMAT score, which range from 696 to 726 for BusinessWeek's Top 10 full-time MBA programs. In preparation for the MBA, you should also look at the curriculum and perhaps even the syllabus of the courses at the programs that interest you most. Besides helping you determine fit, you will have specifics for the essays and interviews.

Good applications happen when people put their all into them. "It resonates in their application that they have prepared and put a lot of work into the process," says Flye. Indeed, work ethic plays a role and can help you stand out from the crowd. "Hard work is what separates those who get ahead," says Chu. "It's a bit of luck but mostly hard work and commitment [that will help you]. Some people just want it more."

GET READY FOR A MOVE

Whether you are single, married, or have a family, you will most likely move from where you are living now to another area when you begin your MBA program. As you narrow down the schools, you should be looking closely at the location of those that interest you most. Determine if you want to live there after the MBA because there are likely more jobs offered to graduates in the school's home than outside. Also, consider the housing prices, if you won't be living on campus. If you do have a spouse and kids, consider the jobs and schools available to them where you'd be living.

Visiting campuses is a great way to get to know the culture and see the city or town. Have your spouse and family join you if you can make a visit before applying. If not, you should try to attend recruiting events for those schools in your area. When you do get to visit a school, check out the groups and benefits they offer to families of MBA students. For example, spouses at Kellogg can audit courses.

People who are thinking about applying to business school should be saving money to fund their education. At this point, you should have saved lots and should already be living like a student on a budget. Consider what your cost of living and tuition will be and start making calculations about how you will be able to swing this. Of course, start researching scholarship and award money now. Get working on those applications, too. Free money, as opposed to loans, is the best way to fund your education because you don't have to ever pay it back.

BY THE END OF YEAR FOUR…

You should have:

•Earned recognition on the job and broadened your experiences by taking on new roles or projects

•Narrowed your list of top business schools and thoroughly researched them

•Chosen your recommenders and either talked with them about the MBA in general or your desire to apply, depending on your relationship with each

•Begun taking note of your achievements and demonstrations of leadership in preparation for the essays and the interviews

•Researched the regions of the schools that interest you most to determine the types of jobs available, the cost of living, and the culture for you and your family if you have one

•Started applying for scholarships and any other free money to fund your MBA

Di Meglio is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in Fort Lee, N.J.