有了GMAT的成绩，便可着手选学校。大部分申请读MBA的都是在职的雇员。他们有全职的工作，而且很多的工作都需要很长的工作时，所以申请商学院不可能像申请大学那样报好多所学校。一般来说，能manage 报五所商学院就不错了，否则时间上根本忙不过来。

同申请大学一样，择校也需考虑到三个层次：Dream School, Reach School, and Safety School. 同时也要考虑到学校的突出点。比如，前三名的商学院尽管都很全面，但也有各自的特色。Harvard 商学院注重Management and Leadership, Stanford 著名于高科技和Entrepreneurship, Wharton则在金融和市场领域很强势。

鉴于商学院的AO(Admission Officer) 人员有限，同时也考虑到申请者时间有限，好多商学院采取了分三轮申请及录取：Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3. 第一轮申请截止大约在十月一号，第二轮大约在次年的一月中，第三轮大约在四月初。就Competitiveness来讲，第一轮和第二轮应该是没有区别，录取的比例也大体一致，但第三轮就很险了。绝大部分学校不建议你孤注一掷在第三轮申请，因为如果他们在第一二轮已经招到满意的了，他们是不会再去考虑第三轮的申请者了，除非AO在第一第二轮中没招全，或没招到特别满意的，否则你的申请就白做了。有些学校根本就没有第三轮，比如：MIT。 还有一种是没有Rounds, 只有Early and Regular. 比如：哥大。哥大有Early 的deadline和Regular的deadline。但是，哥大的AO不会等到Deadline才开始看applications, 而是收到一份看一份，看一份就决定一份，他们是Rolling Admission.

Application包括：Education background, College transcript, College courses, Extra curriculum, Years after college, Professional experience, full resume, Essays, and Recommendations.

Recommendations需要两到三份，最好是你的current manager, your previous manager, or anyone who is more senior than you.  哈佛指定第三份必须来之于另一个行业的，或业外了解你的leadership, community services等方面的人。

Essay是整个Application里的重头戏。每个学校都需要三到四篇Essay. 申请商学院的大部分时间就花在写Essay上了。这儿列出几所学校的Essay题目供参考：

Harvard:

1. Tell us about three of your accomplishments. (600 words)

2. Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)

3. Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)

4. Answer a question you wish we had asked. (400 words)

Wharton:

1. What are your professional objectives? (300 words)

2. Reflect on a time when you turned down an opportunity. What was the thought process behind your decision? Would you make the same decision today? (600 words)

3. Discuss a time when you faced a challenging interpersonal experience. How did you navigate the situation and what did you learn from it? (600 words)

MIT

1. Please describe a time when you went beyond what was defined, expected, established, or popular. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

2. Please describe a time when you convinced an individual or group to accept one of your ideas. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

3. Please describe a time when you had to make a decision without having all the information you needed. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

Columbia

1. Describe a life experience that has shaped you. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (Maximum 500 words)

2. What is your post-MBA professional goal? (200 characters)

3. Considering your post-MBA and long term professional goals, why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career? Additionally, why is Columbia Business School a good fit for you? (Maximum 750 words)

Yale:

1. Please answer each of the four (4) questions below with a short paragraph of no more than 150 words. This is an opportunity to distill your core ideas, values, goals and motivations into a set of snapshots that help tell us who you are, where you are going professionally, and why. (600 words total)

• What are your professional goals immediately after you receive your MBA?

• What are your long-term career aspirations?

• Why are you choosing to pursue an MBA? (If you plan to use your Yale MBA to make a significant change in the nature of your career, please tell us what you have done to prepare for this transition.)

• The intentions of our students to engage in a broad-minded business school community and to connect to an eminent and purposeful university greatly influences the Yale MBA experience. How do you plan to be involved in the Yale SOM and greater Yale communities as a student?

2. At the Yale School of Management, we believe the world needs leaders who:

• Understand organizations, teams, networks and the complex nature of leadership;

• Understand markets and competition in different contexts; and

• Understand the diversity of economies throughout the world and the relationships between business and society.

What experiences have you had that demonstrate your strength in one or more of these areas? (500 words maximum)

       3   What is the most difficult feedback you have received from another person or the most significant weakness you perceive in yourself? What steps have you taken to address it and how will business school contribute to this process? (500 words maximum)

待续。