Your investment in an MBA starts with the application process. Because of application costs and the time and effort required to prepare applications, you will want to limit the number of schools to which you apply.

Factor these costs into your application budget:

• phone calls
• transcript request fees
• postage or express delivery services
• travel expenses for recruiting events, interviews, or campus visits
• testing fees, test preparation materials, and other miscellaneous costs
• application fees (ranging from U.S. $40 to U.S. $200), including the cost of using various online services or CD-ROM programs

Costs add up quickly. Be realistic about what you will spend to apply to each school.

Pick at least one school where you would really like to go, even if your credentials do not meet or exceed those described in the typical applicant pool. This is your dream school.

Don’t hesitate to apply to your dream school. In the words of one admissions professional, “I can’t guarantee you admission if you apply, but not applying guarantees you a 100 percent chance of not being admitted.”

It takes time to prepare a solid application, and it can be expensive to apply to many schools. Don’t spread yourself too thin.

There are more than 1,500 graduate management programs worldwide, but only a portion will be a good match for any candidate. At this stage, your career-related goals, academic study, and personal needs should lead to a targeted list of schools that meet your most basic requirements.

Any program to which you apply must be one that you would be willing to attend if offered admission. It doesn’t benefit you to apply to a school that doesn’t interest you.

After you compile an appropriate selection of business schools you are interested in, take one more critical look before you begin to prepare applications.

To help keep applications manageable, narrow your list to the few schools that have the curricular strength, culture, and program philosophy that will meet your educational and professional needs. Most MBAs advise picking five to seven schools. Use your judgment to determine which schools are worth your investment of time and money.

Be sure to include at least one school that you believe you are more than qualified to attend on the basis of your work experience, test scores, and undergraduate grade point average. Also include your dream school.