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We at mbaMission have tried repeatedly to persuade business school candidates who are evaluating MBA programs to downplay the various schools’ rankings, which can fluctuate wildly, and instead focus on fit, which is enduring. As you prepare for the next admissions season, we recommend that you accelerate and broaden your evaluation process.

One way to look beyond rankings is to speak with MBA students. Even if you do not have direct access to students, reaching out to them in a targeted way—via email, club websites, and social media—can be quite easy. Do not feel as though you are being “pushy” when contacting students this way, because most take pride in their school and are open to speaking with candidates. They are a de facto part of the school’s marketing arm. For example, if you are interested in a certain program for its entrepreneurship offerings, you can get in touch with the individual(s) leading the entrepreneurship club to learn more about the program (and the club!).

Of course, you should be respectful of each individual’s time and be well prepared for your conversation. If you are conscientious, you will be able to gain some great insight into the school’s academic environment and then have time to learn more about the atmosphere on campus. Networking now should enable you to begin narrowing your search and more effectively focus your limited “free” time throughout the rest of the admissions season.

With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense.

If you have only recently started studying for the GMAT (or even if you have been studying for a while!), you are likely annoyed by Data Sufficiency (DS). What is this weird question type, and why do they ask it? More importantly, how do we handle it?

What is Data Sufficiency?

The GMAT really is not a math test. (Neither is the GRE.) These tests are actually trying to test us on our “executive reasoning” skills—that is, how well we make decisions and prioritize when faced with too many things to do in too little time.

So, DS questions are really about quickly analyzing a collective set of data and trying to figure out which pieces you need to do the job. Imagine your boss dumping a bunch of stuff on you and saying, “Hey, our client wants to know whether they should raise the price on this product. Can you answer that question from this data? If so, which pieces do we need to prove the case?”

We do, of course, have to do some math—and sometimes that math is quite annoying. We usually do not, however, have to do as much as we usually do on regular “problem solving” questions (the normal Quant questions).

How does Data Sufficiency work?

First, we are given what is called the “question stem.” Here is an example:

How old is Oliver?

The question stem asks us a question, naturally. It can also provide information, such as the following:

If Oliver’s age is even, how old is Oliver?

Now we know that Oliver’s age is an even number. If they told me, for example, that Oliver is either 13 or 14 years old, now I know he is definitely 14, because I should only consider even numbers as possible values for Oliver’s age.

Next, the problem will give us two statements, such as the following:

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Each year, we hear from a few people who think their professional position is a liability when applying to business school: “I am a school teacher. Maybe if I transitioned to consulting, I would get into the school of my dreams.” Although bankers and consultants are certainly much more represented at top business schools than teachers, this is not evidence of a bias among admissions officers but of the nature of those workplaces. Most bankers and consultants need an MBA to progress past a certain point on the corporate ladder, whereas no teacher truly needs an MBA to progress.

What is more important than focusing on an industry or on a particular community endeavor is your performance in your endeavors. Classes at top-ranked MBA programs have space for high-performing consultants, bankers, and teachers—but not for low-performing individuals in any field. Top programs want a diversity of experience in their classrooms and the promise of achievement going forward, not a specific job title.

When preparing personal statements that require significant information about career progress, many MBA applicants choose to discuss their accomplishments in chronological order. Although the simplicity of this approach makes it appealing, we encourage you to consider another way of showcasing your more recent and therefore potentially stronger accomplishments first. By taking this approach instead, you may capture your reader’s imagination more quickly and reduce the risk of being lost amid similar candidates.

Consider these examples: (1) a software analyst who is now a project manager managing a budget and leading a team of 20 programmers and (2) an investment banking analyst now in their third year with a company who has been sent abroad to work directly with a CFO.

The Project Manager

Chronological: “Joining ABC Technology as a software programmer, I…”

Reverse: “Scrutinizing my plan one last time, I waited to present my team’s $3.7M proposal to our client…”

The Investment Banker

Chronological: “As an investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank, I started…”

Reverse: “Arriving in Taipei, I was admittedly nervous to finally meet the CFO of XYZ Co. and lead my firm’s due diligence process…”

In these “reverse” examples, the candidates immediately present their standout accomplishments and thrust the reader into the excitement of their stories. Although this kind of introduction is not applicable in all cases, it can be a feasible option in many. Still, in choosing this approach, candidates must be able to fluidly return to earlier moments in their career later in the essay—a task that requires creativity and skill.

Another task that requires skill is determining when to use the active voice. Many writers use the passive voice in their essays, but the best writers know it should be used only sparingly, if ever.

The passive voice puts the verb in the “wrong” place in the sentence, thereby removing the “action.” Subjects become acted upon rather than performing actions. Sentences with the passive voice typically include verb phrases such as “was” or “has been” (e.g., “it was determined,” “the project has been completed”).

Consider this example of the passive voice:

“The marathon was run despite my injury.”

In this sentence, the verb (or action) is diminished because the writer says the marathon “was run.” A better way of describing the same activity is to use the active voice, as illustrated in this example:

“I ran the marathon despite my injury.”

Here are two more examples:

Passive: “The contract was awarded to us.”

Active: “We won the contract.”

Passive: “It was decided that I would be in charge of the project.”

Active: “My boss selected me to be in charge of the project.”

Remember—you are the center and subject of your essays. The best way to tell your stories and explain your accomplishments is to make sure that you are the catalyst of the stories you tell. Using the active voice ensures that the admissions committee(s) will see you as an active person who makes things happen.

Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on Sanjay Sood from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Sanjay Sood is a professor of marketing and behavioral decision making and was formerly the faculty director of UCLA Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment, and Sports, which he helped develop. Sood focuses on marketing management, brand management, advertising, and consumer behavior, and he is a strong believer in incorporating the real business world in the classroom experience. Indeed, he often welcomes executives from such companies as Google and MGM Resorts International as speakers, and he takes students on field trips to other companies. One second-year student we interviewed said Sood brings “a lot of practical experience to the classroom” and uses connections from his work with Procter & Gamble to enhance his classes.

Sood received his PhD in marketing from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 1999 and was later recognized as a Marketing Science Institute Young Marketing Scholar in 2003. In 2010, Sood was selected by his fellow faculty members to receive the school’s Niedorf “Decade” Teaching Award, which is presented to professors who exhibit “exemplary teaching over a period of seven to ten years.” Five years earlier, he received a Citibank Teaching Award, which was also determined by his fellow faculty members.

For more information about UCLA Anderson and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.