Be yourself for the best result

If a book was written about you, what would the title be and why? If that one has you tripping over your tongue, it's meant to. "Part of the idea behind these questions is to throw you something you are not prepared for and see what you come up with," says Michael Forde, who successfully applied to a handful of business schools before choosing McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management in Canada.

A personal statement, computer-based assessment and an interview every bit as demanding as a job application – getting into business school can be a full-time effort. Management experience aside, Forde was successful because he knew why he wanted an MBA and didn't attempt to second-guess what schools wanted. "I didn't do a lot of preparation," he explains. "I knew the interview would be the most important part. I focused on what were genuinely my motivations and how best to communicate them. Having worked for 10 years, I had a lot of experiences I could draw from."

Read full article: The Independent, October 18, 2012