Trying to get into business school can be gruesome, and youre not even guaranteed a spot on the consultancy firm youre eyeing even if you graduate. The statistics are alarming: Wall Street has lost 34,000 jobs, and only fourteen percent of MBA graduates at the average business school secured consulting jobs last year (down from twenty-four percent five years ago). But getting into a top-rated business school might just get you that extra lift you badly need to get to the top yourself.

Getting into a business school is difficult, depending on your brains and your financial means. First, you need to think about what specific field you want to study. When you have done that, the next thing is to acquire a decent budget. Rememberthe top has its price, and it isnt cheap.

After youve done that, try looking at their requirements; most of them have units in finance as prerequisites or require job experience (for graduate school). Preparing yourself for the interview is very helpful, as some of the top-rated business schools tend to accept students with better-developed personalities. State business schools are a way to go if you want a decent school without the price over quality tag some private business schools have. Some state-run schools are top rated, too, but admission is very competitive.

If youre planning on entering a private business school, there are many to choose from. Try to research which field the school is known for and then weigh your options. A well-known name or a general reputation of a school may appear more than it actually is, so you have to be careful not to be deceived with this. A true top business school produces the best students; research the top executives running the big companies or those who own successful consultancy firms today and see which school they graduated from.

Once youve entered business school, you will find that the lessons are more realistic in a sense that the cases you study or are presented with are from actual situations in the corporate world. You might be embedded in a lot of research work for this and that can become overwhelming if youre working part time. Dont get fooled by Tom Cruise in Risky Business. These schools can be exhausting.

Another thing to check is the faculty and research facilities they have. How many books have the faculty published and how efficient are the laboratories and libraries? Scheduling for a campus tour must cover these things.