If you're headed to business school to pursue an MBA after college, you can capitalize on your foresight by using your undergrad years to prepare for business school. It is even more significant if you hope to enter business school straight out of undergrad because you're coming in at a disadvantage.

Although some top schools will consider students with little or no work experience, the vast majority of business school candidates have already served tours of duty in the workforce by the time they start working toward their MBA. At most business schools, students have an average of three to five years of work experience, and many schools strictly adhere to a two-year minimum. Almost 80 percent of business students indeed have three or more years of work experience.

There is no reason to despair. That leaves a successful 20 percent who are getting their MBA without it. So, if you are falling into that 20 percent group, you want to make sure that you and your application are as tempting to a business school admissions officer as possible. Look through some suggestions for doing just that.

- Take the GMAT, but only when you're well-prepared: The GMAT scores won't necessarily get you into the school of your choice, there are too many other factors, but low scores will almost certainly keep you out. Great GMAT score will be examined closely, as will your GPA, because the admissions committee has no work experience from you to consider that might otherwise help to balance out the other factors.

- Research schools and apply to at least several schools that are known to admit "non-traditional" students. Begin with using the advanced business school search. Indicating your credentials and preferences you'll receive a list of schools that might be good matches. 

- Study abroad, especially if you're interested in international business. Anyway, learning about different cultures is always a good business move. Becoming skillful in a foreign language isn't a bad idea either!
Take a communications class: Work on your public speaking and writing skills not just your analytical skills. Communication abilities can help make a solid impression in your essay and at a business school interview.

- Get an internship during at least one summer in college: Make contacts, gain real-business-world experience, and work hard. In an ideal world, you'll get at least one good recommender out of it, which might be payment enough. If there’s a choice, take an internship at the most distinguished company you can, and offer to return the following summer, possibly with added responsibility and some additional compensation. Consider internship experience does NOT count as full-time work experience, even if you are working 40+ hours per week. 

- Do business-related papers for your classes: A big part of the MBA is case studies curriculum. In essence this means that students are presented with real or hypothetical business scenarios and asked to analyze them. If something happens to work for a college paper topic, by all means get some practice in now.