Think over what skills an MBA student need. Although students entering business school have immensely different sets of skills, all students need at least a minimal amount of proficiency in certain areas. Lacking these skills, you'll have a hard time adjusting to the b-school world.

Quantitative skills
It was said that mathematics is "the language of business." However lots of MBA programs are moving away from the heavily analytical approaches that predominated several years ago and are giving increased emphasis to the "soft" areas of communication and interpersonal skills. The quantitative elements of business studies have not gone away.

The genuine mathematical knowledge level that you'll need varies widely from program to program. Some of the schools suppose you to have studied statistics before entering the program. Some anticipate you to use calculus on a regular basis. On the whole, you should certainly feel comfortable with college algebra and brush up your quantitative skills if they're rusty. 

It's a tech world out there
In a constant effort to adapt to technological change, almost all business schools have integrated personal computers into their programs. Also many schools can require you to have your own laptop. The duration to which you'll be expected to use a computer will vary from program to program, but you should make an effort to have at least a minimum comfort level with word processing, spreadsheets, and databases before starting school. Check with the schools you're interested in to find out the hardware and software specifications.

Are you a team player?
The way schools are imitating the business environment in their academic programs is in the use of student teams. Since companies have increasingly turned to teams to work on projects and to solve problems, MBA programs have converted an increased share of course work from individual work to team work. Many of these programs now incorporate training in teambuilding somewhere in the program - either as part of new student orientation, in team building workshops, or as a topic in organizational behavior courses.

For the purpose of one project in one course teams may be formed, or they may remain together for months, working on multiple courses. In the regularly competitive environment of MBA programs, the cooperation required of teams doesn't always come naturally. Because teamwork is almost always time consuming, students in schools that use teams may find that activities and even policies on work during the academic year reflect the heavy time commitment of working with others. 

MBA Basics
The basics of business are taught in every MBA program. Economics, finance, accounting, organizational behavior, marketing, statistics, and operations form the primary business disciplines and skills and are in the expected repertoire for any MBA. When and how students cover the basic skills varies, however. These subjects will be taught in most programs in a group of core courses required of every student. The core courses use most or all of the first year of study in a two-year full-time program. Sometimes, students who have a prior background in business can be exempted or waived from some or all of the core courses, on the basis of either a special examination or an evaluation of the undergraduate transcript.

Some programs concerning a few areas as background knowledge and expect you to have learned the material before you start your graduate program. Accounting, economics and statistics often fall in this group. Once you are comparing the extent of programs and calculating time to degree, be sure you remember to consider any program prerequisites. Computer skills and calculus are also common prerequisites for MBA programs.

For other programs there’s another approach, offering the core courses within the structure of the program but requiring this course work only of those students who have not mastered it previously. When in your program are two levels, with different entrance points-for students with undergraduate degrees in business and those with degrees in non-business areas-you may be exempted from some or all of the first year of the program if you were an undergrad business major.