Laura Burgos beat the odds when she was accepted into the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago when she was only 21 years old and wrapping up her senior year at the university.

Experts say it is rare for a college student to get admitted into an MBA program, since business schools generally prefer to admit applicants with significant work experience.

The Florida native has some advice for college students who know they want an MBA.

“As a young MBA applicant, you have less years of experience, but if you can spend your time watching and dissecting how different people and different organizations make decisions, you can talk about so much more than if you stayed in one corner of the business world,” she says. “I would also say that, especially for young applicants, it’s good to have a clear reason for what you want to use your MBA for.”

Burgos’ goal was to enter nonprofit arts management. The 28-year-old now works as manager of audience development and customer experience at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

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She was accepted through the school’s Booth Scholars program, which offers deferred admission to a select number of the university’s undergraduates on the condition that they work for three years first.

There are similar deferred admission s programs for college seniors at business schools throughout the U.S. Experts say ambitious college students who want an MBA can do the following five things to be one of them.

1. Grow and explore during college: Burgos says college students who wish to take an accelerated track to an MBA need to expose themselves to as many different kinds of career, academic and leadership experiences as possible.

“It’s harder when you’re young to have a clear view of what you want to do and what kind of leader you want to be,” she says, “so having a variety of experiences and leadership models is important if you want to go to business school young and get a lot out of it.”

Dee Leopold, director of the 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School, which offers deferred admission to college seniors with the understanding that they will work before attending business school, says college students should not be so focused on creating a resume or checking off a to-do list that they forget to enjoy college and use it as a time to grow.

“The point of college is exploration, not a connect – the – dots from point A to a prize called ‘getting into business school, ‘” Leopold says.

[Learn about five key qualities of successful MBA applications.]

2. Conduct informational interviews: Dan Bauer, CEO of The MBA Exchange, an admissions consulting group, says young would-be MBAs should interview people they see as role models.

Bauer, whose company offers a special program for young MBA applicants, says conversations about what a job is like and how an industry is faring are probably going to be more open-ended and honest during informational interviews in college than they would be during a job search, because there is no pressure to discuss immediate job prospects.

3. Take a variety of classes: Business schools want students skilled at dealing with both data and words, not just one or the other, experts say.

Bauer says certain quantitative courses, such as calculus, statistics, economics and accounting, are especially helpful for MBA hopefuls. But many business schools actually prefer to admit students with college majors in a field outside business, Bauer says.

Leopold, of Harvard, says many college students she offers deferred MBA admission to are STEM majors.

“I think, if you’re assessing if you might thrive in a business school, some exposure to quantitative subjects would be a good diagnostic tool,” she says. “But it is just as important to learn how to read broadly and widely and express yourself in writing.”

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4. Step up to leadership positions: A demonstrated ability to lead is something business schools look for in applicants, Bauer says. College leadership experiences can provide excellent fodder for MBA application essays, he says, if the applicant had a tangible impact on an organization and created consensus between people who disagreed.

Leopold says she seeks to admit a variety of leaders to Harvard’s 2+2 program, including students who are advocates for innovative ideas, student body presidents, athletes and, in general, those who contribute to a team behind the scenes.

5. Study hard: Bauer of The MBA Exchange says an older MBA applicant with work experience will get more benefit of the doubt for a low GPA than a young applicant.

“There’s less data to review for a younger applicant,” he says. “Therefore, each piece has to be stronger.”

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Prepare for Business School From Day 1 of College originally appeared on usnews.com