By The question is: how do you write MBA admissions essays for top-tier programs that beat the stack and tell your story well? This is a list of five tips to write a successful essay that commits to admissions committee members’ memory, thus, giving you a better chance to enroll in your number one business school program. Additionally, you can switch to expert services like MBA Admission Essay Help for further guidance and more tricks, or even ask them to write one for you.
1. Stay focused and answer the question given
It’s amazing how many candidates write charming essays but fails to answer the question. Although I think beyond the box and question the “why” behind an essay prompt, first of all, you should answer the question.
Business school applicants fitting your profile, however, often bring an impressive amount of achievement to the table. It may be quite appealing to try to include as many storylines out of the achievements as possible in your essays. You mustn’t give in to this temptation and concentrate on the particular question being asked.
2. Less can be more: be brief.
A trend I notice at most well-known full-time MBA programs is that essay word limits are getting shorter. Michigan Ross, Stanford GSB, UCLA Anderson, and Duke Fuqua are some of the programs that have reduced their essays in recent admissions cycles. This trend underscores a key piece of advice: keep (one’s) sentence brief (or, wordy!)
Take note that the essays and short answers represent only milestones on your way to admission. Besides what you’ll provide on the application form itself, you’ll also submit an MBA resume (please see my resume tips here!). This gives an admission committee ample time to delve into details concerning all the roles you have undertaken, everything you have achieved as well as the awards you have collected. There is no point in including every detail in your essays.
But more than cramming all you can, concentrate on mentioning a few central ones, add some interesting facts, and let your voice come through the paragraph instead of the writing. This is your opportunity to justify your decisions, show what you have done, and tell what you are fond of. The less inclination you have to cover in the essays, the more you will succeed in this objective.
3. Be you, not what you think schools expect to hear.
I can’t emphasize this enough: do not write what you think admissions committee members want to read! What makes you one of a kind are your qualities and experiences which are your best sales points. Every essay must showcase you, that which moves you, and what you are passionate about.
About this, do not feel obliged to prove how you conform to the stereotype of how the “ideal” candidate should be, in case you do not want to run the non-profit orchestration. This is fine! If you’re not an environmentalist, don’t fake it! The committee will spot it a mile off, and you may be doing more harm than good. Instead, just try on authenticity.
4. Keep your language accessible and have a focus on the “so what?”.
The words you tend to use at the office might be strange to others including admissions committee members. In doubt when in doubt, do not assume your reader is acquainted with everything about your work field. Different admission directors have various backgrounds and they attend different groups of candidates who have similar backgrounds. They do not have a clear comprehension of the little details of your business and they do not have to. Achievements that are important only to your industry and small details are less interesting compared with transferable skills and understandable results.
From your grandmother to a professor of microfinance everyone should be able to comprehend your essays. However, if one were a fellow engineer or investment banker, it would be very impressive. But still, in the final analysis, you need to pinpoint the so- what people would be interested in regardless of the aforementioned.
5. Reign in the amount of effusive writing
Remember: You’re not writing your essays for a Pulitzer Prize. The only thing you are doing is telling your story. Of course, you want your essays to be well-written and error-free but in addition to that you need them to be personal and easy to follow. They should showcase not only what is being studied, but also who you are and who others would want to make you their teammate, teacher, and later on, their inspiration. Such a person is a human being and down to earth. Your essays should demonstrate this.
