Xxxxxx XxxxxxxxxEditorial
MBA EssXXXXXXXXXAys
MBA admissions essays: The one
question all business schools ask
The following is an excerpt from MBA Admissions Strategy: From Profile Building to
essay Writing by Avi Gordon, McGraw-Hill / Open university Press, 2005.
T
he key to getting your admissions essays right is knowing what each be careful to answer this and all questions exactly as posed. If the question is
question seeks – what the school expects from your response in each case, broadly posed, as with Kellogg above, all topics can be fully addressed. Notice,
and what bonus information can legitimately be added. But schools each ask however, that Stern does not ask for long term goals and LBS has a particular
different questions. Or do they? They appear different but if you look closely sub-question. In general, shape your “Why an MBA?” answer carefully to
they are just variations on a few classics and the most common of all is "Why whether the question asks more about your past (“What has led you to want
an MBA?" an MBA?”) or about your future (“What will you do when you graduate? How
will an MBA help you?”).
1. Question Examples
“Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future 4. How to tackle it
career plans and your motivation for pursuing a graduate degree at the This essay should be done in a clear and straightforward way. You can be
Kellogg School.” creative in your answers to many other questions, but here it is risky. The
committee is looking above all for unequivocal evidence of your professional
“Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Describe the following: maturity, as shown by your clarity of purpose.
Past: What choices have you made that led you to your current position? Show due diligence: The “Why an MBA?” question is one of the best
Present: Why is a Stern MBA necessary at this point in your life? Future: What places to prove you have done your homework on the school, and to argue
is your desired position upon graduation from the Stern School?” that there is a specific match between your agenda and what’s on offer.
Mention the school’s features, courses or extramural opportunities, say which
“Why do you want to do an MBA at London Business School at this point in are relevant to you and why.
your life? What will you do if you are not offered a place on the London Have definite goals: The admissions committee is looking for an organized
Business School MBA or any other MBA?” career strategy that rests on solid self-understanding. They want to know why
you have made the decisions you made, how they have brought you to this
2. How to recognize this question point in your life, and where you are going from here. Goals can include
Keywords: progress, past, present, future, career, goal, plan, aspiration, broader, non-career and personal or community aspirations – but your first
ambition, decision, position, objective, aim, intention, purpose, life, short- priority is to establish a clear professional path.
term, long-term. Connect past to future: The committee is asking how your past connects
to your future via business school. You must show that the MBA is the bridge
3. The underlying issue the committee is asking you to address between you yesterday and you tomorrow. Paint a picture of a future that rests
Stripped of its verbiage this question always asks you: why do you need an naturally on your past, assuming the MBA from the school in question. Past,
MBA, why now, and why from us? Your response forms the backbone of your present and future can be presented in any order. What works will depend on
essay set and your whole application. the details of your situation.
Notice that there are five parts to the question, covering three time periods: A generally versatile template is:
•
Past – What experiences have led you to this point and this ambition?
•
Start with your direct goal on graduation
•
Present – Why an MBA right now, at this point in your career?
•
Then give a sense of your long-term (major) goals
•
Future – What do you want to do with your degree, in the short and
•
Show why an MBA is relevant to these goals, and why now
long term?
•
Bolster this with what in your past has led you to this point
•
Why an MBA from this school particularly?
•
Finish with the particular aspects of the target school that are relevant
•
Why an MBA at all? (Why not another kind of Masters, or a PhD?) and attractive, given your stated goals.
You should touch on all five topics somewhere in your complete essay set, but
70 TopMBA CAreer Guide www.topmba.com
MBA_FALL_08_pp_066-287.indd 70 14/8/08 17:30:29
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