|
Ivy League admission officials
revealed that the best chance of a
candidate to get accepted lies in his
application essay. That is why your
purpose in writing your MBA essay should
be similar to the purpose of a college
admission essay. Years back, weren't you
thinking that your goal was to make your
dream university think that you're a
worthy student to walk through its
halls? The same goes for the MBA
application. Double the effort you
exerted in writing your college
application essay but think along the
same lines. Below are reasons why MBA
essays are not resumes or a reiteration
of your grades and accomplishments.
Limited space is allotted for MBA
application essays, so there is simply
no space for unnecessary details. Skills
and academic excellence are expected and
commonplace in the competition. After
all, no one in his right mind will
aspire for an MBA if his brain dried out
in college or in writing his college
application essay. Your SAT scores and
excellent academic records might have
helped to get you in your dream college.
Collegiate achievements undoubtedly have
had a role to play in getting you a good
job. But members of an MBA admission
board are not to be steam-rolled by
grades and professional history alone.
If you're an overachiever, you are
likely just one of the many
overachievers trying to get into the
same MBA program. You all have good
academic records and professional
accomplishments but impressive resumes
don't really cut it in for the
admissions board. There is no way to get
accepted in an MBA program without
distinguishing yourself from other
applicants except in an MBA essay. So
weeding out information like these is
not only wise but practical.
Similar to how a college admission
essay is evaluated, MBA admission boards
evaluate MBA essays for traits and
non-academic qualities of the
candidates. Obviously, personality is
not measured in grades. The members of
the board want ambition, honesty,
maturity, diplomacy, and other traits in
their students. They evaluate inter and
intra-personal strengths in their
potential students. They want dynamism
and enthusiasm -- individuals who have
interests outside the academe and
actually experienced what it's like to
live (if you want to be poetic about
it). If you recall, your high school
adviser gave you the same advice
regarding your jargon habit and verbose
essay. Do not repeat the same mistakes
in your MBA essay. Flamboyant words take
up too much space and a highly-technical
language hides your personality which
defeats the purpose of your MBA essay.
You might be surprised but Ivy League
admission officials actually claim that
the best essays they've read (read:
those they accepted) often talks about a
key memory, an important experience, a
hobby - things the authors felt
passionate about. The topics seem like
the kinds people use in writing a
college admission essay but they are
highly effective for MBA application
essays. The two are similar to each
other although at varying levels. A
college admission essay shows
universities what a student wants to
achieve and how they are influenced by
the people around them. The same goes
for the MBA; the board wants to see how
you've matured because of your
experiences. They are not interested in
your high marks but how you achieved
them. Or more likely, how you managed to
have a life while performing excellently
in academics. So take a deep breath and
erase all resume info in your MBA essay.
After all, the resume is already part of
your application. |
