The majority of MBA applicants are qualified candidates – decent GPA, GMAT, work experience and community work. To stand out from the crowd you need showcase your super-powers, special skills, experience and perspective on the world. The best way of doing so is via the MBA essays, where you can present yourself and discuss the stories that shaped you as a person, leader and makes you believe you are going to impact the world.
The challenge is that there are many candidates with special stories; from immigrants transforming themselves, teens recovering from a medical problem/car accident and discovering the world of healthcare to bankers spending a month volunteering in Africa and saving few whales (or educating orphans).
Even if you have a “wow” story, you can be pretty sure that admissions committees at Stanford, Columbia, Harvard, and Wharton, who read thousands of application annually, have seen something similar.
You need to find the right balance of answering the question, telling the story and focusing on what makes the story special for YOU– why it is important for the admissions committee to read it, what it says about who you are and what kind of student and alumni you will be. The challenge is doing all this without writing a sob story or force feeding the reader, in a way that will generate antagonism.
Some signs that your MBA essays aren’t good enough:
- I can replace your name at the top of the essay with another applicant who wants to be an investment banker, a management consultant or an entrepreneur, and the essay would make sense for them.
- They are boring – even for you.
- You feel that the essays do not reflect your unique experience.
- You are using all the word count for the essay (or even going beyond) but still feel that the main message is missing.
- You think that the essays are “OK”.
- You’re a re-applicant and using the same stories that didn’t work for you last year.
Do you want an objective opinion? Send one of your MBA essays (for HBS, Columbia or any other top MBA program) to yael@admit1mba.com to get a free feedback. Coupon code HURRICANE should be included in the email.
Read the full article: Are your MBA essays good enough?
