MBA Admissions Essays
Your grades are a part of the past, you’ve taken the GMAT, your writers are working on their letters of recommendation and your work history is just that- history. When it comes down to it, writing your admissions essays is the one task you have complete control over. Nevertheless, many applicants simply view the essays as yet another administrative part of the application that can be rushed through. Don’t make that mistake. While a stellar essay alone won’t lock in admission for an otherwise sub par candidate, poorly written essays can certainly jeopardize admission for an otherwise qualified one.
- Leadership / management experience from inside and/or outside of the office
- Intellectual horsepower
- A commitment to others
- People great at working with others
- Candidates with an overall potential for success
A solid application will show, not tell, these qualities. Don’t write about how hard working you are, how great you are with people, or about how great you are at leading a team. Instead, show these qualities through the examples you write about. Let the admissions committee draw positive conclusions about you based on what they read in your essays.
Writing your business school essays will promise to be a gut-wrenching, soul-searching experience. Don’t underestimate the importance of it. Take your time and do it right.
- Have someone else read them. Get someone who knows you well to review and discuss them with you. Sometimes an outside reader will be able to provide some useful insight.
- Adhere to the word limits. If the word limit on an essay is 600 words, do not write 1,000. You may be OK if you write 610 or even 650. However, you are better off staying within the limits specified.
- Proofread for typographical or grammatical errors. Such errors can make your essays seem unpolished. Look out for mistakes your computer’s spell-check might miss, like “too” instead of “to.”
- Revise, revise, and revise! Chances are, you won’t write a winning essay on a first, second or third draft, so don’t be afraid to put your nose to the grindstone. Constantly revising your essays will help you think of more effective ways to state your case. Additionally, it will help you catch typographical and grammatical errors.