What makes a truly outstanding sample admission essay? Here are three elements that you should be aware of when turning in your MBA admission essay to the committee of admissions:
Good essays get straight to the point
Rather keep your essay short but sweet. However, this doesn’t mean that you can ignore the minimum number of words and page limit. Do not be redundant and avoid cliches. Both would just lengthen the essay unnecessarily. Even if you are not under the pressures of a word count, avoid going in circles. This is not a case of “the longer, the better.” The selection panel won’t waste their time reading an essay with long paragraphs that seem to be going nowhere. Be clear with your intentions and purpose of writing right from the start.
Good essays avoid confusion in thoughts and transition
Avoid the following:
- using unfamiliar terms and jargon
- exaggerated claims in hopes of impressing the screening committee
- errors in sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, and grammar
- trite expressions and cliches
Good essays are thought-provoking and appeal to the emotional side of the readers
When you say emotional side, it does not mean trying to make the admissions officers laugh like hyenas. One funny or witty sentence in the essay is OK; do not turn it into a script for Rowan Atkinson’s stand-up comedy. A short narration of a family tragedy (minus the heavy drama) followed by an explanation on how it instilled new values in you is an example of good content. Of course, you can skip family problems and focus on your aspirations and motivations. Let them in to your own world and be open to share personal views. Just keep it simple, unique, and interesting enough for them to remember your name and consider your qualifications.
Related links:
Essay writing process – About MBA admission essay writing process
Editing your essay – Tips on revising and editing your MBA essay
Career goals – Discussing career goals in your MBA essay
Personal statement advice – Tips on admission essay writing
Grad school guide – Guide to getting into grad school
Coming up with a topic or idea for your admission essay can be difficult. Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when writing your essay, however, is that you want your essay to be interesting and compelling enough to convince the admissions committee to accept you into their school. If you are having a hard time thinking about what to write in your MBA admission essay, then you may want to check out some of these helpful tips:
Talking about your career plans
One great strategy for writing your MBA admission essay is to talk about your career plans. Considering the fact that you are applying for an education in business, it’s only logical that you share your entrepreneurial or career plans. Is there a specific reason you want to get an MBA degree? Two examples of career-related topics for your essay include your intention of starting a business or getting a significant promotion. The main idea here is to tell the admissions committee what you plan on using your degree for. Also, sharing your career plans is a good way of showing the committee that you have direction and that you have clearly defined goals for yourself – two traits that admissions officers often look for in applicants.
Citing relevant field experience
Another strategy for writing a good essay is to talk about relevant experiences that you have had. What’s important here is not just to talk about your achievements, but you should tell stories of how working for these achievements or going through these experiences has helped to form your character and personality. Essentially, you want to express to the admissions committee that the experiences you have had have led to personal realizations and developments that made you better prepared for MBA school and for life, in general. Try not to get carried away with the small details and, instead, focus on deep, thought-provoking, and interesting aspects of your experiences that are relevant to your aspirations, goals, and your application to MBA school.
Discussing your motivations
A third strategy you can use in your admission essay is to discuss what motivates you. You should try to discuss your motivations in line with your experiences and career plans, in order to give a more complete and fleshed-out story to the reader. Motivations can come from just about anything, from your family or friends to your beliefs or your life experiences. For this reason, it’s important to make clear connections between how your motivations developed to how your motivations will help you achieve your aspirations. Just make sure that you don’t sound too preachy or overly zealous when discussing your motivations.
Related links:
Fun Essay Writing – Making admission essay writing fun
Career Goals – Writing your admission essay about your career goals
MBA Admission Essay – Writing winning MBA essays
Business Communication Skills – Writing your essay about your business communication skills
MBA School Profiles – Some MBA school profiles on top schools
MBA Essay – About writing your MBA essay
MBA Essay Success – How to succeed on your MBA essay
MBA Essay Tips – Tips on writing your MBA essay
Topic Selection – On the importance of topic selection
Essay Topics – On choosing interesting essay topics
In the 2008 BusinessWeek MBA school rankings, Leonard N. Stern School of Business takes the thirteenth place, while Anderson School takes the fourteenth. In the fifteenth spot is Kelley School of Business. Below are short profiles of these MBA schools. Take time to read the profiles to be more informed.
Leonard N. Stern School of Business (New York University)
NYU Stern started out in 1900 as the NYU undergraduate School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance and is located on New York University’s Washington Square Campus. It was only in 1916 that the graduate business program was launched and was able to accommodate both full-time and part-time students. Throughout the years, NYU increased the number of programs it offered as prompted by the changing business industry demands and trends. The School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance was also changed to Leonard N. Stern School of Business after Stern gave a $30 million donation to improve the school’s facilities. To apply to NYU Stern, visit its official website and sign up through the online application form.
Anderson School (University of California–Los Angeles)
The Anderson School of Management was founded about 70 years ago under the University of California in Los Angeles. Currently, Anderson offers MBA, PhD, executive MBA, and Master of Financial Engineering as one of the school’s post-graduate programs. In addition, Anderson offers the UCLA-NUS Global Executive MBA program, Management Development programs, Global Access program, Riordan programs, and Management Communication programs. To apply to UCLA Anderson, visit the school’s official website and accomplish the online admission form.
Kelley School of Business (Indiana University)
Kelley School of Business was established in 1920 but formerly had the name School of Commerce and Finance. The school was again renamed to School of Business Administration which was later shortened to School of Business. Finally, in 1997, when E.W. Kelley gave a $23 million donation, the school was renamed as the Kelley School of Business. It offers Undergraduate, full-time MBA, online MBA, specialized master’s degrees, and doctoral programs as well as executive education. Apply to Kelley School through its website and complete the online application form.
The best MBA education comes only from the best business schools. Below are brief profiles of the top three business schools in the United States for the year 2008. Read on to make an informed decision on your MBA.
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Chicago Booth was founded in 1898 and boasts of an effective, discipline-based approach to learning. The university is also the alma mater of many respected, effective, and confident businessmen and businesswomen. Among them are several Nobel laureates. Of these Nobel laureates, the first is James Kilts who turned Oscar Mayer, Gillette, Kraft, and Nabisco into large companies. To apply to Chicago Booth, visit the official website and request for an application form. Program options are full-time, evening, and weekend classes, along with executive, PhD, and MBA programs.
Harvard Business School (HBS) was founded in 1908, making it one of the oldest MBA schools in the US. Throughout its history, HBS was able to maintain the effectiveness and quality of its management education. To date, there are 42, 012 living MBA Alumni from HBS and its deans included John H. McArthur and Jay O. Light. McArthur has been the Senior Advisor to the President of The World Bank since 1996. Current dean, Light, on the other hand, became a Director of Investment and Financial Policies of the Ford Foundation. To apply to HBS, visit the official website and use the online application program.
Kellogg School of Management [NorthwesternUniversity]
The Kellogg School of Management was founded in 1908 and has since been the alma mater of business leaders of varying cultural backgrounds. Today, Kellogg offers full-time, part-time, and executive MBA programs as well as executive education, doctoral programs, and undergraduate programs. To apply to the Kellogg School of Management, visit the official website and apply online. Remember to download the application form appropriate to the MBA program of your choice and check out the admission requirements.
Pursuing an MBA degree is expensive and will most likely have you applying for student loans. Although an MBA degree will provide you with more opportunities and jobs that offer you with higher salaries, an MBA education is still a big investment considering the time, effort, and money you have to put in. Below are just some suggestions on how you can pay off your MBA school student loans.
* Work while studying
You don’t have to drop your job if you plan to pursue an MBA degree. You can keep your full-time job and just opt for a part-time MBA program instead. Working while studying will help you pay for your tuition fee and other expenses such as food and textbooks.
* Inquire about loan forgiveness programs
You can inquire at your school and see if they have loan forgiveness programs. For example, students at Yale, University of Chicago, Northwestern, and Stanford who take low-paying jobs at non-profit organizations may be eligible for these schools’ loan forgiveness programs. This is great if you want to work at a non-profit institution.
* Find companies willing to help you pay off your loans
There are companies offering to help pay off an individual’s student loans just as long as he or she would agree to work for them for a certain period. Although this would tie you down to one company for a few years, it probably is a good deal in the long run.
* Consolidate your debts
In case you’ve gotten more than one school loan while pursuing your MBA degree, it might be a good idea to consolidate these loans so that you’ll only have one loan to pay. Although this will make it easier for you to pay off your loan, you must also understand the terms and conditions of a particular loan consolidation program before deciding to do it.
* Make lifestyle changes
Keep track of your expenses and see where you can cut back. Don’t eat out or go to the movies as often as before. Hit the community library instead of buying new books. These can make a big difference on your personal finances. Basically, the goal is to cut down on your expenditures and save enough cash so that you can pay off your MBA student loans earlier.
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Pursuing an MBA degree will take up much of your time. If you’re going to be working full-time or even part-time while enrolled in an MBA program, it’s important for you to hone your time management skills. After all, it’s essential for you to know how to effectively manage your time in such a way that you will be able to balance your school work, job, and personal life. Below are just some tips on how you’re going to deal with all three.
* Set priorities
You have to realize that there will most likely come a time when you would have to choose between your studies and your job. Know which one is more important to you. In case you have to do other activities such as visiting your dentist or getting your annual medical checkup, bring some books along with you so you can study while you wait. This way, you can always be productive even during your free time.
* Work out a schedule
Now that you know your priorities, make a schedule for yourself. Assess how much homework, research, and other paperwork you need to get done on a particular day and how long it would take you to accomplish these. This way, you’ll know if you have to cut back on some activities you usually do. If you go to the gym everyday, perhaps you can just go twice a week and just do some stretching exercises while in the shower to make up for it.
* Prepare in advance
Prepare all the things you need to bring to school the night before. This way, you won’t have to hurry and find all your stuff every morning. Not knowing where your valuables are can get you stressed and have you late for your classes. Because you already have your schedule prepared, check it every now and then to anticipate future commitments and deadlines.
* Have some time for yourself
Although you have to study when you’ve got free time, it’s also essential that you take a break every now and then. In case you’ve just finished a big exam, it would be advisable for you to get together with friends and family members and do some catching up on each other’s lives. Setting time for rest and relaxation pays off because you get the much-needed rest so that you’ll be doing future tasks at an optimum level.
* Believe you can do it
Most importantly, you should believe that you can finish your degree without letting your job or personal life suffer. There are many people who have juggled these things before, and you can follow in their footsteps if this is what you really want for yourself. Motivate yourself to do better and don’t let the quantity of the work you have to do get you down.
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Getting an MBA degree certainly increases your chances of getting paid a higher salary or being promoted. But before you enroll yourself in an MBA program, you first have to assess your reasons for wanting to do so. You should also take the time to learn more information about various MBA programs from different schools so that you’ll know what their requirements are. Some schools require MBA applicants to have at least two years of work experience.
Why is it important to have work experience before entering an MBA program?
Although there are schools offering MBA programs to those who do not have any work experience and are fresh out of college, it’s still better for you to get some work experience first before pursuing an MBA degree. Having work experience is important because it is through working that you will be able to realize what industry you really want to be in. Also, MBA programs have different specializations, so it’s best to choose the specialization that you are already have a background on so that you’ll get a broader perspective of it.
Working will also give you the chance to know more about the corporate world and how an MBA degree will get to help you achieve your goals. Aside from that, employers will most likely prefer MBA degree holders who also have relevant working experience.
How are admissions officers going to know about my experience?
When you apply for an MBA program, you will be required to submit your resume and an MBA admission essay. Your resume will give admission officers a clue as to what your work experiences have been, but you can expound on these in your MBA admission essay. When creating your MBA admission essay, it would be good for you to write about your skills. Leadership skills, problem-solving skills, teamwork, and communication skills are very important. In case you’ve already had multiple jobs in just a few years of being part of the workforce, you can also explain the reasons for these job changes in a positive light. Aside from doing corporate work, experience in working for non-profit organizations can also be good preparation for an MBA program.
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Enrolling in an MBA program will give you the chance to hone various skills that will be indispensable in the business world. Many people want to earn MBA degrees because having one increases their market value and makes them eligible for executive level and top management positions. If you’re planning to enroll yourself in an MBA program, another good reason to do so is because MBA schools allow you to network with your classmates, who will most likely be professionals with varied backgrounds and coming from different fields.
Why networking is important in MBA schools
The bond you form with your classmates in MBA school can be both personal and professional. The alliances you create with them can be one of the most valuable and important things that you can gain from attending your MBA classes. While still in an MBA program, you can gain valuable insights from your peers that will help you succeed in your chosen field. Even after you have achieved your MBA degree, you can still contact your classmates afterward and get their opinions about a business situation or perhaps even ask them to join you on your own business venture. Aside from that, your classmates can be potential employers, employees, clients, or suppliers. Getting to know them while they are still your peers can be beneficial for you.
How to network in MBA schools
One of the most common ways by which you can start networking with your classmates in your MBA program is to talk to them. Create friendships with them and perhaps even study cases together or form study groups so that you can get to know them better while you’re accomplishing your MBA schoolwork. You can also join various groups and organizations that provide you with activities that will help you gain more knowledge about your specific field. These organizations may also be a positive addition to your resume once you graduate from your MBA program.
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Whether you’re into investment banking for passion, money, or interest, you will be better off having an MBA first. The job of an investment banker is truly challenging and it requires much expertise from a worker. So, while you decide on what your next move will be, read on to know why you must have an MBA.
Why should you get an MBA to become an investment banker?
When you’re an investment banker, you need to have deeper and broader knowledge of the industry you are working in. More than knowing how to help a company manage its investments, you need to know the reasons behind practices and strategies. By knowing the “whys” of everything, you will know the ins and outs of the industry and effectively implement your plans.
An MBA definitely supports and boosts the career of an investment banker. In an MBA program, you will learn not just theories and trends in business but also the rationale behind various business management techniques. You will have a deeper understanding of the industry and learn more than what most people do. And through the intense training you will get in an MBA program, you will gain leverage once you pursue an investment banking career.
How can you be accepted into an MBA program?
You have much serious preparation to do to be accepted into an MBA program. Many people like you are working hard to be given a slot in the schools of their choice, so you have to put your mind into what you’ll do. In addition, you must present yourself as uniquely as possible so you can stand out from among the numerous applicants who want to become investment bankers.
A graduate school will require you to take standardized tests and submit various documents. You must merit very high grades in the tests because they are one of the major factors that increase your chances of getting accepted. Then, carefully think about the information you will write in application forms and personal essays. Get various professors to write recommendation letters for you and follow up on them regularly.
Take your personal essay seriously and remember to explain the following points:
- reasons for your choosing to get an MBA
- narration of what moved you to get an MBA
- qualities or skills you have that make you different from other applicants
- future career plans and
- personal views about the profession you plan to enter.
Finally, submit the requirements and respond quickly to call-backs. You will see that, as an effect of your commitment to personal and professional excellence, you will reach your goals.
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