Posted by Clear Admit on December 15, 2011, at 12:43 pm
Posted in:  Admissions Tips , Essay Topic Analysis , School: Columbia , Videos If you’re applying to the MBA program at Columbia University, don’t miss our video lecture on tackling the school’s essay topics. As a part of Beat The GMAT’s ‘Write Like an Expert’ series, Clear Admit team member, Graham Richmond, breaks down each application essay for Columbia hopefuls in the video below. This is a great opportunity to learn how a former admissions officer would strategically approach each essay question.
Special Announcement: If you like our Write Like an Expert videos, don’t forget to check out our Navigating the MBA Admissions Process video course!
Posted by Clear Admit on December 9, 2011, at 9:50 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips , Essay Topic Analysis , School: Penn / Wharton , Videos If you’re applying to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, don’t miss our video lecture on tackling the school’s essay topics. As a part of Beat The GMAT’s ‘Write Like an Expert’ series, Clear Admit team member, Graham Richmond, breaks down each application essay for Wharton hopefuls in the video below. This is a great opportunity to learn how a former Wharton admissions officer would strategically approach each essay question.
Special Announcement: If you like our Write Like an Expert videos, don’t forget to check out our Navigating the MBA Admissions Process video course!
Posted by Clear Admit on September 28, 2011, at 12:00 pm
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: UT Austin / McCombs We wanted to take some time today to comment on the UT Austin – McCombs essay topics for the 2011-2012 admissions season, which differ slightly from last year’s three required questions. The most conspicuous change this year is the removal of the leadership development essay. Reflecting an emphasis on applicants who have contributed to their workplace and the community (and who will continue this level of personal engagement in an MBA program), UT Austin’s two questions focus on how candidates would enrich their environments through leadership commitment.
1. Describe how your professional and personal experiences have led you to pursue an MBA at this time. Please share with us your short and long term goals and why the Texas MBA at McCombs is the program best positioned to help you achieve them. (Limit: 900 words) While most admissions committees are interested in the professional reasons behind applicants’ decisions to apply to business school and the motivations regarding timing, the fact that McCombs specifically asks about personal experiences shows that candidates will need to expand their essay to include non-professional experiences that have influenced their future goals.
One approach to this topic would be for candidates to summarize what they’ve done thus far in their career and personal life that have led them to define their career goals. Then they can explain their future plans and demonstrate why an MBA is necessary to move forward. While that approach does place this question into the career goals essay category, it’s important to keep in mind that the McCombs adcom is most interested in the candidate’s assessment of their personal and professional experiences and the reasons that a turning point has been reached. Therefore as you write about your professional and personal experiences, you should tie this discussion back to your greater professional goals.
Discussing how the Texas MBA fits into the picture will be key, and you can touch on how the McCombs program will provide you with the skill set necessary to begin reaching your objectives. Taking the time to learn about the school’s special programs and extracurricular activities – whether through a visit to campus, conversation with alumni or reading the Clear Admit School Guide to McCombs School of Business – will pay dividends here. 2. At the McCombs School of Business, we are proud to have an active and diverse student community. What do you consider to be your personal strengths and how have you leveraged them in the past to enrich your work and non-work communities? (Limit: 500 words) Maintaining its position as an application essay for three years in a row, this prompt, which was altered slightly this year, signals the value that McCombs places on student contribution and involvement on campus. This year, applicants are asked specifically to comment on how they have leveraged their personal strengths in the past to enrich the communities of which they are members. A strong essay would be one that touches on several qualities . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on September 27, 2011, at 11:00 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: USC / Marshall USC Marshall’s essay topics remain the same as those posed to applicants for the past several years, demonstrating the school’s continued interest in applicants’ contributions to their communities, international experiences, and personal growth. Let’s take a look at the questions asked for USC for the 2011-2012 application season:
Essay 1: What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will USC Marshall help you achieve these goals? If interested in a dual-degree program, please address in this essay. (750 words) This essay is similar to the career goals essay required by many of the top schools. Although Marshall does not specifically ask for 250 words each on three distinct topics (short-term goals, long-term goals, and what will enable applicants to achieve these goals), it would be prudent for candidates to maintain a balanced approach to answering this question. Because Marshall does not specifically ask for a career history section, applicants should keep any description of their professional experience to a minimum, connecting it to their interest in and potential to achieve their goals. Taking the time to learn about the school’s special programs and extracurricular activities – whether through a visit to campus, conversation with alumni or reading the Clear Admit School Guide to USC Marshall School of Business – will pay dividends here.
. . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on September 23, 2011, at 5:00 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: London Business School Although three of London Business School’s essay topics are unchanged from the prompts on last year’s application, the school has reintroduced two new essay topics regarding an applicant’s career to date and career vision that are variations of the 2009-2010 essay questions. These revised career-focused essay questions indicate the school’s emphasis an applicant’s broader long-term vision and the timing of the MBA. In addition, more than most programs, LBS asks applicants to share specific details of their future involvement on campus and contribution to the community. From this, one can extrapolate and assume that LBS is interested in candidates who’ve spoken to students and learned a good deal about the program to better understand how and where they might fit.
Question 1 (500 words) Please discuss your career progress to date and explain why now is the right time to undertake an MBA at London Business School?
Question 2 (300 words) Where do you see your career progressing five years after graduation and what is your longer term career vision? LBS has reverted back to the approach that it used during the 2009-2010 admissions season and has broken down the typical career goals essay into two discrete inquiries. This format clearly underlines the importance of having both a short- and long-term career plan in the MBA admissions process. Though the compartmentalization of an applicant’s work experience to date and long term discussion might make it a bit more difficult to adapt content written for applications to other schools, it does signal the extent to which the adcom wants to hear about each of the topics raised. Developing one’s long-term vision discussion over 300 words could be a great opportunity for applicants who often cover this topic in a single sentence to meet the word limit in their essays for other schools. The first question also incorporates a “why now?” query, prompting candidates to explicitly justify the timing of their applications given the current stage of their careers.
Question 3 (250 words) Give a specific example of when you have had to test your leadership and team working skills. Given this experience what role will you play in a first year study group? Based on this recycled prompt from last year, applicants should discuss an experience in which they faced challenges to their leadership and teamwork skills, such as a time when a team member refused to get on board with a group plan. After clearly outlining the situation, it’s crucial that applicants explain how they persevered through the challenge, as doing so shows one’s maturity and ability to overcome obstacles. It would therefore make sense to end this essay by explaining the strategies you’ve subsequently developed to navigate difficult situations, and explain how you can apply these processes to future work at LBS. Note that the question about LBS study groups offers applicants a great chance to showcase their familiarity with the program and prove that they’ve done their homework, as . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on September 21, 2011, at 9:23 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: Virginia / Darden UVA Darden’s MBA application essay questions for the 2011-2012 season are brand new for this year, with a greater focus on leadership in an increasingly global world. Requiring three essays with an allowance of just 150 words for the shorter two prompts found in the personal information and employment history sections of the application, UVA’s application is now one of the shortest among leading business schools. Of course, “shorter” doesn’t translate to “easier;” less room to comment on one’s background forces candidates to think carefully and strategically as they decide which aspects of their experiences to highlight.
Let’s consider each of the school’s questions for this year:
Essay 1: Share your perspective on leadership in the workplace and describe how it has been shaped by the increasing influence of globalization. (500 words) New to Darden’s application, but similar to last year’s second topic, this essay gives applicants the opportunity to discuss their perspective on leadership and to offer their thoughts how globalization has shaped this perception. It’s important that applicants follow Darden’s instructions and include their general observations on leadership as well as a detailed discussion of the influence of globalization on how they view leadership in the workplace.
Ideally, applicants will use an example from the workplace that highlights them in a leading and active role to explain the origin of their perspective on leadership. As there isn’t much space for elaborating on one’s professional experience and achievements in other essay questions, it’s crucial to take full advantage of this chance to do so. No matter how you choose to frame how globalization has affected your perception of leadership, the admissions committee is looking for applicants who are clearly attuned to current realities, have thoughtful ideas about leadership, can adapt to changing circumstances, and are prepared for increasingly global management positions down the road.
Personal Information Essay: At Darden, a core part of your academic experience is your participation in and contributions to your learning team. What will you contribute to your team? (150 words) This straightforward question presents an opportunity for applicants to highlight their team work skills, strengths, personality and general interests to the admissions committee. Keep in mind that this question also offers applicants a great chance to showcase their familiarity with the Darden program and prove that they’ve done their homework, as well as demonstrate that they’ve thought through the contribution they would make and the strengths they could bring to the program. With only 150 words allotted for this essay, applicants will need to be highly efficient with their writing.
Employment History Essay: If you were on an elevator with your dream company CEO or angel investor, what would you tell him/her about your professional ambitions and goals? (150 words) Rather than have a full-length essay devoted to an applicant’s career plans, Darden has framed the typical career goals essay as an elevator pitch. With only 150 words at the applicant’s disposal, it is imperative that one present a clear and . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on September 2, 2011, at 9:45 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: Oxford The school’s essay topics remain unchanged this year with the word limits still hovering at 1,750 words in total. The SBS application presents a unique challenge to applicants, who need to be able to share important and relevant information about their candidacies while consistently staying on topic throughout. For this reason, careful reflection and outlining is even more important when approaching this sort of application than one with a long series of shorter answers.
Essay 1: Explain why you chose your current job. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions? (750 word maximum) This prompt requests a fairly standard career goals essay, and thus the general advice we’ve offered in the past on how to tackle this sort of question applies here. The Oxford adcom looks for applicants who offer fully defined long- and short-term career goals, sound reasons for pursuing an MBA at this time, a well-informed rationale for their interest in SBS and specific plans to contribute to the campus community if they are admitted. Note that Oxford specifically asks applicants to explain why they chose their current jobs and to discuss their five-year career plans; while it is certainly fine to look beyond this second part of the prompt to explore longer-term objectives as well, it is at minimum essential to explore one’s next five years in depth.
The key to successfully tackling each of these components is specificity. In presenting their goals and explaining their motivation for seeking an MBA, it is crucial for applicants to present well-defined and feasible short-term and long-term career objectives, specifying the job title they hope to hold in their target industry and commenting on what they hope to accomplish in their target positions. In most situations, a career goals essay is more compelling when it includes a brief but coherent career history that summarizes the applicant’s work to date, revealing the continuity between one’s previous professional experiences and goals for the future.
Essay 2: Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why? (1,000 word maximum) This question, which covers the full range of global current events, literature and topics both factual and fictional, is about as broad as they come. The rather high word limit makes responding to the question all the more challenging, as many applicants find it difficult to sustain a coherent and relevant discussion over 1,000 words. In selecting a topic, think carefully about what your event or book selection will tell the reader about your concerns and priorities, ideally selecting a subject that meshes well with the positioning you established in Essay 1. In terms of structuring the discussion, it might be helpful to think about ways in which this book, development or event has influenced your subsequent actions as well as your thinking; this could provide a way to introduce a fair amount of information about . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 15, 2011, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: UCLA / Anderson UCLA’s essay topics for the 2011-2012 admissions season are quite similar to last year’s, in terms of the content of the school’s two required essays. Meanwhile, the program has eliminated an optional response inviting applicants to share something about themselves that others might find surprising, meaning that most candidates will have just 1,500 words to work with this year in presenting their candidacies to the admissions committee.
In the process of preparing for this task, applicants may want to consider Anderson’s preamble to this season’s essay set:
We are interested in getting to know applicants on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, genuine, and succinct. Remember that we are more concerned with the content of your essays than their form or style.
By explicitly stating that they value content over delivery, UCLA suggests that they want applicants to focus on thoroughly answering the questions rather than sacrificing detail in order to find a creative method of expression. Based on these instructions, candidates should also ensure that in describing their past experiences and future plans, they provide a mature and accurate portrait of themselves.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the school’s required responses:
. . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 12, 2011, at 3:00 pm
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: MIT / Sloan Now that MIT Sloan has released its 2011-2012 essay questions, we’d like to take some time to offer some advice on how to best approach these questions. With just one essay changing from last year’s set , this season’s batch of essay prompts reflects an emphasis on proactiveness, encouraging applicants to reflect upon how they have taken charge and led others to achieve some objective. As has been the case in prior years, the essay questions are open in terms of the nature of the examples an applicant can use – work, current activities and even appropriate personal stories are fair game here. In answering the questions, applicants should provide a complete and chronological narrative that touches on their thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. It’s important to note that the philosophy behind Sloan’s approach is that past behavior is a reliable predictor of future behavior, so it will be wise to select examples that show you at your best.
One final thing to note is that MIT once again requests that applicants select experiences or events from the past three years. While it’s possible that there is some flexibility to draw essay subject matter from early experiences if the subject matter is very compelling, it would be prudent to showcase experiences from the past three years in as many essays as possible.
Cover Letter: Prepare a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions. (500 words or fewer) Rod Garcia has long likened the MBA application process to the recruiting process; MBA aspirants, just like job applicants, need to demonstrate that they know how to market themselves. This is why the school requires a cover letter as part of their application.
As you approach this assignment, keep in mind that many of the standard cover letter themes need to be discussed – your attributes and skills, why you are interested in joining the ‘company’ (MIT/Sloan), and what you feel you could contribute. These certainly intersect with the ideas covered by other schools’ “career goals” essays, so much so that it may be tempting to simply tack a greeting onto the beginning of a career goals essay you’ve prepared for another program. MIT’s request for these ideas in cover letter format, however, actually makes it very easy to spot recycled material, so it’s important that you tailor your response to the school’s unique process. A potential outline for this essay might open with a ‘greeting’ to the committee followed by a statement of your interest in MIT and what you would bring to the school, then a short statement of your career goals with a summary of the ways in which your experience to date has prepared you, then a “why . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 12, 2011, at 1:00 pm
Posted in: Admissions Tips , Essay Topic Analysis , Events , School: Berkeley / Haas , School: Chicago , School: Columbia , School: Dartmouth / Tuck , School: Harvard , School: MIT / Sloan , School: Northwestern / Kellogg , School: Penn / Wharton , School: Stanford
Clear Admit and Beat The GMAT (BTG) are working together to provide prospective applicants with detailed analysis of the essay questions from nine of the top business school programs as part of BTG’s 2011 “Write Like an Expert” series. The free series of online events debuts next Tuesday and Wednesday and will feature Clear Admit senior admissions counselors providing a full breakdown of the current essay questions from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
BTG tapped Clear Admit’s Stacey Oyler, a former admissions officer at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Management, and Deena Maerowitz, a former Columbia Business School admissions officer, to provide analysis of the essays for those schools last year as part of the series. This year, BTG has decided to partner exclusively with Clear Admit for all nine of the schools featured in the series.
Clear Admit’s Oyler, Maerowitz, and Graham Richmond, all former admissions officers, will be guests on the BTG site for the online events. Each event will include a full examination of one featured school’s essay questions followed by a Q&A session with participants.
There will be nine events in total, roughly two per week over the course of the next five weeks. Featured schools include Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, Berkeley Haas, Tuck, Stanford, Chicago Booth, Kellogg and MIT Sloan. For the complete “Write Like an Expert” series schedule and to reserve your spot, click here.
Don’t miss this free opportunity to hear strategic recommendations from former admissions officers on how best to approach the essay questions at your target top-tier MBA programs.
Posted by Clear Admit on August 11, 2011, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: NYU Stern NYU Stern’s 2010-2011 essay topics have remained largely unchanged over the past several application seasons. As in prior years, Essays 1 and 2 allow applicants to discuss their career goals and fit with Stern’s MBA program, while Essay 3 encourages applicants to tap their creativity to showcase an element of their profile not covered in the rest of the application. Essays 1 and 2 (and3, if applicants opt for a conventional written response) should be formatted with double-spaced paragraphs and a 12-point font.
Let’s take a closer look at this essay set:
Essay 1: Professional Aspirations Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Answer the following: (a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position? (b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life? (c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal? (750 word maximum) This is your standard career goals/why MBA essay, with a few interesting quirks. First, note that the initial section requests that applicants reflect on and explain the choices they’ve made to date, placing a bit of extra emphasis on the presentation of one’s career as a coherent and directed whole. While it’s always important to explain the reasons you’ve moved from one company to the next, you’ll also want to think about the more subtle decisions you’ve made to further your professional development. Have you actively sought out more responsibility? Requested an assignment with an eye to gaining a certain skill?
. . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 1, 2011, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: Cambridge Today, we’d like to take some time to offer a bit of guidance to applicants who plan to tackle Judge’s MBA application essay questions in the coming months. With just three essays totaling 1,000 words, the Cambridge application is a relatively short one, though this means that applicants must make judicious use of the available space to highlight their industry-specific knowledge and preparation for business studies.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the program’s prompts:
Essay 1: What are the key issues facing organizations in your sector over the next three years? What course of action would you recommend to such organizations? (300 words) Focused on the immediate changes and challenges facing the applicant’s chosen field, this opening essay is a chance for applicants to demonstrate their insight into sector-specific issues, as well as their sound judgment with respect to how these might be addressed. This essay suggests that the admissions committee is interested in identifying prospective students who will be ahead of the curve upon graduating from business school, and in a position to make a meaningful impact on the organizations they join after completing the Judge MBA.
. . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on July 28, 2011, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: CMU / Tepper Following up on yesterday’s announcement of Tepper’s 2011-2012 essay topics, we’d like to offer up some commentary on this aspect of CMU’s MBA application. Tepper’s prompts are only slightly different from last year’s, and suggest a continued interest in the applicant’s broad goals, ability to make an impact, as well as curiosity about the candidate’s approach to handling challenges or conflict. Although there are no prescribed word limits, the admissions office suggests a length of two double-spaced pages each for Essays A and B and one double-spaced page each for Essays C and D.
Essay A: What are your short-term and long-term goals? How will a Tepper MBA help you to achieve these goals? (Please include any information regarding what steps you have taken to learn more about the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.) Tepper has taken the fairly typical approach of leading off with a standard career goals essay – and at two double spaced pages, they allot a very reasonable amount of space for applicants to use in addressing this subject. The key for Tepper applicants will be to formulate a directed discussion that speaks to the question, making judicious mention of one’s career to date where appropriate in explaining one’s motivation and preparedness for his or her goals.
One more thing to note is that by asking applicants to detail the steps that they’ve taken to learn more about Tepper, the adcom is signaling the high importance of researching the program and understanding why it would be uniquely appropriate for you. Discussing campus visits or exchanges with current students and alumni would be a great way to demonstrate your engagement with the community and to emphasize that you are making an informed decision in applying. To further your research, we encourage you read the Clear Admit School Guide to Tepper, which contains a detailed and objective overview of the school’s academic and extracurricular offerings.
Essay B: The Tepper School is looking for individuals who will make an impact. Give an example of a time where you made an impact in your professional or academic life. This second question is another classic in terms of MBA essays; adcoms are interested to know about your leadership potential and ability to make a substantial positive impact in the MBA community. Whether you choose to cull an example from your professional or academic life, it’s important to put the story in context before clearly outlining the actions you took and the results you achieved. The more detail you’re able to provide about your role in achieving a positive outcome, the easier it will be for you to accurately demonstrate your leadership skills.
Another thing to keep in mind is that this essay lends itself nicely to showcasing your innovative spirit. For example, perhaps you . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on July 22, 2011, at 4:30 pm
Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: Chicago Continuing with our series of essay topic analyses for this season’s applications, we’ll close out the week by taking some time to think about the 2011-2012 Chicago Booth application essay questions. The overall format of the program’s prompt is similar to the last several years; the school requires that applicants submit responses to three “essays,” one of which is – in its fifth year running – a four-slide presentation. As for noteworthy changes, the adcom has again discarded the second essay in the set, in which applicants were asked to discuss a risk they have taken and the lessons they learned, replacing it with a reflection on the origin of one’s leadership style.
Let’s take a closer look at each of this year’s essays:
. . . → Continue Reading
|
