Studying in a Masters in Business Administration program is a dream to many people. Every year, the top universities across the world receive hundreds of thousands of applications from prospective students, who all want to study in their dream university. As everyone wants the best, the better ranked the university, the more fierce the competition. One of the most crucial stages of the application process, thus, becomes the essays that are to be submitted as a part of the application.
When it comes to the MBA application essays, they differ significantly from requirements for the courses in management or technology, et cetera. The focus of the MBA essays is to understand an applicant’s strengths and experiences in more detail in order to judge their suitability for the program as compared to just knowing about their experiences.
The admissions committees are more interested to know how candidates would react to certain situations instead of just dry statistics. Which is why we have brought to you this guide which contains all the essentials of your MBA essay applications, including a few you would know but others that you might not know. We recommend that you give the article a thorough read (you can also save it as a reference point for later!). For your ease of navigation we have divided the essentials into broad categories that you will be able to instantly relate to.
Without further delay, let’s dive into it-
- Background and Motivation
Your essay is as much a writing test as it is a thinking test, if not more. Which is why it is very important to introspect, understand, and figure out what you want to talk about in your essays. For example, you can talk about where you are from, highlighting your beginnings, or you can talk about how your life experiences have made you the person you are and talk about the culture you have grown up in and how your cross-functional experiences have moulded your personality. You can also include information about the skills and qualities that you have nurtured as a result of these experiences. In addition, an important aspect is including the value systems that you have developed as a result of your upbringing.
When it comes to your motivation, you can talk about how your values, skills, and qualities have assisted you in overcoming obstacles, adapting and succeeding in life, and how they have driven you to now apply for the program and go for higher studies.
Where are you from? -Your cross-cultural and cross-functional experiences
- Goals
The most important thing when it comes to including information in MBA essays on your future personal and professional goals, is to understand the content you can talk about. Broadly, there are two things you talk about, your short-term and long-term goals. Among these short-term goals and more significantly important. Why? This is because what your short-term goals are directly conveyed to the admissions committees insights into how structured your thinking is and if you have a proper vision for your future. Your short-term goals can be very specific, including information on the type of role you want, the sectors you might be targeting or even the companies you are interested in, and more importantly what kind of learnings in your short-term and medium-term would help you to eventually materialise your long-term goal.
When it comes to your long-term goal, be sure to relate it with your experience and skill set and make sure that this is something you are really passionate about.
In summary it is of utmost importance to articulate a clear sense of purpose and direction. Remember that everything is connected, your past experience, your short-term goal, your vision for your future, and so on. At the end it is also important to highlight how the specific be-school fits into your plans and goals. You can extensively talk about the university ecosystem and how it would be conducive to your growth.
- Contribution
Another important aspect of your essays, and something that is very often directly asked, is how you will be able to effectively contribute to the business school classroom. What you bring to the class and who you are aside from work and academics will truly set you apart here. When it comes to the specified information, you can talk about and highlight your most important interest and activities and engagements all throughout your journey so far, and at the same time delete these experiences to convey how you will contribute to the ongoing activities at the university you will join.
- Values
Highlighting a specific set of values can also bring out the X-factor in your essays. All throughout your academic and professional journey there would be a certain set of values that you would be driven by. This can be values like determination, integrity, willingness to always go beyond, curiosity, and anything and everything. Be honest! Remember that there are no rights or wrongs. With the values that are important to you are the values that can be highlighted through your experiences in a manner that makes you truly unique.
- Leadership
Leadership, a truly last but not the least element in this list. Candidates with a demonstrated leadership experience have a higher chance of securing the edge over other candidates. This is because people capable of leadership and people who have led teams in the past have a more evolved perspective when it comes to solving novel business problems. Take a pause, introspect, and think if or how you have contributed to teams in your experience. Introspect what your take on leadership is. Or simply put, think about who is a leader in your opinion. In your experience, have you empowered teams or developed more leaders?
All these questions are important points to think about and understand your experience better. If you have been a leader, talk about how your leadership has evolved, what it entails, and what has been your leadership‘s impact on your current/previous organisation. Including all these pointers will help you come up with a well-rounded essay and a well-rounded candidature.
We are sure that by now you would have an immensely clear idea of what the contents of a winning MBA essay are. Needless to say, there are still several elements like structure, tone, grammar, and so on. But, knowing what you want to talk about and what parts of your journey you can highlight to truly stand apart, now you will be able to structure your thoughts a lot better. And no, that expert help from EdElevate where is only one click away.
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Rather than following the traditional approach of study abroad consultants, we focus on providing individualised admission advice and mentoring based on students’ interests, with coverage of the best colleges in every discipline. We understand that evaluating each of our students’ candidacy and strengthening their profile is just as vital as their essays and interviews.
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Aside from personalised consulting and mentoring, we offer a variety of services to assist students in realising their dream of study abroad, such as shortlisting universities based on the student’s unique profile and area of interest, MBA essay ideation and brainstorming, essay review, reference letter and resume reviews, interview preparation sessions, and more.
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