How to Write a Successful Application Essay
This article is written by Angela Guido, Manhattan GMAT Instructor and Senior Consultant at mbaMission.
You may have heard the MBA admissions truism: “You can’t turn a bad idea into a good essay.” And that is why we recommend a lengthy brainstorming process at the outset of your applications to discover the stories that make you unique. As you uncover your stories, it is important to consider them from as many different angles as possible. Doing so will not only help ensure that you understand the various “tools in your tool box,” it will also provide you with maximum flexibility (considering that MBA admissions committees ask questions that vary dramatically from school to school).
For example, an experience coaching a baseball team at an underfunded high school may have multiple dimensions, such as the following:
- Creatively motivating an underachieving team and changing attitudes—despite losses
- Initiating and leading fundraising efforts so that each player could afford proper equipment
- Mentoring a struggling player and seeing an improvement in his on-field performance
- Helping a player deal with a family issue off the field
- Recruiting other coaches and then working with a team to improve the team’s on-field performance
All of these stories relate to the single accomplishment of successfully coaching high school baseball, but reflect vastly different aspects of the writer’s experience, his values, and his unique contribution to the world around him. You can see that considering stories from various angles will help you discover multiple unique approaches to your admissions essays. Then comes the next step of slotting those stories into each school’s essays so that within each application, you are showcasing all of the important aspects of your life, while simultaneously answering each school’s specific questions as they are asked.
Seems easier said than done? Join mbaMission to explore this and other essential steps to constructing a standout MBA application in one of their MBA Application Boot Camps, offered in New York, Chicago and Online. Space is limited. Click here or call (646) 485-8844 for more information including dates offered, fees and to sign up today!