How to Write a Winning MBA Application Essay
How to Write a Winning MBA Application Essay
Before starting to write a winning MBA application essay, there is a need for the student to analyze and reflect on what exactly they want to draft while writing the essay. Still, by following some of the basic guidelines, students can quickly draft their essays by showcasing their accomplishments and other unique qualities that they acquire. At the same time, they also try to convince the admission committee members by showing themselves as a deserving candidate. Initially, it is important for a student opting for an MBA degree to understand the significance of writing an MBA application essay. This allows the students to interact and communicate with the professors regarding their goals and objectives and why they must pursue an MBA program. The panellists in the admission committee must know the capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, experiences, skills and aspirations of the candidates before deciding whether to allow the particular student to be admitted. And, thus, will aid the students in attaining their career growth in future. Thus, students must draft an essay that wins the panellists’ hearts sitting on the admission committee. Writing a heart-winning essay is a better way to explain the motivation, strengths and vulnerabilities and also describes each part of the essay where there is a chance to raise questions in the committee member`s mind.
For writing a heart-winning MBA application essay, the students must brainstorm their minds and start thinking critically by identifying and discussing the challenges, strengths and achievements they have dealt with. Further, they need to talk about their experiences, whether personal, academic or professional, which helped the student in finding their identity and help in attaining their career objectives.
Students need to prepare an outline after thinking and processing what they are willing to convey to the panellists before they start writing the application essay. The outline helps by giving an idea to the students on how to create the essay and what to write in it, and this ultimately assures that the essay gives a proper meaning, is coherent, and flows with logic. The essay must have an introduction, a brief of the essay, a body that describes the main story or part of the essay, giving details and a conclusion that shows the overall picture. Each part of the application essay explains the specific components of a student’s personal and professional goals, backgrounds and motivations.
The introduction in an application essay mainly referred to the chance to grab the reader`s attention in making their first and last impression. The student has to start thinking about writing in a captivating way that attracts the reader`s interest. The application essay to be written can be any story, whether a statement or personal story, which arouses questions in the committee member`s thoughts. Then, the overview of the essay and the context of the essay`s background can be written.
The body of the application essay discusses everything in a detailed way, which is mainly described in the introduction part in brief. Each part of the body concentrates on explaining a specific feature of the student’s background, experiences and skills while making him a better applicant than other students. The claims made by the students in the body must provide relevant examples and evidence. Their essay can also discuss achievements in academics, work experiences and leadership experiences. Focusing on these areas can help in elaborating the experiences of the students in a better way and will make them understand the importance of focusing on the MBA course.
Furthermore, while writing an application essay, the student needs to explain why it is so necessary to take admission to an MBA course and what is the reason behind choosing this particular institution. Discussing every feature of the program appeals to the students about the faculty members, extracurricular activities and courses. Also, students need to showcase their talent, knowledge and expertise by showing that they researched every part of their work, answering them correctly, and making the committee members feel that the student is interested in taking admission.
The last part, or the conclusion of the application essay, shows the overall picture and summarises the whole essay while leaving a good impression on the reader. In this section, the student again shows his interest in the course and reiterates by explaining the reason why he finds himself a deserving candidate. Concentrating on professional and personal career growth and development can be attained by having proper knowledge of the course and finding out how to work with the long-term goals of the application essay. Lastly, end the essay with a strong statement that leaves a memorable effect and positive impression on the minds of the panellists.
Getting good GMAT scores is the initial step in developing an application essay for an MBA course. The number of applicants applying for an MBA course is rising yearly, making scoring well on the GRE or GM more difficult. So, the student needs to score well and develop a heart-winning application essay that attracts the reader’s mind. The student should also mention their vulnerabilities, strengths and motivations and discuss the important parts, which can arouse questions in the committee member`s mind. And, if a student gets a low score on their GRE or GMAT, they have to write an easily understandable and well-written essay, but this does not mean that a good score on the test need not make up for a good essay. This is important for writing an application essay for admission to an MBA course. This application essay must indicate who the student exactly is, his qualities, state of mind, and knowledge in the true sense. This is so because the admission committee members want to see the application essays of the applicants.
Most of the time, the admission committee members expect the students to write the essay in a way that makes the committee members understand the student in a better way with the help of the essay. They want the student to draft the application essay in a way that shows the actual reflection of the students and aids the committee members in making better and more informed decisions about whether to allow the student to be admitted to the institution. In simpler words, committee members only want the students to write about their reflections by focusing on themselves and the experiences that helped them shape their future.
Several tips for writing a winning application essay
- Be authentic – The student needs to start writing by thinking of the experiences and things that make the student different from others and also make them stand out as exceptional among the crowd. Please do not start thinking about what is good from the committee member`s perspective or what they want to read. The written application essay shows a clear picture of the kind of person the student is and also summarizes the qualities, experiences and skills that make the student more interested and passionate. Similarly, the student need not discuss why he is an ideal candidate, but he needs to give his experience, which makes the committee members see through his expertise and abilities if he has the capability of being a deserving candidate or not. So, the student only needs to put all their efforts into explaining themselves clearly.
- Structuring the essay carefully – Writing an application essay in a structure is essential as it shows that it is written in a well-mannered sequence. Moreover, the structure of all the good application essays is the same. These are the setup, i.e., the introduction, which gives the brief of the essay, also explaining the things that the student has completed and learned till now; the pivot point, which is the body of the essay, which provides detailed information of everything discussed in the introduction part of the essay, also discussing what the students want to learn more and has an interest in and by learning what will he achieve; and the future which gives the concluding part as well as discusses what else is there which needs to be rectified and also explains how the abilities and skills of the student aid in enhancing his career objectives and how can he achieve these.
- Answering questions specifically – Most candidates submit essays that are written in a well-mannered way, but when it comes to answering the questions, they still need to answer them. So, the student must think out of the shoe and start thinking about why behind every point written in the essay. This will, firstly, help the student answer the questions asked by the panellists in the admission committee. Applicants opting for an MBA degree in Business schools are considered over-achievers and extremely successful. And these also add and fill up the student’s accomplishments into the essay better.
- Be succinct – Most of the reputed institutions worldwide have restrictions on word counts, which makes the student write their essays in a limited number of words. Several institutions like Duke-Fuqua, Stanford GSB, Michigan Ross, and UCLA Anderson have lowered their essays on word counts. Also, Harvard Business School has restricted the word count and asked the students to write an essay with a word limit of around 900 words. While some of the reputed institutions and Business schools have made it compulsory to check the application portal, where the applicants are informed about the restrictions on the word limit and can change it, they are also advised to keep the essay short and sweet. The student has to concentrate on highlighting the important points that need to be discussed, detailing the interesting details of the student and letting the actual voice and interest come through the essay instead of burdening the reader with a lot of information. The student needs to explain their decisions, talk about their interests and passion and should also highlight their achievements. By narrowing the scope of the essay, the student will find it easy to write the essay in a mannered way.
- Be specific – The student has to be specific while drafting the essay. If the topic of the application essay is a business school, then it will be easier for the student to draft the essay better. This provides a better chance for the student to describe their interest and the preparation while drafting their essay. The student needs to understand the courses he wants to pursue, the extracurricular activities he is interested in, and how the student can contribute to the school community. Knowing the answers to these questions can make the committee members believe how you can help transform your professional and personal career growth.
- Refrain from lying – The student need not exaggerate or over-inflate because this makes the admission committee members understand the concept and hence does not fascinate their interest towards the particular student. Committee members mainly look for honest candidates. And, when the committee members find out that a particular student is lying, they ensure that the student does not proceed with further process. Certainly, the candidates who over-inflate or lie while drafting their essay for an application get revoked in between and, hence, do not get any chance to get admitted to the particular institution or Business School.
Conclusion
In conclusion, drafting a heart-winning application essay for an MBA program is a difficult task as it requires careful planning, better communication skills, and thoughtful reflections based on oneself. The student must clearly describe their experiences, goals and objectives and demonstrate their interest in being admitted to the particular institution or Business School. The student has to clearly define his abilities, skills, experiences, accomplishments, background and knowledge to stand out against other applicants opting to be admitted to the MBA program and how they relate their skills and knowledge to this course. Moreover, it is crucial to explain how the student`s capabilities contribute to the course and how it will help the student attain their personal and professional career development in the long term. Lastly, the student must revise and edit the essay to ensure it is error-free.
Author Bio: Mark Edmonds, a capable master in Academic Assignments, is skilled at offering premium MBA assignment help to students. With an abundance of involvement, he mixes his academic ability with an energy for helping students in accomplishing greatness. Mark’s discerning info reflects his commitment to outfitting important direction on different instructive issues, displaying him as a critical resource in academic help.