A Holistic Approach to Writing MBA Application Essays

According to Experts' Global's MBA admission consultants, essay writing is typically one of the biggest challenges faced by MBA applicants. The issue is that most applicants do not begin with a systematic approach in mind which causes them to flounder. That is why the aforementioned admission consultants make sure to adhere to the following steps when writing MBA admissions essays.

1) Brainstorming

The very first thing that you should do when you begin planning out your MBA applications essays is carefully going through your profile and selecting the 20 points that you feel provide the best impression of you as a candidate. These points should address as many of the key virtues that MBA admission committees look for, such as initiative and management skills; wherever possible provide concrete examples to back up your points. This is the point where MBA admission consultants can be of the maximum help as they will be able to help you understand exactly what virtues can be highlighted in your profile.

2) Storyboarding

Your MBA applications essays must cover your academic background, professional experience, need for an MBA, why you wish to attend that particular school, your post-MBA career goals, long term goals, and your career vision; these are the elements that will form the story that you must aim to convey. So, before you begin writing your essays, take the time to compile all this information together to form a narrative that can be called a visionary story. This will be the most important part of your entire application process, where the help of a professional MBA admission consultant will be most beneficial.

3) Writing

Once you have finished storyboarding, you can begin writing the MBA application essays; the most logical approach is to first write your core essays, the main six or seven essays, and then convert them into the specific essays required by the schools that you will apply to. If you are only going to apply to one or two schools, however, you can directly write the required essays. This will be the most time-consuming part of the application process; if you do not feel that you can devote enough time to your MBA application essays, you can take up the help of an MBA admission consultant for guidance.

3.1 The Statement of Purpose

According to Experts’ Global’s MBA admission consultants, the first essay that you should work on is the Statement of Purpose. The standard statement of purpose question will ask you to cover why now is the best time for you to pursue an MBA, what your career goals are, and how your background and an MBA from that school will help you achieve those goals. Different schools may word the question differently but these are the points that it will ask you to cover; the word limit for the statement of purpose also tends to be fairly consistent, at 400-750 words.

3.2 Writing the Contribution Essay

As peer learning is a critical part of an MBA education, most schools will ask you to write an essay explaining how your presence will contribute to the learning experience of your peers; the word limit for this MBA Application essay is typically 400-600 words. You can begin your essay with a strong opening that summarizes why you would be a good addition to your cohort; however, the opening is optional. After the opening, provide the first reason; try to provide a broad reason, such as extensive professional experience, and provide examples if possible. Then provide two more reasons in the same way and conclude with a powerful ending.

3.3 Writing 4 Situational Stories

Next, prepare 4 essays describing a situation, in which you undertook a leadership role, took on a professional challenge, experienced a professional failure, and underwent an ethical dilemma. These essays will not only be required for your application but also help at the interview stage of your admissions process. You can begin each essay with a short opening; however, this is optional and should not take up more than 20% of the total word count. The first serious part of the essay should provide a clear background to the situation, describing it and mentioning the stakes and any potential repercussions. Then explain how you got involved in the situation; take the opportunity to see if you can use the situation to showcase the ability to take on challenges or lead initiatives. After you have made it clear how you got involved, explain what you did and what the outcome was. This paragraph should clearly suggest the planning you did and the concrete steps that you undertook. End the essay by elaborating upon what you learned and giving a powerful ending.

4) Retrofitting

The next step is what the Experts' Global MBA admission consulting teams call 'Retrofitting'. 'Retrofitting' is the process that these admission consultants use to convert the core essays into the exact essays demanded by the schools that you will be applying to. Match the core essays to the questions provided by the schools and then convert them as per the exact demands and word limits. After converting the essays, step away from them for a few days and then take a look at them with fresh eyes; you are certain to find some scope for improvement. At this stage, it may be helpful to take a second opinion; do not take on too many opinions, however. You might want to work with a professional MBA admissions consultant to get a better understanding of your essays' strengths and weaknesses.

5) Effective Structures

The following are some effective structures for the various types of essays; closely following these structures will help you write your essays.

Statement of Purpose:

- A strong opening - 10%
- Academic + Personal Summary - 15%
- Professional Summary - 15%
- Co-curricular Summary - 10%
- Why you feel you need an MBA at this point - 10%
- Why you want an MBA from that school - 15%
- Career goals immediately post MBA, long-term goals, and overall career vision - 15%
-Strong Ending - 10%

Contributions Essay

- A powerful opening (optional) - 20%
- Give and explain the first reason (with concrete examples) - 20%
- Explain the second reason - 20%
- Explain the third Reason - 20%
- End with a powerful summary - 20%

Situational Story Essays

- Strong opening (optional) - 10%
- Clear background of the situation; stress what the conflict was and what were the stakes behind it - 10%
- How you got involved - 20%
- What you did and what the outcome was; use this opportunity to stress your qualities such as leadership capabilities or initiative to take on challenges - 35%
- What you learned from the experience - 20%

These guidelines have been prepared by drawing upon the experience of some of the most experienced essay writers in the field of MBA admissions consultancy; following them will greatly help you streamline your MBA applications essays and improve the quality of your final essays. Having said this, there is never only one correct way to write MBA application essays for the exercise is in itself very subjective.