When you apply to be admitted into an MBA program, you may be asked to support your application with an essay. That may mean that numbers are limited and getting into the business school is competitive.
To maximise your chances of gaining entry, here are some tips on how to boost your MBA application essays.
Write a Short, Original and Honest MBA Application Essay
MBA Programs are looking to admit REAL people – not numbers or robots. Some applicants get the wrong notion that they should write something earth-shattering in order to impress the committee members.
Truth is: most, if not all of these evaluators could be impressed by three short adjectives: short, original, and honest.
Keeping everything short but sweet
Every main argument/point that you raised on the essay should be supported by any of the following: facts, theories (on some instances only), experiences, or statistics. Still, be direct to the point and avoid going in circles.
One thing the Committee of Admissions members really hate is an essay that has no direction, no focus and shoots off useless trivia. Don’t fall for this trap. It could be your undoing in the application process. You’re effectively applying for a business administration role, where productivity and efficiency are key.
Be honest and original in your application
To be honest does not mean you have to put down each and every weakness you have. It’s actually a common question on essays (what is one of your glaring weaknesses?), and the key here is to answer it. Answer it simply, don’t apologize, and impress upon them how you are working on this particular failing.
To be honest also means avoid exaggerations in reference to your accomplishments. This is an amusing question but worthy of your attention: if it was an accomplishment worth writing, then no additional honking of your own horn is needed right?
As much as possible, go for originality. In narrating experiences, go as deep (personal) as you could make it. This would assure you the admission officers have not heard it for the hundredth time.
To put it all in a cap: brevity would keep your narration easy to read, honesty would allow the readers to know you much better, and the originality would help your document stand out from among the countless essays.
How to Stay On Track when Writing Your MBA Application Essays
Getting into a business school can be highly competitive, especially if you are trying to get into one of the attractive MBA programs in Australia or elsewhere. One thing you can do to stay ahead of the competition is to come up with a winning essay.
If you have read sample MBA application essays, you’ll notice that they all have several things in common, and one of them is that they all have a clear thesis or topic supported by statements.
It’s very important to come up with an essay that’s coherent and presents a single idea. Unfortunately, many applicants make the mistake of discussing too many things in their essay.
Why keeping your focus is important
Getting distracted when writing your MBA application essay is unavoidable. Because you really want to impress your readers, you might think of several ways to creatively write your essay.
- You may have thought of including an experience that made you realize that an MBA degree can greatly help you achieve your goals.
- You then start by telling that story or experience.
- As you write your essay, you become so caught up in your story that you forgot to actually answer the essay question.
As a result, your essay is not that effective and the admissions panel could just throw away your work and read the next entry.
To avoid veering away from the topic of your essay, it’s important to keep your focus. One key here is to know when to include details about an experience you want to discuss in your essay. Remember, the point of your essay is to convince the readers that you deserve an acceptance letter into the MBA school, and not to tell your life story.
Tips to stay on track in your essay
Now how do you stay on track as you write your essay? One tip is to think of a catchy topic. Then create an outline that’ll help give direction to your essay.
Throughout the personal statement, you should be able to come up with supporting statements that provide the right level of detail — enough to catch the attention of the admissions panel without veering away from your topic or thesis.
You can also let others read your essay and let them critique your work. If a reader was somewhat confused as to what you are actually trying to say in your personal statement, then maybe you need to revise your work and remove some statements that are confusing or that don’t really contribute to the overall coherence of your essay.
Competition for MBA program places
The competition among MBA school applicants can be quite intense. This is especially the case if you’re applying to a prestigious school such as Melbourne Business School or the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Competition tends to be greater for on-campus programs as well. Online MBA programs are known for having easier admission standards.
What MBA Admission Essay Readers Don’t Like to See in Submitted Works
There are certain things that make an MBA admission essay a really bad essay. Before you write your own MBA application essay, it’s best that you arm yourself with the right information regarding things admission officers don’t like to read in a personal statement.
Always remember that these officers have so many essays to go through, that only the well-proofread and interesting essays have a chance of standing out. Read on to know what you should avoid when writing your own.
MBA application essays that have boring sentences
This doesn’t just apply to the opening paragraph, but also in the succeeding statements as well. When writing your essay, you should aim to be interesting.
Here is an example of a sentence that could be improved: My parents died when I was just thirteen, and it was a period of mourning.
To catch the readers’ attention, include more details and change the sentence to: When I was just thirteen, a drunk driver rammed his truck right into the family car, turning me into an orphan. I was so devastated during that time of my life that I sincerely thought it would have been better if I was in the car with them when the accident happened.
Now, the second version is longer, but even if you cut it down a bit, it is still more interesting. When writing your personal statement, let some flair get into your words and avoid boring statements, which includes cliches.
MBA essays that contain grammar errors
Now, even if your essay has been presented in a dramatic fashion, but if it is crammed with all kinds of grammatical errors, then it’s still bad writing in the eyes of the admissions staffers.
After all, you are applying for an MBA slot, and that means you should make sure that simple grammar rules have been followed, such as subject-verb agreement and structure and composition. To excel as a business leader, effective business writing is something you should be able to demonstrate.
By making your essay both error-free and compelling, you accomplish two things – the readers will remember your piece long after they’ve read it, and they would be impressed with the editing that you exerted on the final draft.