We at MBA Decoder would love to answer your queries related to anything admissions- profile evaluation, specific application questions, essay advice, anything!
Hi,
The 2014 application season is coming closer and many of you applicants are getting down to writing essays. We at MBA Decoder would like to help you out by giving you guidelines to frame your essays.
We start out with ISB and will keep providing you with essay frameworks for other b-schools as and when online applications become available.
Please keep the thread clean by sending in your responses through the "make a comment" space and not through the "quote and Reply" button.
Thanks!
Essay Guidelines for ISB- 2013
Q1. Attitude, skills and knowledge differentiate people. Elaborate with two examples on how you would differentiate yourself from other applicants to the PGP. (300 words max)
A: ISB has been asking applicants a question on their differentiating factors for many years now. This year, they have added a slight twist to it. They have specifically asked applicants for differentiating attitudes, skills and knowledge, and unlike last year, when this question was an open field for the number of examples you could quote, this year there is a limit of two examples. We think it is justified, because in 300 words, you can do justice to only about two examples.
So what could these attitudes, skills or knowledge be?
Your attitude can be of sincerity, perseverance, creativity etc. Your skills could be related to communications, problem solving, organizational, networking etc. And you could be knowledgeable about anything under the sun (the context has to be relevant to your application)
How should you structure the essay?
Besides mentioning the two differentiating factors, talk about supporting incidences where you demonstrated these qualities. Roughly, these are the pointers you can include in your answer:
1. The situation.
2. What was your role in this situation?
3. What were the challenges?
4. How did you overcome them applying the mentioned attitudes/ skills / knowledge?
5. What was the end result?
MBA Decoder's tip: Oftentimes applicants assume that their description of the situation is enough for the reader to decipher the attitudes/ skills / knowledge in question. However, this is not the case. As the essay is yours, you would want to have control over the impression it creates on the reader. Therefore, do not leave it for the reader to draw their inferences about takeaways from the story.
Advice for re-applicants: Do not write about the same differentiating factors as you did last year.
Q2. How does the ISB PGP tie-in with your career goals? (300 words max)
Until last year, ISB had asked just for the short term career goals. This year they have asked two main things are: 1. Your career goals, and 2. How will ISB PGP help you achieve them? To put things in complete perspective, you can structure your answer along the following points:
1. Looking at this essay from a career vision perspective, it would be appropriate for you to start with a short description of your career so far, highlighting any changes brought about by you- for example, selecting a particular project because it exposed you to a certain skill set, or change in job, because it gave you opportunity to do something of your interest.
2. What to you want to do going forward in the
a. short term (3-5 years after MBA);
b. long term (5 years after MBA).
3. What skills and knowledge are you lacking in order to get to your career goals?
4. How will an ISB MBA help you?
Advice for Re-applicants: From our experience of doing reject analysis on PagalGuy, we know that more often than not, the dinged applicants have gone horribly wrong with their career goals. This can be prevented by doing some research to further refine your goals by reaching out to: 1. your desired industry circle to find about post MBA roles and career progression; 2. ISB's currents students or alumni.
Q3. Pick the most significant achievement (professional or personal) you have had and elaborate on the key learning you took away from it. (300 words max)
Obvious as it may seem, some applicants tend to miss answering the complete question. Therefore we emphasize, this essay is split into two parts: 1. Your most significant achievement, and 2. the learning you took away from it.
The structure of this essay can be:
1. Describe the situation.
2. What was your role in it? Who were the other members involved?
3. What were the challenges faced?
4. What did you do to overcome these challenges?
5. What was the end result?
6. What led you to think this was your greatest achievement?
7. What did you learn from this incidence? Think through this last part well, because the admissions team would want to see a matured answer here.
Advice for Re-applicants: Don't churn out the same essays as last year's. We hope you have had another achievement since the last ones, or have another strong, untold story from the past.
Q4. Please provide additional information, if any, that will significantly affect the consideration of your application to the ISB. (300 words max)
This essay is optional. The system will allow you to submit your application, though it shows as "Incomplete" in the application inspector.
The optional essay is typically meant for informing the admissions committee about and red alert areas in your profile. These could be low GPAs (that happened because of a valid reason), gaps in academics or profession, or any other circumstances that were out of your control. Keep your description short and to the point.
For re-applicants:
How has your profile changed from the time you last applied to the ISB? (300 words max)
Talk about 1-2 significant improvements in your professional/personal profile, in this essay. These could be related to more responsibilities at work; a change in job, possibly to help you move in the direction of your intended career (this can be very useful if you had fuzzy goals last year); a change in designation or position or an international assignment. On the personal front, please mention if you got involved in volunteering or if you picked up a new hobby, and got seriously involved in it.
Namita at MBA Decoder
Essay Guidelines for Columbia Business School- 2014 entry:
Columbia Business School has two intakes per year: January intake is for candidates who do not want to change their industry and therefore, are not seeking to do their summer internship. Classes for this term begin a term late- that is in January, instead of the regular term in August. As you can guess, the other intake is in August, which has a summer internship option.
If you are applying to the J-term, do remember to make a note in your career goals essay about why you will not need the summer internship.
CBS also has an early decision option. This means that if you apply by October 2nd, you will hear back about your admit status from the b-school before the regular decision deadline. The flip side is that this is a binding offer – if you get an admit, you must withdraw your application from other b-schools. In effect, attempt this if you are 100% sure about attending CBS.
The application deadlines are as follows:
August 2014 Entry:
Early Decision: October 2, 2013
Merit Fellowship Consideration: January 6, 2014
Regular Decision: April 9, 2014
January 2014 Entry:
October 2, 2013
Essays
Applicants must complete one short answer question and three essays.
Short Answer Question
What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (100 characters maximum)
Example: “After my MBA I want to join a consulting firm specializing in renewable energy and power companies.”
This is going to be a single-line statement. The admission team is looking for a compact answer which describes exactly what you see yourself doing post MBA from CBS. No mincing words, and no flowery sentences here.
Be to the point, and say exactly what you wish to do post MBA.
Essay 1:
Given your individual background, why are you pursuing a Columbia MBA at this time? (Maximum 500 words)
Let's break the essay question down into its different parts:
1. Your individual background
2. Why Columbia MBA?
3. Why now?
A good starting point for this answer will be to shortly talk about your background, highlighting the achievements and milestones. Let this description lead you to the inflection point that made you believe you need an MBA education. Essentially this means that you found yourself lacking some skills/ tools/ knowledge that would help you reach the next stage in your career (what are commonly referred to as career goals).
Next, describe your career goals. You have already written a short sentence on what you will do post MBA. Build upon that and trace your future career path for the next 3-5 years.
Address why Columbia Business School is a perfect fit for you and how it will help you reach your career objectives. Many applicants make the mistake of replicating information from the b-school website, but that does not help. Rather, you should make a solid case for yourself which impresses that “X, Y and Z features of the Columbia MBA are essential for me to reach the career objectives that I just told you about”.
Lastly, do remember to mention why it makes sense for you to do an MBA now? Is there a break in your career; or have you reached a plateau; or is it that the next position will come your way only if you have an MBA? Whatever the reason be, make a mention of it.
You do not necessarily have to follow the sequence I have used here, just get all the points covered.
Essay 2:
Columbia Business School is located in the heart of the world's business capital - Manhattan. How do you anticipate that New York City will impact your experience at Columbia? (Maximum 250 words)
Please view the videos below:
New York City - limitless possibilities
New York City - fast paced and adaptable
Okay, New York is home to Wall Street! And it has the largest stock exchange in the world, the NY Stock Exchange. But the admissions team will want to hear better reasons about why New York excites you.
The city in which a business school is located makes a big impact on the learning of an applicant. You get access to C-suite people through seminars, guest speaker series, or guest lectures; as well as access to the industry, thereby improving your networking opportunities. This applies very well to New York, which has many industries to boast about- finance, consulting, retail, real estate, media and theater, to name a few. On the cultural front, you will find something for every taste, because the city attracts people from all over the world.
In this essay, go beyond the clichéd reasons for liking New York and talk specifically about why studying in the city will be beneficial for your personal and professional development. Considering the short length of the essay, don't go beyond 2-3 strong points about NY City's appeal to you. A big list of 10 odd reasons will definitely not be appreciated.
Essay 3:
What will the people in your Cluster be pleasantly surprised to learn about you? (Maximum 250 words)
CBS' Clusters are classes of 60-70 students who take their first year core classes together. What would you like to tell this class that will positively surprise them about you?
Most of us do not have exotic achievements like having run in the Asian Games, or in the Commonwealth Games for that matter, but one may still have an adventurous streak and may have indulged in sky diving, white water river rafting, off-roading, or biking on the treacherous terrains of Ladakh- Leh.
essay gives you the opportunity to talk about an interest or passion that will sound interesting to the rest of your class. It does not have to be something fancy like the examples above– you may just as well be a born number cruncher or a mental math guru, and may decide to reveal this to the class. Better still, you may be very passionate about a social cause and would 'surprise' the class with the efforts you have made to achieve your objective.
Go beyond just listing your commitment to explaining why it matters to you.
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Do shoot off your queries on these essays. Would be happy to discuss further.
Namita, MBA Decoder
Chicago Booth Essay Guidelines - 2013-14
Chicago Booth has changed its essays this year. Gone are the career goals from the main essay questions- these find their place as short questions in the employment section of the application.
The 4-slide presentation continues its stronghold in Booth's essay lineup for yet another year.
So why the change? The Booth admissions felt that a lot of information, such as the career history and career goals was getting answered in various portions of the application, and hence was being repeated in the career goals essay. Instead, they have introduced 2 short answers that will help them get to know you better on a personal level.
In a 2-part post, we are giving you an analysis of the 3 essay questions, as well as the short questions that appear in the online application form. We'll tackle the essays first.
Below are the essay questions for the 2013 - 14 application. Stick to the Word limit for all essays.
Short Answer Essays Please respond to the following two essay prompts:
a. My favorite part of my work is... (250 words maximum)
B-schools often ask applicants questions about work related achievements, failures and other situations. In those essays you get a chance to describe the situation and your crucial role in it.
However, this essay prompts you to talk about the roles/responsibilities that you like performing at work- something that you are driven to do, rather than just handed out by your supervisor.
My suggestion is to answer this in three parts- 1. What aspect about your work interests you? 2. Why? This second part will give the admissions team some access to your thoughts and motivations. You make like doing a particular task because you like to face challenges and this task is full of ambiguity. Or, you may have superior skills for carrying out this responsibility and therefore, its something that you are really good at. Or that you like to initiate and innovate and this responsibility throws you the chance to learn something new every day. 3. You can give a relevant example to explain further.
A lot of applicants will think of writing something that will sufficiently please the adcom. Don't do that! Having read thousands of applications year after year, the adcom will look through your plot to impress. A better strategy is to really think through this. Make a list of activities and responsibilities that give you immense satisfaction at work. Jot down the reasons why? Next, jot down examples that support your answer. Now you can take a two way approach: 1. Use the story which stands out as the strongest. 2. Use that personality aspect (skill or trait) which you most want to highlight, and which you display often at work.
b. I started to think differently when... (250 words maximum).
This essay gives you an open field to answer a professional or personal situation. The essay prompt implies that you started to think differently when you were influenced by something/ somebody.
Again there is an open ground for the influencing factor. It could be a discussion with your grandfather that challenged your ethics, or an eye-opening book/ magazine article that changed your view of the world, or a movie that made you aware about an issue you had never thought of until then. The possibilities for a story idea are limitless and depend on your own experiences.
A complete answer will include not just the description of the event that led to the change in your thinking, but also the process/journey you underwent thereafter; and then, how you used your newly formed thoughts or visions to guide you in future situations. If space permits, a short example would be apt to explain how you conducted yourself after you thought process changed.
You may not have undergone an immediate “Aha” experience- it may have taken a while for you to change your thinking – this is alright, so long as you are able to explain your metamorphosis and the underlying thoughts and emotions during this phase.
A nice ending would be a summation of why this change has been important in your personal growth and development.
Presentation/Essay The Chicago experience will take you deeper into issues, force you to challenge assumptions, and broaden your perspective. In a four-slide presentation or an essay of no more than 600 words, broaden our perspective about who you are. Understanding what we currently know about you from the rest of the application, what else would you like us to know?
First things first- you can submit either a 4-slide presentation OR a 600 words essay. There is no advantage of submitting one over the other, so select the style that best fits with the information you have to convey.
The Chicago GSB presentation has been a force to reckon with on the MBA admissions' essays circuit. Its been there for a while and something that you will either love or fear.
The challenge lovers must attempts the PPT, or as current GSB students say, have fun with it. If you have done many different things in life and have a ton of varied information you want to get across to the adcom, then the PPT is an excellent way of doing it. You can be creative- use pictures, images, cartoons, illustrations; diagrams and charts; or just plain write-ups, whatever you like. However, do not go overboard squeezing in pointers after pointers. Keep a tight focus on those positive aspects of your personality – you do not want to bombard the adcom with too much information which they can not register.
A mistake I have seen many applicants making is fearing this presentation. As a result they procrastinate it until the end, and eventually it becomes a hastily put together summary of the rest of the application. That's a harmful approach because you are just being repetitive and boring. Idea is that you convey important data about you that has not been addresses elsewhere in the application, and in an interesting way. Therefore, get back to the writing pad and note down all those interesting you have done at a personal and professional level and take your best picks from there.
Look out for part 2 of this post in a couple of days.
Namita, MBA Decoder
Chicago GSB- Part 2
What is your short-term post-MBA goal? (700 characters)
This short answer is roughly 5 lines. That will give you enough space to talk about your short term career goals- what do you want to do 3-5 years after your MBA? A complete answer will include the following details: the role, responsibilities, type of company (mentioning a couple of names is okay). How do you perceive your growth to be for the next 2-3 years?
What is your long-term post-MBA goal? (700 characters)
Please talk about what you intend doing 5- 8 years after your MBA. While your long term goals may be different from the career path you plan to take just after MBA, yet they would utilize the skill set you would have built until that point.
Cornell Essay Guidelines for 2013-14
Namita, MBA Decoder
Essay #1 “Who you are”
We continue to ask the “chapter headings” essay because we really enjoy reading it and get great information about you that we cannot get anywhere else in the process, even the interview.
Ø You are the author for the book of Your Life Story. In 300 words or less please write the table of contents for the book. Note: approach this essay with your unique style. We value creativity and authenticity.
This question has been a mandatory one for many years. Last year it had become an optional essay, but this application cycle, it is back there as a must-answer question. The only change is its word limit, which has been dropped from 400 to 300 words.
From our experience of working with applicants on this essay, we can vouch this is an interesting one! Our suggestion to you is to spend half a day at the bookstore or in your own home library (for the avid readers). Go through the table of contents of several books – observe what you read there. What does the table of content (ToC) tell you about the book? Do you feel like reading the book after looking at its ToC? Irrespective of that, to gain brownie points with the admissions team, you have to ensure that your ToC gets them interested in your profile for certain.
Our approach to this essay would be to first draw up a list of all the important things about you or in your life, and then select the most pertinent ones from there. Your ToC can focus upon any aspect about your life- it does not have to be a chronological account from your birth up to now. It is entirely up to you about which periods of your life you want to highlight – the formative years/ adolescence/ adult life/ life after MBA or all of them. Just remember the cardinal rule - this is a b-school essay, so what you tell the adcom should be relevant to your candidacy.
Cornell is famously known for its collaborative environment, so when you are writing your ToC, be sure to take a step back and think, “will my classmates be interested in knowing this part of me?”
Essay #2 “Who you turn out to be”
Instructions: Please answer the following three questions in abbreviated format. (Keep each answer in 150 words or less)
Ø When did you decide that business school was the next step for you? (Was this an epiphany or an evolutionary process? What was the catalyst that caused you to consider this next step?)
This question aims to understand your key motivations for wanting b-school education. What led you to believe that your aims and objectives will require an MBA? Do you feel limited in the impact that you are able to create on your organization? Do you want to gain a larger business perspective than your current functional role has allowed you to get? Do you want to change your industry and do something different from what you have been doing for the past 3 years? Are you just looking forward to a faster career growth? Or do you have a business idea which you want to whet at business school? These are some catalysts that can guide you towards b-school – you may have completely different reasons, which is fine. Just be honest in your answer – though mentioning something as light as a 'salary increase' will not go down very well with the admissions committee. This is better considered as an obvious but hidden benefit.
Applicants who are going to write that their decision to do an MBA was based on one single event (epiphany) should not sound like they haven't given the decision too much of a thought. One strong incidence could have given you the inkling for an MBA, but the eventual decision has to be a well thought and analyzed one.
Ø Johnson values people that make things happen for themselves. Give an example of how you have initiated this for yourself.
Cornell likes people that are self driven and motivated and they want their candidates to bring the same quality to the b-school. Please talk of a time when you initiated some event or activity in your personal or professional sphere. This is a brief essay so we advise you to zoom past the situation in lesser words, and talk more about the actions you undertook to initiate that something. What was the end result- how did you make your impact on the situation?
Ø Please describe your immediate post MBA career goals.
We have discussed this many times before, so we will just keep it brief here. You have already covered some ground about why an MBA is important for you in the first part of these short essays, now talk about what you intend to do post MBA from Cornell for upto 3-5 years after that. Mention the roles, responsibilities besides 1-2 names of possible company you are likely to join, and a possible career trajectory you are likely to take.
Namita, MBA Decoder
UCLA Essay Guidelines for 2013-14:
UCLA has decreased its essay requirement to just 1 essay this year – which is the regular career goals essay. Applicants who have a lot to tell about their achievements and extra-curricular involvements are going to get a tad disappointed.
Advice given by UCLA: Making a strong case for your future plans requires you to first do research on career paths and find one that resonates. Even if this target will change during business school, your application essays should lay out a clear trajectory for short-term and long-term goals. Do this by demonstrating how you expect to build on skills from your past, and those you expect to gain from the MBA.
First-time applicants - one required essay:
What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from UCLA Anderson specifically help you achieve these goals? (750 words maximum)
This is a straightforward question. To talk about your future career goals in a relevant manner, you will need to throw some light on how your career has panned out so far. So give a little background on your career up till now, with some focus on key achievements and milestones.
Thereafter, present your career goals – what do you plan to do in the short term (up to 3-5 years after completing the MBA) and what do you plan to do beyond that (long term)? To add more depth to your answer, you can mention the roles and responsibilities that mean to take up, as well as the type of companies you hope to work with.
As most MBA aspirants are seeking a career change of some sort- either a change in industry or function (or both), it will be wise to explain the key strengths you have developed so far, that will make you successful in your future career. Business schools evaluate candidates for self awareness, and talking about both your strengths and weaknesses in the careers goals essay is an effective way to demonstrate this. What skills or knowledge do you presently lack and you intend to fulfill them through the MBA? Reworded, what gaps do you need to fulfill through the MBA, that will help you reach your career objective?
The next part is specific to UCLA- and this is where you can impress the admissions team with your knowledge about their MBA. In the absence of any other essay which enables you to demonstrate your fit with UCLA, this section of your essay gives you the only chance to tell the adcom that you have done your research on their program very well, and that you are sure it will aid you in getting what you set out to achieve. This has also been told by the admissions team- “Essays are more compelling if they include specific courses, programs, groups, opportunities, activities, etc. from which you would benefit”. Therefore go ahead and talk to current students/ recent and older alumni, attend online/offline sessions by the admissions team, or read up student blogs to understand how specific features of the UCLA MBA will be important to you. Incorporate the key elements that draw you to the program into your essay. We write the “key elements (only)” – so that you do not produce a meaningless list of courses and activities on the essay, without explaining the impact these would have upon you, while you are in school.
Your reasons do not have to be related just to academics, that is the courses and the curriculum, you can also talk about those aspects of the program that will benefit you in your personal or career development. Business school is a two way process- you learn and you teach. As there are no other essays to mention how you will contribute, it will be alright to touch upon that in this essay.
Optional essay:
The following essay is optional. No preference is given in the evaluation process to applicants who submit an optional essay. Please note that we only accept written essays.
Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words maximum)
Re-applicants - one required essay:
(Reapplicants are those people who applied for the class entering in fall 2012 or 2013):
Please describe your career progress since you last applied and ways in which you have enhanced your candidacy. Include updates on short-term and long-term career goals, as well as your continued interest in UCLA Anderson. (700 words maximum)
Namita Garg,
www.mbadecoder.com
London Business School : Essay Guidelines for 2013-14
Application deadlines: Expect the first deadline in the first week of October
London Business school has released their essays through their new admissions blog. In his first post, Oliver Ashby from the MBA Recruitment & Admissions Team says, “We pride ourselves on our strong relationships with our students and our students remain close to LBS many years after graduation. So we are looking for applicants who will be part of the LBS family for life.”
Following are the essays and Mr. Ashby's analyses of them:
What will your future look like after completing your MBA? (500 words)
We are extremely focused on helping our students to achieve their goals and ambitions. This essay gives you the opportunity to share your future aspirations with us. They don't have to be ultra-specific but if your goals are particularly ambitious, you may want to think about some steps as to how you will achieve them and think about having a coherent back -up plan if they don't immediately work out. Also remember that your future can include other aspects of life, not just your career. Think about how your relationship with LBS will evolve in the years following your graduation.
What value will you add to London Business School? (300 words)
This essay is deliberately straightforward. At LBS, one of our core values is collaboration. We are looking for students who will be highly active members of the community. This might be membership of one of the many student clubs, helping fellow students in their jobs searches or myriad other contributions. You should think carefully about what you intend to bring to London Business School and your future classmates.
One of the most common failings we see in applications is an inability to differentiate between top business schools. Many applicants will apply to more than one school and that is absolutely fine. However, when you apply to different schools you should know exactly why you are applying to each specific school and how it is unique from other world-class institutions. If you can't tell the difference, you probably need to do some more research, think about visiting the school and speak to the admissions team.
What is the School's responsibility to you and what is your responsibility to the School? (400 words)
At London Business School we take our relationships with students very seriously. We firmly believe that the relationship between the school and our students should be a two way process. We believe that the LBS MBA is a well-rounded, transformative experience, but it is vital that from day one our students understand what they can expect from us in terms of support, and what we expect from our students in terms of contribution to the LBS community. Our community is vibrant, fun and extremely diverse. Though, when it comes to academic performance all LBS MBA students understand that the degree is a solemn undertaking and as a result, take their studies seriously. When answering this essay think about how you will approach your MBA studies and how you will manage the competing demands on your time. Feel free to be open about what you expect from us and what you believe the school should deliver both during your studies and after.
Video Essays: The Rising Fad Among B-schools:
ISB no longer has it, but some other b-schools have added it to their essay components. Accept it! Videos are the new hottie on the tech circuit; b-schools are adapting to them and in coming years, you are only going to be submitting more and more video essays. Some b-schools who require it this year are Kellogg and Yale in US and Rotman & Queens in Canada. ISB has decided to do away with it this year.
Kellogg's video essay has been introduced by the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Kate Smith. She says that, “This video essay is an opportunity for the Admissions Team to meet you - wherever you are in the world. Please approach this as a conversation with us. The spirit of the questions is for us to get to know you. There are no right or wrong answers”.
Following this, you can take a test to prepare yourself before recording your final answer. You get a randomly selected question on screen and will have 10 seconds to prepare for a 10 second screening.
So take out your best business suits Ladies and Gentlemen, even before you book your slots for the interviews.
Namita Garg,
www.mbadecoder.com
Essay Analysis for Michigan ROSS 2013-14:
1. Introduce yourself to your future Ross classmates in 100 words or less.
What would you tell about yourself to a group you are meeting for the first time in life? You want to make the right impression on them, so its likely going to be something interesting, or something fun.
Pick out 3-4 key personal characteristics about yourself and talk about these as an introduction.
A good way to build your story will be to ask your friends and family to come up with words and phrases that come to their mind when they think of you.
MBA Decoder's suggestions: Do not start by saying that “I am an engineer working in the IT sector”, because there's likelihood that 100 other applicants who have not read our valuable tip are writing this already. Look beyond your work sphere to give a sense of your personality.
Ross has broken up their career goals essay into 3 parts. This has been done to help applicants keep their focus on all aspects of their career goals answer, as specified by Soojin Kwon, Director of Admissions
a. What about your professional experiences has led you to determine that business school is the right next step? (150 words)
What has led you to consider an MBA? There could be several reasons, and we will mention a few here:
a) You would like to have a wider net of responsibilities, but you feel limited in your role.
b) You would like to change your industry or your function
c) You want to become an entrepreneur or learn to run your family business better.
d) Your move to the next level requires an MBA ( example: from business analyst to associate in Consulting)
e) You fancy a role that you have seen colleagues in your cross functional team performing and that role interests you as a next step in your career.
Any of these reasons will require you to scale up your knowledge and skill-set and get a number of tools and frameworks in your arsenal, through the MBA. Explain your limitations and then explain why/how the MBA will help you overcome them.
b. As you have researched MBA programs, what actions have you taken to learn more about Ross and what has led you to believe that Ross is the right MBA program for you? (150 words)
This is a 2 part question:
Part I – what actions have you taken to know Ross? B-schools like candidates who are vested in them and those who make an intelligent b-school selection based on their learning needs and the b-school's offerings. You could take action to know Ross through many ways: 1. Talk to students and alumni, 2. Attend info sessions- physical and online, 3. Student blogs/ You Tube Videos; 4. Visit the b-school.
In your answer, please specify 2-3 ways by which you have got to know the program better.
Part II – What aspects of the Ross program appealed to you during your research? Our suggestion will be to mention 2-3 solid reasons that make Ross relevant for your career objective, rather than listing 8-10 non-personalized reasons.
c. What career do you plan to pursue after business school and why? (150 words)
This is the regular career goals essay that we have explained several times. Please refer to our UCLA essay breakup.
3. Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What advice would you give to a colleague who was dealing with a similar situation? (400 word maximum)
The foremost thing that applicants should not miss out here is that this essay asks for a work related situation. Oftentimes things don't work out your way at the workplace, and this can lead to frustrations or disappointments. When was a time that you went through such a situation?
This could be a time when you or your team failed to achieve an objective, you faced a roadblock, your ethics/ value system was challenged, you were leading a divided team, you company/ team was not open to receiving your valuable ideas, etc. Take the reader through the situation, explaining what led to the frustrating situation and what you did thereafter.
The second part should be though about carefully. This attempts to understand the way you analyze unwarranted situations, process and handle issues. A person who works towards a mid-way solution rather than displaying an “I don't care” attitude will be score more points here. Similarly, applicants with matured outlooks will pass on a responsible and not emotional judgment to their colleagues.
4. Optional question: Is there anything not addressed elsewhere in the application that you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (300 word maximum)
Namita Garg,
http://www.mbadecoder.com
MASSIVE LIST OF B-SCHOOL DEADLINES- ROUND 1:
(key - ED- Early decision deadline, R- Regular deadline)
16-Sep Harvard
18-Sep Duke (ED)
24-Sep MIT
25-Sep Yale
1-Oct Wharton
1-Oct Ross
1-Oct Arizona Carey
1-Oct Vanderbilt (ED)
1-Oct Olin, St. Louis
2-Oct Stanford
2-Oct Columbia (ED)
2-Oct Cornell
3-Oct Booth
7-Oct Tepper
10-Oct Tuck (ED)
11-Oct Emory
15-Oct Darden
15-Oct Stern
15-Oct McCombs
15-Oct Georgia Tech
15-Oct Fisher Ohio
15-Oct USC Marshall
16-Oct kellogg
16-Oct Berkeley
€‹18-Oct Kenan-Flagler (ED)21-Oct Duke (R)
22-Oct UCLA
28-Oct Rice Jones
1-Nov Texas A&M;
1-Nov Smith, Maryland
1-Nov Carlson
4-Nov Mendoza
5-Nov SMU Cox
5-Nov Madison
6-Nov Tuck (R)
25-Nov Vanderbilt (R)
9-Dec Kenan-Flagler (R)
15-Oct Kelley (ED)1-Oct Arizona Carey
15-Oct Terry School of Business
1-Nov Smith School of Business-Maryland
1-Oct Owen-Vanderbilt (ED)
25-Nov Owen-Vanderbilt (R)
15-Oct USC Marshall
5-Nov Southern Methodist University -Cox
1-Oct Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis
1-Nov Carlson- University of Minnesota
5-Nov University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Business
28-Oct Rice Jones School of Business
Such a rich content is available on this thrread and very few are aware..
ISB's ESSAY ANALYSIS (2014):
ISB's essays this year require substantial self awareness and self-reflection. ISB clearly wants serious contenders in the game – people who have spent time pondering over their strengths and weaknesses, gaps and opportunities; and they are now raring to make a year-long investment in themselves.
Innovation or doing things differently it is said is a key to future success. Could you substantiate or negate this idea based on your experience. Please provide examples from your own experience – either examples of your own innovation or examples of others whom you have worked with. (300 words max)
Do you have an 'argument' in you? Because that's what ISB seeks. Make a case either for innovation as the key to future success or for innovation not being the most important factor in achieving success. Either way, you should give an example from your own life to support your belief.
'Innovation' & 'challenging the status quo' are the hottest buzz words in the b-school circles. An MBA education grooms budding leaders to take on the mantle of businesses in the future. Conceiving and doing new and different things is imperative to achieve success in this role. This forms the premise of a 'pro-argument' answer.
Focus your example upon the time when you led change ( by doing things differently) or you initiated a new process either at work or in your personal life. ISB has given you leeway to talk of situations where you were not the protagonist, but an observer or a team member. In either situation, present the problem briefly, then go on to explain the actions you or the others took. Specify what was the innovation/ change and why did it work. Don't just stop there, go ahead and give your analysis of the situation. Why do you think the innovative/change solution worked? As we mentioned, ISB wants a deep dive into your thought process, so give them some hard thinking and analyzing here.
Then link this example back to your initial argument and conclude.
One, at the most two examples will be sufficient to consume your 300 word limit.
If your argument is against the premise, then give your opinion on the other factors you believe to be precursors to success. Support your answer with apt examples in a similar way.
Applying to and enrolling in a Business School is an important career decision. Critically look at your career to date, the choices you have made, the key influences behind those choices, your goals for the future and how you expect to benefit from the ISB experience in achieving your goals. (300 words max)
Although this question is worded differently from the last few years', yet its essence largely remains the same: What are your career goals and how can ISB help you to achieve them?
A new element is the word “critically”. ISB wants you to get into deep introspection and offer some reflections on the choices that you have made so far. For example, what were your thoughts behind taking up your first job (as obvious, don't say that it's the only job you got) or for moving into sales after spending two years in a technical function. What was your vision for yourself? What direction were you giving to your career? What factors influenced your decisions? This part can easily consume your 300 words, so be careful to stress only upon the milestones and inflection points. Also, go beyond stating 'common fact' to giving deeper insights- a large part of the ISB class always knew it wanted to become engineer and had an undying love for computers/machines/ electronics- what extra can you add to this statement?
Once this ground is covered, define your career goals –both short term (3-5 years after MBA) and long term(5 years after MBA). Explain what skills and knowledge do you currently lack that are keeping you from achieving your career goals? How will an ISB MBA help you cover this gap? Specifically mention 3-4 features of the ISB program that are going to benefit you.
One of the following: A) This experience completely changed my way of thinking. OR B) An instance when you went out of the ordinary to achieve something significant, but in hind sight feel you could have done better. OR C) Tell us about your role in a team that made a significant contribution to the organization OR D) Contribution to peer learning and engagement with the ISB student body are important aspects of the ISB experience. What contribution do you expect to make in this direction during the one year at ISB. (200 words max)
The first two questions are in line with ISB's requirement of deep analysis and retrospection. We'll handle each one separately:
A). This experience completely changed my way of thinking: There are many possibilities here. To give you examples, you can talk about a situation where you were initially skeptical and resistant, but due to certain factors, your outlook changed slowly and eventually you became a firm believer. Another situation could have exposed you to new thoughts or ideologies, which impacted your thinking. Or, you could have experienced a drastically unfavorable situation, which changed your mindset irreversibly.
Mention this experience briefly, explaining the circumstances that led to changes in your thought process. Elaborate on what were these changes were and how did they impact you. How have you changed as a person because of this experience? What have you become now? Is that good or bad?
B). I achieved something significant, but…..: This is a tricky one. You persisted and achieved something significant but your effort could have been more. What could the adcom possibly want to hear? That you have the ability to reflect upon your actions and you are willing to keep striving, keep learning, keep bettering. That you are always evolving.
Oftentimes, we toil really hard to achieve an outcome, but we become complacent towards the end and slacken up. Take the adcom through one such instance in your life. Describe the situation, emphasizing upon how you went out of the ordinary to achieve the result. What impact did you create? What were your feelings at that time? Proceed to the next part- what led you to realize that you could have performed better and how? A nice ending would be to describe another instance where you applied learnings from this dissonance and achieved the result to your maximum potential.
C). Your significant contribution to a team: Throughout your personal/professional life, you will be required to work as part of many teams. How do you conduct yourself in a team? How do you contribute to your teams?
Describe a situation where impacted your team significantly. Give some description of the team and define your role within it. What were you collectively set out to achieve? What were your responsibilities? How did you deal with others in the team? What role did you play in keeping the team motivated and working cohesively? Did you go beyond what was expected of you to make an impact? Finally, how did this experience enhance your team skills?
D). Contributing to ISB: This question is meant for those applicants who have some praiseworthy talents or skills or some unique experiences, which they can use to enhance the experience of their ISB classmates. Talk about your talent/skill and then go on to say how you will contribute at ISB. A reality check is necessary out here. Talk to current ISB students and recent alumni and figure out whether what you plan to contribute is required at all. If you want to start a Golf Club for instance, its going to be wise to know that the b-school already does not have a Golf Club.
Please provide additional information, if any, that will significantly affect the consideration of your application to the ISB. (200 words max)
Is there anything else that you would like to tell the adcom? Use this space to mention achievements/ awards/ reasons for doing things or not doing them, etc. etc.
Namita Garg,
It never hurts to press "like". Do like my post if you found it helpful
Mission Executive courses at IIMs? Here's What You Need to Know!!
The IIMs open their applications for the executive MBA programs around April-June of every year. These programs are positioned for medium level managers who have substantial work experience, and are seeking accelerated career growth or a change in their job functions, building upon the skill set they have already acquired.
As the deadlines to these programs are fast approaching, in this blog, we will cover the class profiles and employment stats to help you decide between the programs, as well as the admissions requirements to get you going.
IIM Bangalore EPGP (Executive Post-Graduate Program) admissions window for 2014 opens between June 10 and August 29, 2014. Applications are to be submitted between this time period.
The eligibility criteria for EPGP is graduation with minimum 50% marks or equivalent CGPA and full-time work experience between 5 and 15 years. Applicants should have a minimum of 5 years of work experience by 31st March, 2015.
The applicants have to submit an online form, giving details of their academic and professional backgrounds, their GMAT scores, a statement of purpose and a reference letter. More on the Statement of purpose in another blog.
Here's a snapshot of the IIMB EPGP class- the class intake is between 60-75, average age is about 30 years, average work experience is 9.5 years and the median GMAT is 710, with the GMAT scores ranging from 650-740. About one third of the class has 9-10 years of work experience, while another third has 7-8 years of professional experience.
Roughly 55% of the incoming class (2013) has an IT products or services background, with 40% being employed in project or program management function. Talking about the post MBA recruitments, in 2013, about 50% of the class went back to the IT industry. However many students changed their functions to general management (33% students), business development (20% students) and client services & delivery (20% students). Average salary was about INR 22.5 lakhs.
The IIMA PGPX (Post Graduate Program in Management for Executives) admissions windows are open and the last date for submission is August 11, 2014. Interestingly, they incentivize applicants to submit early – if you apply on or before 6pm on 28th July you pay a rebated application fee of INR 3500, whereas you pay the full fee of INR 5,000 if you apply between 28th July (6pm) and 11th August.
Pressing the submit button is not a gut wrenching task, because you have to submit only a part of your application by this date. This includes the academic qualifications and professional history, GMAT score and other factual details. On clearing this stage, applicants are invited to submit the rest of the application, which requires 2 essays, 3 references (names only) and an interview.
In terms of eligibility, candidates must have completed 15 years of education and must be atleast 27 years of age on March 31st 2015.
The PGPX class intake is about 85 students. The class average age is 33.5 years, average work experience is 9.5 years and the average GMAT is 705. 83% students have had international experience. 84% of the class comprises of engineers, while 23% are from the IITs/ NIT. With all those IITians, needless to say, it's a tough admission to crack. The class has a more diverse mix as compared to IIMB in terms of the industry representation, with only about 32% coming from IT services.
The outgoing class is also a diverse mix in terms of their industry choices for job placements- in 2013, 21% students got into IT, another 21% into consulting, 14% into telecom and 12% into manufacturing. 44% of the class took up roles in General management, as compared to 33% of the IIM Bangalore EPGP candidates who went into general management. This could have a direct connection to the fact that IIMA has a general management focus, with case studies being the primary mode of teaching
IIM Calcutta's PGPEX (Post Graduate Program for Executive Management) has the same eligibility criteria as IIMB – a bachelor's degree, minimum 5 years of post (academic) qualification professional experience and a valid GMAT score. Applicants are required to submit a statement of purpose and recommendations from two refrees holding senior managerial position.
The application will become available from 27th June, 2014 and the admissions window is open between July 1st to 31st August, 2014.
The PGPEX class has an intake of about 50 students. Average GMAT is about 705, average work experience is about 8 years, with the largest chunk of class falling within the range of 7 to 10 years in work experience.
As per the 2012-13 recruitment report, 35% of the 40 students seeking jobs went into IT/ telecom sectors, 14% into consulting, 13% into general management, and 11% into marketing. The average salary offered was INR 19 lakhs.
Executive MBA (IPMX), at the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow-NOIDA Campus requires a minimum of 6 years of work experience (on 31st March, 2015), along with the other eligibility criteria of a valid GMAT score and academic/professional qualifications. Two letters of recommendations are required, of which at least one letter should be from a senior person at work.
The 2014 batch has 69 students with an average 9.4 years experience. Average age is 33 years, although 71% of the class is between 30-35 years. 83% of the students are engineers. 70% of the class comes from an IT services and products background, and 50% students have worked in program/project management.
IIM Indore has the same eligibility criteria as the other IIMs, with a minimum 5 year experience requirement. The Unlike the other IIMs, this one also accepts CAT scores. In a wired world, the application still has to be sent by snail mail, and the deadline for the receipt of the forms is 23rd June, 2014. Having crossed this date, any applicant who still has eyes on this IIM, needs to wait a year.
- See more at: http://mbadecoder.com/blog/#sthash.hqJkOI5t.dpuf
IIM BANGALORE- EPGP : WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Sixth of July, 2014 was a different start from the usually lazy Sunday morning. IIM Bangalore had its open day and the MBA Decoder team decided to attend.
There were some interesting facts that we learned from the Program Chairman, Admissions Head and the Head for Career Development Services and we share them here with you.
EPGP (Executive Post Graduate Programme) is target at mid to senior level managers with considerable work experience, who are keen on accelerating their careers. This is a one year intensive residential, general management program. Among its most prominent features are the “Shadow a CEO” for a day, the seminar Series and the International immersion.
The International Immersion started off with focus on the BRIC economies, but has now expanded to include South Korea and Singapore. This programme kicks off with a pre immersion week which involves a knowledge roundup on the country the class would visit. Thereafter students travel to the country for two weeks and work upon company projects in teams of 5-6. Upon their return they submit their reports on their experiences as well as on the company projects.
The EPGP program also has tie ups with about 90 international programs, with students regularly going on exchange programs. As a case in point, two students from the current batch are spending a term at Texas A&M University's Mays School of Business.
A feature of the EPGP that we really liked is its affiliation with Global Network for Advanced Management, which is a collaboration between 25 b-schools across the world, to prepare managers for businesses that are becoming increasing global and complex. Infact, EPGP is the only Indian b-school to be a part of this network. As part of this initiative, 3 current students are travelling to IE (Spain) while another 3 are going to Yale School of Management this year, thus adding to the international component in their MBA education.
The EPGP faculty discussed the admissions in detail. Here's a snapshot :
Yes, it is confirmed that a huge amount of importance is given to the GMAT score- applying with a 700+ is definitely beneficial. About 45% of the current batch had scored more than 700 on GMAT. Candidates do get in with lower scores as well, but they need to be exceptional in some way.
B-school is all about academics, so consistency in academics matters. GMAT scores alone are not the only criterion to judge your academic capability, weightage is given to your 10th & 12th standard marks in addition to your graduation marks. Surprisingly, each of the three academic component has 10% weight age, which according to us is a little vague. The applicant base comprises managers who have come a long way from their high school years and their grades during that period may not be reflective of their current academic capability. However, admissions is a subjective process and the adcom considers several factors before putting you in the admit pile. So do not get dissuaded if your early education grades are low; you may just greatly fit some other criterion.
As is the ongoing trend among b-schools, women have found tremendous support in the b-school circuit, and reasonably so. EPGP has just about 5 women in a class of 58. So women candidates, rejoice! You are going to be looked at with more reverence than ever before, and you are likely to find an easier passage to the IIMB gates as compared to the men folk.
EPGP has also taken its commitment to diversity very seriously. The current class composition points towards majority of engineers with about 60% employed in the IT industry. This skew is likely to lessen in the coming years, as the admissions team try to select a more diverse class. So doctors, sociologists, journalists et al, don't feel disadvantaged that you are not engineers, IIMB is looking for diverse talent be it related to your undergrad degree or your profession. Public sector candidates, who represent just 8% of the class composition now, also stand to gain in the new scheme of things.
International exposure and experience is also considered as important in bringing diversity to the class.
Do note that admissions are still not going to be a cake walk for anyone, with current selection rates hovering around 10%.
Placements are a student driven process and happen on a rolling basis starting from November. WeI found some facts quite amazing about the recruitments. A lot of b-schools that have a flagship program as strong as IIMB's PGP tend to overlook recruitments for the executive education class. Not so, here! The PGP and the EPGP have a common recruitment process with a common career services department for both programs. As a result, EPGP students draw advantage from the myriad of companies visiting the campus. The opportunities that open up to them, ofcourse are lateral.
The other praiseworthy feature is that the recruitment process is available to a student for upto two years after graduating. IIMB promotes entrepreneurship and encourages students to work in startups or start a company of their own. If these ventures do not take off, ex-students can join the current recruitment cycle upto two years after graduation. This reflects on how well the b-school nurtures its students!
As a first, the class of 2014 organized a startup fair, with 6 startups coming to campus.
IIMB is committed to community development. Graduating candidates are awarded with scholarships if they decide to go work for a social venture instead of opting for a corporate job.
Most EPGP students are able to change either their industry or their function upon graduating. The IT industry is the single largest recruiter, although there is a lot of movement between IT products and IT services.
So if any of you out there are still just thinking about applying, now is the time to get your act together. The admissions window is open from June 10-August 29.
If you don't know what to do, pick up the phone and give us a call!
Kellogg Essay Analysis 2014-15
1. Resilience. Perseverance. Grit. Call it what you will … challenges can build character. Describe a challenging experience you've had. How were you tested? What did you learn? (450 words)
Kellogg has always asked about challenging situations or obstacles in their essay lineup. This year, there is a little bit of a twist to it.
“Challenges can build character”!
We completely agree. Challenges bring us face-to-face with adverse situations, those that we are not used to handling. Coping with such situations requires that we step out of our comfort zones and take actions to overcome them. Along the way, we display persistence, our unbending spirit and the ability to bounce back. Needless to say, your example should embody these traits.
What is the challenging experience that you have had? Go on to describe the event, giving details that make the picture complete- Who were the other people involved? What was your role in the situation vis-à-vis theirs? What were the challenges that you faced? Did they arise from people or processes or both? Most important, how did you overcome them- what steps did you take to navigate your way through the situation?
To answer the cue “how were you tested”, some reflection is required on why you thought these were challenges in the first place. People view situations differently and your view of this situation will give the reader some idea about what you consider as difficult or easy. Where possible, mention what steps did you decide to take to overcome the situation and why? This detail is crucial because you are not just describing a one-off situation that required a quick fix; but you are telling about a time that led to your personal characteristics getting built/enhanced, which would have involved some thoughts, analyses and actions.
A reader who has got involved in your story would wait to know the outcome of your efforts, so do make a mention of it.
End the essay with your takeaways from this experience. What did you learn from this example and if applicable, how did you use that learning in future.
Personal or professional situation- the adcom has not given any specific directions as they have in the next question, so feel free to select a strong example from either sphere that hits the right chords.
2. Leadership requires an ability to collaborate with and motivate others. Describe a professional experience that required you to influence people. What did this experience teach you about working with others, and how will it make you a better leader? (450 words)Leadership is an all-pervasive component of the MBA education and influencing or motivating others to achieve a common goal is a quality of an able leader. The adcom has specifically asked for a professional experience where you influenced a person or a team to follow your ideas.
As in the situation of the previous question, your character is strengthened when you face resistance. Chances are that people did not buy into your idea at the first instance and that you had to reason with them, use persuasion, mild authority (in a nice way) or spot early adapters who would become your champions. Typically influencing others requires you to do some groundwork yourself – you may need to build a relationship with people to gain their trust, be receptive to their thoughts and ideas, be willing to compromise and include their perspectives in your plan. Whatever be your style, make the reader visualize your commitment to your vision, the multiple steps that you took to win people over and the individual's/team's gradual conversion to “aye”sayers.
You are the protagonist of this show, so take adequate credit for your work in influencing the team- don't downplay your role in the situation because that will not show you as a strong leader. On the reverse, over praising your actions can make you sound vain.
The situation would require you to use varying tactics with different people. What did you learn about other people's behavior or about your own style of dealing with them? Did you realize that you were great at reading people and altering your communication strategy accordingly? Or did you realize that you needed to be more accepting of other peoples thoughts? Whatever your key learnings, make an honest judgment of yourself. Lastly, how will you use these lessons in the future to become a more effective leader? If there is some component of the Kellogg program that you think will benefit you, then mention it here.
Additional questions:
Re-applicants: Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (250 word limit)The Video Essay:Kellogg had introduced a video essay last year as a way to interact with every applicant. The video makes your application all the more personable by giving a face to your name- this is pretty much the Kellogg way, a b-school that is known for its collegial environment and for the high value it places on relationships among students and faculty.
The change from last year is that Kellogg has removed one written essay and made that a video essay. So now you have two video questions to answer. We are reprinting their guidelines about the video essay over here:
- After submitting a completed application, each applicant will be asked to complete two video essay questions. One will be about the candidate's interest in Kellogg and the other will be a “getting to know you” type of question.
- There are 10 practice questions which candidates can complete as many times as they like to get comfortable with the format and technology. The practice questions and experience will simulate the actual video essay experience, so this is meant to be a useful tool and help applicants feel prepared.
- There is not an opportunity to re-do the answer to the official video essay questions. We encourage applicants to practice so they are comfortable with the format once it is time to complete the official questions.
- Candidates will have 20 seconds to think about their question and up to 1 minute to give their response.
- See more at: http://mbadecoder.com/blog/#sthash.QcE7Q9Ma.dpuf
Different MBA Formats:
You can do an MBA in different formats, depending upon your preference and requirement. There is the regular two year MBA, the one year MBA, executive MBA, evening MBA or weekend MBA - you can take your pick.
Click on the article URL to know more about each of the formats and then determine which is good for you:
For all of you interested in applying to the top US b-schools, we have compiled the class profiles of the latest class (2015). You can now view this information all at one place instead of going to individual websites of these b-schools.
Also, watch out for part TWO
Here's our part two of the class profile list for the top 21-40 US b-schools. Use this to make your analysis of how you stack up at these b-schools.
http://mbadecoder.com/class-profiles-top-business-schools-part-ii/