MBA Application Essays : Of Self-Introspection,Insights and other flaff

[pagalguy]

Originally Posted by Oxymoron

I mean really...does anyone of the ppl who got admitted seriously believe they got an admit for "what they are" rather than what they "projected"? ( Sure there could be cases where both were same and importantly fitted the kind of acceptable "insights" ).

Girish...!

Yep, I do believe I made it because of what I was and what I did. The toughest thing people would have done in their lives is introspection. An app process does end up forcing people to think and sometimes think on the lines of what an adcom might want to listen.

When we hire at PG, a resume is checked out in around 15 seconds. That is pretty much the time we have and we do end up making a good judgment based on our experiences. Similarly it is not tough for any adcom to figure out the faff.

Not saying any of the processes are perfect - just that a little introspection helps everyone involved . But if it stops right after the app process, the loser is again the applicant.

[kgkid]

Originally Posted by inblue

Guys, as much as I agree with this profile database thing, I have a different thought that I would want to share

How much does the profile really really really matter ?

Its pretty much the same right for most of us , right ?
I mean all of us have almost similar profiles ( barring a few exceptions - cyro defititely is one) . We are about 25 - 30 , worked in different sectors, done something different , etc.. etc. ( not to mention have decent GMAT scores )

I think more than the profile , what matters is how you present the story - how interesitng it is and how much the adcom belives in it.

What your failure is , how much have you actually learnt from failing and helped others learn from it. What your passion is - how much do you spread it ? How does it help you be a better person ?

Failures, passions, events are really really beyond the scope of a bulleted profile. They are YOURS , they are the application. ( this is what I belive ) I agree its your job, the adventures and your rise in the profession that brings events but having risen to a level the events are strictly personal and unique.

I guess, it is more of how much soul searching you do , how much heart pouring you undertake and how many outstanding/personal/ true events you present to your evaluators and let them see your personality.

What do other Pagals say ?

I concur. You are very mature for your age. Keep it up.

I also agree with Iday with every post he has on this thread.

[cracked-it]

Originally Posted by pagalguy

Yep, I do believe I made it because of what I was and what I did.

PG, I am sure you did. And I also know someone in W, perhaps rubbing shoulders with you, who did not. He was not even a team lead, forget being a PM, but he cooked up his experiences as a PM.

Iday,
I am working for the same company for last 8 years. And I don't believe that there are just 2 things that people do in cubicle (wonder what made you think so!) . I have the fastest promotions in my mid-size s/w company without ever 'sucking up'. But, would I have been so successful in a traditional manufacturing company with the same attitude? Hell no!

I sincerely feel that for most people, spicing up with the right keywords is necessary. It could be something as calling a 'casual conversation' a 'meeting', or something far more sophisticated as 'implying' ownership of something you have no business with.

Personally, make-ups make me uncomfortable though I believe that people without make-ups are at a serious disadvantage. If you are a Madhuri Dixit, you don't need any but if you are Ms Sherawat - push up!

[Susie Derkins]

Originally Posted by kgkid

I concur. You are very mature for your age. Keep it up.

I also agree with Iday with every post he has on this thread.

Err.. there's no doubt both inblue and Iday are intelligent mature individuals but NOT for the reasons you site! Come on... they are just telling you what you'll find on every "Ask XYZ" thread on BW Forums and every consultant's website.

[iday]

Originally Posted by Oxymoron

I mean really...does anyone of the ppl who got admitted seriously believe they got an admit for "what they are" rather than what they "projected"? ( Sure there could be cases where both were same and importantly fitted the kind of acceptable "insights" ).

I do (i guess u'd have expected me to come out with this response)

"what you are" doesnt make the insights part.
"what you projected you to be" also doesnt make the insights part.

"why you are what you are" makes the insight part. And it takes some serious digging to understand how ur life has shaped up over the years. When i wrote Stanford's famous "What matters most to you and why" essay, i learned a lot about me than i thought i knew Needless to say, i went back to my other essays and made changes. I guess if i were to write my essays again, they'd come out differently.

[iday]

Originally Posted by cracked-it

PG, I am sure you did. And I also know someone in W, perhaps rubbing shoulders with you, who did not. He was not even a team lead, forget being a PM, but he cooked up his experiences as a PM.

Sir - there are ppl who do it. The questions here is "Is this the best thing for you" or "Is this what you advocate ppl to do". The school wud have taken this xyz for the experiences he brings in as a PM (which were evaluated based on the cooked up experiences he presented in the essays) and these cooked up experiences are gonna be really shallow. Ask follow up questions in these experiences and they're again gonna be cooked up. I don't see any value to anyone here.

But i agree, such ppl exist.

Originally Posted by cracked-it

Iday,
I am working for the same company for last 8 years. And I don't believe that there are just 2 things that people do in cubicle (wonder what made you think so!) . I have the fastest promotions in my mid-size s/w company without ever 'sucking up'. But, would I have been so successful in a traditional manufacturing company with the same attitude? Hell no!

I am sorry - i did not say ppl do only these two things in the cubicle. There was a previous post which said that and i was only opposing that view In fact u and I are on the same side w.r.t to this at least i guess.
Career progress varies between industries, which AdComs understand for sure. They know enough to rate an individual's career progress based on the background of the industry where the applicant is working

Originally Posted by cracked-it

I sincerely feel that for most people, spicing up with the right keywords is necessary.

spicing up is fine. I was arguing against the school of thought that ppl will not have experiences to write in their essays. This i totally disagree with. If you had applied with 3 or 4 yrs of experience, you would have still had enuf experiences (albeit different from the experiences you'd mention if ur applying today) to fill up your essays. I cannot simply understand the point that people will not have anything to speak about after 3, 4 or 5 yrs in a job. I dont see how that is possible.

Originally Posted by cracked-it

Personally, make-ups make me uncomfortable though I believe that people without make-ups are at a serious disadvantage. If you are a Madhuri Dixit, you don't need any but if you are Ms Sherawat - push up!

ROFL...
The point i am making is that the USPs of Madhuri and Mallika are different. In the apping world, you project the USPs (spiced up words - yes). You dont create USPs

Hope i made myself clear

[iday]

Originally Posted by Susie Derkins

Err.. there's no doubt both inblue and Iday are intelligent mature individuals but NOT for the reasons you site! Come on... they are just telling you what you'll find on every "Ask XYZ" thread on BW Forums and every consultant's website.

LOL
I havent been to the BW forums to more than 5 times all my life

The point here is not saying what the world says
I'm saying what i know, based on what i learnt in the past few months/years. I do accept some or all of what i say could be wrong.

If it is the same stuff as what these folks say, well it only makes a prospective business case for me Admissions consultant - sounds good I hear they earn buckets of money.

[rickyricks]

Originally Posted by cracked-it

I have the fastest promotions in my mid-size s/w company without ever 'sucking up'. But, would I have been so successful in a traditional manufacturing company with the same attitude? Hell no!

well cracked-it - i have been working in a "traditional manufacturing company" for the last 30 months and have had my share of success. I did have offer frm s/w companies during campus placements, but for the reason i hate coding, i decided against them. Though I have had a tough time in making myself clear to my oldie bosses, but again the opportunities in terms of ppl handling have been simply gr8.

My point it is that it really doesnt matter which industry/sector one is coming frm, rather it is best use of ur work time that would determine the strenght of ur application. In this forum itself, we have admits, including myself, who dont have top of the world stellar achievements. I also know ppl who have been working since 1-2 yrs to diversify their profile in terms of ECA or community work. But again the differentiating factor for the admits continues to be the personal story that one is able to portray in the essays.

[aim-wsc]

Sorry guys i have not read the entire thread and posting ... but couldnt resist after reading the post #8.

(Well! one suggestion to MODs / admin: plz change the title.. its not GMAT essay.. its MBA admissions Essays....same suggested susie also i think... )

i ll post one more after reading full thread...

Originally Posted by iday

susie, oxymoron and cracked-it,

I could not hold back

As a cubicle worker, .....
too less.

I have just two words in Hindi two words in English and two smilies for you
PHOD DIYA
SHOW STOPPER

[znaamed]

Although I have not applied to any bschool this year
I couldn't help chipping in. I have visited this board
Occasionally and I have found it to be a treasure trove
of information. As a future applicant I find the views
put forward by inblue and iday to be the most useful.
When I started researching schools and
looked at the essays, that’s when my “introspection” began.
Now if I try to “cook up insights”, the insights won’t really
Be mine, will they? I feel cooking up insights beats the whole
Purpose and the adcom will not get to see the real you, which I
Think is the purpose behind the essays. Please correct me if I am wrong.
I just find it hard to believe that there are people who make up stuff
. I totally agree that one needs to spice up one’s essays,
But I feel a lot of people will be misguided if they are told to cook up
insights rather than being told to work on improving their profiles and
Introspecting.

@susie
Would you really recommend that a future applicant try out your
Method (I know you just did, but double checking)? Did you go about the whole application process with this mindset?
I really wanna know, coz I really really like Ross and I find it hard to believe
That anyone could have followed this approach and obtained an admit. BTW congrats
On the Ross admit!!