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

[Susie Derkins]

Originally Posted by rickyricks

this guy understood the global warning problem only after scaling the mountains. i am sure thr are better ways to know abt global warning.

=)) Really made me smile.

[inblue]

Originally Posted by rickyricks

i am sure thr are better ways to know abt global warning.

Definitely there are.

Originally Posted by rickyricks

If MIT has this article on its home page, one can know what type of essay writing B-Schools expect from applicants. If one feels strongly about a topic, he/she is expected to weave a storyline around that topic and in the process reveal his/her thought process. And this is the same talk that we repeatedly hear from ad-com and current students abt selling ur story to the school.

May be 1 or 2 essays in an app with this passion/story can be interesitng.
I am sure ad comm dont want all essays written this dramatically. Said that, I personally used some drama in some essays but not all- not the goals or criticisms or failures. They would definitely apperciate and expect crisp and straight forward writing on critical questions.

[Crash_test_dummy]

Originally Posted by rickyricks

(While standing atop Mt. Kilimanjaro in July 2003, Andrew McInnes, MBA ’07, observed firsthand the effects of global warming and realized something had to be done............)

this guy understood the global warning problem only after scaling the mountains. i am sure thr are better ways to know abt global warning.

If MIT has this article on its home page, one can know what type of essay writing B-Schools expect from applicants. If one feels strongly about a topic, he/she is expected to weave a storyline around that topic and in the process reveal his/her thought process.

The guy not only cleverly conveyed that he's been a trekker and that he's well-travelled(good example of extracurricular activities/teamwork) but also drew a dramatic "insight" out of it. For bonus kicks, he'd also like to save the world from global warming...and for that, he needs an MBA...waah!

“The Snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro were nearly gone,” he explains, “and as a mountaineer, I felt a moral obligation to bring them back. This is a huge problem, and it may not be solved in my lifetime but I’m alright with that so long as in my professional life I am doing something that contributes to solving this problem. I remain confident in our ability to come together as people to have a real impact. When we do, I look forward to seeing the return of the snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro.”

Its kinda strange how Andrew completely missed that mother-of-all-iceblocks twice the size of TEXAS that floated off the antartic last year, but the exotic Kilimanjaro would do just fine for an essay. If i were on the adcom, Andrew would be king. We all could do with a resident on-campus superhero, no?

Interesting tactic: Reverse-engineer your life experiences to churn out insights. Think up an insight you wanna convey, select some life experience you had (or didnt have, at your own risk), connect the two in some logical way, click "submit".

[iday]

Originally Posted by itsrahul

u mean PMs! don't u

as an afterthought, it wud be gr8 if pg comes up with an instant messenger of its own. it wud be fun having a group-conversation

nope!
offline = contact the girl on her mobile
there is a certain someone here who is ready to disclose the number for impressive offerings
PM me

PS: Susie - i'm only trying to accumulate money for the expensive dinner you wanted to have

[iday]

Though a bit of drama is fine, i think we shud also remember to keep everything within the limits of reality.

If i were the AdComm, i'd be asking - tell me how u r gonna do it. If u can carry that off, u shud really go ahead

[Susie Derkins]

Originally Posted by iday

PS: Susie - i'm only trying to accumulate money for the expensive dinner you wanted to have

Well... beg, borrow, steal but don't give away my personal details! You know how I love hiding behind 'Susie'!

[NegativeCreep]

Originally Posted by inblue

Definitely there are.



May be 1 or 2 essays in an app with this passion/story can be interesitng.
I am sure ad comm dont want all essays written this dramatically. Said that, I personally used some drama in some essays but not all- not the goals or criticisms or failures. They would definitely apperciate and expect crisp and straight forward writing on critical questions.

When you say critical questions, which ones do ya mean? Do you actually believe that in an application with 3 or 4 essays, any sane AdComm would set an essay topic that is NOT critical? When they know that said essays will probably be THE biggest differentiators among tons of similar applications? Get real.

EVERY essay question is super important, and is there for a very specific reason. And if I was AdComm guy, reading upto 10 applications every day, I would obviously identify with the ONE application whose essays were colorful and gripping and not with the nine other 'straight-forward' applications. So yes, I firmly believe that EVERY essay in a package needs to be telling a story, and telling it in a manner to wrap the reader around its fingers and make him feel your story. Writing in a crisp fashion is OK, but hey, this is a B-school application, and pretty much every applicant can manage to string together an essay half-decently at least, and a majority can write crisply. So how do you give yourself the edge and make yourself stand out? Give them a story.

[monica4mba]

wow....
this thread is really cool...
kudos to all the pple here with so much insights...