MBA申请文书指导：MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS: AVOID TOO MANY COOKS

JonFrank

Hey Guys, do you have any questions about MBA essays? Do you plan to share with others and ask for advice? Here is my opinion about it. I hope it will be helpful. As always, if you have a question about your applications, feel free to leave a comment here or send me a private message here or on Wechat. I'm happy to help!

Let’s set the scene:

You’re home for thanksgiving. You’ve just finished draft one of your MBA application essay.

“Hey, everyone,” you say, “I just finished my essay. I sure could use some notes.”

“Sure,” says your Mom, Dad, Uncle Farley, Aunt Monica, Great Uncle Craig and even Mr. Pearson, the creepy next door neighbor you don’t know that well.

“What are you doing here, Mr. Pearson?” you ask.

“Borrowing some sugar. I’ll get those essay notes back to you ASAP,” he says, closing the door behind him.

Okay, it’s great your friends and relatives want to help out (and that they can all be together for the Holidays!) But, in the MBA admissions consulting game, this is what we like to call too many cooks. In fact, exactly five too many cooks.

Hold onto your hats, I’m about to drop a knowledge bomb on you:

Instead of getting shallow feedback on your application from lots of people, it’s best to get deep feedback from just one person whose judgement you trust. Someone who knows your accomplishments, goals, strengths and weaknesses. If it’s a friend, great! Your Aunt Monica? Also great.

But your friend AND Aunt Monica AND that guy at work AND total strangers you’ve met in an MBA Admissions forum… not sogreat.

And here’s why:

1. Everyone’s got an opinion, and, oftentimes, those opinions contradict one another. So if your goal is to be stopped dead in your tracks, unsure of which way to turn for the next draft of your essays, then asking 100 people for their opinion is the best idea you’ve had all year. But if you want to make progress, and keep your message coherent (and your voice intact!), then you’re going to want to stick with one person’s feedback. And that one person better know you well (more on this in a second). A “crowdsourced” effort will only muddle your arguments and hide your voice. MBA Admissions committees will definitely notice if your essay sounds like aword-collage or, worse, like someone that is very clearly NOT you.

2. It’s more important that you get feedback from someone who knows YOU, not the individual programs.

This person should be about getting to know you, so you can get your best stories across in the most powerful, passionate and succinct way. Your job, as the applicant, is to present the best damn version of yourself that you can… no matter the school (or what the school is “known” for). What the adcom doesn’t want is a stack of apps from applicants that all look, sound, and feel the same. Kellogg may be known for marketing, but that doesn’t mean you should pose a “marketing” guy to get in. And you shouldn’t tell Wharton you’re a finance guy if that’s not really you. Every school wants diversity, so wouldn’t it be smarter to figure out what makes YOU stand out, put that front and center for the adcom, and, you know, stand out? Yup, exactly. So find the guy that knows YOU and helps you tell your story in the most compelling way, and just stick with him.

JonFrank

weih 发表于 2016-7-2 14:10
Hi, Frank;
In terms of your questions, I want to get into the top consulting firms after MBA study,  ...

Hey there,
Thanks for your note. So your goals should be doable, but once again the GMAT becomes ever more important. As you likely know recruiters at top consulting firms will ALSO take a look at your GMAT, and a GMAT of 700+ is usually necessary or at the very least helpful to land those jobs.

All the best,
Jon Frank

weih

Hi, Frank;
In terms of your questions, I want to get into the top consulting firms after MBA study, given my background in investment, I think it will suits the best if I can do investment consulting for corporate clients.

JonFrank

weih 发表于 2016-6-29 16:34
Hi, Frank:
It is very nice to meet you on the forum. I really need your advice on school selection. ...

Hey there,
Great to hear from you!
That’s a lot of questions!!!

So really the best thing would be for you to drop on our website and leave us your info for a free profile consultation. I could use some more info from you.

The first thing I CAN say from what you have written though is that it might be worth your while to retake the GMAT. I mean your profile seems pretty nice, with with a 660, you are going to make it hard for yourself.

Now even if it means studying a TON and delaying by a year, if you can hit a 700 it is worth it. And there is room for improvement there. Because that is the single thing that will help your application MOST.

Otherwise, as far as school selection, I always think you should go to the best school possible, but first if you help me understand your goals (what you want to get from the MBA practically) it will be easier for me to advise you.

I hope this helps, and I look forward to hearing from you again,
Best,
Jon Frank

weih

Hi, Frank:
It is very nice to meet you on the forum. I really need your advice on school selection. I scored 660 on the GMAT part, I know the score is not very satisfactory, but I tried my best, the sentence correction part isn't really my thing. In terms of my working experience, I run my own fund with other 5 partners trading both A share market and US market. As for what we do, we do wealth management for wealthy family in china, diversify risk, alternate investment and preserve principle and grow the capital for my client. It has been 4 years since the start of the business, we had some challenges at start, and we are doing well so far. In terms of my educational background, I graduated from Miami University with double major in Finance and Accounting, GPA is 3.53. Miami is famous for it business undergrad education. In addition, we ranked No.21st for CME commodity trading challenge in 2013 globally. My top choice includes CEIBS and Darden and HKUST, I do not know what chances are for me to be admitted. Do you have any suggestions on that? What would you suggest when writing essays.

mahahou

JonFrank 发表于 2015-11-14 10:26
Hello,
GREAT Question! But there is o one answer.

Thank you!!

JonFrank

mahahou 发表于 2015-11-9 17:14
Hey JF, it is very nice of you to help and share! I have a question for you:
What do you say if my ...

Hello,
GREAT Question! But there is o one answer.

What I mean is the you are 100% right that you need to make a good STORY somehow, but for each one it will be different, so I can’t tell you “ah do this story”… but you are right once again - make a story that is logical and appealing and it can work,

Best,
Jon

mahahou

JonFrank 发表于 2015-6-30 10:07
Do you have any questions about MBA essays?

Hey JF, it is very nice of you to help and share! I have a question for you:
What do you say if my long turn goal has nothing to do with my previous and current experience, how can I convince the adcom that I can make it? or should I just go for a conservative way of addressing my career goal? Thank you!

linkwineh

thank you so much, JF. I am working on my essays right now. I've read some of your posts. very helpful.
I notice that you helped many people. It's very kind of you.
Thank you again.

mollywww

very helpful thx