This post analyzes the essay questions for Fall 2008 Admission to RSM Erasmus University's International Full-Time MBA Program. In doing so, I will make reference to the Information Session and Masterclass that I attended in Tokyo on November 13, 2007. Depending on what chart you look at RSM ranks 18th (Wall Street Journal Recruiter's Poll), 30th (Financial Times), and 46th (Economist Intelligence Unit), and receives an honorable mention, but is unranked in Businessweek (but they only rank the top ten internationally). You might ask why I am blogging about RSM's essays, when I have yet to cover higher ranked European Programs like INSEAD, IMD, SDA Bocconi, and London Business School. Actually, I have partially covered LBS already and will finish analyzing their questions, after I stop feeling like they are watching me :) , but there are a few reasons why I wanted to cover RSM.
First, I wanted to cover a mid-ranked program that has a very solid ROI. Consider this, the typical RSM graduate forgoes a mean of $39,031 and afterwards the mean base salary for most recent graduates is $114,480 (data taken from Businessweek). To me that signifies a serious improvement in one's career opportunities. Whatever one thinks of the Wall Street Journal's Recruiter's Poll, the very fact that RSM ranks 18th internationally (everywhere but US programs) is a good indicator of the market value of the degree.
Second, London Business School, INSEAD, HEC, Cambridge, RSM, Oxford, and SDA Bocconi are the European MBA Programs I have the most experience with (actually basically in that order). I have helped clients get into other programs in Europe, but those are the schools I know best. Therefore I think RSM is a good place to start.
Third, I attended the RSM Information Session last week, so I want to get my thoughts down before I forget them.
Let's take a look at RSM's essay questions. I took them from the online application:
Please respond fully but concisely to this question, ensuring it does NOT exceed 500 words. The essays form an integral role in the application and selection procedure. Before you begin preparing your essays, you are requested to conduct a thorough self-assessment. The essays are meant to present a unique picture of you. The Admissions Committee is interested to learn about you, what your values are and the distinctive qualities that make you an interesting candidate for our MBA Program.
REQUIRED ESSAY 1 How do you see your career developing and how will earning the RSM Erasmus University MBA help you achieve your goals?
REQUIRED ESSAY 2 At RSM we value total diversity. How does that apply to you?
REQUIRED ESSAY 3 Describe the most difficult decision you have made and its personal effect on you.
OPTIONAL ESSAY 4 Please feel free to supply any additional information that you believe would be helpful to the Admissions Committee in making the final decision on your application.
Based on the Information Session and Master Class I attended, I think it is particularly important to pay attention to the directions "to conduct a thorough self-assessment" because RSM is school where there is a great deal of attention paid to self-development. In fact, the Masterclass by Dr. Bill Collins (you can watch a video of him on the RSM website), focused on issues very much related to personal career development. His interactive presentation, "Finding a Fit: Psychological Contracts and Organization Fit," was actually about some ways of thinking about managing ones career. The presentation was actually an excerpt from RSM's First Term Core Course, "Organizational Behavior."
Another core part of the RSM curriculum that is focused on personal development is the Personal Leadership Development (PLD):
Our one-year Personal Leadership Development programme , which runs concurrent to the other courses in the programme, is designed to develop in you the skills necessary for effective leadership in international business.
At times confronting and demanding, this course demands you to engage in the intense process of personal behavioural change. Through workshops, group work, discussions and case studies, you will examine and reflect on both your ability to manage people, and your ability to manage yourself.
Given RSM's focus on self-development, it is clearly very important that your essays reveal your own openness to such an approach. If you are less interested in such an approach to management education, RSM is probably not a good choice for you.
REQUIRED ESSAY 1 How do you see your career developing and how will earning the RSM Erasmus University MBA help you achieve your goals?
This a standard goals essay. Obviously to discuss the development of your career, you need to discuss it up to this point, but given the length limits, you should emphasize why an MBA from RSM will contribute to your goals. Given that this does need to be a highly evaluative response, I suggest using my goals analysis table to clarify what your goals are and how an MBA from RSM will help you achieve them.
The emphasis of this essay is clearly on the future, so while you will certainly need to reference your past experience in order to explain how you see your career, you should focus your essay on your goals and how RSM will help you achieve them.
Finally, in her presentation, Dianne Bevelander, the Executive Director of MBA Programmes, specifically made the point that the mission of RSM is to educate business leaders who support sustainability, not people who simply want to make money. Actually I am not sure why she found this necessary to say or what it was supposed to be in contrast to because no ever I have worked with wrote in their application that their goal was to become rich. Anyway, given the strong way she phrased it, all applicants would do well to consider the relationship of their goals to sustainable enterprise. See RSM's "about us" statement.
REQUIRED ESSAY 2 At RSM we value total diversity. How does that apply to you?
It can't be emphasized enough that RSM does really value total diversity. Just look at the class profile. At the Tokyo event, Diane Bevelander also discussed that this diversity also extended to the faculty.
Clearly, you need to be a part of this diversity. In other words, you need to contribute to it. Which is to say, this is a contribution question. Please read my analysis of such questions, here.
I suggest focusing on some specific ways that you will contribute to RSM. In particular, think about what personal qualities and experiences that you have that are likely to be helpful to other students.
Finally, I think it is very important to understand the critical role diversity plays in the expected outcome of an RSM MBA education:
Students emerge from the programme with the personal skills to connect, inspire, motivate and leverage powerful networks across diversity – a defining quality of successful business leadership.
Therefore you want to think about how your personal skills will contribute to this educational outcome both for yourself and your fellow students.
REQUIRED ESSAY 3 Describe the most difficult decision you have made and its personal effect on you. According to the RSM ERASMUS UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL FULL-TIME MBA Brochure:
We recognize that there are three elements to successful management- first, the capacity to think critically, conceptually, and creatively: second, the ability to make informed decisions and third, the capacity to interact successfully with other people.
If you think about about the second element, it applies directly to this question. The structure of an essay like this is not actually very different from that of an ethical dilemma or failure or possibly a leadership essay:
1. Explain what the decision was and why it was the most difficult for you to make.
2. Explain what you did. Remember to analyze, not just describe what you did.
3. Explain its impact on you. Keep in mind the word "personal." Specifically, think how this decision effected your viewpoint and/or your life. What did you learn? How have you applied what you learned since that time?
OPTIONAL ESSAY 4 Please feel free to supply any additional information that you believe would be helpful to the Admissions Committee in making the final decision on your application.
This is not really optional from my perspective. Unlike school's that use the optional essay for only reporting on something that needs to be explained, this is a space for also talking about something positive. In fact, even if you have to talk about something negative, say GPA, you should most certainly use part of this space to discuss an aspect of who you are that you were unable to cover elsewhere.
A note of caution: Assuming you are applying to other programs, make certain that whatever you put here does not look like the obvious answer to a question posed by another school.
I always treat optional questions of this type as balance essays, that is to say, you should use the answer here to balance out what you covered elsewhere by emphasizing another aspect of who you are. This question is thus similar to HBS 3f. and Wharton 4.2.
Finally, as is generally the case, you should try to have a good balance of personal, academic, and professional content in your essays so that RSM admissions can understand who you are and ideally see why you fit at RSM.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 面接
November 21, 2007
November 14, 2007
LBS is monitoring who attends their events Part 2
As I reported in an earlier post, I had received an email on November 3rd from the London Business School Stating that I had not attended their event:
Dear Adam,
Thank you for your interest in the Full-time MBA Programme.
Our records show that you weren't able to attend our recent Information Session. We're sorry to have missed this opportunity to meet you....
This may made realize that LBS is watching who attends their events and using software to track it. It made me wonder whether they were factoring into their admissions decisions.
This was the email I sent to sent to LBS on November 3rd:
Dear Ms. Blundell,
In reference to your email, the only event I registered for was on October 9th in Tokyo. I attended that event and my name was properly checked-off at that time. What is the following in reference to? Will my supposed failure to attend your event (not sure which) be held against me? Do you take event attendance into account when reviewing applications?
Thank you for your attention to this matter:
Sincerely,
Adam Markus
I received the following reply on November 12th:
Dear Adam
Thank you for your confirmation that you attended the recent London Business School event. Please accept our apologies for the error that occurred in recording the attendance list. Please be assured that this error has now been amended and future follow ups will include you as having attended the session.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further information.
Best regards
It was sent by Caroline Chukwuma, Information Officer from the MBAInfo@london.edu account. I replied on the 13th:
Dear Ms. Chukwuma,
Thank you for your correction. I was wondering whether you take such event attendance into account when making admissions decisions. Should I attend more events?
Sincerely,
Adam
Less than an hour later on the 14th, I received the following reply:
Dear Adam
Thank you for your email and for your interest in London Business School.
It will certainly not hurt your application if you visit the School on a few occasion to find more about the community.
Best regards,
You can draw your own conclusions from this response, but it seems to me if you really want to attend LBS, even if you are already really well informed about the school, you better attend their official admissions events and, if possible, visit the school. London Business School is Watching!
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
MBA留学
Dear Adam,
Thank you for your interest in the Full-time MBA Programme.
Our records show that you weren't able to attend our recent Information Session. We're sorry to have missed this opportunity to meet you....
This may made realize that LBS is watching who attends their events and using software to track it. It made me wonder whether they were factoring into their admissions decisions.
This was the email I sent to sent to LBS on November 3rd:
Dear Ms. Blundell,
In reference to your email, the only event I registered for was on October 9th in Tokyo. I attended that event and my name was properly checked-off at that time. What is the following in reference to? Will my supposed failure to attend your event (not sure which) be held against me? Do you take event attendance into account when reviewing applications?
Thank you for your attention to this matter:
Sincerely,
Adam Markus
I received the following reply on November 12th:
Dear Adam
Thank you for your confirmation that you attended the recent London Business School event. Please accept our apologies for the error that occurred in recording the attendance list. Please be assured that this error has now been amended and future follow ups will include you as having attended the session.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further information.
Best regards
It was sent by Caroline Chukwuma, Information Officer from the MBAInfo@london.edu account. I replied on the 13th:
Dear Ms. Chukwuma,
Thank you for your correction. I was wondering whether you take such event attendance into account when making admissions decisions. Should I attend more events?
Sincerely,
Adam
Less than an hour later on the 14th, I received the following reply:
Dear Adam
Thank you for your email and for your interest in London Business School.
It will certainly not hurt your application if you visit the School on a few occasion to find more about the community.
Best regards,
You can draw your own conclusions from this response, but it seems to me if you really want to attend LBS, even if you are already really well informed about the school, you better attend their official admissions events and, if possible, visit the school. London Business School is Watching!
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
MBA留学
November 11, 2007
Duke Fuqua MBA Essays for Fall 2008 Entry
In this post, I will analyze Duke University 's Fuqua School of Business MBA Essays for Fall 2008 Entry.
Take a close look at the Fuqua's website including the video Higher and Higher which you can find here. The video will give a general sense what Fuqua takes pride in and an idea of some the core characteristics of the school that you need to understand. You should also look at the video Community Service Day because it relates directly to Fuqua's slogan "We Educate Thoughtful Business Leaders Worldwide." You want to show to Fuqua that you have the potential to be a thoughtful business leader.
First let's look at the essay topics as well as the complete instructions:
Two short essay answer questions and two long essays must be completed before submitting your application. Prepare your essays carefully. The Admissions Committee considers your responses to the following questions important in the selection process. Please respond fully and concisely using 1.5 line spacing.
Short Essay 1. Why are you interested in The Duke MBA and how will it help you achieve your goals? Please also discuss your career path, including your short and long-term professional goals. If you are interested in the Health Sector Management concentration or a joint degree program, please address in this essay.
You should at minimum provide a very direct answer to Duke's question:
1. Clearly state how a Duke MBA will help you achieve your short-term goal(s).
2. Clearly state how a Duke MBA will help you achieve your long-term goal(s).
3. Briefly discuss your career path, but given the length of this essay, don't overemphasize it. This essay should be focused on the future, not the past. Simply explain why now is the right time to pursue an MBA making brief analytical reference to to your career path.
Ideally you should really dig into the Duke MBA program to figure out what parts of it really attract you. They know you want an MBA, but why a Duke MBA? Convince them that your goals are best met by attending Fuqua.
Short Essay 2. How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua's diverse culture?
I have already analyzed this question in my previous post on contribution questions.
1. Please respond fully and concisely to one of the following three essay topics. Clearly identify which question you have selected
All three of these questions, each in their own way focus on the theme of leadership. Note the request to respond concisely, which means don't write much more than about 10% over the 750, they recommend as typical. Try to limit yourself to about 825 words maximum.
a.Describe an example of where you were challenged to lead in a team-oriented context. What was the challenge you faced, how did you address it, and what takeaways or lessons learned have you successfully applied in other leadership situations?
Please see my post about leadership questions because much of what I suggest there applies here, especially in terms of how to structure your essay. Also see my analysis of MIT's essay questions 1 and 2.
b. Describe a situation in which your ability to perform ethically was challenged. What was the issue, how did you handle it, and what did you learn from it?
The structure of this essay is actually stated in the question:
1. Clearly state what the ethical issue was. Provide sufficient context for doing so, but really begin with the issue so that your reader will understand it clearly. If you are having difficulty understanding what ethical issues are, I suggest taking a look at at the Institute for Global Ethics. Also see Business Ethics Research - Knowledge@Wharton.
Another good site to look at is CasePlace.org, which I discussed in an earlier post.
2. Describe how you handled it. You may want to structure your answer using the method I provide for answering leadership questions. By the way if you think, I am emphasizing the idea that this is a leadership question, you are right.
3. State what you learned. As with failure essays, the learning aspect is very important. The most concrete demonstration of learning is application to another situation, so if that is possible to include, I would do so.
Keep in mind that Fuqua itself experienced a scandal in 2007 involving 34 MBA students (all members of the Class of 2008) who cheated on an exam, the largest such episode ever in the history of Duke University. Therefore if you write on ethics, you should certainly show that you have achieved an understanding of ethical issues consistent with the Fuqua Honor Code.
C. Describe a significant leadership failure in your life. What did you learn from this failure? How has it impacted who you are today and the kind of leader you would like to be?
Beyond being about failure, this essay is about the development of your leadership skills and leadership self-image from the past to the future. That said, this is partially a standard failure question except that the failure must relate to your leadership. As with other failure questions what you learned is critical. Additionally, how you applied this lesson afterwards is something you should must certainly explain in detail. Beyond that lesson, think about the future and the kind of leader you want to be. I suggest reviewing my analysis of both leadership and failure questions.
2. How has your personal history and family background influenced your intellectual and personal development? What unique personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally.
I have already analyzed this question in my previous post on contribution questions.
All applicants have the opportunity to submit an optional essay to explain any extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware.
Extenuating circumstances would be things like not being able to use your direct supervisor as a recommender, gaps in your employment record, and/or a weak GPA, TOEFL, and/or GMAT. This essay is thus no different from Chicago GSB's Optional Essay.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 インタビュー 面接
Take a close look at the Fuqua's website including the video Higher and Higher which you can find here. The video will give a general sense what Fuqua takes pride in and an idea of some the core characteristics of the school that you need to understand. You should also look at the video Community Service Day because it relates directly to Fuqua's slogan "We Educate Thoughtful Business Leaders Worldwide." You want to show to Fuqua that you have the potential to be a thoughtful business leader.
First let's look at the essay topics as well as the complete instructions:
Two short essay answer questions and two long essays must be completed before submitting your application. Prepare your essays carefully. The Admissions Committee considers your responses to the following questions important in the selection process. Please respond fully and concisely using 1.5 line spacing.
Applicant Essays
Short Essays - Answer both short essay questions.
- Why are you interested in The Duke MBA and how will it help you achieve your goals? Please also discuss your career path, including your short and long-term professional goals. If you are interested in the Health Sector Management concentration or a joint degree program, please address in this essay.
- How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua's diverse culture?
- Please respond fully and concisely to one of the following three essay topics. Clearly identify which question you have selected.
- Describe an example of where you were challenged to lead in a team-oriented context. What was the challenge you faced, how did you address it, and what takeaways or lessons learned have you successfully applied in other leadership situations?
- Describe a situation in which your ability to perform ethically was challenged. What was the issue, how did you handle it, and what did you learn from it?
- Describe a significant leadership failure in your life. What did you learn from this failure? How has it impacted who you are today and the kind of leader you would like to be?
- How has your personal history and family background influenced your intellectual and personal development? What unique personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally.
Short Essay 1. Why are you interested in The Duke MBA and how will it help you achieve your goals? Please also discuss your career path, including your short and long-term professional goals. If you are interested in the Health Sector Management concentration or a joint degree program, please address in this essay.
You should at minimum provide a very direct answer to Duke's question:
1. Clearly state how a Duke MBA will help you achieve your short-term goal(s).
2. Clearly state how a Duke MBA will help you achieve your long-term goal(s).
3. Briefly discuss your career path, but given the length of this essay, don't overemphasize it. This essay should be focused on the future, not the past. Simply explain why now is the right time to pursue an MBA making brief analytical reference to to your career path.
Ideally you should really dig into the Duke MBA program to figure out what parts of it really attract you. They know you want an MBA, but why a Duke MBA? Convince them that your goals are best met by attending Fuqua.
Short Essay 2. How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua's diverse culture?
I have already analyzed this question in my previous post on contribution questions.
1. Please respond fully and concisely to one of the following three essay topics. Clearly identify which question you have selected
All three of these questions, each in their own way focus on the theme of leadership. Note the request to respond concisely, which means don't write much more than about 10% over the 750, they recommend as typical. Try to limit yourself to about 825 words maximum.
a.Describe an example of where you were challenged to lead in a team-oriented context. What was the challenge you faced, how did you address it, and what takeaways or lessons learned have you successfully applied in other leadership situations?
Please see my post about leadership questions because much of what I suggest there applies here, especially in terms of how to structure your essay. Also see my analysis of MIT's essay questions 1 and 2.
b. Describe a situation in which your ability to perform ethically was challenged. What was the issue, how did you handle it, and what did you learn from it?
The structure of this essay is actually stated in the question:
1. Clearly state what the ethical issue was. Provide sufficient context for doing so, but really begin with the issue so that your reader will understand it clearly. If you are having difficulty understanding what ethical issues are, I suggest taking a look at at the Institute for Global Ethics. Also see Business Ethics Research - Knowledge@Wharton.
Another good site to look at is CasePlace.org, which I discussed in an earlier post.
2. Describe how you handled it. You may want to structure your answer using the method I provide for answering leadership questions. By the way if you think, I am emphasizing the idea that this is a leadership question, you are right.
3. State what you learned. As with failure essays, the learning aspect is very important. The most concrete demonstration of learning is application to another situation, so if that is possible to include, I would do so.
Keep in mind that Fuqua itself experienced a scandal in 2007 involving 34 MBA students (all members of the Class of 2008) who cheated on an exam, the largest such episode ever in the history of Duke University. Therefore if you write on ethics, you should certainly show that you have achieved an understanding of ethical issues consistent with the Fuqua Honor Code.
C. Describe a significant leadership failure in your life. What did you learn from this failure? How has it impacted who you are today and the kind of leader you would like to be?
Beyond being about failure, this essay is about the development of your leadership skills and leadership self-image from the past to the future. That said, this is partially a standard failure question except that the failure must relate to your leadership. As with other failure questions what you learned is critical. Additionally, how you applied this lesson afterwards is something you should must certainly explain in detail. Beyond that lesson, think about the future and the kind of leader you want to be. I suggest reviewing my analysis of both leadership and failure questions.
2. How has your personal history and family background influenced your intellectual and personal development? What unique personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally.
I have already analyzed this question in my previous post on contribution questions.
All applicants have the opportunity to submit an optional essay to explain any extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware.
Extenuating circumstances would be things like not being able to use your direct supervisor as a recommender, gaps in your employment record, and/or a weak GPA, TOEFL, and/or GMAT. This essay is thus no different from Chicago GSB's Optional Essay.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 インタビュー 面接
November 10, 2007
Fewer Women at European MBA Programs
Female applicants applying to European programs should take a look at Why Women Refrain From Pursuing MBAs. The article, from the November 9th Wall Street Journal discusses specifically why there are relatively low percentages of women in most MBA programs in Europe, especially the top ones:
Theories abound to explain why more women aren't seeking a credential that could boost their careers and earning power. Some business-school experts believe European schools struggle even more than M.B.A. programs in the U.S. to bring the numbers up because many businesses on the Continent are perceived as less friendly to women executives than American firms....
Whatever the underlying causes, the result is apparent: Female M.B.A. enrollment in European business schools is stuck stubbornly between 25% and 30%, said Jeanette Purcell, chief executive of the Association of M.B.A.s, an international body based in London whose members include about 130 business schools world-wide. The University of Cambridge's Judge Business School says the figure is even lower for Europe's elite B-schools, at 23%. In the U.S., women's representation in M.B.A. programs long has hovered around 30%.
Clearly the US is not much better than Europe in this regard. For female applicants, whether you want to apply to schools in the US or Europe, I think this is good news, at least in terms of your chances for admission. With all these programs scrambling for qualified applicants, you are in a buyer's market. Given the prejudice that women are likely to face at throughout their lives, at least when it comes to MBA admission, they have the advantage of being in demand.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学
Theories abound to explain why more women aren't seeking a credential that could boost their careers and earning power. Some business-school experts believe European schools struggle even more than M.B.A. programs in the U.S. to bring the numbers up because many businesses on the Continent are perceived as less friendly to women executives than American firms....
Whatever the underlying causes, the result is apparent: Female M.B.A. enrollment in European business schools is stuck stubbornly between 25% and 30%, said Jeanette Purcell, chief executive of the Association of M.B.A.s, an international body based in London whose members include about 130 business schools world-wide. The University of Cambridge's Judge Business School says the figure is even lower for Europe's elite B-schools, at 23%. In the U.S., women's representation in M.B.A. programs long has hovered around 30%.
Clearly the US is not much better than Europe in this regard. For female applicants, whether you want to apply to schools in the US or Europe, I think this is good news, at least in terms of your chances for admission. With all these programs scrambling for qualified applicants, you are in a buyer's market. Given the prejudice that women are likely to face at throughout their lives, at least when it comes to MBA admission, they have the advantage of being in demand.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学
November 07, 2007
MBA Application Interview Strategy
In this post I will provide some general advice for preparing for interviews. The methods I outline are the ones I use with my clients.
Over-preparation
I have a very simple and effective method for interview preparation: Over-preparation. The best way to do well in any interview is be prepared for an interview that will be harder than the actual interview. I write this based on my experience. Since 2001, I have been told by grateful clients that my practice interviews were harder than the real thing and as a result they could confidently handle the real thing. I think any highly experienced graduate admissions consultant should be able to provide this kind of practice to their clients. If you don't use an admissions consultant to help you prepare, find someone, a mentor perhaps, who can help you. Whoever you seek advice from, getting actual critical feedback from person who understands the MBA admissions process is critical.
Just as critical is your own preparation (see below for the methods I suggest). The amount of practice (with someone else and alone) you require will really depend on three variables:
1. Your English ability. For international applicants with low intermediate to high intermediate level ability, expect to focus a significant amount of your time on practicing to speak.
2. Your comfort with interviews. Some people are just really good at interviewing and others are not. If you know that you are weak in the this area, you will really need to practice with another person who can judge your performance.
3. The difficulty of the interview. Some schools simply have difficult interviews (HBS for example), while others do not (Duke for example), so take that into account. A great way to determine the difficulty of a particular school's interviews is to read reports written by applicants (See my earlier post regarding where to find interview reports).
Many applicants wait until days before an interview to prepare, but actually your interview preparations should ideally begin at least a month before you start interviewing. Why so long? Because you have a lot to do:
Interview Strategy FormulationIt is absolutely critical that you have an overall strategy for determining what you want to say about yourself. Just as with your essays, you need to formulate your self-marketing strategy for your interviews. Obviously what you put in your application should be consistent with and supported by your interview. However writing essays and talking for 30 minutes or more are simply not the same.
Don't worry about the questions, worry about your message!While you should use the Accepted and Clear Admit sites to learn about the questions, an overemphasis on simply preparing answers to the questions that other applicants were asked is not the main thing you should be doing. Instead, decide what you want to say about yourself. One way of doing that is prepare an outline like the following:
Strengths/Contributions/Future Potential
1. One of my key strengths is X. A story that demonstrates this strength is... Another story that does is... This strength will be a contribution at your school because... This strength will contribute to my future goals because...
2. Another of my key strengths is Y. A story that demonstrates this strength is... Another story that does is... This strength will be a contribution at your school because... This strength will contribute to my future goals because...
3. Another of my key strengths is Z. A story that demonstrates this strength is... Another story that does is.. This strength will be a contribution at your school because... This strength will contribute to my future goals because...
For each X, Y, Z insert a keyword describing your strength. Connect keywords to specific stories. If possible find more than one story that demonstrates the keyword. Next think how this strength could be a contribution when you are student. Next think how this strength will contribute to your goals. By using this method, you will have prepared answers to such common questions as "What are your strengths" and "How will you contribute to our school." Additionally you will be ready to show how your past experience will help you achieve your goals. Additionally when asked questions which are less direct about your strengths, you will already have keywords and stories ready for those questions you can't predict.
Weaknesses/Failures
1. One of my weaknesses is X. A story that demonstrates this is... Another story that does is... I want to overcome this weakness by... This weakness resulted in failure when...
2. Another of my weaknesses is Y. A story that demonstrates this is... Another story that does is... I want to overcome this weakness by... This weakness resulted in failure when...
3. Another of my weaknesses is Z. A story that demonstrates this is... Another story that does is... I want to overcome this weakness by... This weakness resulted in failure when...
As with strengths you should have at least three keywords. Here you be preparing answers to the very common questions that are asked about weakness, but in addition you will need to think about how the MBA program and/or some other aspect of yourself will make it possible for you to overcome this weakness. Weaknesses should be real and not abstract. You should have clear stories that demonstrate your weaknesses, something many applicants initially have a problem with. Additionally knowing how a program will help you overcome your weakness will explain why you want to attend that school. Finally, SOME, BUT NOT All weaknesses make for great failure stories, another very common topic for interviews.
Leadership and Teamwork Skills/Potential
All applicants should have keywords and supporting stories describing their leadership and teamwork skills and potential. Given the very common nature of questions related to both leadership and teamwork, you should also be prepared for the following:
1. My definition of leadership/teamwork is... because... I demonstrated this kind of leadership by...
2. One leader I really admire is... because... I am similar/want to be like this person because...
3. I think I am a good team member because...
Have enough keywords and storiesIf you have enough keyword and stories you will have a solid basis for answering the great range of questions that you are likely to be asked about yourself.
Questions you should be ready to answer
In addition to having keywords and stories, there are certain questions that you should be ready to answer because they are commonly asked in interviews.
Goals/Why MBA?/ Why this school?You should have outlined answers to the following:
1. I want an MBA now because...
2. I want an MBA from your school because...
3. Your school is my first choice because...
4. After my MBA, I will...
5. My goals are...
6. If I was not able to attend an MBA program next year, I would...
Ethical Dilemma QuestionsAnother very common question relates to ethical dilemmas. Be ready. Have a story or two ready. If you are having a difficulty formulating ethical dilemma questions, please take a look at the Institute for Global Ethics. Also see Business Ethics Research - Knowledge@Wharton.
Questions for the interviewer
You should be ready to ask questions to your interviewer. What you ask should be governed by the following considerations:
1. Is the answer to the question obvious? If so, don't ask the question.
2. Is the answer to the question really relevant to you? If not, don't ask it. General questions that have no specific connection to you are probably not worth asking.
3. Will the interviewer be able to answer the question? In general avoid asking interviewers questions that they are not really able to answer. Asking an alum who graduated five years ago about what is new at the school would be one such bad question.
When formulating questions it is obviously important to consider who you will be interviewing with because what you ask an alum is not the same as what you ask an admissions officer or current student.
Tell stories that show the range of your experience
Keep in mind that you should use stories from different parts of your life. Don't overemphasize one specific situation. Instead tell stories that showcase the range of your experience.
Keep it simple and don't recite from memory
Regardless of how complex the topic might be, when you tell a story, keep it simple enough for your listener to follow. The human brain can only absorb a limited amount of information, so when you tell a story make sure that it is something that can be easily followed and delivered very briefly.
For that reason (and others), memorizing long stories and reciting them to be avoided because it will likely result in your interviewer being unable to absorb your story. If the story takes too long to recite, the may also become bored or annoyed. Additionally memorized answers from a non-native speaker of English are a sign that the interviewee's English skills might be weak.
Don't write a script, just a very brief outline
Unless your English speaking ability is very weak, I would strongly recommend that you don't write scripts of your answers, instead prepare a very brief outline and practice speaking. Tell the stories repeatedly so that are comfortable doing so, but since you want to come across as polished, but natural, don't memorize it.
Use an audio and/or video recorder
For many people, except for watching yourself on video, nothing is worse than listening to your own voice. However as painful as it maybe, doing so will help you identify weakness in your answers and overall performance. Therefore record and analyze yourself. You are your most harsh critic.
Relax and be confident
I know this part can be hard, but the more relaxed and confident you are, the more likely you are to have a good interview. Creating the right impression is as critical as what you actually say. Make your interviewer feel your enthusiasm.
Practice for specific interviews
Finally, don't just practice for any interview, practice for specific interviews. While you may initially need to think about overall strategy, you should focus much of your practice on specific interviews. If you have mock interviews, make sure they are school specific because a very important aspect of the interview really is about you showing your connection and fit to the school.
-Adam Markus
Over-preparation
I have a very simple and effective method for interview preparation: Over-preparation. The best way to do well in any interview is be prepared for an interview that will be harder than the actual interview. I write this based on my experience. Since 2001, I have been told by grateful clients that my practice interviews were harder than the real thing and as a result they could confidently handle the real thing. I think any highly experienced graduate admissions consultant should be able to provide this kind of practice to their clients. If you don't use an admissions consultant to help you prepare, find someone, a mentor perhaps, who can help you. Whoever you seek advice from, getting actual critical feedback from person who understands the MBA admissions process is critical.
Just as critical is your own preparation (see below for the methods I suggest). The amount of practice (with someone else and alone) you require will really depend on three variables:
1. Your English ability. For international applicants with low intermediate to high intermediate level ability, expect to focus a significant amount of your time on practicing to speak.
2. Your comfort with interviews. Some people are just really good at interviewing and others are not. If you know that you are weak in the this area, you will really need to practice with another person who can judge your performance.
3. The difficulty of the interview. Some schools simply have difficult interviews (HBS for example), while others do not (Duke for example), so take that into account. A great way to determine the difficulty of a particular school's interviews is to read reports written by applicants (See my earlier post regarding where to find interview reports).
Many applicants wait until days before an interview to prepare, but actually your interview preparations should ideally begin at least a month before you start interviewing. Why so long? Because you have a lot to do:
Interview Strategy FormulationIt is absolutely critical that you have an overall strategy for determining what you want to say about yourself. Just as with your essays, you need to formulate your self-marketing strategy for your interviews. Obviously what you put in your application should be consistent with and supported by your interview. However writing essays and talking for 30 minutes or more are simply not the same.
Don't worry about the questions, worry about your message!While you should use the Accepted and Clear Admit sites to learn about the questions, an overemphasis on simply preparing answers to the questions that other applicants were asked is not the main thing you should be doing. Instead, decide what you want to say about yourself. One way of doing that is prepare an outline like the following:
Strengths/Contributions/Future Potential
1. One of my key strengths is X. A story that demonstrates this strength is... Another story that does is... This strength will be a contribution at your school because... This strength will contribute to my future goals because...
2. Another of my key strengths is Y. A story that demonstrates this strength is... Another story that does is... This strength will be a contribution at your school because... This strength will contribute to my future goals because...
3. Another of my key strengths is Z. A story that demonstrates this strength is... Another story that does is.. This strength will be a contribution at your school because... This strength will contribute to my future goals because...
For each X, Y, Z insert a keyword describing your strength. Connect keywords to specific stories. If possible find more than one story that demonstrates the keyword. Next think how this strength could be a contribution when you are student. Next think how this strength will contribute to your goals. By using this method, you will have prepared answers to such common questions as "What are your strengths" and "How will you contribute to our school." Additionally you will be ready to show how your past experience will help you achieve your goals. Additionally when asked questions which are less direct about your strengths, you will already have keywords and stories ready for those questions you can't predict.
Weaknesses/Failures
1. One of my weaknesses is X. A story that demonstrates this is... Another story that does is... I want to overcome this weakness by... This weakness resulted in failure when...
2. Another of my weaknesses is Y. A story that demonstrates this is... Another story that does is... I want to overcome this weakness by... This weakness resulted in failure when...
3. Another of my weaknesses is Z. A story that demonstrates this is... Another story that does is... I want to overcome this weakness by... This weakness resulted in failure when...
As with strengths you should have at least three keywords. Here you be preparing answers to the very common questions that are asked about weakness, but in addition you will need to think about how the MBA program and/or some other aspect of yourself will make it possible for you to overcome this weakness. Weaknesses should be real and not abstract. You should have clear stories that demonstrate your weaknesses, something many applicants initially have a problem with. Additionally knowing how a program will help you overcome your weakness will explain why you want to attend that school. Finally, SOME, BUT NOT All weaknesses make for great failure stories, another very common topic for interviews.
Leadership and Teamwork Skills/Potential
All applicants should have keywords and supporting stories describing their leadership and teamwork skills and potential. Given the very common nature of questions related to both leadership and teamwork, you should also be prepared for the following:
1. My definition of leadership/teamwork is... because... I demonstrated this kind of leadership by...
2. One leader I really admire is... because... I am similar/want to be like this person because...
3. I think I am a good team member because...
Have enough keywords and storiesIf you have enough keyword and stories you will have a solid basis for answering the great range of questions that you are likely to be asked about yourself.
Questions you should be ready to answer
In addition to having keywords and stories, there are certain questions that you should be ready to answer because they are commonly asked in interviews.
Goals/Why MBA?/ Why this school?You should have outlined answers to the following:
1. I want an MBA now because...
2. I want an MBA from your school because...
3. Your school is my first choice because...
4. After my MBA, I will...
5. My goals are...
6. If I was not able to attend an MBA program next year, I would...
Ethical Dilemma QuestionsAnother very common question relates to ethical dilemmas. Be ready. Have a story or two ready. If you are having a difficulty formulating ethical dilemma questions, please take a look at the Institute for Global Ethics. Also see Business Ethics Research - Knowledge@Wharton.
Questions for the interviewer
You should be ready to ask questions to your interviewer. What you ask should be governed by the following considerations:
1. Is the answer to the question obvious? If so, don't ask the question.
2. Is the answer to the question really relevant to you? If not, don't ask it. General questions that have no specific connection to you are probably not worth asking.
3. Will the interviewer be able to answer the question? In general avoid asking interviewers questions that they are not really able to answer. Asking an alum who graduated five years ago about what is new at the school would be one such bad question.
When formulating questions it is obviously important to consider who you will be interviewing with because what you ask an alum is not the same as what you ask an admissions officer or current student.
Tell stories that show the range of your experience
Keep in mind that you should use stories from different parts of your life. Don't overemphasize one specific situation. Instead tell stories that showcase the range of your experience.
Keep it simple and don't recite from memory
Regardless of how complex the topic might be, when you tell a story, keep it simple enough for your listener to follow. The human brain can only absorb a limited amount of information, so when you tell a story make sure that it is something that can be easily followed and delivered very briefly.
For that reason (and others), memorizing long stories and reciting them to be avoided because it will likely result in your interviewer being unable to absorb your story. If the story takes too long to recite, the may also become bored or annoyed. Additionally memorized answers from a non-native speaker of English are a sign that the interviewee's English skills might be weak.
Don't write a script, just a very brief outline
Unless your English speaking ability is very weak, I would strongly recommend that you don't write scripts of your answers, instead prepare a very brief outline and practice speaking. Tell the stories repeatedly so that are comfortable doing so, but since you want to come across as polished, but natural, don't memorize it.
Use an audio and/or video recorder
For many people, except for watching yourself on video, nothing is worse than listening to your own voice. However as painful as it maybe, doing so will help you identify weakness in your answers and overall performance. Therefore record and analyze yourself. You are your most harsh critic.
Relax and be confident
I know this part can be hard, but the more relaxed and confident you are, the more likely you are to have a good interview. Creating the right impression is as critical as what you actually say. Make your interviewer feel your enthusiasm.
Practice for specific interviews
Finally, don't just practice for any interview, practice for specific interviews. While you may initially need to think about overall strategy, you should focus much of your practice on specific interviews. If you have mock interviews, make sure they are school specific because a very important aspect of the interview really is about you showing your connection and fit to the school.
-Adam Markus
I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.
November 06, 2007
Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Questions for 2007-08
Below I analyze the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth MBA Application Essay Questions for 2007–08 and discuss the Tokyo Reception I attended on 11/2/07.
I attended the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth's November 2nd Tokyo Reception. It had some unusual features.
First, it was held on the very same evening as the MBA World Tour, which required me to visit the MBA World Tour quickly in order to make it to the Tuck event. That really was no problem because my main objective at the World Tour was to get some brochures. Of course, for some applicants this must have been a more difficult decision. That said, anyone really interested in going to Tuck should attend one of their receptions.
Second, the number of those allowed to attend was extremely limited (maybe to about 40 or so, sorry I did not count the number of chairs that had been set-up). Actually, they could have allowed more reservations, because about half the chairs were empty.
Third, the reception was just that initially. It was held at the New Otani, one of Tokyo's most famous hotels. They served a cold and hot buffet that was delicious. The presentation did not actually begin till about 7:30, 30 minutes after the official start time. This was nice because it gave everyone a chance to chat, eat, and drink (no alcohol).
The admissions officer's presentation was brief and delivered without the use of Power Point! Yes, Tuck is the only school that as far as I know does not use Power Point. This was fine for me, but maybe hard for those whose native language is not English (that said, if you can't follow the admissions officer's presentation, you really need to think whether your English skills are strong enough to apply). After about fifteen minutes, she invited four alums up to the stage and started asking them questions. The audience also asked questions. This lasted for about forty-five minutes, I guess. Following that, there was plenty of time to talk, eat, and drink.
I mention the above apparently mundane events, not because I want to bore you, but because the event itself says something about Tuck.
As both the alums and the admissions officer emphasized Tuck is about being part of a community. The Tuck Reception I attended reflected that. They intentionally hosted a small scale event that would give everyone in the room a chance to mingle and to easily have a chance to talk with the admissions officers and alums. If someone was not comfortable in that cocktail party(albeit without alcohol) environment, they have no business applying to Tuck. Each person counts and each person will need to participate. After the presentation, one admissions officer made the rounds circulating among the participants while the other, the presenter, took questions at the front of the room. This communicated at least to me, the same message of "friendly community" that had been made by the admissions officer: students, their families, faculty, and staff at Tuck are all part of one community.
Not using Power Point is also a very interesting tactic because it eliminates a formal barrier between the presenter and the audience. Additionally people who are part of the same community don't need to make presentations to each other, they talk to each other. The admissions officer was just doing that. Those looking for a more formal or impersonal approach can find that elsewhere, but not at Tuck.
Anyone applying to Tuck, should most certainly watch the video series "Applying to Tuck: The Inside Scoop" with Dawna Clarke, the Director of Admissions. I will reference Ms. Clarke's advice below.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VISITING AND NETWORKING
If you are really interested in attending Tuck, I strongly suggest making a real effort to visit or at least to attend a reception. This will be a great way to meet with admissions officers in a very friendly environment. It is also an amazing way to network with the alum at the event and afterwards. At the Tokyo reception, we were actually provided with a list of alums who would be happy to communicate with potential applicants. In "Tips on Applying," Ms. Clarke emphasizes the importance of getting in touch with Tuck alum. She in fact, specifically says that mentioning that you met with alum is something you should do both in your essays and interviews. She also mentioned that she considers notes from alum as being in an applicant's favor.
Essay Questions for 2007–08
Let's take a look at the essay questions. I took the questions from the pdf.
Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. Compose each of your answers offline in separate document files and upload them individually in the appropriate spaces below. Although there is no restriction on the length of your response, most applicants use, on average, 500 words for each essay. There are no right or wrong answers.
Please double-space your responses.
I don't suggest writing much more than 500 unless you really need to. That said, admissions will not be counting the words, so anything in the range of 450-600 is safe.
1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)
This is a very standard version of the Why MBA essay question. See my Chicago Essay 1 analysis as it applies here. Keep in mind the real importance of the second part of the question. Tuck's program is small, according to Businessweek, there are 500 students in the full-time program. According to the Tuck Class of 2008 Profile, the target class is 240. For the Fall 2007 Class, Tuck admitted 19% of 2584 applicants who applied, the yield was 51% (admitted who attend), so making the case that you really belong is critical.
2. Tuck defines leadership as “inspiring others to strive and enabling them to accomplish great things.” We believe great things and great leadership can be accomplished in pursuit of business and societal goals. Describe a time when you exercised such leadership. Discuss the challenges you faced and the results you achieved. What characteristics helped you to be effective, and what areas do you feel you need to develop in order to be a better leader?
Please see my analysis of leadership essays. Keep in mind that according to Dawna Clarke in "Tuck's holistic admissions process" video, leadership ability and/or demonstrated potential is one of three key common characteristics of Tuck students (see my analysis of question 4 for the other two). You should most certainly provide a full answer to this question, one demonstrating that you really understand your strengths and weaknesses as a leader.
3. Discuss the most difficult constructive criticism or feedback you have received. How did you address it? What have you learned from it?
It is possible to write this based on the topic used for a standard failure essay (see my analysis of that here), but that is only one possibility. The basic structure for this essay is clear enough:
1. Briefly describe the situation where you received constructive criticism or feedback. Who did you receive it from and why? Why was it the most difficult? Explaining why is the most important part of this section of the essay.
2. Specifically state your response to the constructive criticism or feedback. This might take the form of a brief summary of your action steps or description of your change in attitude.
3. Explain what you learned. Often the best ways to help your reader understand this is to provide them with a different situation where you applied what you learned.
In addition to the standard reasons for asking this question- a test of ability to show how you learn from feedback, a test of your ability to honestly assess your own limitations, and a test of your ability to think critically about your past actions- this question makes particular sense for a program like Tuck where learning in a community is critical. The structure of the first year program including mandatory study groups of 5-6 students in the Fall and Winter terms, the Cohen Leadership Development Program, and the intensely community-focused nature of the environment certainly requires that all students be open to receiving and issuing positive, but critical feedback.
4. Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?
Please see my analysis of contribution questions like this one. Keep in mind that in addition to leadership, the two other common characteristics of Tuck students that Ms. Clarke mentions are teamwork skills and communication/interpersonal skills. So if you have not effectively covered those two categories in the other essay, you should address them in one way or another here. Keep in mind that this essay is not just a way for admissions to understand some important aspects of who you are, it is also a place for them to see whether you know enough about Tuck to provide effective examples of the way you would contribute.
5. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.
Like the optional question for Chicago GSB and Wharton, this is primarily a place for explaining something potentially negative. Under no circumstances include an essay clearly written for another school.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
I attended the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth's November 2nd Tokyo Reception. It had some unusual features.
First, it was held on the very same evening as the MBA World Tour, which required me to visit the MBA World Tour quickly in order to make it to the Tuck event. That really was no problem because my main objective at the World Tour was to get some brochures. Of course, for some applicants this must have been a more difficult decision. That said, anyone really interested in going to Tuck should attend one of their receptions.
Second, the number of those allowed to attend was extremely limited (maybe to about 40 or so, sorry I did not count the number of chairs that had been set-up). Actually, they could have allowed more reservations, because about half the chairs were empty.
Third, the reception was just that initially. It was held at the New Otani, one of Tokyo's most famous hotels. They served a cold and hot buffet that was delicious. The presentation did not actually begin till about 7:30, 30 minutes after the official start time. This was nice because it gave everyone a chance to chat, eat, and drink (no alcohol).
The admissions officer's presentation was brief and delivered without the use of Power Point! Yes, Tuck is the only school that as far as I know does not use Power Point. This was fine for me, but maybe hard for those whose native language is not English (that said, if you can't follow the admissions officer's presentation, you really need to think whether your English skills are strong enough to apply). After about fifteen minutes, she invited four alums up to the stage and started asking them questions. The audience also asked questions. This lasted for about forty-five minutes, I guess. Following that, there was plenty of time to talk, eat, and drink.
I mention the above apparently mundane events, not because I want to bore you, but because the event itself says something about Tuck.
As both the alums and the admissions officer emphasized Tuck is about being part of a community. The Tuck Reception I attended reflected that. They intentionally hosted a small scale event that would give everyone in the room a chance to mingle and to easily have a chance to talk with the admissions officers and alums. If someone was not comfortable in that cocktail party(albeit without alcohol) environment, they have no business applying to Tuck. Each person counts and each person will need to participate. After the presentation, one admissions officer made the rounds circulating among the participants while the other, the presenter, took questions at the front of the room. This communicated at least to me, the same message of "friendly community" that had been made by the admissions officer: students, their families, faculty, and staff at Tuck are all part of one community.
Not using Power Point is also a very interesting tactic because it eliminates a formal barrier between the presenter and the audience. Additionally people who are part of the same community don't need to make presentations to each other, they talk to each other. The admissions officer was just doing that. Those looking for a more formal or impersonal approach can find that elsewhere, but not at Tuck.
Anyone applying to Tuck, should most certainly watch the video series "Applying to Tuck: The Inside Scoop" with Dawna Clarke, the Director of Admissions. I will reference Ms. Clarke's advice below.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VISITING AND NETWORKING
If you are really interested in attending Tuck, I strongly suggest making a real effort to visit or at least to attend a reception. This will be a great way to meet with admissions officers in a very friendly environment. It is also an amazing way to network with the alum at the event and afterwards. At the Tokyo reception, we were actually provided with a list of alums who would be happy to communicate with potential applicants. In "Tips on Applying," Ms. Clarke emphasizes the importance of getting in touch with Tuck alum. She in fact, specifically says that mentioning that you met with alum is something you should do both in your essays and interviews. She also mentioned that she considers notes from alum as being in an applicant's favor.
Essay Questions for 2007–08
Let's take a look at the essay questions. I took the questions from the pdf.
Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. Compose each of your answers offline in separate document files and upload them individually in the appropriate spaces below. Although there is no restriction on the length of your response, most applicants use, on average, 500 words for each essay. There are no right or wrong answers.
Please double-space your responses.
I don't suggest writing much more than 500 unless you really need to. That said, admissions will not be counting the words, so anything in the range of 450-600 is safe.
1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)
This is a very standard version of the Why MBA essay question. See my Chicago Essay 1 analysis as it applies here. Keep in mind the real importance of the second part of the question. Tuck's program is small, according to Businessweek, there are 500 students in the full-time program. According to the Tuck Class of 2008 Profile, the target class is 240. For the Fall 2007 Class, Tuck admitted 19% of 2584 applicants who applied, the yield was 51% (admitted who attend), so making the case that you really belong is critical.
2. Tuck defines leadership as “inspiring others to strive and enabling them to accomplish great things.” We believe great things and great leadership can be accomplished in pursuit of business and societal goals. Describe a time when you exercised such leadership. Discuss the challenges you faced and the results you achieved. What characteristics helped you to be effective, and what areas do you feel you need to develop in order to be a better leader?
Please see my analysis of leadership essays. Keep in mind that according to Dawna Clarke in "Tuck's holistic admissions process" video, leadership ability and/or demonstrated potential is one of three key common characteristics of Tuck students (see my analysis of question 4 for the other two). You should most certainly provide a full answer to this question, one demonstrating that you really understand your strengths and weaknesses as a leader.
3. Discuss the most difficult constructive criticism or feedback you have received. How did you address it? What have you learned from it?
It is possible to write this based on the topic used for a standard failure essay (see my analysis of that here), but that is only one possibility. The basic structure for this essay is clear enough:
1. Briefly describe the situation where you received constructive criticism or feedback. Who did you receive it from and why? Why was it the most difficult? Explaining why is the most important part of this section of the essay.
2. Specifically state your response to the constructive criticism or feedback. This might take the form of a brief summary of your action steps or description of your change in attitude.
3. Explain what you learned. Often the best ways to help your reader understand this is to provide them with a different situation where you applied what you learned.
In addition to the standard reasons for asking this question- a test of ability to show how you learn from feedback, a test of your ability to honestly assess your own limitations, and a test of your ability to think critically about your past actions- this question makes particular sense for a program like Tuck where learning in a community is critical. The structure of the first year program including mandatory study groups of 5-6 students in the Fall and Winter terms, the Cohen Leadership Development Program, and the intensely community-focused nature of the environment certainly requires that all students be open to receiving and issuing positive, but critical feedback.
4. Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?
Please see my analysis of contribution questions like this one. Keep in mind that in addition to leadership, the two other common characteristics of Tuck students that Ms. Clarke mentions are teamwork skills and communication/interpersonal skills. So if you have not effectively covered those two categories in the other essay, you should address them in one way or another here. Keep in mind that this essay is not just a way for admissions to understand some important aspects of who you are, it is also a place for them to see whether you know enough about Tuck to provide effective examples of the way you would contribute.
5. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.
Like the optional question for Chicago GSB and Wharton, this is primarily a place for explaining something potentially negative. Under no circumstances include an essay clearly written for another school.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
November 03, 2007
LBS is monitoring who attends their events, but..
For the rest of the story, see Part 2.
Today, I received the following email from the London Business School:
"Dear Adam,
Thank you for your interest in the Full-time MBA Programme.
Our records show that you weren't able to attend our recent Information Session. We're sorry to have missed this opportunity to meet you...."
The only event I registered for was on October 9, 2007 and I attended. When I attended the event, they checked my name off their list. Since the above email does not specify what event I did not attend, I can't be certain that they missed me at the event that I did attend. In any case, as with what I reported about Georgetown back in September, LBS is watching.
I suppose this makes sense too, because LBS is after all in the UK, a country filled with closed circuit video cameras monitoring the public, supposedly to stop crime, but apparently with no actual impact. Like Orwell's big brother in 1984, the UK is watching you and so is the London Business School. Maybe some people like being monitored, but I don't.
This sort of monitoring certainly sends the wrong message to applicants, hard working people, who can't always leave work early to attend a weekday event. Admissions can learn through the applications they receive and the interviews they conduct whether an applicant really fits their school, so I can't imagine the advantage of counting heads at events.
Worse still, if you are going to count heads, be accurate about it. At least I am not an applicant, so I don't have to worry that my supposed "no-show" will be held against me. Hopefully this tool is not actually being used as part of the admissions process as seems to be the case with Georgetown. Still I think the whole thing is intrusive and leaves me with a very bad impression.
At least they could have included something like the following: "If you have received this email in error, please don't worry as attendance at events is not being monitored for purposes of admissions decisions."
I am sending an email to LBS, to see how they respond. Once I get a response, if I get one, I will post it. UPDATE: I received a response.
If you have any similar experiences, please let me know about them by sending email to adammarkus@gmail.com. I am happy to report them here and like my Georgetown post, they will likely rank high in search engine results.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
MBA留学
Today, I received the following email from the London Business School:
"Dear Adam,
Thank you for your interest in the Full-time MBA Programme.
Our records show that you weren't able to attend our recent Information Session. We're sorry to have missed this opportunity to meet you...."
The only event I registered for was on October 9, 2007 and I attended. When I attended the event, they checked my name off their list. Since the above email does not specify what event I did not attend, I can't be certain that they missed me at the event that I did attend. In any case, as with what I reported about Georgetown back in September, LBS is watching.
I suppose this makes sense too, because LBS is after all in the UK, a country filled with closed circuit video cameras monitoring the public, supposedly to stop crime, but apparently with no actual impact. Like Orwell's big brother in 1984, the UK is watching you and so is the London Business School. Maybe some people like being monitored, but I don't.
This sort of monitoring certainly sends the wrong message to applicants, hard working people, who can't always leave work early to attend a weekday event. Admissions can learn through the applications they receive and the interviews they conduct whether an applicant really fits their school, so I can't imagine the advantage of counting heads at events.
Worse still, if you are going to count heads, be accurate about it. At least I am not an applicant, so I don't have to worry that my supposed "no-show" will be held against me. Hopefully this tool is not actually being used as part of the admissions process as seems to be the case with Georgetown. Still I think the whole thing is intrusive and leaves me with a very bad impression.
At least they could have included something like the following: "If you have received this email in error, please don't worry as attendance at events is not being monitored for purposes of admissions decisions."
I am sending an email to LBS, to see how they respond. Once I get a response, if I get one, I will post it. UPDATE: I received a response.
If you have any similar experiences, please let me know about them by sending email to adammarkus@gmail.com. I am happy to report them here and like my Georgetown post, they will likely rank high in search engine results.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
MBA留学
November 02, 2007
NYU Stern Essay 3 for 2008: Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates
My Fall 2009 essay analysis can be found here.
This is the second of two posts on New York University Stern's essay questions for Fall 2008 admission. The first post is here. I suggest reading the first post before reading this one.
There are two reasons that I am analyzing NYU's essays. The first is that I am working with a number of clients applying there. The second is that I really like Essay 3. You can find complete instructions for the entire essay set in my previous post, but here is the core part of the question:
Essay 3. Personal Expression:
Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.
This is the NYU question. It is the one that seems to stop many applicants from applying to Stern (which is good for Stern's yield). In my experience, I have found that strong applicants who are willing to put the time into this question are often well rewarded (invited for interviews, admitted), but those who slap something together are often rejected.
You don't have to make anything or do anything visual. A creative essay can be at least as effective as anything else. If you think you can answer the question most effectively by writing an essay, just do that.
In past years, I have had clients who have done Power Points for NYU, but given that Chicago GSB now requires one, if you are applying to Chicago GSB and Stern, don't do a Power Point for Stern because the NYU admissions people will know (they can always look at your GMAT Score Report unless you control for that) you were trying to cut corners. After all, one reason NYU asks this question is because they want you to show your commitment to NYU by putting time into it.
In general, anytime a school has a non-standard question, you should really keep in mind that they are looking for answers that demonstrate an applicant's willingness to put time into it.
Regarding time, try to give yourself at least three weeks before the deadline to write this. In my experience, most successful versions of this essay take more time and drafts than most other essays. Of course, some applicants can do it right quickly, but since you are trying to be creative and also to effectively introduce yourself to your classmates, you may need more time.
One very common initial error with this essay is to focus on being creative at the exclusion of thinking about the purpose: to introduce yourself to your classmates. Keep in mind that your objective is to create a positive image of yourself that would make an excellent first impression on your classmates. It may be creative, but make sure that it also leaves admissions with a clear understanding of what positive impression of yourself you are communicating. It is your job to provide a sufficiently clear message regardless of the way you creatively present yourself.
Some Questions to get you brainstorming:
1. What do you want Stern Admissions to know about you that would positively impact your chances for admission?
2. What major positive aspects of your life have not been effectively INTERPRETED to the admissions committee in other parts of the application?
3. If you were meeting people that would you be working closely with for two years and that you might want as a part of your lifetime professional network, what would you tell them about yourself to create a strong first impression?
4. Why do people like you?
5. If there was one story about yourself that you think would really help admissions understand you and want to admit you, what is it?
6. Do you have a personal interest (painting and poetry for example) that would work effectively?
Finally, keep in mind that what you write here should not duplicate the content of Essay 2 or anything else in the application, instead it should really provide admissions with a new perspective on why you belong at Stern.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
This is the second of two posts on New York University Stern's essay questions for Fall 2008 admission. The first post is here. I suggest reading the first post before reading this one.
There are two reasons that I am analyzing NYU's essays. The first is that I am working with a number of clients applying there. The second is that I really like Essay 3. You can find complete instructions for the entire essay set in my previous post, but here is the core part of the question:
Essay 3. Personal Expression:
Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.
This is the NYU question. It is the one that seems to stop many applicants from applying to Stern (which is good for Stern's yield). In my experience, I have found that strong applicants who are willing to put the time into this question are often well rewarded (invited for interviews, admitted), but those who slap something together are often rejected.
You don't have to make anything or do anything visual. A creative essay can be at least as effective as anything else. If you think you can answer the question most effectively by writing an essay, just do that.
In past years, I have had clients who have done Power Points for NYU, but given that Chicago GSB now requires one, if you are applying to Chicago GSB and Stern, don't do a Power Point for Stern because the NYU admissions people will know (they can always look at your GMAT Score Report unless you control for that) you were trying to cut corners. After all, one reason NYU asks this question is because they want you to show your commitment to NYU by putting time into it.
In general, anytime a school has a non-standard question, you should really keep in mind that they are looking for answers that demonstrate an applicant's willingness to put time into it.
Regarding time, try to give yourself at least three weeks before the deadline to write this. In my experience, most successful versions of this essay take more time and drafts than most other essays. Of course, some applicants can do it right quickly, but since you are trying to be creative and also to effectively introduce yourself to your classmates, you may need more time.
One very common initial error with this essay is to focus on being creative at the exclusion of thinking about the purpose: to introduce yourself to your classmates. Keep in mind that your objective is to create a positive image of yourself that would make an excellent first impression on your classmates. It may be creative, but make sure that it also leaves admissions with a clear understanding of what positive impression of yourself you are communicating. It is your job to provide a sufficiently clear message regardless of the way you creatively present yourself.
Some Questions to get you brainstorming:
1. What do you want Stern Admissions to know about you that would positively impact your chances for admission?
2. What major positive aspects of your life have not been effectively INTERPRETED to the admissions committee in other parts of the application?
3. If you were meeting people that would you be working closely with for two years and that you might want as a part of your lifetime professional network, what would you tell them about yourself to create a strong first impression?
4. Why do people like you?
5. If there was one story about yourself that you think would really help admissions understand you and want to admit you, what is it?
6. Do you have a personal interest (painting and poetry for example) that would work effectively?
Finally, keep in mind that what you write here should not duplicate the content of Essay 2 or anything else in the application, instead it should really provide admissions with a new perspective on why you belong at Stern.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
NYU Stern MBA Essays for Fall 2008
My Fall 2009 essay analysis can be found here.
This is the first of two posts on NYU Stern's MBA Essays for Fall 2008 Admission. The second one is here.
New York University Stern School of Business MBA essay questions' web page also includes great tips for the questions, so I have included them. Let's look at the whole thing first and than break it down.
The following essay questions give you the opportunity to more fully present yourself to the Admissions Committee and to provide insight into your experiences, goals and thought processes. Your essays should be written entirely by you. An offer of admission will be withdrawn if it is discovered that you did not write your essays. Please note the following:
Essays 1, 2 and 4 must be typed and submitted using the standard U.S. 8 1/2” x 11” format, double-spaced, in 12-point font.
Please adhere to the essay word limits provided for each question.
Word limits apply to the total question. For example, your response to Essay 1 should answer part (a), part (b) and part (c) with a maximum of 750 words.
Label the top of each essay with the following: Name, Date of Birth (month, day, year), Essay Number and Page Number (e.g.: Joe Applicant, January 1, 2001, Essay #1, Page 1)
Essay 1. Professional Aspirations:
(750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Answer the following:
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?
Admissions Tips:
Listen to our podcast: Writing your Story.
Proofread your essays carefully.
Make sure you have fully answered the essay questions.
Be genuine in your essays - tell us about the real you.
Follow the essay instructions, including word limits and font size.
Essay 2. Fit with Stern:
(500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
The NYU Stern community is one of our strongest assets. Please answer the following questions about our community:
(a) What is your personal experience with the Stern community? What actions have you taken to learn more about us?
(b) How would you contribute to our community as a student?
(c) How will you benefit personally and professionally from the Stern community?
Essay 3. Personal Expression:
Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.
All submissions become part of NYU Stern’s permanent records and cannot be returned for any reason. Please do not submit anything that must be viewed or played electronically (e.g. CDs, DVDs, MP3s, online links), that is perishable (e.g. food) or that has been worn (e.g. used clothing). If you submit a written essay, it should be 500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font.
If you are not submitting Essay 3 online, you must provide a brief description of your submission with your online application. To mail in Essay 3, please follow the mail and labeling instructions. Also, note that supplemental Essay 3 packages are subject to size restrictions. Essays that exceed the stated size restrictions will not be accepted for review by the Admissions Committee. Please see the table below for the required package guidelines:
Packaging Type
Dimensions: Metric
Dimensions: Non-metric
Box
36cm x 31cm x 8cm
14” x 12” x 3”
Cylindrical tube
8 cm x 91cm
3” x 36”
Triangular tube
97cm x 16cm x 16 cm x 16 cm
38” x 6” x 6” x 6”
Admissions Tips:
Listen to Isser Gallogly, Executive Director of MBA Admissions, discuss Essay 3 on Public Radio's "Marketplace". (Before listening, note that we now have new Essay 3 size restrictions.)
To see if Stern is a fit for you, come visit us in New York City or visit us overseas.
Essay 4. Additional Information: (optional)
Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, your undergraduate record, plans to retake the GMAT and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.
If you are unable to submit a recommendation from a current supervisor, you must explain your reason in this essay.
If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.
If you are applying to a dual degree program, please explain your decision to pursue a dual degree.
Every year, I have seen some potential applicants to Stern look at the above questions and simply decide it is better to apply elsewhere. Actually, I have found myself advocating application to Stern as part of a school selection strategy as a result. While Stern's questions are unique, especially Essay 3, they maybe significantly less daunting than what you initially think.
Stern admissions does a very good job of explaining their application. As is written above, listen to their podcasts. If you can attend a presentation at Stern or at least attend an admissions event, that is most helpful because getting into Stern is all about fit.
Consider that in the three required questions above, the one constant feature is Stern. If you look at other top schools essay sets you will not find another one where a 100% of the questions require you to discuss the school. While Essay 1 only refers to Stern in the context of what you will do after it, clearly the assumption here is not that you just need any MBA, but one from Stern. Essay 2 actually consists of three questions about your relationship to Stern. Finally Essay 3 is about how you would introduce yourself to your classmates at Stern.
From an admissions office perspective, I think Stern's "100% fit essays" approach makes quite a bit of sense if you consider that Stern's yield (percentage of accepted students who attend) is 50% among the 22% of total applicants that it accepted in 2006 (all numbers from Businessweek). Compare this to Columbia's yield of 79% on the 17% of students that it accepts, Wharton's yield of 69% on the 21% of students that it accepts, and Harvard Business School's yield of 91% on the 15% of students that it accepts and I think you will begin to see one reason why Stern cares about fit. I am comparing NYU against these other top urban East Coast schools because many applying to those other schools are likely to apply to NYU and because these are the schools that NYU wants to compare itself to. NYU's yield is not bad, in fact it is better than schools than the schools that rank (it is ranked 14th) immediately above it in Businessweek, UCLA (12th) and Cornell (13th), but its yield is significantly lower than schools it is most likely to be compared to, especially Columbia Business School (ranked 10th).
Attending Stern's Admission Event in Tokyo only further convinced me of this. The impression I gathered from both the admissions presentation and the short video that was shown was that Stern places a high value on involvement within its community. At least that was impression that I got.
Given the very clear nature of NYU's instructions, I don't think my own analysis of Essays 1 and 2 is that interesting!
Essay 1. Professional Aspirations:
(750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Answer the following:
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?
What I really like about this essay is that Stern is doing all the organizational work for you. Lets examine each part.
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
Basically you need to provide an explanation for your career to the present with an emphasis on your current position. Given the space limitations, I don't suggest using more than 1/3 of your word count for this part of the essay. Focus on providing an explanation that would not be clear from simply reviewing your resume. Your motivations should be made clear. If your resume is what you done, this should be about why? and more specifically why are you doing your current job?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
Please see my analysis of Chicago GSB Question 1, which is very much focused on "Why now?" Clearly you need to show why given your present position and future goals, now is the right time to get an MBA.
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?
Use at least 1/3 of your essay to explain both your post-MBA career goal and your long-term career goals. For more about goals formulation, see here and here.
Essay 2. Fit with Stern:
(500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
The NYU Stern community is one of our strongest assets. Please answer the following questions about our community: (a) What is your personal experience with the Stern community? What actions have you taken to learn more about us? (b) How would you contribute to our community as a student? (c) How will you benefit personally and professionally from the Stern community?
This essay consists of providing detailed answers to three questions that should show your passion to be part of Stern. Let's examine each part:
(a) What is your personal experience with the Stern community? What actions have you taken to learn more about us?
Here you need to clearly indicate how you have become informed. Visiting is obviously best, attending their admissions event is also good, and so is making an effort to communicate with students and alums. Obviously reading their website is important, but is rather minimal. Make sure you listened to their podcasts. Making a connection to alum is always a good idea. Be specific about the steps you have taken. Feel free to use names of admissions officers, alums and students that you met.
(b) How would you contribute to our community as a student?
Please see my analysis of contribution questions. Think specifically about how specific parts of your background will add value to other students and the Stern community as a whole.
(c) How will you benefit personally and professionally from the Stern community?
Think as specifically as possible about what you gain from being a part of the Stern COMMUNITY. I capitalize community to emphasize that you should focus at least part of your answer on things outside of classes. You should show the likely ways you think Stern will contribute to your personal and professional development.
Question 3: See here.
Essay 4. Additional Information: (optional)
Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, your undergraduate record, plans to retake the GMAT and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.
If you are unable to submit a recommendation from a current supervisor, you must explain your reason in this essay.
If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.
If you are applying to a dual degree program, please explain your decision to pursue a dual degree.
Like the optional question for Chicago GSB and Wharton, this is primarily a place for explaining something potentially negative. If you are a re-applicant, this is where your reapplication essay goes and clearly this should be a very positive and wonderful essay that states clearly how you are much stronger candidate. Under no circumstances include an essay clearly written for another school. Yes, I know that NYU did not ask you write a whole essay about an important leadership experience you had, but since they did not ask for it, we can assume that is not the way they will gauge your potential.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
This is the first of two posts on NYU Stern's MBA Essays for Fall 2008 Admission. The second one is here.
New York University Stern School of Business MBA essay questions' web page also includes great tips for the questions, so I have included them. Let's look at the whole thing first and than break it down.
The following essay questions give you the opportunity to more fully present yourself to the Admissions Committee and to provide insight into your experiences, goals and thought processes. Your essays should be written entirely by you. An offer of admission will be withdrawn if it is discovered that you did not write your essays. Please note the following:
Essays 1, 2 and 4 must be typed and submitted using the standard U.S. 8 1/2” x 11” format, double-spaced, in 12-point font.
Please adhere to the essay word limits provided for each question.
Word limits apply to the total question. For example, your response to Essay 1 should answer part (a), part (b) and part (c) with a maximum of 750 words.
Label the top of each essay with the following: Name, Date of Birth (month, day, year), Essay Number and Page Number (e.g.: Joe Applicant, January 1, 2001, Essay #1, Page 1)
Essay 1. Professional Aspirations:
(750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Answer the following:
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?
Admissions Tips:
Listen to our podcast: Writing your Story.
Proofread your essays carefully.
Make sure you have fully answered the essay questions.
Be genuine in your essays - tell us about the real you.
Follow the essay instructions, including word limits and font size.
Essay 2. Fit with Stern:
(500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
The NYU Stern community is one of our strongest assets. Please answer the following questions about our community:
(a) What is your personal experience with the Stern community? What actions have you taken to learn more about us?
(b) How would you contribute to our community as a student?
(c) How will you benefit personally and professionally from the Stern community?
Essay 3. Personal Expression:
Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.
All submissions become part of NYU Stern’s permanent records and cannot be returned for any reason. Please do not submit anything that must be viewed or played electronically (e.g. CDs, DVDs, MP3s, online links), that is perishable (e.g. food) or that has been worn (e.g. used clothing). If you submit a written essay, it should be 500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font.
If you are not submitting Essay 3 online, you must provide a brief description of your submission with your online application. To mail in Essay 3, please follow the mail and labeling instructions. Also, note that supplemental Essay 3 packages are subject to size restrictions. Essays that exceed the stated size restrictions will not be accepted for review by the Admissions Committee. Please see the table below for the required package guidelines:
Packaging Type
Dimensions: Metric
Dimensions: Non-metric
Box
36cm x 31cm x 8cm
14” x 12” x 3”
Cylindrical tube
8 cm x 91cm
3” x 36”
Triangular tube
97cm x 16cm x 16 cm x 16 cm
38” x 6” x 6” x 6”
Admissions Tips:
Listen to Isser Gallogly, Executive Director of MBA Admissions, discuss Essay 3 on Public Radio's "Marketplace". (Before listening, note that we now have new Essay 3 size restrictions.)
To see if Stern is a fit for you, come visit us in New York City or visit us overseas.
Essay 4. Additional Information: (optional)
Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, your undergraduate record, plans to retake the GMAT and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.
If you are unable to submit a recommendation from a current supervisor, you must explain your reason in this essay.
If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.
If you are applying to a dual degree program, please explain your decision to pursue a dual degree.
Every year, I have seen some potential applicants to Stern look at the above questions and simply decide it is better to apply elsewhere. Actually, I have found myself advocating application to Stern as part of a school selection strategy as a result. While Stern's questions are unique, especially Essay 3, they maybe significantly less daunting than what you initially think.
Stern admissions does a very good job of explaining their application. As is written above, listen to their podcasts. If you can attend a presentation at Stern or at least attend an admissions event, that is most helpful because getting into Stern is all about fit.
Consider that in the three required questions above, the one constant feature is Stern. If you look at other top schools essay sets you will not find another one where a 100% of the questions require you to discuss the school. While Essay 1 only refers to Stern in the context of what you will do after it, clearly the assumption here is not that you just need any MBA, but one from Stern. Essay 2 actually consists of three questions about your relationship to Stern. Finally Essay 3 is about how you would introduce yourself to your classmates at Stern.
From an admissions office perspective, I think Stern's "100% fit essays" approach makes quite a bit of sense if you consider that Stern's yield (percentage of accepted students who attend) is 50% among the 22% of total applicants that it accepted in 2006 (all numbers from Businessweek). Compare this to Columbia's yield of 79% on the 17% of students that it accepts, Wharton's yield of 69% on the 21% of students that it accepts, and Harvard Business School's yield of 91% on the 15% of students that it accepts and I think you will begin to see one reason why Stern cares about fit. I am comparing NYU against these other top urban East Coast schools because many applying to those other schools are likely to apply to NYU and because these are the schools that NYU wants to compare itself to. NYU's yield is not bad, in fact it is better than schools than the schools that rank (it is ranked 14th) immediately above it in Businessweek, UCLA (12th) and Cornell (13th), but its yield is significantly lower than schools it is most likely to be compared to, especially Columbia Business School (ranked 10th).
Attending Stern's Admission Event in Tokyo only further convinced me of this. The impression I gathered from both the admissions presentation and the short video that was shown was that Stern places a high value on involvement within its community. At least that was impression that I got.
Given the very clear nature of NYU's instructions, I don't think my own analysis of Essays 1 and 2 is that interesting!
Essay 1. Professional Aspirations:
(750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Answer the following:
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?
What I really like about this essay is that Stern is doing all the organizational work for you. Lets examine each part.
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
Basically you need to provide an explanation for your career to the present with an emphasis on your current position. Given the space limitations, I don't suggest using more than 1/3 of your word count for this part of the essay. Focus on providing an explanation that would not be clear from simply reviewing your resume. Your motivations should be made clear. If your resume is what you done, this should be about why? and more specifically why are you doing your current job?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
Please see my analysis of Chicago GSB Question 1, which is very much focused on "Why now?" Clearly you need to show why given your present position and future goals, now is the right time to get an MBA.
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?
Use at least 1/3 of your essay to explain both your post-MBA career goal and your long-term career goals. For more about goals formulation, see here and here.
Essay 2. Fit with Stern:
(500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
The NYU Stern community is one of our strongest assets. Please answer the following questions about our community: (a) What is your personal experience with the Stern community? What actions have you taken to learn more about us? (b) How would you contribute to our community as a student? (c) How will you benefit personally and professionally from the Stern community?
This essay consists of providing detailed answers to three questions that should show your passion to be part of Stern. Let's examine each part:
(a) What is your personal experience with the Stern community? What actions have you taken to learn more about us?
Here you need to clearly indicate how you have become informed. Visiting is obviously best, attending their admissions event is also good, and so is making an effort to communicate with students and alums. Obviously reading their website is important, but is rather minimal. Make sure you listened to their podcasts. Making a connection to alum is always a good idea. Be specific about the steps you have taken. Feel free to use names of admissions officers, alums and students that you met.
(b) How would you contribute to our community as a student?
Please see my analysis of contribution questions. Think specifically about how specific parts of your background will add value to other students and the Stern community as a whole.
(c) How will you benefit personally and professionally from the Stern community?
Think as specifically as possible about what you gain from being a part of the Stern COMMUNITY. I capitalize community to emphasize that you should focus at least part of your answer on things outside of classes. You should show the likely ways you think Stern will contribute to your personal and professional development.
Question 3: See here.
Essay 4. Additional Information: (optional)
Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, your undergraduate record, plans to retake the GMAT and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.
If you are unable to submit a recommendation from a current supervisor, you must explain your reason in this essay.
If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.
If you are applying to a dual degree program, please explain your decision to pursue a dual degree.
Like the optional question for Chicago GSB and Wharton, this is primarily a place for explaining something potentially negative. If you are a re-applicant, this is where your reapplication essay goes and clearly this should be a very positive and wonderful essay that states clearly how you are much stronger candidate. Under no circumstances include an essay clearly written for another school. Yes, I know that NYU did not ask you write a whole essay about an important leadership experience you had, but since they did not ask for it, we can assume that is not the way they will gauge your potential.
Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
November 01, 2007
Fall 2008 MBA Contribution Questions: Kellogg, Duke, McCombs, Babson & LBS
In this post I analyze the contribution essay questions for Fall 2008 asked by Northwestern Kellogg, Duke Fuqua, University of Texas-Austin McCombs, Babson Olin, and the London Business School.
MBA programs are looking for students who will make a contribution. And this really makes sense because of the collaborative nature of MBA education. While professors play an important role in the classroom, students learn from each other on a continuous basis both inside and outside of class. It is no surprise that it is easy to find MBAs in record numbers on social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook because their education is very much one based on relationship building.
One of the chief functions of an MBA admissions committee is to select people who will be good classmates. The director and the rest of the committee have done their job properly if they have selected students who can work well together, learn from each other, and if these students become alum who value the relationships they initially formed at business school.
There are a number of ways of trying to determine whether someone really "fits" at a particular school, but certainly the most direct thing to do is just ask. One way they ask is by asking applicants why they want to attend. See for example, Chicago GSB Essay 1. It is clearly important that an applicant know what kind of ROI they are expecting from their MBA and they can show why a particular program can provide it. Another way is to ask applicants what they can contribute.
I would argue, in fact, that even if a school does not ask an applicant to tell them what he or she can contribute, the applicant should make that clear, directly if possible, in the essays. Interviews are usually a further opportunity to discuss how one will make a contribution.
Here we will look at essay questions that do in fact require applicants to state very clearly what kind of contributions they can make.
Kellogg
2.) Each of our applicants is unique. Describe how your background, values, academics, activities and/or leadership skills will enhance the experience of other Kellogg students. (One to two pages double spaced.)
Within the context of the Kellogg application, essay question 2 is really one of the important places to show why you will fit into this intensely social environment where both personal initiative and the ability to work with others are highly valued. While it would be possible to write on professional topics here, I would suggest not doing so because you can easily do that in Essay Questions 1,3, and 4. One way, I like to think about contribution questions is to use a matrix like the following:
.jpg)
CLICK ON THE ABOVE TO ENLARGE. For an excel version, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com.
I use the above matrix for all types of contribution questions, modifying the categories to fit the question. When it comes to contribution questions, I think it is important to tell specific stories that highlight specific ways you will add value to your future classmates. Sometimes people write about contributions that don't have any really clear added value and these by definition are not contributions. Yes, you may love reading Science Fiction in your spare time, but it is only a contribution if your experience of reading Science Fiction can be shown to add value to your classmates (Financial forecasting?). Given that Kellogg gives you up to two pages, my suggestion is to actually use this space not simply focus on one thing. Focus on at least two and probably more like three or four. When you think about what to select here, closely consider what you are writing in the other essays and use this space to help Kellogg learn even more about you. Given that essay question 3 is focused on leadership experiences, only discuss leadership skills in essay question 2 if they are points in addition to what you cover in essay question 3.
Duke Fuqua
Short Answer Essay Question 2. How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua's diverse culture? (1 page)
Fuqua is very clear that this space is to be used for non-work activities. It really is quite similar to Kellogg in that respect, but is limited to a single page. What I like about the Fuqua version is that it is very clear that you need to focus on ways you will add value. It is a shorter version than Kellogg, but do keep in mind that you will also be writing Long Essay 2. which is also a kind of contribution question:
How has your personal history and family background influenced your intellectual and personal development? What unique personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (There is no restriction on the length of your response for the two long essay questions. Applicants typically use between 500 and 750 words for long essays one and two.)
I actually think it is somewhat easy to differentiate between these two essays because Short Answer 2 is really focused on specific ways that you will add value, while Long Answer 2 is focused simply on what makes you unique.
Some people really become perplexed, paralyzed or otherwise unhappy when asked to state what makes them unique, but if you follow Duke's question, you will see that there is no cause for alarm. The objective in Long Answer 2 is to really give admissions insight into who you are, not what you have done (you can do that in Short Answer 2 and in Long Answer 1). Think about what positive characteristics about yourself make you the kind of person that other people want to be around. Also keep in mind that while Duke really does want to understand your background, an overemphasis on the negative is not likely to be effective. That said, writing about obstacles that you have overcome in the past can be great way to show some really positive characteristics.
McCombs
Keep in mind that for some schools like the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, MBA students are directly involved in admissions decisions, so explaining how you will contribute to your fellow students is no hypothetical issue.
At the McCombs School of Business, you will be part of an active and diverse community. Referencing your personal strengths and unique experience, how will you enrich the McCombs community during your two years in the program? Limit: 500 words
The question itself is not different from Kellogg, but given the limited size of the application you may find it useful to mention something professional that you could not express elsewhere. That said you should make every effort to include sufficient personal content so that the students at McCombs know why you should be part of their school. Japanese applicants (and anyone else who can read Japanese) should most certainly take a look at http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ayustat9.
Babson
Taken from the pdf application:
(3) What unique contributions will you bring to the Babson community that will enhance the value of the classroom experience for your classmates?
Babson's question is not so different from McCombs, but there is a difference: Given the fact that Babson is focused primarily on entrepreneurship, you should make sure that at least some of the unique contributions you make based on either your personal or professional background clearly relate to entrepreneurship. Use this essay to help admissions understand the fit between you and an MBA program for future entrepreneurs.
London Business School
Taken from the word version of the questions:
Question 3 (500 words)
Please describe your experience of working in and leading teams, either in your professional or personal life. Given this experience, what role do you think you will play in your study group, and how do you intend to contribute to it?
This question is like Duke Short Answer A very focused on specific ways you will add value and more particularly based on your team experiences. In 500 words, you should try to cover two to three different aspects of your team experiences. One possible mix might be one recent professional team experience, one experience during your university years, and one relating to a current extracurricular activity. In addition to wanting to know about your team experiences and how they will add value to other students, London Business School wants to know how you will contribute to the school as a whole:
Question 4 (400 words)
Student involvement is an extremely important part of the London MBA experience and this is reflected in the character of students on campus. What type of student club or campus community event do you envisage yourself leading? How would you set about becoming involved in a leadership position and how would you align and communicate the goals and vision for the club to the wider School community?
This question is certainly not like the more standard contribution questions above because it is completely future focused, whereas the typical contribution question is about showing how the past will be utilized for the future. Here you should certainly explain why you would want to lead a particular club or event and while this may relate to the past, you should really use this essay to show what you want to gain from LBS. In fact, this question is both about what you will contribute and what you will learn/experience at LBS. Effective answers to this question require solid knowledge about LBS, so that you can think really practically about your answer to this question. Keep in mind that this question is not really very hypothetical because students are expected to get leadership experience through clubs and events.
Finally, London Business School clearly put a huge emphasis on teams and participation in the life of the school, so in both essays make sure that you are showing that you are the kind of person who will take initiative.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
MBA programs are looking for students who will make a contribution. And this really makes sense because of the collaborative nature of MBA education. While professors play an important role in the classroom, students learn from each other on a continuous basis both inside and outside of class. It is no surprise that it is easy to find MBAs in record numbers on social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook because their education is very much one based on relationship building.
One of the chief functions of an MBA admissions committee is to select people who will be good classmates. The director and the rest of the committee have done their job properly if they have selected students who can work well together, learn from each other, and if these students become alum who value the relationships they initially formed at business school.
There are a number of ways of trying to determine whether someone really "fits" at a particular school, but certainly the most direct thing to do is just ask. One way they ask is by asking applicants why they want to attend. See for example, Chicago GSB Essay 1. It is clearly important that an applicant know what kind of ROI they are expecting from their MBA and they can show why a particular program can provide it. Another way is to ask applicants what they can contribute.
I would argue, in fact, that even if a school does not ask an applicant to tell them what he or she can contribute, the applicant should make that clear, directly if possible, in the essays. Interviews are usually a further opportunity to discuss how one will make a contribution.
Here we will look at essay questions that do in fact require applicants to state very clearly what kind of contributions they can make.
Kellogg
2.) Each of our applicants is unique. Describe how your background, values, academics, activities and/or leadership skills will enhance the experience of other Kellogg students. (One to two pages double spaced.)
Within the context of the Kellogg application, essay question 2 is really one of the important places to show why you will fit into this intensely social environment where both personal initiative and the ability to work with others are highly valued. While it would be possible to write on professional topics here, I would suggest not doing so because you can easily do that in Essay Questions 1,3, and 4. One way, I like to think about contribution questions is to use a matrix like the following:
.jpg)
CLICK ON THE ABOVE TO ENLARGE. For an excel version, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com.
I use the above matrix for all types of contribution questions, modifying the categories to fit the question. When it comes to contribution questions, I think it is important to tell specific stories that highlight specific ways you will add value to your future classmates. Sometimes people write about contributions that don't have any really clear added value and these by definition are not contributions. Yes, you may love reading Science Fiction in your spare time, but it is only a contribution if your experience of reading Science Fiction can be shown to add value to your classmates (Financial forecasting?). Given that Kellogg gives you up to two pages, my suggestion is to actually use this space not simply focus on one thing. Focus on at least two and probably more like three or four. When you think about what to select here, closely consider what you are writing in the other essays and use this space to help Kellogg learn even more about you. Given that essay question 3 is focused on leadership experiences, only discuss leadership skills in essay question 2 if they are points in addition to what you cover in essay question 3.
Duke Fuqua
Short Answer Essay Question 2. How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua's diverse culture? (1 page)
Fuqua is very clear that this space is to be used for non-work activities. It really is quite similar to Kellogg in that respect, but is limited to a single page. What I like about the Fuqua version is that it is very clear that you need to focus on ways you will add value. It is a shorter version than Kellogg, but do keep in mind that you will also be writing Long Essay 2. which is also a kind of contribution question:
How has your personal history and family background influenced your intellectual and personal development? What unique personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (There is no restriction on the length of your response for the two long essay questions. Applicants typically use between 500 and 750 words for long essays one and two.)
I actually think it is somewhat easy to differentiate between these two essays because Short Answer 2 is really focused on specific ways that you will add value, while Long Answer 2 is focused simply on what makes you unique.
Some people really become perplexed, paralyzed or otherwise unhappy when asked to state what makes them unique, but if you follow Duke's question, you will see that there is no cause for alarm. The objective in Long Answer 2 is to really give admissions insight into who you are, not what you have done (you can do that in Short Answer 2 and in Long Answer 1). Think about what positive characteristics about yourself make you the kind of person that other people want to be around. Also keep in mind that while Duke really does want to understand your background, an overemphasis on the negative is not likely to be effective. That said, writing about obstacles that you have overcome in the past can be great way to show some really positive characteristics.
McCombs
Keep in mind that for some schools like the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, MBA students are directly involved in admissions decisions, so explaining how you will contribute to your fellow students is no hypothetical issue.
At the McCombs School of Business, you will be part of an active and diverse community. Referencing your personal strengths and unique experience, how will you enrich the McCombs community during your two years in the program? Limit: 500 words
The question itself is not different from Kellogg, but given the limited size of the application you may find it useful to mention something professional that you could not express elsewhere. That said you should make every effort to include sufficient personal content so that the students at McCombs know why you should be part of their school. Japanese applicants (and anyone else who can read Japanese) should most certainly take a look at http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ayustat9.
Babson
Taken from the pdf application:
(3) What unique contributions will you bring to the Babson community that will enhance the value of the classroom experience for your classmates?
Babson's question is not so different from McCombs, but there is a difference: Given the fact that Babson is focused primarily on entrepreneurship, you should make sure that at least some of the unique contributions you make based on either your personal or professional background clearly relate to entrepreneurship. Use this essay to help admissions understand the fit between you and an MBA program for future entrepreneurs.
London Business School
Taken from the word version of the questions:
Question 3 (500 words)
Please describe your experience of working in and leading teams, either in your professional or personal life. Given this experience, what role do you think you will play in your study group, and how do you intend to contribute to it?
This question is like Duke Short Answer A very focused on specific ways you will add value and more particularly based on your team experiences. In 500 words, you should try to cover two to three different aspects of your team experiences. One possible mix might be one recent professional team experience, one experience during your university years, and one relating to a current extracurricular activity. In addition to wanting to know about your team experiences and how they will add value to other students, London Business School wants to know how you will contribute to the school as a whole:
Question 4 (400 words)
Student involvement is an extremely important part of the London MBA experience and this is reflected in the character of students on campus. What type of student club or campus community event do you envisage yourself leading? How would you set about becoming involved in a leadership position and how would you align and communicate the goals and vision for the club to the wider School community?
This question is certainly not like the more standard contribution questions above because it is completely future focused, whereas the typical contribution question is about showing how the past will be utilized for the future. Here you should certainly explain why you would want to lead a particular club or event and while this may relate to the past, you should really use this essay to show what you want to gain from LBS. In fact, this question is both about what you will contribute and what you will learn/experience at LBS. Effective answers to this question require solid knowledge about LBS, so that you can think really practically about your answer to this question. Keep in mind that this question is not really very hypothetical because students are expected to get leadership experience through clubs and events.
Finally, London Business School clearly put a huge emphasis on teams and participation in the life of the school, so in both essays make sure that you are showing that you are the kind of person who will take initiative.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイ MBA留学
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