One of my former clients asked that I post this.
-Adam
Northwestern大学Kellogg School of Management在校生・卒業生による学校説明会」のお知らせ
8月2日（日）に、Kellogg在校生・卒業生による、MBA受験生の皆様を対象とした学校説明会を開催します。 参加をご希望の方は下記のリンクからお申し込み下さい。お席に限りがありますので早めにお申し込みください。
http://kellogg.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_e5nNWvQEE4lUAFm&SVID=Prod
日時： ８月2日（日）13:15開場、13:30開始
在校生によるKelloggスクール紹介、卒業生によるパネルディスカッション、個別Q&A
終了時間は16:45頃を予定しております。
場所： 東京ステーションコンファレンス
千代田区丸の内１丁目7-12 サピアタワー6F
パネリストのご紹介：
● 加治慶光: 東京オリンピック・パラリンピック招致委員会エグゼクティブディレクター Class of 1997 タイム・ワーナーエンターテイメント映画宣伝部長、ソニー・ピクチャーズエンタテインメントマーケティング統括バイス・プレジデント、日産自動車マーケティング本部マーケティング・ダイレクターなどを歴任
● 苅田修: ボストンコンサルティンググループマネージングディレクター&パートナー Class of 1997
日本興業銀行を経て現在に至る。医薬、メディカル・エンタテインメント、消費財等の幅広い業界に対し、全社・事業戦略やM&A・提携戦略の策定・実行支援、新規事業立上げ支援、営業・マーケティング・研究開発のオペレーション革新等のコンサルティングを手掛ける
● 大里真理子: (株)アークコミュニケーションズ代表取締役社長 Class of 1992
日本IBMにてSE。ユニデンにて中国駐在、新規事業設立に携わった後、翻訳/通訳・WEB & Cross Media制作・ライティング等のビジネスコミュニケーションサービスを提供する会社を起業。 一児（1歳）の母
ブログ:マリコ駆ける！http://blogs.itmedia.co.jp/arc/
●有吉 昌康：株式会社PTP 代表取締役社長 Class of 1995
野村総合研究所で消費材メーカー、コンビニに対するコンサルティングに従事。同社を2000年に退職し、株）パワー・トゥ・ザ・ピープル（現 株式会社PTP）を創業。2007年に発売したSPIDERは、テレビなど数多くのメディアで取り上げられ話題になり、現在約300社の大手企業で導入されている。
● 岡本三成: ゴールドマン・サックス証券 投資銀行部門 マネージング・ディレクター Class of 1998 ゴールドマン・サックス・ニューヨークの資本市場部を経て東京に転勤。現在、日本政府、地方自治体、政府系機関等の公的機関、並びにインフラ関連事業の責任者を務める。
●その他、多数の卒業生、在校生が参加予定です。
概要：
説明会では、Kelloggの魅力を在校生や卒業生がたっぷりとお伝えします。世界最高峰のカリキュラム、多様かつ複雑な課題を解決するスキルを体得できるグループワーク、授業や課外活動に散りばめられたリーダーシップ・プログラム、配偶者や子供同伴の方でも安心して暮らせる生活環境といった多彩な魅力が、世界各国の若きビジネス･リーダーたちをひきつけています。当日はご家族・パートナーの方の同伴もウェルカムです。プログラムの進行は全て日本語で行う予定です。また、服装はカジュアルなものでお越しください。
問い合わせ先 ：
説明会の申し込みに関するお問い合わせは、下記にご連絡下さい。
受験及びキャンパスビジット等に関するお問い合わせは、下記にご連絡下さい。
また、Kellogg日本人在校生では受験生の皆様への情報提供を目的として、Webサイト並びにブログを運営しております。説明会に関する情報のアップデートがございましたら随時在校生ブログにアップデートさせていただきます。ぜひご覧ください。
Webサイト: http://www.kelloggalumni.jp/Prospective/
在校生ブログ：http://www.kelloggalumni.jp/kellogg_life/
June 26, 2009
June 13, 2009
Wharton analysis to be reposted after June 23rd
My analysis for Wharton will be reposted after June 23rd. Due to an error on the Wharton site I based my analysis on old info that they had incorrectly labled as the questions for 2010 admission. My thanks to a reader for pointing this out. Editing with blogger on an iPhone is not something I hope to do again.
June 11, 2009
June 08, 2009
TUCK 学校説明会開催のご案内 ～TUCKの魅力を大解剖～
I was asked by a former client to announce the following Tuck Event to be held in Tokyo:
-Adam
TUCK 学校説明会開催のご案内
～TUCKの魅力を大解剖～
2007年、ウォール・ストリート・ジャーナル紙の世界ビジネススクールランキングで栄えある第1位に輝いたTuck（正式名称:Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth）。今回、学校説明会ならびに懇親会を以下の要綱にて開催いたします。 本校の概要をはじめ、在校生・卒業生による体験談等をインフォーマルな形式にてご紹介する予定です。 全米最古の歴史をもち、小規模校ならではのインタラクティブなコミュニティ、チームワークを体感できるトップビジネススクールの一つ、Tuckの魅力を是非この機会にご確認ください。
当日は、2009年入学予定者も参加します。Tuckのみならず、MBA全般に関するご質問等にもお答えできればと考えています。ご多忙のところ恐縮ですが、ご調整の上、ご出席いただけると幸いです。
記
日時: 7月12日（日）14:30～16:30 ［14:00受付開始］
場所: ＡＮＡインターコンチネンタルホテル東京
（赤坂アークヒルズ隣接） 地下一階「オーロラ」
http://www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp/
概要: 14:30-15:30 学校説明会 ［プレゼンテーション、パネルディスカッション、Q&A］
15:30-16:30 懇親会 ［ソフトドリンク有］
出席者: 卒業生、在校生、2009年入学予定者
お申込み: 完全予約制、下記URLに7月7日（火）までにお申し込みください
http://www.smaster.jp/Sheet.aspx?SheetID=16021
お問合せ: tuckreception@gmail.com
ホームページ: TUCKオフィシャルサイト
TUCK日本人向けサイト
http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/clubs/international/JP/
※本説明会は、完全予約制となっております。定員110名になり次第、締め切らせて頂きますので、お早めにお申し込みください
※お申し込みいただいた方には確認のメールを追って返信いたします
※インフォーマルな形式の会です。カジュアルな服装にてお越しください
※本説明会は、卒業生・在校生・2009年入学予定者によって企画されたものであり、出願審査とは 一切関係ございません。当日、アドミッションからの出席はございませんので、予めご了承ください
以上
-Adam
INSEAD MBA Essay Questions for January & September 2010 Admission
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MY UPDATED AND GREATLY EXPANDED VERSION OF THIS POST.
I am posting my analysis of INSEAD's essays for the January and September 2010 Intake. The questions are taken from the PDF. My interview with the INSEAD MBA Programme's Assistant Director of Marketing is here.
Over the years, I have had an opportunity to work with a number of clients admitted to INSEAD. Two of my clients were admitted for Fall 2009. You can find an interview with one of them here. For Fall 2008 admission, you can read testimonials by one of them who was accepted here and one was invited for an interview, but decided not take it here. Additionally, another one of my comprehensive package clients and an interview-only clients were admitted.
1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)
With a question like this I think it is important to understand that you are actually being asked to think about your strengths and weaknesses in terms of your overall personality and development. What is important here is provide both an analysis about specific characteristics of yourself and something memorable about your background.
Obviously the strengths and weaknesses should be ones that relate to your character, not to a skill set. Given the word count, I suggest focusing on no more than about two strengths and two weaknesses. I would try to give fairly equal consideration to both weaknesses and strengths.
EMBRACE WEAKNESS!
I find that many applicants resist writing about their own weaknesses, yet to do so reveals self-awareness and maturity. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that you provide something beyond the routine.
One standard defensive strategy that many applicants seem drawn to is to write about knowledge areas where they are weak, but this is not suitable for INSEAD's question. Instead think about those characteristics that relate to your personality.
STRENGTHS
Compared to weaknesses, strengths are easier for most people to write about. Given the limited space here, you might find it helpful to write about a topic here that is discussed in greater detail in another essay.
IS IT A GOOD STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS?
Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate one's potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does INSEAD need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon through your program at INSEAD, why do they need to know about it?
3. If your strength or weakness is not related to leadership, why does INSEAD need to know about it?
Finally, if you are having difficulty thinking about your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your future academic and professional goals, please see my analysis of Essay 5 because in it I discuss how to think about strengths and weaknesses in relation to goals.
2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)
Some key things to keep in mind when answering this question:
-Accomplishments reveal your potential to succeed at INSEAD and afterwards.
-Accomplishments reveal your potential for contributing to your classmates.
-Everyone has had accomplishments, so it is easy to compare applicants.
-What you consider to be an accomplishment are real tests of your self-awareness and judgment.
The following grid is the kind I have used successfully with applicants preparing this question:
(CLICK TO ENLARGE. )
How to use this grid for outlining your answer to Question 1:
Row 1: "Stories." The first thing you need to do is think of the accomplishments. These will eventually take the form of stories, so that is what I call them. A few things to keep in mind:
Row 3: "What potential for success in the MBA program or afterwords is demonstrated?" You may or may not be directly stating this in the essay, but you should think about what each accomplishment reveals in terms of your potential. INSEAD Adcom will most certainly be considering how your accomplishments demonstrate your potential to succeed at INSEAD and afterwards, so you should as well. One key way of thinking about the MBA application process is to see it as a test of potential. Potential itself can mean different things at different schools and so you must keep in mind differences between schools and in particular must pay close attention to what schools say really matters when they assess applicants. Please click here to read about what INSEAD values in applicants. Please keep in mind that a core part of your own application strategy should be determining which parts of you to emphasize both overall and for a particular school.
Row 4: "Will this be a contribution to others in the MBA program? How?" Just as with potential, think about whether your accomplishments demonstrate your ability to add value to other students at INSEAD. Given space limitations, it is not likely that you will be explaining how one or more of your accomplishments will be contribution, but rather this is a strategic consideration. The dynamic nature of study groups at INSEAD is very much based on what each student contributes. Think about whether any of your accomplishments demonstrate how you will likely add value to other students INSEAD experience. Not all substantial accomplishments will have this quality, but many will.
Row 5: "Why does Adcom need to know about this?" If your accomplishment has made it this far, chances are it is substantial. That said, I have two simple tests for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay. The first is whether INSEAD really needs to know about this accomplishment. After all, you might consider getting the love of your life to marry you to be one of your most substantial accomplishments, but will Adcom care? If an accomplishment does not reveal (whether stated or implied) potential and/or contribution, chances are likely that it is not significant enough.
Row 6: "Is this something Adcom could learn about you elsewhere? (If "YES," find another accomplishment)" The second and final simple test I have for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay is based on the idea that something that is totally obvious about you to anyone looking at your resume and transcript is probably not worth mentioning. If you were a CPA, having an accomplishment that merely demonstrated you were good at accounting would not be worth writing about. Instead it would be important to show something more specific that reveals something that is not obvious by a mere examination of the basic facts of your application.
Finally, as I mentioned above what you include here is a real test of your judgment, so don't just write about your obvious accomplishments. Think deeply and come up with a set of unique accomplishments that reveal distinct, interesting, and the most important things about you that will compel admissions to want to interview you.
3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)
This is a fairly standard failure question. That said, it is important to remember that the objective you fail to reach might very well be your own personal objective and not one imposed on you. You might very well succeed from the perspective of others, but fail from your own perspective.
It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. And your learning about yourself should be important, otherwise why tell admissions about it? Therefore the key constraint of this question is that whatever the failure is, you have learned something important from it. While not stated, you may very well find that one way of showing what you learned is to discuss how you applied your lesson to a new situation.
I would, in fact, argue that the heart of any sort of "failure question," whether it is an essay question or an interview is what you learned. Also depending on what your role was, how you reacted is also very important.
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the objective was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Clearly state your failure.
4. Explain what you learned.
The word count is limited, but, if you can, show how you applied what you learned to a new situation because the application of abstract learning to a new situation is a key indicator of real learning.
4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career. (500 words approx.)
THIS IS A FUTURE DIRECTED QUESTION
Unlike some other "Why MBA" questions, INSEAD is not asking about the past. You will write about that in the other essays. Instead focus on your goals and the skills that you will obtain at INSEAD that will help you accomplish those goals. Please see my analysis of Stanford Essay 2 as it mostly applies with the exception that Stanford asks about "aspirations" and INSEAD asks about "goals." This is not much of a difference, but it does mean that you should, at least in terms of your short-term goal, have some specific learning objectives that contribute directly to a future career plan. You should certain offer a vision for your intended future, but given the short lenghth of the INSEAD program, it really is quite important that you give them a clear future plan.
As with other schools, I strongly recommend becoming informed about INSEAD. Attending admission events, meeting alum, and making full use of INSEAD's online resources is critical for making the strongest possible case for why your goals require an INSEAD education. You should most certainly look at INSEAD KNOWLEDGE and listen to some INSEAD Knowledgecasts.
5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics: a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.), or b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)
One core characteristic of those who are admitted to INSEAD is that they are international in their perspective and experience:
The INSEAD MBA equips our alumni to work anywhere in the world. Accordingly, we attract applicants with cross-cultural sensitivity and an international outlook.
I have found that it is usually those with extensive international experience that have the greatest likelihood for admission.
Both options for Question 5 are really great ways for INSEAD to gauge your global perspective.
a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you?
This is a very standard question that frequently gets asked in interviews and has appeared on a number of MBA applications. It is also a question with significant room for saying something stupid and potentially fatal to your application. Some topics to avoid:
1. Topics where you negatively stereotype another nation: Martians are argumentative, so I was surprised to learn that some of them are not.
2. Topics where you are the victim: The Martians lied to me and a result I lost the contract to a local provider.
3. Topics where you don't actually learn anything: This situation taught me the importance of human communication.
Successful versions of this topic almost always involve real learning. I suppose it is possible for something to mean much to you without learning something important, but I can't recall a successful version of this essay that did that. After all to be shocked is to experience something outside of your previous understanding. Getting shocked teaches something important that changes your perspective. This may lead to a new career decision, a new way of looking at oneself, a new way of interacting with other people, or a myriad of other possibilities.
b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country?
American Adam's bad answer: Learn how to tip.
Why is that answer bad? It certainly is useful to know how to tip. I can think of almost nothing more annoying in the US than our system of tipping. Every time I go back to the US, I am at a loss. Doesn't this make for a good topic? NO, BECAUSE IT IS OBVIOUS, IS COVERED IN EVERY TRAVEL GUIDE, AND WOULD GIVE ADMISSIONS NO REAL INSIGHT INTO YOUR ABILITY TO HAVE INTERESTING AND USEFUL THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOUR OWN COUNTRY. Uppercase is used here in the hope that I don't have to read another version of this essay where the writer says commonplace things about their own country that any tourist would know. And yes, we all know it is useful to learn the local language, so please don't suggest that!
If you write on option b), one that I think is actually much more fun and certainly more open than option a), think deeply about how your knowledge of your country will contribute to your fellow classmates at INSEAD. INSEAD is a place were students really have the option of getting know (and drink with) people from all over the world. It is truly international in a way that no American program could ever claim. This question directly relates to your ability to show how you will be an effective representative of your own country to your classmates. They will, to some extent, depend on you for their knowledge of your home country. Don't tell them the easy stuff they can get by flipping through the first few pages of a Lonely Planet travel guide to your country. Give them real insight. The kind of insight they could use if they were going to move there.
Now while the question is not in regards to your classmates, I think it is useful to think of it that way so that you focus on writing something that would actually be interesting and useful to someone moving to your country. Decide on one or two pieces of really great advice and provide examples to justify their importance. Since they will be living in your country, assume they will also be working there. You don't have to write on a business related topic, but if you have a good one, do so. Try to have fun with this one. My guess is you will spend much more time thinking about what to write than on actually writing it.
6. Is there anything that you have not mentioned in the above essays that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (200 words approx.) This essay is optional.
This is a completely open question. While you might very well need to tell the Admissions Committee something negative, such as an explanation for a low GPA, I would suggest using at least part of it to tell them something positive about you. Feel free to write on any topic that will add another dimension to Admissions' perception of who you are. I would not treat it as optional unless you truly feel that the rest of your essays have fully expressed everything you want INSEAD to know about you. I don't suggest writing about something that would be obvious from reviewing your application, instead tell INSEAD that one story that will give them another reason to admit you.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
インシアード インシアッド インシアド ビジネススクール エッセイ
大学院入学 カウンセリング コンサルティング 合格対策 MBA留学
I am posting my analysis of INSEAD's essays for the January and September 2010 Intake. The questions are taken from the PDF. My interview with the INSEAD MBA Programme's Assistant Director of Marketing is here.
Over the years, I have had an opportunity to work with a number of clients admitted to INSEAD. Two of my clients were admitted for Fall 2009. You can find an interview with one of them here. For Fall 2008 admission, you can read testimonials by one of them who was accepted here and one was invited for an interview, but decided not take it here. Additionally, another one of my comprehensive package clients and an interview-only clients were admitted.
1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)
With a question like this I think it is important to understand that you are actually being asked to think about your strengths and weaknesses in terms of your overall personality and development. What is important here is provide both an analysis about specific characteristics of yourself and something memorable about your background.
Obviously the strengths and weaknesses should be ones that relate to your character, not to a skill set. Given the word count, I suggest focusing on no more than about two strengths and two weaknesses. I would try to give fairly equal consideration to both weaknesses and strengths.
EMBRACE WEAKNESS!
I find that many applicants resist writing about their own weaknesses, yet to do so reveals self-awareness and maturity. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that you provide something beyond the routine.
One standard defensive strategy that many applicants seem drawn to is to write about knowledge areas where they are weak, but this is not suitable for INSEAD's question. Instead think about those characteristics that relate to your personality.
STRENGTHS
Compared to weaknesses, strengths are easier for most people to write about. Given the limited space here, you might find it helpful to write about a topic here that is discussed in greater detail in another essay.
IS IT A GOOD STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS?
Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate one's potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does INSEAD need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon through your program at INSEAD, why do they need to know about it?
3. If your strength or weakness is not related to leadership, why does INSEAD need to know about it?
Finally, if you are having difficulty thinking about your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your future academic and professional goals, please see my analysis of Essay 5 because in it I discuss how to think about strengths and weaknesses in relation to goals.
2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)
Some key things to keep in mind when answering this question:
-Accomplishments reveal your potential to succeed at INSEAD and afterwards.
-Accomplishments reveal your potential for contributing to your classmates.
-Everyone has had accomplishments, so it is easy to compare applicants.
-What you consider to be an accomplishment are real tests of your self-awareness and judgment.
The following grid is the kind I have used successfully with applicants preparing this question:
(CLICK TO ENLARGE. )
How to use this grid for outlining your answer to Question 1:
Row 1: "Stories." The first thing you need to do is think of the accomplishments. These will eventually take the form of stories, so that is what I call them. A few things to keep in mind:
- Your accomplishments maybe personal, professional, or academic.
- While it is very important that your accomplishments be distinct so as to reveal different things about you, there is no single formula for what their content must be. It is quite possible that you might have three professional accomplishments or one personal/one professional/one academic or two academic/one personal. It will really depend on your background.
- The key consideration is that each accomplishment must be substantial and that you can explain why that is the case.
Row 3: "What potential for success in the MBA program or afterwords is demonstrated?" You may or may not be directly stating this in the essay, but you should think about what each accomplishment reveals in terms of your potential. INSEAD Adcom will most certainly be considering how your accomplishments demonstrate your potential to succeed at INSEAD and afterwards, so you should as well. One key way of thinking about the MBA application process is to see it as a test of potential. Potential itself can mean different things at different schools and so you must keep in mind differences between schools and in particular must pay close attention to what schools say really matters when they assess applicants. Please click here to read about what INSEAD values in applicants. Please keep in mind that a core part of your own application strategy should be determining which parts of you to emphasize both overall and for a particular school.
Row 4: "Will this be a contribution to others in the MBA program? How?" Just as with potential, think about whether your accomplishments demonstrate your ability to add value to other students at INSEAD. Given space limitations, it is not likely that you will be explaining how one or more of your accomplishments will be contribution, but rather this is a strategic consideration. The dynamic nature of study groups at INSEAD is very much based on what each student contributes. Think about whether any of your accomplishments demonstrate how you will likely add value to other students INSEAD experience. Not all substantial accomplishments will have this quality, but many will.
Row 5: "Why does Adcom need to know about this?" If your accomplishment has made it this far, chances are it is substantial. That said, I have two simple tests for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay. The first is whether INSEAD really needs to know about this accomplishment. After all, you might consider getting the love of your life to marry you to be one of your most substantial accomplishments, but will Adcom care? If an accomplishment does not reveal (whether stated or implied) potential and/or contribution, chances are likely that it is not significant enough.
Row 6: "Is this something Adcom could learn about you elsewhere? (If "YES," find another accomplishment)" The second and final simple test I have for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay is based on the idea that something that is totally obvious about you to anyone looking at your resume and transcript is probably not worth mentioning. If you were a CPA, having an accomplishment that merely demonstrated you were good at accounting would not be worth writing about. Instead it would be important to show something more specific that reveals something that is not obvious by a mere examination of the basic facts of your application.
Finally, as I mentioned above what you include here is a real test of your judgment, so don't just write about your obvious accomplishments. Think deeply and come up with a set of unique accomplishments that reveal distinct, interesting, and the most important things about you that will compel admissions to want to interview you.
3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)
This is a fairly standard failure question. That said, it is important to remember that the objective you fail to reach might very well be your own personal objective and not one imposed on you. You might very well succeed from the perspective of others, but fail from your own perspective.
It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. And your learning about yourself should be important, otherwise why tell admissions about it? Therefore the key constraint of this question is that whatever the failure is, you have learned something important from it. While not stated, you may very well find that one way of showing what you learned is to discuss how you applied your lesson to a new situation.
I would, in fact, argue that the heart of any sort of "failure question," whether it is an essay question or an interview is what you learned. Also depending on what your role was, how you reacted is also very important.
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the objective was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Clearly state your failure.
4. Explain what you learned.
The word count is limited, but, if you can, show how you applied what you learned to a new situation because the application of abstract learning to a new situation is a key indicator of real learning.
4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career. (500 words approx.)
THIS IS A FUTURE DIRECTED QUESTION
Unlike some other "Why MBA" questions, INSEAD is not asking about the past. You will write about that in the other essays. Instead focus on your goals and the skills that you will obtain at INSEAD that will help you accomplish those goals. Please see my analysis of Stanford Essay 2 as it mostly applies with the exception that Stanford asks about "aspirations" and INSEAD asks about "goals." This is not much of a difference, but it does mean that you should, at least in terms of your short-term goal, have some specific learning objectives that contribute directly to a future career plan. You should certain offer a vision for your intended future, but given the short lenghth of the INSEAD program, it really is quite important that you give them a clear future plan.
As with other schools, I strongly recommend becoming informed about INSEAD. Attending admission events, meeting alum, and making full use of INSEAD's online resources is critical for making the strongest possible case for why your goals require an INSEAD education. You should most certainly look at INSEAD KNOWLEDGE and listen to some INSEAD Knowledgecasts.
5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics: a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.), or b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)
One core characteristic of those who are admitted to INSEAD is that they are international in their perspective and experience:
The INSEAD MBA equips our alumni to work anywhere in the world. Accordingly, we attract applicants with cross-cultural sensitivity and an international outlook.
I have found that it is usually those with extensive international experience that have the greatest likelihood for admission.
Both options for Question 5 are really great ways for INSEAD to gauge your global perspective.
a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you?
This is a very standard question that frequently gets asked in interviews and has appeared on a number of MBA applications. It is also a question with significant room for saying something stupid and potentially fatal to your application. Some topics to avoid:
1. Topics where you negatively stereotype another nation: Martians are argumentative, so I was surprised to learn that some of them are not.
2. Topics where you are the victim: The Martians lied to me and a result I lost the contract to a local provider.
3. Topics where you don't actually learn anything: This situation taught me the importance of human communication.
Successful versions of this topic almost always involve real learning. I suppose it is possible for something to mean much to you without learning something important, but I can't recall a successful version of this essay that did that. After all to be shocked is to experience something outside of your previous understanding. Getting shocked teaches something important that changes your perspective. This may lead to a new career decision, a new way of looking at oneself, a new way of interacting with other people, or a myriad of other possibilities.
b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country?
American Adam's bad answer: Learn how to tip.
Why is that answer bad? It certainly is useful to know how to tip. I can think of almost nothing more annoying in the US than our system of tipping. Every time I go back to the US, I am at a loss. Doesn't this make for a good topic? NO, BECAUSE IT IS OBVIOUS, IS COVERED IN EVERY TRAVEL GUIDE, AND WOULD GIVE ADMISSIONS NO REAL INSIGHT INTO YOUR ABILITY TO HAVE INTERESTING AND USEFUL THINGS TO SAY ABOUT YOUR OWN COUNTRY. Uppercase is used here in the hope that I don't have to read another version of this essay where the writer says commonplace things about their own country that any tourist would know. And yes, we all know it is useful to learn the local language, so please don't suggest that!
If you write on option b), one that I think is actually much more fun and certainly more open than option a), think deeply about how your knowledge of your country will contribute to your fellow classmates at INSEAD. INSEAD is a place were students really have the option of getting know (and drink with) people from all over the world. It is truly international in a way that no American program could ever claim. This question directly relates to your ability to show how you will be an effective representative of your own country to your classmates. They will, to some extent, depend on you for their knowledge of your home country. Don't tell them the easy stuff they can get by flipping through the first few pages of a Lonely Planet travel guide to your country. Give them real insight. The kind of insight they could use if they were going to move there.
Now while the question is not in regards to your classmates, I think it is useful to think of it that way so that you focus on writing something that would actually be interesting and useful to someone moving to your country. Decide on one or two pieces of really great advice and provide examples to justify their importance. Since they will be living in your country, assume they will also be working there. You don't have to write on a business related topic, but if you have a good one, do so. Try to have fun with this one. My guess is you will spend much more time thinking about what to write than on actually writing it.
6. Is there anything that you have not mentioned in the above essays that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (200 words approx.) This essay is optional.
This is a completely open question. While you might very well need to tell the Admissions Committee something negative, such as an explanation for a low GPA, I would suggest using at least part of it to tell them something positive about you. Feel free to write on any topic that will add another dimension to Admissions' perception of who you are. I would not treat it as optional unless you truly feel that the rest of your essays have fully expressed everything you want INSEAD to know about you. I don't suggest writing about something that would be obvious from reviewing your application, instead tell INSEAD that one story that will give them another reason to admit you.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
-Adam Markus
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IMD Essays for January 2010 Admission
PLEASE NOTE: THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS FOR JANUARY 2010 ADMISSION. THE QUESTIONS FOR JANUARY 2011 ADMISSION HAVE CHANGED. I WILL BE WRITING A NEW VERSION OF THIS POST SOON.- Adam, 11/25/2009
IMD (The Institute for Management Development), consistently ranked among the best MBA programs in the world, is a small intensive one-year program that starts in January. IMD has five deadlines (February 1, April 1, June 1, August 1, and September 1) and at the time of this posting, three of them have passed for admission for January 2010. IMD, along with Columbia January Term and INSEAD (INSEAD has both September and January start dates) are three of the best options for those who want to start in January 2010 at a top MBA program.
To learn about IMD, visit the site. You should download three PDFs from the site: "MBA Program Brochure," "MBA Class Profiles," and "Class and Placement Overview." I will refer to these below. In addition, if possible, I suggest either attending an information session or visiting. Getting an alumni perspective would also be particularly helpful. Review the website completely and by all means read the MBA Diary to get IMD students' perspectives. To learn about IMD faculty perspectives, please visit Tomorrrow's Challenges.
7/6/09 UPDATE: I also suggest reading my Q&A with a member of the Class of 2009. I think this interview will provide you with some key insights into IMD.
IMD's small size sets it apart from other top programs, as its brochure states: "90 Exceptional People Who Will Shape The Future of Business." While it is not easy to get into IMD, it has an acceptance rate of 28%, it has an 86% yield, one of the highest yields worldwide. (If you get into IMD, chances are quite high that you will go there.)
When you think about IMD, two keywords to focus on are "international" and "leadership." Based on my experience working with clients admitted there for both the Class of 2009 (See here for my client's testimonial) and Class of 2010 (See here for my client's testimonial), I can say that IMD is looking for those individuals who both already have and aspire to increased capacity in both being international and being leaders.
Like its bigger rival INSEAD, IMD is truly an international program with a very diverse student body and faculty. You can actually view all of the Class of 2009 as well as read a statistical summary of their backgrounds on PDFs found on the IMD site. Doing so will certainly help you understand that IMD students are incredibly diverse and multilingual.
The IMD program is focused on making leaders, not managers. It also is not designed for those who want to develop expertise in a business subfield. IMD makes the program's focus very clear on page 2 of the PDF version of their brochure:
Top executives of leading multinational companies tell us clearly: they need leaders, not managers. Leaders with the insight and ability to address issues and problems that are more complex and changing more quickly than ever before. Leaders who are confident, creating their own solutions to these emerging issues with integrity and high ethics. Leaders who understand themselves and how they interact with others. Leaders who understand the needs of their organizations and their business environments. Leaders who can drive change through innovation. Leaders who can move their businesses forward. The single aim of the IMD MBA program is to develop these leaders.
If you are not looking for an education focused on leadership, do not apply to IMD, but if you are, IMD offers a very intensive one-year leadership education:
The program starts with a foundation in the core business courses, e.g. accounting, finance, marketing and operations. This helps you to understand all of the functional areas of the organization and how they work together. It continues with real-world projects and additional courses that allow you to apply what you have learned in the classroom to real leadership situations
A review of the program structure makes it perfectly clear that it is not a degree for those wanting expertise in a particular business subfield (e.g. finance or marketing) because there is actually only one three-week period of study available for electives.
THE QUESTIONS
Considering the above, I will analyze IMD's 10 questions. I have taken the questions from the online application.
LENGTH
Each essay is quite short, just a maximum of 1230 characters with spaces for each required answer. Essay 1 requires two separate answers. Each answer would be a maximum of about 200-300 words each.
Essay 1: Two situations of importance to you
Situation 1
Situation 2
You have 1230 characters for each Situation. On the online application they are treated as separate answers, so I suggest you treat them as separate essays.
I don't necessarily suggest answering this question first due to its open-ended nature. Instead, first determine what topics you will write about for Essays 2, 3, 4, and 6. Essay 1 is what I call a "balance question" because you can use it to make sure that you are emphasizing all of your most compelling personality characteristics, background, and strengths in your application. Given the limited space in Essay 4 to write about strengths, I think it is fine if you briefly mention a strength in Essay 4 that is substantially proven by one of the situations you write about in Essay 1.
While situations of importance to you may not be accomplishments, many applicants will use this essay for that purpose. If you write about accomplishments, please see my analysis of HBS Essay 1 as it would apply here. I think most applicants will consider it to their advantage to have at least one of these situations be an accomplishment.
Another likely topic for one of these situations might involve an explanation for what has motivated in the past. While you will discuss your MBA motivations in Essay 5, if you think that IMD admissions will greatly benefit from understanding a critical decision you made in the past, that can also be quite effective here.
Essay 2: Failure to reach objective
Please comment on a situation where you failed to reach an objective and what you learned from it.
INSEAD asks almost the same question, so if you are applying to both, excepting for possible differences in word count, you could use the same topic.
This is a fairly standard failure question. That said, I think it is important to remember that the objective you fail to reach might very well be your own personal objective and not one imposed on you. You might very well succeed from the perspective of others, but fail from your own perspective.
It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. And your learning about yourself should be important, otherwise why tell admissions about it? Therefore the key constraint of this question is that whatever the failure is, you have learned something important from it. While not stated, you may very well find that one way of showing what you learned is to discuss how you applied your lesson to a new situation.
I would, in fact, argue that the heart of any sort of "failure question," whether it is an essay question or an interview is what you learned. Also depending on what your role was, how you reacted is also very important.
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the objective was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Clearly state your failure.
4. Explain what you learned.
The word count is limited, but, if you can, show how you applied what you learned to a new situation because the application of abstract learning to a new situation is a key indicator of real learning.
Essay 3: Leadership
Describe a situation where you had to demonstrate strong leadership skills. Explain how effective you were and what you learned.
Obviously, given the centrality of leadership to IMD, use your best leadership story here. This should be a story where you demonstrate your strengths as leader, have a concrete result, and are able to provide IMD with an interpretation of your actions.
I have developed the following grid to help you outline leadership stories. The categories this grid employs may go beyond any particular school's essay requirements. Filling it out completely will help you write about your leadership in a way that will convince admissions of your leadership potential.
CLICK TO ENLARGE. EMAIL me at adammarkus@gmail.com if you want the original excel version.
How to use the grid:
1. Decide on a specific story.
2. Identify the most significant things you did in the situation, these are you action steps.
3. For each action step identify:
5. After completing the chart you will see that some aspects of your action steps may be repeated. If there is a total duplication and nothing new is shown, either you need to redefine the action step or you may decide not to focus on it very much.
6. Once you think you have two to four fully worked-out action steps, start writing your essay.
7. Next, start re-writing. Eliminate duplicate points made between action steps. Make choices about what parts of each action to step to highlight. Given that there are usually word limits, you will have to make some decisions about what to include.
Simply providing a description of your actions, is not enough. Think about what it signifies about you. Think about what your actions reveals about your leadership potential. State what you learned.
Finally, thinking and writing about leadership is an important part of preparing for interviews because you can be certain that you will have to talk about leadership. So you might find that the parts of the outline you jettison now will become valuable when you will want to have alternative stories for your IMD interview.
Essay 4: Describe yourself
How do you imagine your superior would describe your strengths and weaknesses to someone who does not know you?
With a question like this I think it is important to understand that you are actually being asked to think about your strengths and weaknesses more objectively than you might otherwise. In particular, you need to judge yourself from the viewpoint of a hypothetical supervisor who is describing you to someone who does not know you.
My suggestion is to think about what your supervisors in the past have mentioned to you as both your strengths and weaknesses. Don't feel obligated to focus on that exclusively, but just make sure that your strengths and weaknesses are ones that your superior could recognize.
Obviously the strengths and weaknesses under consideration are mostly, though not necessarily exclusively, of a professional nature. Given the word count, I suggest focusing on no more than about two strengths and two weaknesses. I would try to give fairly equal consideration to both weaknesses and strengths.
EMBRACE WEAKNESS!
I find that many applicants resist writing about their own weaknesses. Yet, to do so reveals self-awareness and maturity. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that you provide something beyond the routine.
One standard defensive strategy that many applicants seem drawn to is to write about knowledge areas where they are weak. While this can be OK in some cases, it tends to lack any real depth. One thing to avoid is to discuss a skill that you need for the future, but don't need now as a weakness. It is not a weakness because up till now you have not needed it.
STRENGTHS
Strengths are easier to write about, but do keep in mind that you want to be specific about them. Given the limited space here, you might find it helpful to write about a topic here that is discussed in greater detail in another essay.
IS IT A GOOD STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS?
Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate one's potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so, it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does IMD need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon through your program at IMD, why do they need to know about it?
3. If your strength or weakness is not related to leadership, why does IMD need to know about it?
Finally, if you are having difficulty thinking about your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your future academic and professional goals, please see my analysis of Essay 5 because in it I discuss how to think about strengths and weaknesses in relation to goals.
Essay 5: Motivation
What is motivating you to seek an MBA education at IMD?
Your motivations need to relate to why you need a leadership based MBA education to move your career forward. I suggest focusing on specific aspects of IMD that will help you achieve your professional and possibly personal objectives.
If you are having trouble formulating your motivations, you might want to go through a formal analysis of why you need an MBA. You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for the Businessweek MBA ROI calculator. Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI. )
(To best view the following table, click on it. For a word version, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com)
How to use this table:
Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?
Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. REMEMBER:WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze the environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?
Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your MBA. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.
Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?
Step 4. After completing Step 3, you need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4 than you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.
The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals? Thinking about these issues now will help you to develop a fully worked-out strategy for how you will best present yourself both in the application and in an interview.
After going through this formal process, review what you know about IMD again. In your answer to the question, please focus on showing how IMD will help make your post-MBA future objectives a reality. The more you know about IMD and about yourself, the stronger an answer you can write.
Essay 6: Contribution
What will you be able to contribute that would make you a unique and valuable addition to the IMD MBA class?
One way I like to think about contribution questions is to use a matrix such as the following:
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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
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?).
When you think about what to select here, carefully consider what you are writing in the other essays and use this space to help IMD learn even more about you. Given that Essay 3 is focused on leadership skills, only discuss leadership skills in Essay 6 if they are points in addition to what you cover in Essay 3.
Also, given the international nature of the IMD program, you might very well find that you have unique contributions based on your international experience. While writing about international experience can be effective, it will not be if it becomes little more than writing something like "I am Japanese (or American, French, etc) so I can contribute a Japanese (or American, etc.) perspective." That is not good enough because it merely means that any Japanese candidate, and not necessarily you, could make this contribution. In such circumstances, dig deeper and come up with something better.
Essay 7: Alternatives
If you are not admitted, what alternatives will you consider?
This question is designed to test both your real motivations and your ability to develop a plan for meeting your own professional objectives. Therefore I think it is important to consider it in relation to your answer to Essay 5 about your motivations for attending IMD. Assuming your motivations are real, you will need to figure out another way to meet them.
While a successful answer to this question can certainly include the fact that you have already been admitted elsewhere, that would not be a sufficient answer. You would also want to explain why IMD would be a better choice for you than that other school.
Some think about stating they would reapply. If you are not company-sponsored, that certainly is an option. If you are, it is probably not.That said, simply stating that you would reapply is not enough, instead you need to think about how you will move forward to accomplish what you would have tried to accomplish at IMD.
Essay 8: Finance
Please explain how you intend to finance your studies at IMD. What would be your budget?
This should be treated as more of an administrate rather than an evaluative topic. You just need to state your plan for financing your education. Stick to the facts and make sure what you write is easy to understand and will in no way be a source of concern to the admissions committee.
Essay 9: Disability / illness
Do you have a disability or illness that could affect your performance at IMD? If so, please explain.
If you have no disability or illness of significance, you need not answer this one. In that case, just write "Not Applicable" or words to that effect. If you do have a disability or illness, then I suggest taking the time to contact IMD first, so you can get a better idea about how to best answer this question. If some sort of special arrangement would be necessary for you, please contact IMD to make sure that they can provide it.
Essay 10: Additional Information Optional question: Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee to know which has not been covered elsewhere in this application?
While I suppose it is possible to answer this question with "No," in most cases I would not necessarily recommend doing so.
For some applicants who have to discuss something negative such as a low GPA, the topic for this essay will be clear enough. Just make sure your answer is a clear and believable explanation and not an excuse.
For those who have nothing negative to write about, think about one or two topics that you believe would help admissions to understand you and support your admission. Be careful that you do not pick a trivial topic. Additionally do not write about an obvious essay topic from another application, such as INSEAD's culture shock question.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
ヨーロッパのトップランキング 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 エッセイMBA留学 スイス
IMD (The Institute for Management Development), consistently ranked among the best MBA programs in the world, is a small intensive one-year program that starts in January. IMD has five deadlines (February 1, April 1, June 1, August 1, and September 1) and at the time of this posting, three of them have passed for admission for January 2010. IMD, along with Columbia January Term and INSEAD (INSEAD has both September and January start dates) are three of the best options for those who want to start in January 2010 at a top MBA program.
To learn about IMD, visit the site. You should download three PDFs from the site: "MBA Program Brochure," "MBA Class Profiles," and "Class and Placement Overview." I will refer to these below. In addition, if possible, I suggest either attending an information session or visiting. Getting an alumni perspective would also be particularly helpful. Review the website completely and by all means read the MBA Diary to get IMD students' perspectives. To learn about IMD faculty perspectives, please visit Tomorrrow's Challenges.
7/6/09 UPDATE: I also suggest reading my Q&A with a member of the Class of 2009. I think this interview will provide you with some key insights into IMD.
IMD's small size sets it apart from other top programs, as its brochure states: "90 Exceptional People Who Will Shape The Future of Business." While it is not easy to get into IMD, it has an acceptance rate of 28%, it has an 86% yield, one of the highest yields worldwide. (If you get into IMD, chances are quite high that you will go there.)
When you think about IMD, two keywords to focus on are "international" and "leadership." Based on my experience working with clients admitted there for both the Class of 2009 (See here for my client's testimonial) and Class of 2010 (See here for my client's testimonial), I can say that IMD is looking for those individuals who both already have and aspire to increased capacity in both being international and being leaders.
Like its bigger rival INSEAD, IMD is truly an international program with a very diverse student body and faculty. You can actually view all of the Class of 2009 as well as read a statistical summary of their backgrounds on PDFs found on the IMD site. Doing so will certainly help you understand that IMD students are incredibly diverse and multilingual.
The IMD program is focused on making leaders, not managers. It also is not designed for those who want to develop expertise in a business subfield. IMD makes the program's focus very clear on page 2 of the PDF version of their brochure:
Top executives of leading multinational companies tell us clearly: they need leaders, not managers. Leaders with the insight and ability to address issues and problems that are more complex and changing more quickly than ever before. Leaders who are confident, creating their own solutions to these emerging issues with integrity and high ethics. Leaders who understand themselves and how they interact with others. Leaders who understand the needs of their organizations and their business environments. Leaders who can drive change through innovation. Leaders who can move their businesses forward. The single aim of the IMD MBA program is to develop these leaders.
If you are not looking for an education focused on leadership, do not apply to IMD, but if you are, IMD offers a very intensive one-year leadership education:
The program starts with a foundation in the core business courses, e.g. accounting, finance, marketing and operations. This helps you to understand all of the functional areas of the organization and how they work together. It continues with real-world projects and additional courses that allow you to apply what you have learned in the classroom to real leadership situations
A review of the program structure makes it perfectly clear that it is not a degree for those wanting expertise in a particular business subfield (e.g. finance or marketing) because there is actually only one three-week period of study available for electives.
THE QUESTIONS
Considering the above, I will analyze IMD's 10 questions. I have taken the questions from the online application.
LENGTH
Each essay is quite short, just a maximum of 1230 characters with spaces for each required answer. Essay 1 requires two separate answers. Each answer would be a maximum of about 200-300 words each.
Essay 1: Two situations of importance to you
Situation 1
Situation 2
You have 1230 characters for each Situation. On the online application they are treated as separate answers, so I suggest you treat them as separate essays.
I don't necessarily suggest answering this question first due to its open-ended nature. Instead, first determine what topics you will write about for Essays 2, 3, 4, and 6. Essay 1 is what I call a "balance question" because you can use it to make sure that you are emphasizing all of your most compelling personality characteristics, background, and strengths in your application. Given the limited space in Essay 4 to write about strengths, I think it is fine if you briefly mention a strength in Essay 4 that is substantially proven by one of the situations you write about in Essay 1.
While situations of importance to you may not be accomplishments, many applicants will use this essay for that purpose. If you write about accomplishments, please see my analysis of HBS Essay 1 as it would apply here. I think most applicants will consider it to their advantage to have at least one of these situations be an accomplishment.
Another likely topic for one of these situations might involve an explanation for what has motivated in the past. While you will discuss your MBA motivations in Essay 5, if you think that IMD admissions will greatly benefit from understanding a critical decision you made in the past, that can also be quite effective here.
Essay 2: Failure to reach objective
Please comment on a situation where you failed to reach an objective and what you learned from it.
INSEAD asks almost the same question, so if you are applying to both, excepting for possible differences in word count, you could use the same topic.
This is a fairly standard failure question. That said, I think it is important to remember that the objective you fail to reach might very well be your own personal objective and not one imposed on you. You might very well succeed from the perspective of others, but fail from your own perspective.
It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. And your learning about yourself should be important, otherwise why tell admissions about it? Therefore the key constraint of this question is that whatever the failure is, you have learned something important from it. While not stated, you may very well find that one way of showing what you learned is to discuss how you applied your lesson to a new situation.
I would, in fact, argue that the heart of any sort of "failure question," whether it is an essay question or an interview is what you learned. Also depending on what your role was, how you reacted is also very important.
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the objective was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Clearly state your failure.
4. Explain what you learned.
The word count is limited, but, if you can, show how you applied what you learned to a new situation because the application of abstract learning to a new situation is a key indicator of real learning.
Essay 3: Leadership
Describe a situation where you had to demonstrate strong leadership skills. Explain how effective you were and what you learned.
Obviously, given the centrality of leadership to IMD, use your best leadership story here. This should be a story where you demonstrate your strengths as leader, have a concrete result, and are able to provide IMD with an interpretation of your actions.
I have developed the following grid to help you outline leadership stories. The categories this grid employs may go beyond any particular school's essay requirements. Filling it out completely will help you write about your leadership in a way that will convince admissions of your leadership potential.
CLICK TO ENLARGE. EMAIL me at adammarkus@gmail.com if you want the original excel version.How to use the grid:
1. Decide on a specific story.
2. Identify the most significant things you did in the situation, these are you action steps.
3. For each action step identify:
- What skills or qualities you demonstrated to complete this step.
- The strengths you demonstrated to complete this step.
- The kind of leadership you demonstrated.
- What you still need to learn about leadership.
5. After completing the chart you will see that some aspects of your action steps may be repeated. If there is a total duplication and nothing new is shown, either you need to redefine the action step or you may decide not to focus on it very much.
6. Once you think you have two to four fully worked-out action steps, start writing your essay.
7. Next, start re-writing. Eliminate duplicate points made between action steps. Make choices about what parts of each action to step to highlight. Given that there are usually word limits, you will have to make some decisions about what to include.
Simply providing a description of your actions, is not enough. Think about what it signifies about you. Think about what your actions reveals about your leadership potential. State what you learned.
Finally, thinking and writing about leadership is an important part of preparing for interviews because you can be certain that you will have to talk about leadership. So you might find that the parts of the outline you jettison now will become valuable when you will want to have alternative stories for your IMD interview.
Essay 4: Describe yourself
How do you imagine your superior would describe your strengths and weaknesses to someone who does not know you?
With a question like this I think it is important to understand that you are actually being asked to think about your strengths and weaknesses more objectively than you might otherwise. In particular, you need to judge yourself from the viewpoint of a hypothetical supervisor who is describing you to someone who does not know you.
My suggestion is to think about what your supervisors in the past have mentioned to you as both your strengths and weaknesses. Don't feel obligated to focus on that exclusively, but just make sure that your strengths and weaknesses are ones that your superior could recognize.
Obviously the strengths and weaknesses under consideration are mostly, though not necessarily exclusively, of a professional nature. Given the word count, I suggest focusing on no more than about two strengths and two weaknesses. I would try to give fairly equal consideration to both weaknesses and strengths.
EMBRACE WEAKNESS!
I find that many applicants resist writing about their own weaknesses. Yet, to do so reveals self-awareness and maturity. While I think it is necessary to practice good judgment when writing about weakness, I think it is also important that you provide something beyond the routine.
One standard defensive strategy that many applicants seem drawn to is to write about knowledge areas where they are weak. While this can be OK in some cases, it tends to lack any real depth. One thing to avoid is to discuss a skill that you need for the future, but don't need now as a weakness. It is not a weakness because up till now you have not needed it.
STRENGTHS
Strengths are easier to write about, but do keep in mind that you want to be specific about them. Given the limited space here, you might find it helpful to write about a topic here that is discussed in greater detail in another essay.
IS IT A GOOD STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS?
Some questions to ask yourself:
1. Does the strength demonstrate one's potential for future academic and/or professional success? If so, it is a probably a good topic. If not, why does IMD need to know about it?
2. Is a weakness fixable? If you are writing about a weakness that cannot be improved upon through your program at IMD, why do they need to know about it?
3. If your strength or weakness is not related to leadership, why does IMD need to know about it?
Finally, if you are having difficulty thinking about your strengths and weaknesses in relation to your future academic and professional goals, please see my analysis of Essay 5 because in it I discuss how to think about strengths and weaknesses in relation to goals.
Essay 5: Motivation
What is motivating you to seek an MBA education at IMD?
Your motivations need to relate to why you need a leadership based MBA education to move your career forward. I suggest focusing on specific aspects of IMD that will help you achieve your professional and possibly personal objectives.
If you are having trouble formulating your motivations, you might want to go through a formal analysis of why you need an MBA. You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for the Businessweek MBA ROI calculator. Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI. )
(To best view the following table, click on it. For a word version, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com)
How to use this table:Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?
Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. REMEMBER:WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze the environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?
Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your MBA. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.
Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?
Step 4. After completing Step 3, you need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4 than you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.
The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals? Thinking about these issues now will help you to develop a fully worked-out strategy for how you will best present yourself both in the application and in an interview.
After going through this formal process, review what you know about IMD again. In your answer to the question, please focus on showing how IMD will help make your post-MBA future objectives a reality. The more you know about IMD and about yourself, the stronger an answer you can write.
Essay 6: Contribution
What will you be able to contribute that would make you a unique and valuable addition to the IMD MBA class?
One way I like to think about contribution questions is to use a matrix such as the following:
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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
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?).
When you think about what to select here, carefully consider what you are writing in the other essays and use this space to help IMD learn even more about you. Given that Essay 3 is focused on leadership skills, only discuss leadership skills in Essay 6 if they are points in addition to what you cover in Essay 3.
Also, given the international nature of the IMD program, you might very well find that you have unique contributions based on your international experience. While writing about international experience can be effective, it will not be if it becomes little more than writing something like "I am Japanese (or American, French, etc) so I can contribute a Japanese (or American, etc.) perspective." That is not good enough because it merely means that any Japanese candidate, and not necessarily you, could make this contribution. In such circumstances, dig deeper and come up with something better.
Essay 7: Alternatives
If you are not admitted, what alternatives will you consider?
This question is designed to test both your real motivations and your ability to develop a plan for meeting your own professional objectives. Therefore I think it is important to consider it in relation to your answer to Essay 5 about your motivations for attending IMD. Assuming your motivations are real, you will need to figure out another way to meet them.
While a successful answer to this question can certainly include the fact that you have already been admitted elsewhere, that would not be a sufficient answer. You would also want to explain why IMD would be a better choice for you than that other school.
Some think about stating they would reapply. If you are not company-sponsored, that certainly is an option. If you are, it is probably not.That said, simply stating that you would reapply is not enough, instead you need to think about how you will move forward to accomplish what you would have tried to accomplish at IMD.
Essay 8: Finance
Please explain how you intend to finance your studies at IMD. What would be your budget?
This should be treated as more of an administrate rather than an evaluative topic. You just need to state your plan for financing your education. Stick to the facts and make sure what you write is easy to understand and will in no way be a source of concern to the admissions committee.
Essay 9: Disability / illness
Do you have a disability or illness that could affect your performance at IMD? If so, please explain.
If you have no disability or illness of significance, you need not answer this one. In that case, just write "Not Applicable" or words to that effect. If you do have a disability or illness, then I suggest taking the time to contact IMD first, so you can get a better idea about how to best answer this question. If some sort of special arrangement would be necessary for you, please contact IMD to make sure that they can provide it.
Essay 10: Additional Information Optional question: Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee to know which has not been covered elsewhere in this application?
While I suppose it is possible to answer this question with "No," in most cases I would not necessarily recommend doing so.
For some applicants who have to discuss something negative such as a low GPA, the topic for this essay will be clear enough. Just make sure your answer is a clear and believable explanation and not an excuse.
For those who have nothing negative to write about, think about one or two topics that you believe would help admissions to understand you and support your admission. Be careful that you do not pick a trivial topic. Additionally do not write about an obvious essay topic from another application, such as INSEAD's culture shock question.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
アダム マーカス
ヨーロッパのトップランキング 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 エッセイMBA留学 スイス
June 05, 2009
FALL 2010 US MBA Apps as of 6/5/09: Stanford, HBS, Chicago, Kellogg, CBS, and Wharton
7/1/09 NOTE: As indicated in subsequent posts, the information on Wharton below is wrong. At the time I wrote this post, there was an error on the Wharton website. The essays have changed substantially and that will be reflected in my analysis of the Wharton set.
PLEASE NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS POST WAS ACCURATE AS OF JUNE 9th, 2009 at 9:31 TOKYO TIME. GIVEN THE NATURE OF THIS CONTENT, IT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
HBS, Stanford GSB and Wharton win the early bird award for updating their esssay and deadline information for Fall 2010 admission.
Wharton's essays for Fall 2010 admission remain unchanged from last year. 6/8 UPDATE: Click here for my Fall 201o analysis. By the way, five of my clients were admitted to Wharton for the Class of 2011. Click here for my client results for Fall 2009 admission. By the way, I always think Wharton is one of the best essay sets to work on first because the content will be really useful for other applications. I feel the same way about Kellogg, but Kellogg has yet to update their website for Fall 201o admission. Tuck has not done so either.
Stanford GSB has already updated there site for Fall 2010 application. Happily for me, only the essay C content has been somewhat altered from last year's options. I will be updating my post on Stanford's MBA application sometime in late June. You can find my Fall 2009 analysis here. I would also recommend reading my recent Q&A with a Member of the Class of 2010.
According to the HBS site, they will have their Fall 2010 MBA application up in July, but the questions for the Class of 2012 are already on the site (Thanks to reader for pointing that out to me). Two out of the five optional questions changed this year. My analysis for HBS will be up in late June.
Chicago Booth's application will also be up in July. Again, I would not start working on that one for Fall 2010 admission till they put it up.
While the January 2010 application is up for Columbia Business School (See here for my post), everything else is "TBD." I would not necessarily start working on this one yet though I think it is highly unlikely they will change essay 1.
MIT Sloan's online application is up, but the new altered essay set for Fall 2009 is up. My analysis will be up in late June.
I have not checked a number of other schools yet, but since the US programs don't typically update till July or August, I have not bothered. I usually start looking more systematically in July.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
MBA留学 ビジネススクール
PLEASE NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS POST WAS ACCURATE AS OF JUNE 9th, 2009 at 9:31 TOKYO TIME. GIVEN THE NATURE OF THIS CONTENT, IT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
HBS, Stanford GSB and Wharton win the early bird award for updating their esssay and deadline information for Fall 2010 admission.
Wharton's essays for Fall 2010 admission remain unchanged from last year. 6/8 UPDATE: Click here for my Fall 201o analysis. By the way, five of my clients were admitted to Wharton for the Class of 2011. Click here for my client results for Fall 2009 admission. By the way, I always think Wharton is one of the best essay sets to work on first because the content will be really useful for other applications. I feel the same way about Kellogg, but Kellogg has yet to update their website for Fall 201o admission. Tuck has not done so either.
Stanford GSB has already updated there site for Fall 2010 application. Happily for me, only the essay C content has been somewhat altered from last year's options. I will be updating my post on Stanford's MBA application sometime in late June. You can find my Fall 2009 analysis here. I would also recommend reading my recent Q&A with a Member of the Class of 2010.
According to the HBS site, they will have their Fall 2010 MBA application up in July, but the questions for the Class of 2012 are already on the site (Thanks to reader for pointing that out to me). Two out of the five optional questions changed this year. My analysis for HBS will be up in late June.
Chicago Booth's application will also be up in July. Again, I would not start working on that one for Fall 2010 admission till they put it up.
While the January 2010 application is up for Columbia Business School (See here for my post), everything else is "TBD." I would not necessarily start working on this one yet though I think it is highly unlikely they will change essay 1.
MIT Sloan's online application is up, but the new altered essay set for Fall 2009 is up. My analysis will be up in late June.
I have not checked a number of other schools yet, but since the US programs don't typically update till July or August, I have not bothered. I usually start looking more systematically in July.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
MBA留学 ビジネススクール
FALL 2010 MBA Applications as of June 5th, 2009
June 13, 2009 note: Please disregard my comments about Wharton as the essays have changed.
This is just a brief post on MBA applications for Fall 2010 admissions.
Well Stanford GSB's application is already up.
This is just a brief post on MBA applications for Fall 2010 admissions.
Well Stanford GSB's application is already up.
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