Dear Readers,
Well, now that I have finished analyzing Columbia January Term (will do September Term later this month) Harvard and Stanford, over the next two months, I am planning to analyze the 2009 application questions for MIT, Wharton, Kellogg, NYU, UCB Haas, UCLA, LBS, IMD, INSEAD, Chicago GSB, Cornell, Tuck, Darden, and Duke. Are there any other schools that you would like me to cover? Please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com with your requests.
-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 エッセイMBA留学
July 10, 2008
Could any of the Scoretop VIP users be innocent?
UPDATED TO REFLECT THE COMMENT I RECEIVED. The update follows the original post.
ORIGINAL POST:
One question that has been at the center of the Scoretop story is whether any of the VIP users could have been innocent. I was curious to see how obvious it was that Scoretop was selling real GMAT questions. Luckily, the The Wayback Machine provided me the means to check the site before GMAC took it over. You can find all the old Scoretop pages here and judge for yourself.
The oldest archived version of the site that I found was October 28, 2004. On it you can find a bunch of GMAT questions, but it is not obvious that anything inappropriate is going on until you hit the forum (click on this if you want to see how it all worked). It is damning and worth a read. Anyone (SEE UPDATE BELOW FOR AMENDMENT TO THIS COMMENT)who joined knew they were getting real questions collected by test takers. They were clearly engaged in cheating. Actually, while, as I previously indicated, I think GMAC may have legal problems taking on these test cheats, I hope they do. It might be too late to do anything about those who have already graduated with MBAs, but I do hope the schools consider taking whatever action they can.
UPDATE:
I received an anonymous comment from someone who says he or she was a Scoretop VIP member and seemingly unaware that Scoretop was not involved in providing real test questions. Reading http://web.archive.org/web/20061230063431/www.scoretop.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12066&PN=1 , it certainly appears to be the case that Scoretop changed what it said it was selling. Whether that is the reality is another consideration which I lack the evidence to fully resolve.
Unfortunately, the Wayback Machine does not archive all web pages and certainly not what was in the VIP area, so I certainly can't say that users who purchased the service after Scoretop claimed that it changed were aware that cheating was going on. Therefore looking at such publicly archived pages once Scoretop no longer claimed to be providing real questions can't conclusively prove anything.
This certainly introduces a greater ambiguity into the intentions of Scoretop users who began using the service once it said it had changed. To that end, I will refrain from labeling such individuals as cheaters on the basis of what I can see on the website, but that label most certainly applies to users who were aware that Scoretop was providing real GMAT questions. I thank the anonymous commenter for bringing this to my attention.
Thus, to answer the question I initially posed, "Could any of the Scoretop VIP users be innocent?" I must conclude that while some are clearly not innocent, some might very well have been. As to this latter group, I simply don't have the evidence available to know. It should be enlightening to see what GMAC determines.
What do you think? 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 留学 必須試験 GMAT
ORIGINAL POST:
One question that has been at the center of the Scoretop story is whether any of the VIP users could have been innocent. I was curious to see how obvious it was that Scoretop was selling real GMAT questions. Luckily, the The Wayback Machine provided me the means to check the site before GMAC took it over. You can find all the old Scoretop pages here and judge for yourself.
The oldest archived version of the site that I found was October 28, 2004. On it you can find a bunch of GMAT questions, but it is not obvious that anything inappropriate is going on until you hit the forum (click on this if you want to see how it all worked). It is damning and worth a read. Anyone (SEE UPDATE BELOW FOR AMENDMENT TO THIS COMMENT)who joined knew they were getting real questions collected by test takers. They were clearly engaged in cheating. Actually, while, as I previously indicated, I think GMAC may have legal problems taking on these test cheats, I hope they do. It might be too late to do anything about those who have already graduated with MBAs, but I do hope the schools consider taking whatever action they can.
UPDATE:
I received an anonymous comment from someone who says he or she was a Scoretop VIP member and seemingly unaware that Scoretop was not involved in providing real test questions. Reading http://web.archive.org/web/20061230063431/www.scoretop.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12066&PN=1 , it certainly appears to be the case that Scoretop changed what it said it was selling. Whether that is the reality is another consideration which I lack the evidence to fully resolve.
Unfortunately, the Wayback Machine does not archive all web pages and certainly not what was in the VIP area, so I certainly can't say that users who purchased the service after Scoretop claimed that it changed were aware that cheating was going on. Therefore looking at such publicly archived pages once Scoretop no longer claimed to be providing real questions can't conclusively prove anything.
This certainly introduces a greater ambiguity into the intentions of Scoretop users who began using the service once it said it had changed. To that end, I will refrain from labeling such individuals as cheaters on the basis of what I can see on the website, but that label most certainly applies to users who were aware that Scoretop was providing real GMAT questions. I thank the anonymous commenter for bringing this to my attention.
Thus, to answer the question I initially posed, "Could any of the Scoretop VIP users be innocent?" I must conclude that while some are clearly not innocent, some might very well have been. As to this latter group, I simply don't have the evidence available to know. It should be enlightening to see what GMAC determines.
What do you think? 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 留学 必須試験 GMAT
July 09, 2008
Stanford GSB: Additional Info, Resume, Employment History, Activities
This is the fifth of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for 2008/2009 Admission. The first post provides an overall perspective on applying to Stanford GSB. The second post is on Essay A. The third post is on Essay B. The forth post is on Essay C.
THINK ABOUT THE REST OF THE APPLICATION
There is nothing more depressing to me than to look at an MBA application that is hastily put together. Worse still if it is for a school that is hard to get into. Worse yet if it is for Stanford, where, under Derrick Bolton, there is a very rigorous approach to application review.
Some people look at application forms as mere forms. I look at them as opportunities to provide admissions with as complete and impressive presentation as one can. The reason admissions made the application was because they need the information to make a decision about you, so don't provide something that is done at the last minute.
RESUME & EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
Employment History In this section of the online application, you have an opportunity to describe your full-time and part-time employment history, including your core responsibilities, your most significant challenges, and your greatest accomplishments.
We look for a diversity of employment activities in our student body, so no one industry or function is more important than another. As you approach your MBA application, keep in mind that we are more interested in the impact you have had in your work place than the name or stature of your organization. Have you made the most of your professional opportunities? Are you cultivating your leadership and team skills and making a difference? We look at your response in conjunction with your recommendations to create a broad picture of the impact you have had in your work environment(s).
If you have had more than one job, we also ask why you left your previous employer(s). Your response to this question will help us understand your career development and what has motivated your decision making. After completing the Employment History section, please upload a current copy of your resume.
Along with the essays, the resume and Employment History are the most critical documents that you control. Both should present you as effectively and honestly as possible. These two values are not in conflict: Be honest, be thorough, and do not be humble. You are being judged by your professional experience and this is where they get your complete record of it. If you have not done so, I suggest reading Steve Green's post on resumes.
TRANSCRIPTS
Last year at the Stanford presentation in Tokyo, Eric Abrams emphasized that the admissions committee closely reads transcripts. While you don't control the content at this point, you have the possibility of impacting how the transcript is interpreted. Scrutinize your own transcript. If your GPA is high, this is easy. You can relax. If on the other hand,your transcript reveals an unimpressive GPA, some very low grades, gaps in study, or anything else that concerns you, you had better figure out how to address in the Additional Information section (see below).
USE IT OR DON'T USE IT, BUT DON'T ABUSE IT:
Additional Information
If there is any other information that is critical for us to know and is not captured elsewhere, include it in this section of your application. Do not include additional essays.
Examples of pertinent additional information include:
If you really have no explanation for something negative, don't bother writing about it. For example if your GPA is 2.9 and you have no good explanation for why it is 2.9, don't bother writing something that looks like a lame excuse. This is more likely to hurt than help you. In the same vein, don't waste the committee's time telling them that your GMAT is a much better indicator than your GPA (the opposite is also true). They have heard it before and they will look at both scores and can draw their own conclusions without you stating the obvious. That said, if you have a good explanation for a bad GPA, you should most certainly write about it.
Activities
You have an opportunity to describe your extracurricular activities in your online application. This is an excellent way for us to understand your experiences and insights and to come to know you personally.
No club, community, or professional activity is more important than another.
With activities, a sustained depth of commitment in one or two activities may demonstrate your passion more than minimal participation in five or six organizations.
Please note that there are separate sections in the online application for you to report activities during and after university/college. Examples of activities in which you are/have been involved may include charitable, civic, community, and professional.
This section is important. Of course, some applicants will not have much here, while others will have a plethora of things to mention. In any case, provide the best answer you can. Use your judgment about what to include. The above instructions make it very clear that Stanford GSB is not looking for quantity. Give them quality and don't mention anything that will show your lack of commitment: If you joined a lot of organizations for a really short time and did nothing, I don't think that it will help you to mention it.
Finally, please keep in mind that there is no perfect applicant, just like there is no perfect human being. If you have had to work 100-plus hours a week since graduating from university and your idea of extracurricular activity is sleep, don't assume that not having any great activities will hurt you. Admissions will evaluate your whole application. I have had the opportunity to work with great applicants who were admitted to Stanford, and I can say none of them were perfect, but what they were able to do was present themselves as honestly and effectively as possible.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
スタンフォード 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
THINK ABOUT THE REST OF THE APPLICATION
There is nothing more depressing to me than to look at an MBA application that is hastily put together. Worse still if it is for a school that is hard to get into. Worse yet if it is for Stanford, where, under Derrick Bolton, there is a very rigorous approach to application review.
Some people look at application forms as mere forms. I look at them as opportunities to provide admissions with as complete and impressive presentation as one can. The reason admissions made the application was because they need the information to make a decision about you, so don't provide something that is done at the last minute.
RESUME & EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
Employment History In this section of the online application, you have an opportunity to describe your full-time and part-time employment history, including your core responsibilities, your most significant challenges, and your greatest accomplishments.
We look for a diversity of employment activities in our student body, so no one industry or function is more important than another. As you approach your MBA application, keep in mind that we are more interested in the impact you have had in your work place than the name or stature of your organization. Have you made the most of your professional opportunities? Are you cultivating your leadership and team skills and making a difference? We look at your response in conjunction with your recommendations to create a broad picture of the impact you have had in your work environment(s).
If you have had more than one job, we also ask why you left your previous employer(s). Your response to this question will help us understand your career development and what has motivated your decision making. After completing the Employment History section, please upload a current copy of your resume.
Along with the essays, the resume and Employment History are the most critical documents that you control. Both should present you as effectively and honestly as possible. These two values are not in conflict: Be honest, be thorough, and do not be humble. You are being judged by your professional experience and this is where they get your complete record of it. If you have not done so, I suggest reading Steve Green's post on resumes.
TRANSCRIPTS
Last year at the Stanford presentation in Tokyo, Eric Abrams emphasized that the admissions committee closely reads transcripts. While you don't control the content at this point, you have the possibility of impacting how the transcript is interpreted. Scrutinize your own transcript. If your GPA is high, this is easy. You can relax. If on the other hand,your transcript reveals an unimpressive GPA, some very low grades, gaps in study, or anything else that concerns you, you had better figure out how to address in the Additional Information section (see below).
USE IT OR DON'T USE IT, BUT DON'T ABUSE IT:
Additional Information
If there is any other information that is critical for us to know and is not captured elsewhere, include it in this section of your application. Do not include additional essays.
Examples of pertinent additional information include:
- Extenuating circumstances affecting academic or work performance.
- Explanation of why you do not have a Letter of Reference from your current direct supervisor.
- Explanation of criminal conviction, academic suspension or expulsion, and/or failing grades.
- Any other information that you did not have sufficient space to complete in another section of the application (begin the information in the appropriate section).
- Additional work experience that cannot fit into the space provided.
If you really have no explanation for something negative, don't bother writing about it. For example if your GPA is 2.9 and you have no good explanation for why it is 2.9, don't bother writing something that looks like a lame excuse. This is more likely to hurt than help you. In the same vein, don't waste the committee's time telling them that your GMAT is a much better indicator than your GPA (the opposite is also true). They have heard it before and they will look at both scores and can draw their own conclusions without you stating the obvious. That said, if you have a good explanation for a bad GPA, you should most certainly write about it.
Activities
You have an opportunity to describe your extracurricular activities in your online application. This is an excellent way for us to understand your experiences and insights and to come to know you personally.
No club, community, or professional activity is more important than another.
With activities, a sustained depth of commitment in one or two activities may demonstrate your passion more than minimal participation in five or six organizations.
Please note that there are separate sections in the online application for you to report activities during and after university/college. Examples of activities in which you are/have been involved may include charitable, civic, community, and professional.
This section is important. Of course, some applicants will not have much here, while others will have a plethora of things to mention. In any case, provide the best answer you can. Use your judgment about what to include. The above instructions make it very clear that Stanford GSB is not looking for quantity. Give them quality and don't mention anything that will show your lack of commitment: If you joined a lot of organizations for a really short time and did nothing, I don't think that it will help you to mention it.
Finally, please keep in mind that there is no perfect applicant, just like there is no perfect human being. If you have had to work 100-plus hours a week since graduating from university and your idea of extracurricular activity is sleep, don't assume that not having any great activities will hurt you. Admissions will evaluate your whole application. I have had the opportunity to work with great applicants who were admitted to Stanford, and I can say none of them were perfect, but what they were able to do was present themselves as honestly and effectively as possible.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
スタンフォード 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
Scoretop: Summer Fun!
Warning: This is not my typical blog entry filled with useful information that will help get you into school.
I am sure that most of my readers have been following the Scoretop story. It seems like everyone is writing about it. My favorite "fun" take on it so far is from the FT:
It has all the makings of a summer blockbuster....intellectual property theft, suspects fleeing the country, the FBI. But this is not the latest Dan Brown novel, but a tale of educational testing; to be more precise, the story of a gang who sat the GMAT test, the entry test for business school, in order to steal the questions and then sell them on to others.
The author of the above, Della Bradshaw, does not really write anything new, though she does mention an old story from 2005 related to professional impersonators taking GMAT tests and getting arrested for it. Her first paragraph sounds exciting, but if you are reporting on what has already been reported on... Of course, maybe someone will make it into a movie! I see this as especially likely (well, not really likely, but more amusing) if GMAC actually decides to go after the Scoretop customer base. Watching the helicopter parents look for legal redress as well as the sudden movement of waitlists and the potential for reduced intakes for the Class of 2011 might just have what it takes to make a movie.
Sorry I needed a break from writing about Stanford's Class of 2011 application, but don't worry that post will be coming soon.
What do you think? 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 留学 必須試験 GMAT
I am sure that most of my readers have been following the Scoretop story. It seems like everyone is writing about it. My favorite "fun" take on it so far is from the FT:
It has all the makings of a summer blockbuster....intellectual property theft, suspects fleeing the country, the FBI. But this is not the latest Dan Brown novel, but a tale of educational testing; to be more precise, the story of a gang who sat the GMAT test, the entry test for business school, in order to steal the questions and then sell them on to others.
The author of the above, Della Bradshaw, does not really write anything new, though she does mention an old story from 2005 related to professional impersonators taking GMAT tests and getting arrested for it. Her first paragraph sounds exciting, but if you are reporting on what has already been reported on... Of course, maybe someone will make it into a movie! I see this as especially likely (well, not really likely, but more amusing) if GMAC actually decides to go after the Scoretop customer base. Watching the helicopter parents look for legal redress as well as the sudden movement of waitlists and the potential for reduced intakes for the Class of 2011 might just have what it takes to make a movie.
Sorry I needed a break from writing about Stanford's Class of 2011 application, but don't worry that post will be coming soon.
What do you think? 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 留学 必須試験 GMAT
July 08, 2008
Stanford GSB MBA Essay C for 2008/2009 Admission
This is the forth of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for 2008/2009 Admission. The first post provides an overall perspective on applying to Stanford GSB. The second post is on Essay A. The third post is on Essay B. The fifth post is on additional information, resume, employment history, and activities.
Two years ago, Stanford introduce behavioral interview-style essay questions. Stanford applicants now have the opportunity to write about their accomplishments, failures, difficulties, impact, and other characteristics. This has made the Stanford Essay Set a more balanced set of questions. If Essay A is ultimately about what you value and B is about what you want, C is about what you can do.
When Stanford GSB started asking behavioral essay questions, it was clear that they had borrowed this from MIT. This distinctive style of question is based on an interview method that I will discuss below. Before reading the rest of this post, I strongly suggest downloading a copy of MIT's excellent guide to behavioral interviews, The MIT Sloan Interview Guide, because reading it first will maximize the value of my comments below.
The behavioral essay questions that MIT and Stanford ask have their origins in behavioral interviewing. This method is not old:
“Bill Byham, CEO and founder of Development Dimensions International, originated the behavioral interviewing method in 1970.”
In fact, the STAR technique outlined in MIT’s guide was developed by Byham as THE WAY to answer behavioral questions:
Byham calls an example of past behavior a STAR, because a complete example consists of a situation or task, the specific action you took and the result of your action. The result you describe doesn't have to be positive; it could be that you learned a valuable lesson from doing something the wrong way.
In his book "Landing the Job You Want: How to Have the Best Job Interview of Your Life" (Three Rivers Press, 1997), Byham tells candidates how to identify the skills for a job; explore their own "behavioral dimensions" (the behaviors they use every day to get things done); and recognize and present a STAR with positive impact in an interview.
In addition to the MIT SLOAN Guide, I suggest also taking a look at the slightly different guide to the Star Technique that MIT Career Services provides.
The STAR technique is really the core method you need to use for answering behavioral questions in Stanford's essays. It is simply this (taken from the MIT Sloan Guide):
• Situation: define the situation or “set the stage.”
• Task: identify the task/project performed.
• Action: describe the action you took.
• Result: summarize the outcome
Just keep in mind that you need to be introspective as well, so write what you thought as well as what you did. Don’t just present “the facts” but actively interpret your actions. There is really nothing overly complicated about this as long as you understand that you need to tell a DETAILED story. Pure abstractions disconnected from a concrete set of action steps are highly likely to result in a weak answer. Similarly, grand actions not told in any depth are also likely to be weak. Identify specific actions that contributed to the result so as to establish a clear link between cause and effect.
As when answering any kind of question, another important consideration is to think very critically about what your story selection, understanding of the task, actions taken, and results say about you. Keep in mind that the whole point of asking behavioral questions is to determine how someone acts and thinks as a basis for selecting or rejecting that person. It is obviously critical to be aware of your own message.
Before looking at the specific questions, lets look at the instructions:
Essay C: Short Essays—Options 1-4
Answer two of the questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.
Stanford specifically requires that these experiences come from the last three years. This time constraint is important to keep in mind. Essay C is the space to focus on the present or recent past.
I will analyze one question at a time, but four things to keep in mind are:
1. You need to show the capacity for analyzing and acting in different ways, so, while both essays should utilize STAR, don’t tell them in the same way. Make sure you are presenting different sides to who you are by telling your stories differently.
2. If at all possible discuss different situations in these essays, not two different stories from the same situation because you are trying present as wide a spectrum of events and qualities about yourself as you can.
3. You should ask yourself “What does this essay reveal about me?” If you can’t answer that clearly, you need to clarify your message. When asking this question, think about both what you intend the reader to think and what you might also be revealing. Control for the possibility of sending out unintended signals. One of the best ways of handling this issue is to have a very careful and intelligent reader review these essays. If you are working with an admissions consultant, they should be able to do this. Getting multiple perspectives on what you wrote will help you better understand your likely impact on an admissions' reader.
4. All four options below allow for great variation and the most important thing is to tell the best stories you can:
We all have important stories to tell. We want to share moments when we have achieved great things or helped to shape the world around us. Essay C lists four potential questions (or prompts) to help you identify which are the two most important stories you have to tell us. The prompts themselves are not as important as the stories that they bring to the surface.
THE OPTIONS ARE ALL ABOUT HAVING AN IMPACT:
Option 1: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team.
Option 2: Tell us about a time when you felt most effective as a leader.
Option 3: Tell us about a time when you tried to reach a goal or complete a task that was challenging, difficult, or frustrating.
Option 4: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.
One thing that is common to all four is that you must tell stories that show how you had an impact. Keep in mind what Derrick Bolton has written about this question:
Unlike the two previous essays, in which you are asked to write about your life from a more “global" perspective, these questions ask you to reflect on a specific recent (within the last three years) experience that has made a difference to you and/or the people around you. The best answers will transport us to that moment in time by painting a vivid picture not only of what you did, but also of how you did it. Include details about what you thought and felt during that time and your perceptions about how others responded. From these short-answer responses, we visualize you "in action.
LEADERSHIP STORIES
Options 1 and 2 are clearly leadership stories. Options 3 and 4 might be depending on the subject. 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, write your first draft.
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 reveal about your leadership potential.
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 Stanford interview.
SHOULD YOU WRITE ABOUT FAILURE IN OPTIONS 3 OR 4?
Some applicants will, no doubt, tell a failure or setback story using options 3 or 4. They will most likely do this because they are lazy and simply wanted to reuse content from another application. Keeping in mind that you need to tell your best stories, unless you experienced a failure or setback that impacted you a truly significant way and led to some positive change for yourself or others, I don't suggest doing it. The possibility is certainly there within these two options (it says "tried" in both cases), especially within option 4, to write about something that did not succeed, but I am not necessarily suggesting it is a good idea to do that. I can certainly imagine it might work well in some situations, but my first impulse would be to say that it is mistake to volunteer failure unless what you learned is so significant that it will actually create a positive of impression of you.
Specific Comments about each option:
Option 1: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team.
Given the 300 maximum word limit here, you really need to be focused on your most important action steps. I also suggest you don't just simply a tell story with the following structure: "I led a team of X people. I told them what needed to be done and they agreed. They did it. The result was..." Not only will this be boring, but it will not really highlight why this story best demonstrates your team leadership skills. You need to show what was hard and how you overcame it. Don't be overly dramatic, but get admissions to understand the significance of what you have done. Don’t feel obligated to provide a work related answer to this question even though you may have developed such an answer for another school. Two questions to think about:
1. What skills or qualities did you demonstrate in the process of building or developing the team?
2. What does this story reveal about the way you interact with organizations and/or individuals?
Option 2: Tell us about a time when you felt most effective as a leader.
Basically this is the option for telling your best leadership story. Define what being an effective leader means to you and explain what you did that made you effective.
Option 3: Tell us about a time when you tried to reach a goal or complete a task that was challenging, difficult, or frustrating.
Clearly think about what “challenging, difficult, or frustrating” means to you. We have all had challenging situations that ended badly and that we wish we had handled better, but that is not necessarily what you should write about here. As I mentioned above, I do not necessarily think most applicants should write this as a failure story (If you do, see my analysis of Harvard Essay 2). Instead, focus positively on how handled this task. If what you are going to write about is not related to leadership, think of it terms of the STAR technique.
Option 4: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.
Going beyond something defined, established, or expected may involve breaking the rules. Stanford GSB is place for those who are not traditional and are flexible in their thinking. If you are a maverick, a risk-taker, or simply unconventional in your approach to adding value, this essay option is for you. This essay is likely to take either the form of a leadership essay or an accomplishment. As I suggested above, I don't think most applicants will find it useful to write about about failure, but if you do, see my analysis of HBS Essay 2. If you write about it terms of an accomplishment, but are not necessarily focused on leadership, see my analysis of HBS Essay 1, but keep in mind that you are telling only one accomplishment and not three.
IN CONCLUSION
Behavioral questions are not necessarily harder than other types of questions, but they do have their own underlying logic: Past behavior is a guide to future behavior. Keep that in mind, so that Stanford GSB sees what you want them to see and believes in your future potential.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス
スタンフォード 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
Two years ago, Stanford introduce behavioral interview-style essay questions. Stanford applicants now have the opportunity to write about their accomplishments, failures, difficulties, impact, and other characteristics. This has made the Stanford Essay Set a more balanced set of questions. If Essay A is ultimately about what you value and B is about what you want, C is about what you can do.
When Stanford GSB started asking behavioral essay questions, it was clear that they had borrowed this from MIT. This distinctive style of question is based on an interview method that I will discuss below. Before reading the rest of this post, I strongly suggest downloading a copy of MIT's excellent guide to behavioral interviews, The MIT Sloan Interview Guide, because reading it first will maximize the value of my comments below.
The behavioral essay questions that MIT and Stanford ask have their origins in behavioral interviewing. This method is not old:
“Bill Byham, CEO and founder of Development Dimensions International, originated the behavioral interviewing method in 1970.”
In fact, the STAR technique outlined in MIT’s guide was developed by Byham as THE WAY to answer behavioral questions:
Byham calls an example of past behavior a STAR, because a complete example consists of a situation or task, the specific action you took and the result of your action. The result you describe doesn't have to be positive; it could be that you learned a valuable lesson from doing something the wrong way.
In his book "Landing the Job You Want: How to Have the Best Job Interview of Your Life" (Three Rivers Press, 1997), Byham tells candidates how to identify the skills for a job; explore their own "behavioral dimensions" (the behaviors they use every day to get things done); and recognize and present a STAR with positive impact in an interview.
In addition to the MIT SLOAN Guide, I suggest also taking a look at the slightly different guide to the Star Technique that MIT Career Services provides.
The STAR technique is really the core method you need to use for answering behavioral questions in Stanford's essays. It is simply this (taken from the MIT Sloan Guide):
• Situation: define the situation or “set the stage.”
• Task: identify the task/project performed.
• Action: describe the action you took.
• Result: summarize the outcome
Just keep in mind that you need to be introspective as well, so write what you thought as well as what you did. Don’t just present “the facts” but actively interpret your actions. There is really nothing overly complicated about this as long as you understand that you need to tell a DETAILED story. Pure abstractions disconnected from a concrete set of action steps are highly likely to result in a weak answer. Similarly, grand actions not told in any depth are also likely to be weak. Identify specific actions that contributed to the result so as to establish a clear link between cause and effect.
As when answering any kind of question, another important consideration is to think very critically about what your story selection, understanding of the task, actions taken, and results say about you. Keep in mind that the whole point of asking behavioral questions is to determine how someone acts and thinks as a basis for selecting or rejecting that person. It is obviously critical to be aware of your own message.
Before looking at the specific questions, lets look at the instructions:
Essay C: Short Essays—Options 1-4
Answer two of the questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.
Stanford specifically requires that these experiences come from the last three years. This time constraint is important to keep in mind. Essay C is the space to focus on the present or recent past.
I will analyze one question at a time, but four things to keep in mind are:
1. You need to show the capacity for analyzing and acting in different ways, so, while both essays should utilize STAR, don’t tell them in the same way. Make sure you are presenting different sides to who you are by telling your stories differently.
2. If at all possible discuss different situations in these essays, not two different stories from the same situation because you are trying present as wide a spectrum of events and qualities about yourself as you can.
3. You should ask yourself “What does this essay reveal about me?” If you can’t answer that clearly, you need to clarify your message. When asking this question, think about both what you intend the reader to think and what you might also be revealing. Control for the possibility of sending out unintended signals. One of the best ways of handling this issue is to have a very careful and intelligent reader review these essays. If you are working with an admissions consultant, they should be able to do this. Getting multiple perspectives on what you wrote will help you better understand your likely impact on an admissions' reader.
4. All four options below allow for great variation and the most important thing is to tell the best stories you can:
We all have important stories to tell. We want to share moments when we have achieved great things or helped to shape the world around us. Essay C lists four potential questions (or prompts) to help you identify which are the two most important stories you have to tell us. The prompts themselves are not as important as the stories that they bring to the surface.
THE OPTIONS ARE ALL ABOUT HAVING AN IMPACT:
Option 1: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team.
Option 2: Tell us about a time when you felt most effective as a leader.
Option 3: Tell us about a time when you tried to reach a goal or complete a task that was challenging, difficult, or frustrating.
Option 4: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.
One thing that is common to all four is that you must tell stories that show how you had an impact. Keep in mind what Derrick Bolton has written about this question:
Unlike the two previous essays, in which you are asked to write about your life from a more “global" perspective, these questions ask you to reflect on a specific recent (within the last three years) experience that has made a difference to you and/or the people around you. The best answers will transport us to that moment in time by painting a vivid picture not only of what you did, but also of how you did it. Include details about what you thought and felt during that time and your perceptions about how others responded. From these short-answer responses, we visualize you "in action.
LEADERSHIP STORIES
Options 1 and 2 are clearly leadership stories. Options 3 and 4 might be depending on the subject. 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, write your first draft.
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 reveal about your leadership potential.
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 Stanford interview.
SHOULD YOU WRITE ABOUT FAILURE IN OPTIONS 3 OR 4?
Some applicants will, no doubt, tell a failure or setback story using options 3 or 4. They will most likely do this because they are lazy and simply wanted to reuse content from another application. Keeping in mind that you need to tell your best stories, unless you experienced a failure or setback that impacted you a truly significant way and led to some positive change for yourself or others, I don't suggest doing it. The possibility is certainly there within these two options (it says "tried" in both cases), especially within option 4, to write about something that did not succeed, but I am not necessarily suggesting it is a good idea to do that. I can certainly imagine it might work well in some situations, but my first impulse would be to say that it is mistake to volunteer failure unless what you learned is so significant that it will actually create a positive of impression of you.
Specific Comments about each option:
Option 1: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team.
Given the 300 maximum word limit here, you really need to be focused on your most important action steps. I also suggest you don't just simply a tell story with the following structure: "I led a team of X people. I told them what needed to be done and they agreed. They did it. The result was..." Not only will this be boring, but it will not really highlight why this story best demonstrates your team leadership skills. You need to show what was hard and how you overcame it. Don't be overly dramatic, but get admissions to understand the significance of what you have done. Don’t feel obligated to provide a work related answer to this question even though you may have developed such an answer for another school. Two questions to think about:
1. What skills or qualities did you demonstrate in the process of building or developing the team?
2. What does this story reveal about the way you interact with organizations and/or individuals?
Option 2: Tell us about a time when you felt most effective as a leader.
Basically this is the option for telling your best leadership story. Define what being an effective leader means to you and explain what you did that made you effective.
Option 3: Tell us about a time when you tried to reach a goal or complete a task that was challenging, difficult, or frustrating.
Clearly think about what “challenging, difficult, or frustrating” means to you. We have all had challenging situations that ended badly and that we wish we had handled better, but that is not necessarily what you should write about here. As I mentioned above, I do not necessarily think most applicants should write this as a failure story (If you do, see my analysis of Harvard Essay 2). Instead, focus positively on how handled this task. If what you are going to write about is not related to leadership, think of it terms of the STAR technique.
Option 4: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.
Going beyond something defined, established, or expected may involve breaking the rules. Stanford GSB is place for those who are not traditional and are flexible in their thinking. If you are a maverick, a risk-taker, or simply unconventional in your approach to adding value, this essay option is for you. This essay is likely to take either the form of a leadership essay or an accomplishment. As I suggested above, I don't think most applicants will find it useful to write about about failure, but if you do, see my analysis of HBS Essay 2. If you write about it terms of an accomplishment, but are not necessarily focused on leadership, see my analysis of HBS Essay 1, but keep in mind that you are telling only one accomplishment and not three.
IN CONCLUSION
Behavioral questions are not necessarily harder than other types of questions, but they do have their own underlying logic: Past behavior is a guide to future behavior. Keep that in mind, so that Stanford GSB sees what you want them to see and believes in your future potential.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markus
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