This is the second of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for Class of 2013 Admission. The first post provides an overall perspective on applying to Stanford GSB.The third post is on Essay 2. The forth post is on Essay 3.The fifth post is on additional information, resume, employment history, and activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here.
A SIMPLE QUESTION Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?
From my experience, most successful applicants to Stanford write essays for at least one or two other schools first. While they are doing those other schools, they have already started THINKING about Essay 1. Which raises the following question: WHERE DO SUCCESSFUL ANSWERS TO ESSAY 1 COME FROM?
In my experience answers to this question that result in acceptance, come from the HEART and the HEAD. The two combined will allow you to tell your story about what matters most. GSB's Admission Director, Derrick Bolton, makes this very clear in his advice regarding the question:
While you will need to consider the leadership implications of what matters most to you, as I suggested in my first post in this series, I suggest beginning with no fixed assumptions about what Stanford wants here. One of the easiest ways to write a bad version of Essay 1 is to have a theme that does not directly relate to your actual experience: Round pegs do not fit into square holes.
HEART: The admits I worked with found what matters most to them by looking inside of themselves and finding something essential about who they are. No one is reducible to a core single concept, a single motivation, or any other sort of singularity, but certain things do make each of us tick. Beyond the most basic things of survival, what motivates you? What do you live for? What do you care about? How do you relate to other people? Are you driven by a particular idea or issue? Where do you find meaning?
HEAD: Once you think you have identified that essential thing that matters most to you, begin analyzing it. What is its source? WHY does it remain important to you? HOW?
The heart will tell what it is, but the head must explain it. From my perspective, great answers to this question combine a very strong analytical foundation-A FULL ANSWER TO WHY AND HOW IS MANDATORY- and specific examples. Avoid the common mistake that Derrick Bolton mentions above of ignoring the "Why?" and the "How?" by focusing too much on the "What?"
If you are having difficulty answering Essay 1 to your own satisfaction, I have few suggestions:
1. Write some other schools essays first. In the process of doing so, you may discover the answer. This has worked for a number of my clients.
2. Stanford admissions repeatedly emphasizes that there is no one right answer. Some applicants become paralyzed because they want THE RIGHT MESSAGE. You need to fully account for who you are and what you have done, but should not try to overly sell yourself to Stanford because that is simply at odds with the way in which the school selects candidates. Therefore don't focus on finding THE RIGHT MESSAGE, instead be honest and give an answer that is real.
If you are having some more fundamental difficulties with this question, one book I suggest taking a look at is Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. This classic is worth a look for anyone who is thinking about what their life is about. Frankl makes us think about meaning from the most extreme of perspectives, inside a concentration camp, and in the process helps us to understand that meaning itself is deeply tied to our own survival. If you need to engage in some self-reflection, Frankl’s book is one place to start. I might also suggest reading Plato or doing some mediation, but in my experience those take more time and Frankl's book has the advantage of being short, inexpensive, available at many libraries, and has been translated from the original German into twenty-two languages.
3. The answer may be real, but is it a good one? If you are not sure, look critically at Stanford GSB's mission statement: Our mission is to create ideas that deepen and advance our understanding of management and with those ideas to develop innovative, principled, and insightful leaders who change the world.
Does what matters most to you fit within this mission? Think about this statement in the widest possible way. Given the small class size and the highly collaborative nature of the program, admissions will only be doing its job right if they select students who fit into Stanford GSB's mission. As I stated in thefirst post in this series, Stanford is looking for leaders, but leaders come in many forms and the values and ideals that inform them vary greatly. In my experience, Stanford highly values "Thought Leaders" as well as those who demonstrate more standard forms of leadership. If what matters most to you is something that admissions can clearly connect to informing your ideals as a leader than you are on the way to forming an effective answer to what is Stanford's most unique essay question.
3. MAKE A CHOICE! All successful versions of this essay that I have read involve making a choice. That is to say, you must actually clearly indicate something that matters most. As someone who is frequently contacted by those who have failed to obtain admission to Stanford and want to know why, I often find that they don't make this choice. Their "what matters most" lacks clarity and unity. Make a clear choice and really explore it. This will best reveal your self-awareness and your passion.
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.
This is the first of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for 2010/2011 Admission. It provides an overall perspective on applying to Stanford GSB. The second post is on Essay 1. The third post is on Essay 2. The forth post is on Essay 3.The fifth post is on additional information, resume, employment history, and activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here. In this post I provide some overall comments about the essay set for admission to the Class of 2013, an analysis of the centrality of demonstrating leadership potential for admission to Stanford GSB, and some suggestions for how to proceed in order to put together a great application for Stanford GSB.
ESSAYS:
Here are the complete essays and instructions from the Stanford GSB website (SORRY THIS IS LONG):
"Tell us in your own words who you really are. Answer essay questions 1, 2, and two of the four options for essay 3.
Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?
The best examples of Essay 1 reflect the process of self-examination that you have undertaken to write them.
They give us a vivid and genuine image of who you are—and they also convey how you became the person you are.
They do not focus merely on what you've done or accomplished. Instead, they share with us the values, experiences, and lessons that have shaped your perspectives.
They are written from the heart and address not only a person, situation, or event, but also how that person, situation, or event has influenced your life.
Essay 2: What are your career aspirations? What do you need to learn at Stanford to achieve them?
Use this essay to explain your view of your future, not to repeat accomplishments from your past.
You should address three distinct topics:
your career aspirations
the role of an MBA education in achieving those aspirations
and your rationale for earning that MBA at Stanford, in particular.
The best examples of Essay 2 express your passions or focused interests; explain why you have decided to pursue graduate education in management; and demonstrate your desire to take advantage of the opportunities that are distinctive to the Stanford MBA Program.
Essay 3: Answer two of the four 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.
Option A: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.
Option B: Tell us about a time when you made a lasting impact on your organization.
Option C: Tell us about a time when you generated support from others for an idea or initiative.
Option D: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected
Essay Length
Your answers for all of the essay questions cannot exceed 1,800 words.
You have your own story to tell, so please allocate the 1,800 words among all of the essays in the way that is most effective for you. We provide some guidelines below as a starting point, but you should feel comfortable to write as much or as little as you like on any essay question, as long as you do not exceed 1,800 words total.
Essay 1: 750 words
Essay 2: 450 words
Essay 3: 300 words each
Formatting
Use a 12-point font, double spaced
Recommended fonts are Arial, Courier, and Times New Roman
Indicate which essay question you are answering at the beginning of each essay
Number all pages
Upload all four essays as one document
Preview the uploaded document to ensure that the formatting is true to the original
Save a copy of your essays
Editing Your Essays
Begin work on these essays early, to give yourself time to reflect, write, and edit.
Feel free to ask your friends or family members to provide constructive feedback. When you ask for feedback, ask if the essays' tone sounds like your voice. It should. Your family and friends know you better than anyone else. If they do not believe that the essays capture who you are, how you live, what you believe, and what you aspire to do, then surely the Committee on Admissions will be unable to recognize what is most distinctive about you.
There is a big difference, however, between 'feedback' and 'coaching.' There are few hard and fast rules, but you cross a line when any part of the application (excluding the Letters of Reference) ceases to be exclusively yours in either thought or word.
Appropriate feedback occurs when you show someone your completed application, perhaps one or two times, and are apprised of errors or omissions.
In contrast, inappropriate coaching occurs when your application or your self-presentation is colored by someone else.
You best serve your own interests when your personal thoughts, individual voice, and unique style remain intact at the end of your editing process.
It is improper and a violation of the spirit of the Fundamental Standard and Honor Code to have someone else write any part of your Stanford MBA Program application. Such an act will result in denial of your application or withdrawal of your offer of admission.
Additional Information
If there is any other information that is critical for us to know and is not captured elsewhere, please include it. 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 or peer
Explanation of criminal conviction, criminal charges sustained against you in a juvenile proceeding, and/or court-supervised probation
Explanation of academic suspension or expulsion
Any other information that you did not have sufficient space to complete in another section of the application (please begin the information in the appropriate section)
Additional work experience that cannot fit into the space provided
Additional information about your academic experience (e.g., independent research) not noted elsewhere."
I know that was long, but I think it is really important to actually read the whole thing. Especially note the three year limit on Essay 3 topics and the fact that you can decide how to divide your 1800 words amongst the four essays. The rest of this post consists of my general comments on Stanford GSB and writing the essays. Specific essay questions are analyzed in the rest of this series.
CHANGES SINCE LAST YEAR
Except for slight changes in the wording of Essay 2 and Essay 3 Option C, this essay set is unchanged.
THE FIRST YEAR CURRICULUM: HARD
Consider what my former client, a member of the Class of 2010, said in an in an interview with me: Adam: How hard was the first year?
Yukihiro: The first year in GSB was very tough! Especially in the first quarter, students must prepare hard for each class and deal with tons of readings and assignments. Actually, if there is one thing I have to complain about the program, it is that there is a risk that the understanding about each subject might be become halfway due to the lack of time. Even American students said the first quarter was very tough. Also, there are a lot of parties, networking and recruiting events in MBA. The students must manage their time efficiently to tackle the academic requirements.
When I visited GSB in May 2010, I had the opportunity to meet with Yukihiro as well as a former client who is a member of the Class of 2011, both expressed that the program was challenging.
Please see my recent interview with a member of the Class of 2011 as he also discusses this issue.
Stanford has been very clear about the difficulty of the program. Consider the following excerpt from the "Student Perspective" provided by Karen Hart, Class of 2009, found on the Stanford GSB curriculum page of the website:
Former Goldman Sachs banker Karen Hart says she appreciates the new curriculum's emphasis on globalization and managing in a global environment.... Although the workload can be challenging—at the beginning of the term she was spending up to 60 hours a week on class preparation and now averages 30-40 hours a week on academics outside class—Karen remains pleased at the ongoing level of collaboration among students.
Now if Karen was doing 60 hours per week when the program commenced and now is doing 30-40 hours of academic work per week, what about students whose first language is not English?
The new curriculum that commenced in Fall 2007 is clearly no piece of cake and anyone who thinks that Stanford GSB will be easier than schools that are well know for being tough, like HBS and Darden, is likely to be in for a surprise.
THE CENTRAL ROLE OF LEADERSHIP AT STANFORD
Another consideration is that in the past, Stanford has clearly not been so closely associated with a leadership-focused education. Whether this is true or not is another issue, but it certainly has been the case that HBS has been much more clearly associated with a leadership-focused education. At this point, I would not consider such a dichotomy to be particularly useful. Consider what Stanford says about the first quarter, Management perspectives curriculum:
Now I will not deny that there are significant differences in the use of learning methods, culture, and the overall structure of these two programs, but are the expected learning outcomes different? If the objective is to teach individuals how to be global leaders who can change and grow overtime, the answer is "No." Maybe this comes as no surprise to the reader, butI do point it so that no one thinks leadership matters less at Stanford than it does at HBS.
Moss's "confession" makes it very clear that rather than having completely open-ended criteria about who will fit at Stanford, the admissions committee is specifically looking to admit applicants who can (ESSAY 1) express values and ideals that will guide them as leaders and/or decision makers, (ESSAY 2) express why their professional goals require a Stanford MBA education, and (ESSAY 3) clearly demonstrate leadership potential. In one way, these criteria are not new because demonstrating leadership potential was always a consideration, but for me, as someone who has had clients admitted to Stanford in the Classes of 2012 (click here for a testimonial by one of the two clients I worked with who will going to Stanford GSB. A third client was admitted to Stanford Sloan Masters), 2011(click here for my client's testimonial), 2010 (click here for my client's testimonial), 2008 (Click here for my client's recommendation on LinkedIn, but you have to join LinkedIn to see it), 2007, 2006, and 2005, the clear focus on leadership represents a significant change. (I also had additional clients who were interviewed for the classes of 2011, 2009 and 2007, but not admitted.)
STANFORD IS LOOKING FOR HONESTY
On the other hand, one thing that has not changed is that the applicants I have worked with who have gotten interviewed and/or admitted, wrote their own essays and were honest in their presentations of themselves.In my analysis of Essay 1, I will discuss the critical importance of providing honest answers to Stanford's questions, but the following comments from Derrick Bolton apply to the essay set as a whole:
I can confirm that what has always made a winning set of essays for Stanford is the ability to commit to making an honest and insightful presentation of yourself. Based on my experience I can say the following are not effective:
1. Over-marketing: While I believe in the value of the marketing metaphor to some degree, I also believe you have to be able to understand that a crude, over-determined approach to doing so will not work here (For more about this, click here). If you are not real, you fail as one of Derrick Bolton's "flat friends."
2. Not writing your own essays. If your essays are not written in your own voice and don't reflect your English ability, don't expect to make it past Derrick Bolton's team. Their position is quite clear:
Begin work on these essays early, and feel free to ask your friends and family members to provide constructive feedback. When you ask for feedback, ask if the essay’s tone sounds like your voice. It should. Your family and friends know you better than anyone else. If they do not believe that your essays capture who you are, how you live, what you believe, and what you aspire to do, then surely the Committee on Admissions will be unable to recognize what is most distinctive about you.
However, there is a big difference between "feedback" and "coaching." There are few hard and fast rules, but you cross a line when a piece of the application ceases to be exclusively yours in either thought or word (excluding the letter of reference, which should be exclusively the recommender’s in thought and word).
Appropriate feedback occurs when you show someone your completed application, perhaps one or two times, and are apprised of errors or omissions. In contrast, inappropriate coaching occurs when either your essays or your entire self-presentation is colored by someone else. You best serve your own interests when your personal thoughts, individual voice, and unique style remain intact at the end of your editing process. The above sounds very good in theory. If you have a friend or family member who can act as mentor in the way Stanford suggests, that is great. As I have discussed elsewhere in a series of posts on mentors, admission consultants, editors, and ghostwriters, such unpaid advisors are indeed valuable. However many applicants may very well find that they have no one around them who can provide such advice and Stanford's position does not account for that. Also the dichotomy between "coaching" and "feedback" is simply false because coaching is about feedback. What I find particularly ironic about Bolton's position on this issue is that Stanford GSB provides extensive career coaching to its students through the Career Management Center (CMC):
It seems as though Stanford has two different standards for coaching: Stanford claims admissions consulting is bad because it helps applicants get into Stanford, but Stanford career consulting is good because it helps Stanford students get jobs. The services that Stanford offers to its students are the ones I and other ethical admissions consultants offer to their clients. The type of service I provide falls within Stanford's notions of the acceptable, though they would call it "coaching." There are other admissions consultants who will provide rewriting and ghostwriting, but I don't suggest using them if you want to go to Stanford or other top schools. Whoever assists you had better be able to make sure that their feedback helps you to best present yourself authentically.
IS STANFORD RIGHT FOR YOU? Stanford really does provide great advice about both the Stanford GSB essays and about how to handle your applications. Review the curriculum, the school's mission statement, and the vast online resources (including a blog, podcasts, and"Myth Busters") that admissions provides to make this determination. Don't make assumptions about what Stanford GSB is or based on what someone told you it is. Instead, make that determination yourself after sufficient research. If you are thinking about Stanford GSB and have not yet attended one of their Outreach Events,I suggest doing so if you can. Visiting when school is in session is ideal.
SHOULD I WRITE ESSAY 1 OR 2 OR 3 FIRST?
Applicants often ask me this question.
I think it is important that your goals, Essay 2, be clearly established first. If you think about it, what matters to you most (Essay 1) must be consistent with and complimentary to your goals. As far as Essay 3 goes, the potential you show through the skills and values that you demonstrate in Essay 3 must also support the goals you write about in Essay 2. Therefore start with Essay 2.
As to whether you should then do 1 or 3, chances are, if you have written a bunch of essays for other schools first, that you have multiple options for Essay 3, but don't make any final decisions on Essay 3 until you write Essay 1 because you might very well find that a particular story that is ideal for Essay 1 was one you were considering for Essay 3. Use your best examples to support what you say matters to you most because you should try to make your answer to Essay 1, the only truly Stanford specific question, as strong as possible.
CONCLUSION
Getting into Stanford GSB is simply harder than getting into any other MBA program, but if it is where you want to go and if you think you fit there, commit to putting a significant amount of time into making a great application.
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.
This is another post from Taichi Kono, author of two textbooks on TOEFL and one on TOEIC and a highly experienced TOEFL, TOEIC, and GMAT instructor. Most of his posts will be in Japanese. This post is on GMAT sentence correction. His other posts can be found here.
By the way, Taichi will be doing a one-day TOEFL listening seminar on 6/27:『１日で学ぶTOEFLリスニング学習法と発音』.
河野塾代表の河野太一です。年来の友人である Adam Markusさんのご厚意で、"The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition"の解説ブログの内容の一部をこちらにアップさせていただくことになりました。オリジナルは河野太一のGMAT OG12解説でご覧いただけます。なお、オリ ジナルのほうは予告なく内容を変更することがあり、ここに上げたものと相違があることがありますのでご了承ください。私のこれまでの記事やGMAT以外の 話題についてはこちらをご覧ください。
(A) when unaccompaniedはOK。when (they are) unaccompaniedのように、接続詞内のSV省略ととらえてもよいし、unaccompaniedがdone副詞で、意味を明確にするwhenを 付したととらえてもよい。このパターンは、筆者は前者で解釈している。Rising inventories ... can lead toのつながりもOK。実はcorrespondinglyがマズイのだが、この時点では気づかないだろう。
(C) 先ほど省略されていたthey wereが入っているが、これは冗長というわけではない。ただし時制がwereでアウト。canの時制と内容から、「現在の一般論」であるのがわか る。(B)のcorresponding increases in salesと(C)のcorresponding sales increasesは、どちらもOK。correspondingを除いたincreases in salesもsales increasesも、どちらも普通に使われる表現だからだ。
(D) if not accompaniedはOK。correspondinglyがここでも副詞になっているが、increasedにかかっているのでまだよいだろう。し かし問題なのはincreased。done形容詞の主要な意味は「完了」か「受身」。ここでは「完了」と受け取れるが、それでは「終わったこと」になっ てしまう。「増加していく在庫」と同じペースで「同時進行的に増加していく売上」という意味であるはずなので、マズイ。leadsが単数受けで、完全アウ ト。
(E) if not accompanied、correspondingがdoing形容詞として名詞increasesに直接かかっていること、can leadとしたために数の呼応の問題が解消されていることなど、すべてOK。
In this post I discuss the essay questions for admission to the Columbia School of Business January and September (Early and Regular Decision) 2011 MBA program. In addition to this post, those interested in Early Decision should read one of my earlier posts. You may also want to read my report on the CBS Event on 8/30/2010 in Tokyo.
You might also want to read a post I wrote last year on Columbia Business School's most famous alumni.
In this post, I will discuss who J-Term is for, Early and Regular Decision, and the essay questions. But first, what has changed this year?
Columbia Business School has again reduced their essay count. They are now down to a total of 1250 words plus the optional statement. Goodbye essays about theory versus practice and team failure, hello personality!
This change is really quite monumental. In the previous year, there was no personality question, now there is only a goals essay, a personality essay, and an optional essay.
Frankly, 2010 was a great Columbia Business School year for my clients. Three clients were admitted for January 2010 and two were admitted for Early Decision for September 2010. You find testimonials from some of them here. While the advice that I gave those 2010 admits would still hold true for Essay 1, I have had to rethink how to approach this school's essays, which is what makes writing essay question analysis interesting.
JANUARY 2011 ADMISSIONS
The Accelerated MBA, J-Term, can be great program for those who don't need an internship. I had three clients admitted for January 2010 and all of them had one thing in common: Real clarity about their goals and strong track records in their professions. J-term is not for career changers, it is those looking to enhance their position within their present career trajectory and/or entrepreneurs. It is critical that you explain why the January Term program is right for you. According to the Columbia website:
The Accelerated MBA is ideal for you if
you are an entrepreneur;
you want to join your family business;
you plan to return to your current employer;
you are sponsored by your company;
you want to remain in the same industry;
you have built a strong professional network in the industry of your choice.
The program is designed for those students who do not want or need an internship. The principal advantage of the 16-month program is its accelerated format, which allows members of the smaller January class to network quickly and effectively and return to the workplace sooner.
Obviously you need to make the case in Essay 1 (The Goals/Why Columbia? Essay) that you meet the special criteria for this program and that an internship is not something critical for you. For those who don't need an internship, this is really a great program. If you think that an internship is not critical to your post-MBA goals, J-term is a great program.
SEPTEMBER: EARLY VERSUS REGULAR DECISION You can find my detailed discussion of Early versus Regular Decision here (I will update that post later, but the argument I make is unlikely to change). While I worked with two clients who were admitted for Fall 2009 in the Regular Decision Round, applying Early Decision is still ideal for anyone who considers Columbia to be their first choice and is ready by the application deadline. Columbia takes Early Decision very seriously, so I suggest you do as well. ED really is unique among top MBA programs and the decision to commit to it should not be taken lightly. In the post I previously referenced, I discuss this issue in great detail, so if you are thinking of ED, read it!
The Essay Questions and Instructions:
"You must complete two essays. An optional third essay will enable you to discuss any issues that do not fall within the purview of the required essays. Applicants who are reapplying within 12 months of a previous application for admission are required to write only a single reapplicant essay. Please note you may only apply once to a given term of entry. Knight-Bagehot Fellows: Please use the space allocated to the first essay for the Wiegers Fellowship Application essay.
Essay 1: What are your short-term and long-term professional goals? How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals? (Maximum of 750 words)
Essay 2: Please tell us about yourself and your personal interests. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are rather than what you have achieved professionally. (Maximum of 500 words)"
Optional Essay
Is there any further information that you wish to provide to the Admissions Committee? (Please use this space to provide an explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history.)
Reapplication Essay
How have you enhanced your candidacy since your previous application? Please detail your progress since you last applied and reiterate your short-term and long-term goals. Explain how the tools of the Columbia Business School will help you to meet your goals and how you plan to participate in the Columbia community . (Recommended 750 word limit).
REGARDING WORD COUNT Note that Essays 1 and 2 have a "maximum" length. In prior years, the CBS questions always said "Recommended," so I would not exceed the word count for either essay. Note that the length of the Reapplication essay is indicated as "Recommended," but even there I would not exceed the word count, simply because it is very clear that Columbia is trying to reduce the total number of words that they read per applicant.
ESSAY 1: THE EXTENDED ELEVATOR PITCH
I think it is best to conceptualize this as an extended elevator pitch because 750 words is too long to be deliver in 1-2 minutes, but could be delivered in 5 minutes. Your job is to convince admissions that your goals fit what Columbia offers.
Essay 1: What are your short-term and long-term professional goals? How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals? (Maximum of 750 words)
Over the years, Columbia has been very consistent in the way they ask this question. At first glance, it does seem pretty straightforward and common, but if you have looked at other schools' essays, you will likely notice that something is missing from it. Compare it to Kelloggand you will see that there is no reference to the past. While one must certainly address one's past when answering this question, there should be no extended analysis of your career progress to date.
PAST PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Let your resume, application form, and references provide Columbia with a detailed understanding or your career. If they wanted to know about in the essays, they would ask. They don't, so respect their decision. That said, given the fact that there are no essays to discuss your achievements at great length (Columbia previous had two essays in each application for that purpose), you should certainly address how your prior experience will contribute to your future goals, but focus this essay on showing how Columbia will help you achieve your goals. Given that Essay 2 specifically requests that you don't focus on "what you have achieved professionally," you should certainly explain you will leverage your past experience to accomplish your goals. CAUTION: DO NOT OVER-FOCUS ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS HERE, I AM SUGGESTING YOU DISCUSS SUCH EXPERIENCES ONLY IN THE CONTEXT OF AN ARGUMENT ABOUT YOUR GOALS AND WHY COLUMBIA IS RIGHT FOR THEM.
WHY COLUMBIA? The resources available at CBS and Columbia University are vast, so figure out specifically what you want from the school. The program is flexible, so identify your needs from Columbia as specifically as possible. Also keep in mind that CBS recently changed its core curriculum. After all, you want to show them you love and need them For learning about what is hot at Columbia, I suggest taking a look at their blog: Public Offering. Also look at Hermes which provides news on the Columbia community. You will likely want to write about taking a Master Class. Japanese applicants should most certainly visit http://columbiamba.jimdo.com/index.php.
Making a clear case why your goals are best achieved at CBS should be at the core of the essay. To make sure that they can see that, be very specific about what you need to learn at CBS to achieve your goals. I suggest reviewing some of the full course descriptions that you can find on their website.
If you are having problems clearly articulating your goals, I suggest using my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS f (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 a GMAC report on MBA ROI. )
(To best view the following table, click on it.)
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 graduate degree. 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 now 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.
ARE YOUR GOALS HOT?
Making career goals exciting requires thinking about whether your goals are compelling. Admissions committees ask applicants to write about their goals after graduate school, but can applicants actually know what will be on the cutting-edge in two or three years? While many applicants will be able to successfully apply with relatively standard goals ("I want to be a consultant because..."), communicating aspirations requires going beyond the typical.
Be informed. Columbia Admissions needs to believe you know what you are talking about. If you are changing careers, no one expects you to be an expert, but you should come across as having a clear plan based on real research into your future. If you are planning on staying in your present industry, you should be well informed not only about the companies you have worked for, but about the industry as a whole. If you are not already doing so, read industry related publications and network.
Those September ED and RD applicants who are changing fields should most certainly read industry related publications in their intended field.Additionally I suggest conductinginformational interviews with at least one peer level and one senior level person in that field. Conduct a peer level interview to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually work in that industry. Conduct a senior level interview to get the perspective of someone who can see the big picture and all the little details as well.
Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center.
LinkedIn Answers: Also consider joining LinkedIn and make use of LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers is a great way to tap into cutting edge expertise (including my admissions advice!). Follow LinkedIn's rules and you will often be able to obtain excellent information.
Hoovers: For information about specific companies, Hoovers is just a great way to learn about key facts including competitors (a very useful way of knowing who else you might want to work for and to learn about an industry). While primarily focused on the US, Hoovers does have listings for companies worldwide.
Vault: For scope of coverage, this site is a must. Vault includes both career and admissions information. It includes both company specific and industry-wide information.
Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books that relate to your intended field. ESSAY 2: SPEED DATING CBS STYLE
I never participated in speed dating, but given the brief nature of the Columbia essay set, I think the speed dating metaphor holds because just as in speed dating, first impressions are everything. For those not familiar with the concept, Wikipedia provides an excellent description. The film, The 40-Year-Old Virgin includes a rather funny speed dating scene.In this case, every applicant is given 500 words to charm CBS Admissions. Just remember that if you start talking about your professional accomplishments here, they will not be charmed. Here is a nice academic take on speed dating:
Essay 2: Please tell us about yourself and your personal interests. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are rather than what you have achieved professionally. (Maximum of 500 words)"
I was, frankly, a bit shocked when I first saw this question, not because it is particularly odd, but because it represents a real change in what Columbia has been asking applicants. They had previously eliminated their one personality question, but now personality is back!
The question itself is asking for you to introduce yourself on a personal level. Each applicant will have a very different way of doing that.
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT WRITE ABOUT:
1.Don't focus on facts that they can find elsewhere in the application.
2. In Essay 1, you have already discussed your goals and why you want an MBA from Columbia, so don't discuss goals and why MBA here.
3. Don't write about your professional accomplishments.
SO WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO WRITE ABOUT?
IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU!
Some questions to get you brainstorming: 1. What do you want Columbia to know about you that would positively impact your chances for admission?
2. What major positive aspects of your life have not been effectively INTERPRETED to the admissions committee in other parts of the application?
3. If you were going to tell admissions two to five important things about you and your personal interests that would not be obvious from rest of the application, what would they be? Why should CBS care?
4. If there was one story about yourself that you think would really help admissions understand you and want to admit you, what is it?
5. Do you have a personal interest that you are very passionate about and committed to that would reveal important positive aspects about your personality?
6. If you have a sense of humor and/or creativity, how can you express it here? I suggest doing so if you can.
As you can see, these questions would lead to very different kinds of responses. There is no one way to answer this question, but I believe there are right ways for every applicant to do so. For some people, this essay could focus on one major topic, but for others it might be focused on three or more. The important thing is to use your 500 words to leave Columbia with a strong positive impression about you as a person. Without focusing on the professional, you need to reveal key aspects of yourself that will make Columbia admissions feel like you have the kind of personality to succeed in their program and afterwords.
Optional Essay
Is there any further information that you wish to provide to the Admissions Committee? (Please use this space to provide an explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history.)
As with other school's optional questions, do not put an obvious essay for another school here. If you read the above, it should be clear enough that this is the place to explain anything negative or potentially negative in your background. If you 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.
You can certainly write on something positive here if you think its omission will be negative for you, but before you do, ask yourself these questions:
1. If they did not ask it, do they really need to know it?
2. Will the topic I want to discuss significantly improve my overall essay set?
3. Is the topic one that would not be covered from looking at other parts of my application?
4. Is the essay likely to be read as being a specific answer for Columbia and not an obvious essay for another school?
If you can answer "Yes!" to all four questions, it might be a good topic to write about, but my suggestion is to keep it brief so as to be consistent with the length for the other essays, ideally around 100-500 words.
Reapplication Essay
How have you enhanced your candidacy since your previous application? Please detail your progress since you last applied and reiterate your short-term and long-term goals. Explain how the tools of the Columbia Business School will help you to meet your goals and how you plan to participate in the Columbia community . (Recommended 750 word limit).
The period of Reapplication at Columbia is rather limited, 12 months from the time of the initial application. If apply to Columbia more than 12 months after an initial application, you should apply as a new applicant. Columbia's Reapplication Checklist can be found here. You will not be able to submit new answers to essays 1-3, but will have to use only the reapplicant essay.
When judging reapplicants, Columbia makes it perfectly clear what they are expecting. See here for their criteria.
Clearly this essay gives you the opportunity to:
1. Showcase what has changed since your last application that now makes you a better candidate.
2. Refine your goals. I think it is reasonable that they may have altered since your last application, but if the change is extreme, you had better explain why.
3. Make a better case for why Columbia is right for you.
For more about reapplication, please see here and here.
CONCLUSION: Columbia Loves to Be Loved
One thing that is consistent about Columbia Business School is that they want to know that their school is your first choice. If you have an alumni interview you can be expected to be asked about that very directly. See here for my advice on Columbia interviews.
Finally, If you have not yet done significant Columbia related networking, you had better do so. See my earlier post on the value of networking.
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.
