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.
-Adam
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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。
SC17
選 択肢の短さを見る限り簡単な問題で、下線部の前後だけ見れば解けそうに思えるが、筆者はそのような問題でも大きな文構造を、ラフにでもよいから把握するこ とをおすすめする。この問題で言えば、一見して並列がポイントとなっているが、その並列部分が本文のどこと対応するのかを探さなければならない。下線部か ら前に遡って対応箇所を探していくやり方で簡単に解けることもあるが、それは結果論だ。焦りや思い込みのせいで、もっと前のほうに対応箇所があるにもかか わらず、そこにたどり着く以前に他の部分を対応箇所と勘違いをしてしまうこともある。文を前からたどって大きな構造だけでも把握しておけば、そのような間 違いを減らすことができ、かつ結局のところ速く解けることが多い。
ここではThe commission (S) has directed (V)が主節であること、その後はずっと修飾要素で、that節は動詞がdo not containと複数受けであることと「含む」という意味から、直前のfoodsにかかる関係詞節であることが見抜ければよい。そこまで見れば、下線部が 主節またはその一部と並列されているのではなく、that節の中で働いている可能性が高いことがわかる。
では何が並列されているのかの検 討に入る。ヒントはカンマ2つに挟まれたchemical preservatives。これで名詞が並列されていることがわかり、containの後ろから始まって、... additives, chemical preservatives, and/or N、というA, B, and Cの構造になることが想定できる。この時点で(B)はアウト。ちなみにcolorの後ろのorはcolorとflavorを結び、「名詞の形容詞化」で後 ろのadditivesにつないでいるだけ。つまり細かくは、1 or 2A, B, and Cという構造。このように大きな並列構造の中に小さな並列構造が含まれていることはよくあるので、どれがどこまでを結んでいるのかを見極めなければならな い。
残りの選択肢ではnothingかanythingかを選ばなければならないようだ。この2つを選ぶときのコツは下線部以外の部分 に否定語を探すこと。ここではcontainの前にdo notがある。nothingでは二重否定になってしまうので、(A)と(C)はアウト。
(D) と(E)の選択はやや難しい。andとorは文法的には同じ働きであり、意味もどちらでも通じるように思えるからだ。that has beenの有無がポイントかとも考えるが、(E)はanythingの後ろにdone形容詞が置かれている形と考えれば文法的にはあり得る。逆にthat has beenを不要とする理由もない。やはりandとorの意味的差異がポイント。andだと並列されているすべての要素をfoodの中にcontainする ことになるが、orなら一個だけでもよいことになる。意味的にもorのほうがしっくりくるし、color or flavor additivesの部分にorが使われているのもヒント。
-河野太一
河野塾ではTOEFL/IELTS/GMATの個人授業を提供しております。なかなかスコアが上がらずにお悩みの方、きめの細かい効果的な個人指導をお求めの方は、ぜひinfo@konojuku.comまでお気軽にお問い合わせください。
September 09, 2010
Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Questions for Academic Year 2011-12
In this post I analyze the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth MBA Application Essay Questions for Academic Year 2011–12 (Fall 2011). Question Three has changed from the previous year and have also updated and/or significantly revised some other parts of my analysis. To read a testimonial by one my two clients accepted for Tuck for Fall 2010, see here. To read a testimonial by my client accepted for Tuck for Fall 2009, see here. To read a testimonial by my client accepted for Tuck for Fall 2008, see here.
I should also disclose that I was a sponsor for Tuck's Japan Trek 2010 and Japan Trek 2009. The reader should assume that I like Tuck, but I believe that does not necessarily impact my analysis below.
I should also disclose that I was a sponsor for Tuck's Japan Trek 2010 and Japan Trek 2009. The reader should assume that I like Tuck, but I believe that does not necessarily impact my analysis below.
Anyone really interested in going to Tuck should attend one of their receptions if possible. Visiting is even better, but attending the reception is a good first step. Click here for information about Tuck events. Japanese applicants should also visit the Japanese site.
While did not attend a Tuck presentation in 2010, I attended last
September's Tokyo Reception. It appeared that about 50-60 applicants were in attendance as well as a number alumni and current students. The evening began with a PowerPoint presentation by Kristine Laca and was followed a reception with food and drinks (I did not stay. I usually try to avoid that aspect of the events because I think it is time for the applicants to talk with alumni and admissions and I don't want to waste anyone's time.).
September's Tokyo Reception. It appeared that about 50-60 applicants were in attendance as well as a number alumni and current students. The evening began with a PowerPoint presentation by Kristine Laca and was followed a reception with food and drinks (I did not stay. I usually try to avoid that aspect of the events because I think it is time for the applicants to talk with alumni and admissions and I don't want to waste anyone's time.).
As both the alums and the admissions officer emphasized Tuck is about being part of a community. The Tuck Reception, I attended reflected that. They intentionally hosted an event that would give everyone in the room a chance to mingle and to easily have a chance to talk with the admissions officers and alums. If someone was not comfortable in that cocktail party environment, they have no business applying to Tuck. Each person counts and each person will need to participate. This communicated at least to me, the same message of "friendly community" that had been made by the admissions officer: students, their families, faculty, and staff at Tuck are all part of one community.
Especially in regards to the community aspect, I suggest reading the Q&A I conducted with a member of the Class of 2011. In particular:
Adam: What is the Tuck community like?
Tuck 2011: The Tuck community is like family. Literally for those who live on campus since they spend most of time together. Everybody is friendly and you don't need to worry about making friends here. From an academic point of view, collaboration between students is highly emphasized in Tuck and you will experience and learn to work together with others.
Especially in regards to the community aspect, I suggest reading the Q&A I conducted with a member of the Class of 2011. In particular:
Adam: What is the Tuck community like?
Tuck 2011: The Tuck community is like family. Literally for those who live on campus since they spend most of time together. Everybody is friendly and you don't need to worry about making friends here. From an academic point of view, collaboration between students is highly emphasized in Tuck and you will experience and learn to work together with others.
Anyone applying to Tuck, should most certainly watch the video series "Applying to Tuck: The Inside Scoop" with Dawna Clarke, the Director of Admissions. I will make reference to Ms. Clarke's advice below.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VISITING AND NETWORKING
If you are really interested in attending Tuck, I strongly suggest making a real effort to visit or at least to attend a reception. This will be a great way to meet with admissions officers in a very friendly environment. It is also an amazing way to network with the alum at the event and afterwords. At the Tokyo reception, we were actually provided with a list of alums who would be happy to communicate with potential applicants. In "Tips on Applying," Ms. Clarke emphasizes the importance of getting in touch with Tuck alum. She, in fact, specifically says that mentioning that you met with alum is something you should do both in your essays and interviews. She also mentioned that she considers notes from alum as being in an applicant's favor.
Essay Questions for 2011–12
Let's take a look at the essay questions. I took the questions from the pdf.
Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. Compose each of your answers offline in separate document files and upload them individually in the appropriate spaces below. Although there is no restriction on the length of your response, most applicants use, on average, 500 words for each essay. There are no right or wrong answers.
Please double-space your responses.
I don't suggest writing much more than 500 unless you really need to. That said, admissions will not be counting the words, so anything in the range of 450-600 is safe. Of course, if you need to write more, there is no absolute restriction, but I would tell a client to keep it to 750 maximum.
1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)
This is a very standard version of the Why MBA essay question. See my Stanford GSB analysis as it applies here. Keep in mind the real importance of the second part of the question. Tuck's program is small with a target class 240. According to BusinessWeek, for the Fall 2009 entering class, Tuck admitted 19% of 2804 applicants who applied, so making the case that you really belong is critical. The yield was 49% (admitted who attend). These numbers are worth bearing in mind. On the one hand, Tuck is relatively difficult to enter, but on the other, it is often not the first choice of those it admits. You can be certain that those reading your application know this. Under such conditions, clearly showing why Tuck is ideal for you is critical.
2. Tuck defines leadership as “inspiring others to strive and enabling them to accomplish great things.” We believe great things and great leadership can be accomplished in pursuit of business and societal goals. Describe a time when you exercised such leadership. Discuss the challenges you faced and the results you achieved. What characteristics helped you to be effective, and what areas do you feel you need to develop in order to be a better leader?
Keep in mind that according to Dawna Clarke in "Tuck's holistic admissions process" video, leadership ability and/or demonstrated potential is one of three key common characteristics of Tuck students (see my analysis of question 4 for the other two). You should most certainly provide a full answer to this question, one demonstrating that you really understand your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Weak versions of this essay will focus too much on simply telling a leadership story and not enough on self-analysis of leadership ability. The point of this essay is to show not only leadership capability, but leadership awareness.
"inspiring others to strive and enabling them to accomplish great things"
Tuck is specifically concerned with your ability to work effectively with other people and to positively impact them. A key constraint of the essay is that the story you tell must involve influencing and empowering other people. Otherwise, it does not really matter whether the story you tell is about a professional or personal topic. My suggestion is that you tell your best possible story demonstrating your ability to lead others.
I have developed the following grid to help you outline a leadership stories. The categories this grid employs may go beyond any particular schools essay requirements. Filling it out completely will help you write about your leadership in a way that will help convince admissions of your leadership potential.
CLICK TO ENLARGE.
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 for two to three stories, start writing your essay.
7. Next start re-writing. Eliminate duplicate points made between action steps. Make choices about what parts of each action to step to highlight. Given that there are usually word limits, you will have to make some decisions about what to include. Simply providing a description of your actions, is not enough. Consider what it signifies about you. Consider what your actions reveals about your leadership potential.
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 Tuck interview.
"inspiring others to strive and enabling them to accomplish great things"
Tuck is specifically concerned with your ability to work effectively with other people and to positively impact them. A key constraint of the essay is that the story you tell must involve influencing and empowering other people. Otherwise, it does not really matter whether the story you tell is about a professional or personal topic. My suggestion is that you tell your best possible story demonstrating your ability to lead others.
I have developed the following grid to help you outline a leadership stories. The categories this grid employs may go beyond any particular schools essay requirements. Filling it out completely will help you write about your leadership in a way that will help convince admissions of your leadership potential.
CLICK TO ENLARGE. 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 for two to three stories, start writing your essay.
7. Next start re-writing. Eliminate duplicate points made between action steps. Make choices about what parts of each action to step to highlight. Given that there are usually word limits, you will have to make some decisions about what to include. Simply providing a description of your actions, is not enough. Consider what it signifies about you. Consider what your actions reveals about your leadership potential.
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 Tuck interview.
"what areas do you feel you need to develop in order to be a better leader?"
I will state the obvious: You clearly want to link what you need with Tuck! Think about what you need in relationship to your career goals. Don't worry if there is some discontinuity between your leadership story and your needs as they may or may not well connect. This is a test of your ability to honestly assess your own limitations, not just as a leader, but more generally.The structure of the first year program including mandatory study groups of 5-6 students in the Fall and Winter terms, the Cohen Leadership Development Program, and the intensely community-focused nature of the environment certainly requires that all students be open to receiving and issuing positive, but critical feedback. It is important that you demonstrate the self-critical capacity expected at Tuck.
3. What is the greatest challenge or hurdle you have overcome, either personally or professionally, and how did you manage to do so?
This question is new for this year. It is an ideal place to discuss a personal or professional accomplishment that was truly hard. An effective answer will:1. Clearly explain what the challenge or hurdle was.
2. Answer why you consider it your greatest challenge or hurdle. I know that many applicants are likely to worry about whether their greatest challenge is impressive enough. Most applicants should not worry about this as long as they can clearly explain why they considered the situation they faced to be their greatest challenge or hurdle. While some situations might seem like obvious challenges or hurdles (Overcoming a terrible affliction, facing death in a combat situation, prolonged unemployment, recovering from bankruptcy, etc.), even in such situations, you still must provide an explanation. The highly subjective nature of this question requires it.
3. Explain what steps you took to overcome it. Just as an in my analysis of Essay 2 above, treat each action step that made it possible for your overcome what you faced as an opportunity to not only state what you did, but to interpret it for the purposes of highlighting your strengths. At least 50% of the essay should focus on this.
A key question to ask yourself after you have a first draft: Do you really believe what you wrote?
4. Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?
Keep in mind that in addition to leadership, the two other common characteristics of Tuck students that Ms. Clarke mentions are teamwork skills and communication/interpersonal skills. So if you have not effectively covered those two categories in another essay, you should address them in one way or another here. This essay is not just a way for admissions to understand some important aspects of who you are, it is also a place for them to see whether you know enough about Tuck to provide effective examples of the way you would contribute.
Keep in mind that in addition to leadership, the two other common characteristics of Tuck students that Ms. Clarke mentions are teamwork skills and communication/interpersonal skills. So if you have not effectively covered those two categories in another essay, you should address them in one way or another here. This essay is not just a way for admissions to understand some important aspects of who you are, it is also a place for them to see whether you know enough about Tuck to provide effective examples of the way you would contribute.
One way I like to think about contribution questions is to use a matrix such as the following:
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CLICK ON THE ABOVE TO ENLARGE.
I use the above matrix for all types of contribution questions, modifying the categories to fit the question. When it comes to contribution questions, I think it is important to tell specific stories that highlight specific ways you will add value to your future classmates.
I use the above matrix for all types of contribution questions, modifying the categories to fit the question. When it comes to contribution questions, I think it is important to tell specific stories that highlight specific ways you will add value to your future classmates.
The number of contributions that can be covered in about 500 words will obviously vary greatly. Consider that some contributions might be fully analyzed and justified in a matter of 20-50 words, while others will require 150-200. I suggest finding something between two and about four contributions to discuss. Just make sure each contribution is meaningful and described effectively enough. Keep in mind that you want admissions to be excited by you, so if you make this a mere summary of why you are good fit, you will be boring them.
Finally, given the small size of the Tuck as well as its relatively remote location, the importance of each member to this community is perhaps greater than at a bigger school located in a more urban area. Therefore, it is particularly important that you are very specific about how you will contribute.
5. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.
This is primarily a place for explaining something potentially negative. Under no circumstances include an essay written for another school. It is fine to write about something positive here, but just make sure that it is something they really need to know. It really is certainly fine to write nothing here.
This is primarily a place for explaining something potentially negative. Under no circumstances include an essay written for another school. It is fine to write about something positive here, but just make sure that it is something they really need to know. It really is certainly fine to write nothing here.
Finally, if you need to prepare for a Tuck interview, please see here.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
-Adam Markus
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September 06, 2010
Oxford Said Fall 2011 Admission
For Fall 2011 admission, I have somewhat revised my post on the Oxford Said Business School MBA application essay questions from my previous post. I have taken the questions from the Online Application.
SHORTER ESSAYS: The only thing that has changed is the length of the essays. Essay 1 was 1000 words maximum and now is 750 words maximum. Essay 2 was 2000 words maximum and now is 1000 words maximum.
THERE IS MORE THAN JUST THE TWO ESSAYS DISCUSSED BELOW: Also do keep in mind that the Oxford application form contains significant space to write "essay like" content:
-FOR EACH PROFESSIONAL POSITION: 5000 characters maximum
My clients have found it helpful to make full use of this space provided. Considering that Oxford takes a CV as well, there is really plenty of room here to highlight ones professional accomplishments in ways that can't be fully accounted for in the two essays below.
Oxford has two essay questions.
1)Explain why you chose your current job. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions? Maximum 750 words.
The question actually breaks intro three parts, so we will look at each piece.
"How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years?"
Oxford Essay 1 is a completely practical question. Unlike schools like Stanford that ask about the applicant's "career aspirations", Oxford is looking for something more grounded and more specific: A FIVE YEAR PLAN. Note the ambiguity in the question itself, the plan maybe written from the perspective of the present or from the perspective of after one finishes the MBA. I advise clients to treat it as as post-MBA five year plan as I think that is implied by the presence of the third part of the question ("How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?"), but I would not insist on that. I think most applicants should treat it as a post-MBA five year plan, but if you prefer integrating the MBA directly into the plan, that is fine.
WHAT IS A PLAN?
A plan is practical. It has details. It shows you have really thought about what you want to do. It shows you have done research about your intended future employer and/or future entrepreneurial venture. It shows you are realistic. That does not mean that it should be boring or lack ambition, but it does mean that it has to rise beyond a level of mere abstraction. Treat it as seriously as you would treat a memo to your boss on the future direction of your department, a proposal to a client on an expensive project, or a business plan. Make sure you show how Oxford fits the plan. If you can't establish a tight connection between your plan and Oxford, either apply somewhere else or change your plan. And remember as long as you can speak effectively about your plan in an interview, the second after you are admitted, you have no obligation to stick to that plan.
"How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?"
While this question does not say an "MBA from Said," I would urge you to assume that.
In this part of the question you need to explain why you need an MBA from Said. To really answer this question you need to know about Oxford. Fullly investigate what the program offers and how it will best help you. BIG HINT: Find one or more professors and/or research focus areas at Oxford that really meet your needs as well as discussing more general aspects of the MBA program.
2) Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why? Maximum 1,000 words.
This is "The Oxford Question" and just as Essay 1 is highly practical, this one is the place to think great thoughts, to show your personality, and to establish you fit at a school known for centuries as one of the great centers of scholarship. Over the years, I have worked with great applicants who used this question successfully to win admission to Oxford. For Fall 2010, I had two clients admitted and in Fall 2009, I had five clients admitted. You can find testimonials from four of them here. In addition, I had the opportunity to work with additional admits on their Oxford interviews. Each told their own story. The things that were common to all, was a willingness to take on a big subject and to show their connection to it.
THE RELEVANCE TEST: A great answer here will be on something relevant to why Oxford should admit you:
The question actually breaks intro three parts, so we will look at each piece.
"Explain why you chose your current job."
I think without being explicit about it, Oxford is engaging in a bit of behavioral questioning here. Behavioral questions (See my analysis of MIT for more about this topic) are based on the idea that past behavior is the best guide to future behavior. By understanding your rationale for taking your most recent job, Oxford can gain some insight into how you make choices. If they can understand how you make choices about jobs, they gain some insight into how you make other kinds of choices; About your career goals, why you want an MBA, and why you want one from Said. To provide an effective answer you need to explain what motivated you to take your current position. Multiple motivations are fine. The important thing is that you provide an explanation for your decision, not a summary of all your professional experiences.
Bad answers to this part of Booth's question will either take the form of general summaries of past professional experience or even an overall interpretation of one's past experience. Said wants an analysis of your decision, not an analysis of all of the wonderful things you have learned from your past work. Of course you will likely need to refer to a position (or positions) prior to the most recent one, but that does not mean that you should summarize those positions. You would discuss such experience(s) only in order to explain why you chose your most recent position.
Oxford Essay 1 is a completely practical question. Unlike schools like Stanford that ask about the applicant's "career aspirations", Oxford is looking for something more grounded and more specific: A FIVE YEAR PLAN. Note the ambiguity in the question itself, the plan maybe written from the perspective of the present or from the perspective of after one finishes the MBA. I advise clients to treat it as as post-MBA five year plan as I think that is implied by the presence of the third part of the question ("How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?"), but I would not insist on that. I think most applicants should treat it as a post-MBA five year plan, but if you prefer integrating the MBA directly into the plan, that is fine.
WHAT IS A PLAN?
A plan is practical. It has details. It shows you have really thought about what you want to do. It shows you have done research about your intended future employer and/or future entrepreneurial venture. It shows you are realistic. That does not mean that it should be boring or lack ambition, but it does mean that it has to rise beyond a level of mere abstraction. Treat it as seriously as you would treat a memo to your boss on the future direction of your department, a proposal to a client on an expensive project, or a business plan. Make sure you show how Oxford fits the plan. If you can't establish a tight connection between your plan and Oxford, either apply somewhere else or change your plan. And remember as long as you can speak effectively about your plan in an interview, the second after you are admitted, you have no obligation to stick to that plan.
"How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions?"
While this question does not say an "MBA from Said," I would urge you to assume that.
In this part of the question you need to explain why you need an MBA from Said. To really answer this question you need to know about Oxford. Fullly investigate what the program offers and how it will best help you. BIG HINT: Find one or more professors and/or research focus areas at Oxford that really meet your needs as well as discussing more general aspects of the MBA program.
2) Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why? Maximum 1,000 words.
This is "The Oxford Question" and just as Essay 1 is highly practical, this one is the place to think great thoughts, to show your personality, and to establish you fit at a school known for centuries as one of the great centers of scholarship. Over the years, I have worked with great applicants who used this question successfully to win admission to Oxford. For Fall 2010, I had two clients admitted and in Fall 2009, I had five clients admitted. You can find testimonials from four of them here. In addition, I had the opportunity to work with additional admits on their Oxford interviews. Each told their own story. The things that were common to all, was a willingness to take on a big subject and to show their connection to it.
THE RELEVANCE TEST: A great answer here will be on something relevant to why Oxford should admit you:
- A concept or value that has influenced a major decision(s) you have made in your life
-An important aspect of the way you view an issue critical to your goals
-Your commitment to something greater than your own personal interest
-Your inner intellectual life
-Your ethical values
-Some other aspect of who you are that will compel admissions to want to interview you
A RECENT DEVELOPMENT
A number of clients have successfully written on a recent development. Obviously the impact of a recent development is much more time-limited than a world event or book. Your ability to integrate such a development- technological, environmental, cultural, political, economic, academic or social most likely- into your own experience can be a great way to show Oxford how you think about the changing world around you. I have noticed that this topic seems to really easily connect to goals and can make for some of the most effective essays that I have read.
WORLD EVENT
While many recent developments are world events, not all world events are recent developments. Did some world event in the past deeply impact your thinking? If so, what was it? This topic can work extremely well if you want to focus your essay on showing how something in the past impacted you. This topic will likely make it possible for you to easily integrate your experiences into the essay.
BOOK
In many ways I consider this to be the most difficult topic to write on because it involves a question of taste. You really need to think seriously about what sort of book is appropriate. Based on working with clients, I suggest you select something that fits well with Oxford. If the previous sentence is not specific enough, you need to learn more about the academic culture of the place. Serious literature, serious non-fiction, academic texts, and classics are likely to be more effective than popular fiction, popular business, self-help, or other popular non-fiction. If I sound like I am being a snob, it is because, at least based on what I can determine from working with a variety of clients, it is in your interest to follow my snob advice! Know your audience and act accordingly. This is not supposed to be a book report, so focus on directly connecting specific aspect(s) of a book to your thinking and most likely your actions.
The thing that has influenced you is less important then how it is has influenced you. A good answer will focus less on the recent development, world event, or book and more on its impact on you. Focus on those aspects of the development, world event, or book that specifically impacted you. Show how it has done so.
Make certain that your explanation of the recent development, world event, or book is very clear as Oxford is using this question to determine your ability to analyze something. Be precise in your explanation and do not assume the reader has extensive knowledge of the subject. Even if the subject is well known, say "9/11" in the US, it would still be critical that you explain the exact impact of particular aspects of that event had on you.
Finally, effective answers are always personal. You may or may not be able to write about your accomplishments here, don't worry as long as it clearly helps Oxford admissions understand why they should interview you.
English Requirements at Oxford
Please see my earlier post on TOEFL and IELTS requirements for Oxford here. Take these requirements seriously because it seems to be clearly the case that Oxford is not making any exceptions to the minimums (TOEFL 109, IELTS 7.5) that were imposed on Said last year. Said now joins HBS in having the highest English minimum test scores.Questions? Contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.
-Adam Markus
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オックスフォード大学のビジネススクール MBA留学
August 30, 2010
Brief Report on CBS Tokyo Event August 30, 2010
You can find my Twittercast for the Columbia Business School Tokyo Event at http://twitter.com/adammarkus. The date would be August 30, 2010 from about 7pm-8:30pm Japan time. Main takeaways of interest (at least to me):
1. I had a chance to ask the admissions officer if much had changed since the former Director of Admissions, Linda Meehan, had moved on to a non-admissions position at CBS. The answer I received was "YES!" Delivered with a smile. She confirmed that much was changing in admissions and that the introduction of the personality essay reflected that change. See my analysis of CBS essays for 2011 admission here. Actually, the only reason I came to this event was to ask this question. I was very satisfied with my answer. :)
2. It is possible to apply for Regular Decision even now without the onus of Early Decision. That said, I can't see this as great strategy because essentially it says you are not really that committed to CBS. Better to just wait until after the ED deadline has passed. By the way, CBS will be taking RD applications until APRIL 13, 2011! Though, I can't imagine there will be many places left at such a late date.
Like all CBS events I have been to in Tokyo, a bunch of alumni showed up and the event was very well attended.
-Adam
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1. I had a chance to ask the admissions officer if much had changed since the former Director of Admissions, Linda Meehan, had moved on to a non-admissions position at CBS. The answer I received was "YES!" Delivered with a smile. She confirmed that much was changing in admissions and that the introduction of the personality essay reflected that change. See my analysis of CBS essays for 2011 admission here. Actually, the only reason I came to this event was to ask this question. I was very satisfied with my answer. :)
2. It is possible to apply for Regular Decision even now without the onus of Early Decision. That said, I can't see this as great strategy because essentially it says you are not really that committed to CBS. Better to just wait until after the ED deadline has passed. By the way, CBS will be taking RD applications until APRIL 13, 2011! Though, I can't imagine there will be many places left at such a late date.
Like all CBS events I have been to in Tokyo, a bunch of alumni showed up and the event was very well attended.
-Adam
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MIT Sloan MBA Essays for Fall 2011 Admission
I had the pleasure of working with six clients from six different countries who were admitted to MIT Sloan for Fall 2010. This was by far my best year ever for MIT. I lucked out as I had the great opportunity to work with some incredibly smart and thoughtful people who also had all demonstrated high levels of leadership in their professional and/or extracurricular endeavors. You can read testimonials from some of them here. Based on their results, I have not felt much reason to change much of my analysis from last year, except for some edits and the analysis of the one new essay question, the topic of Essay 2.
Before analyzing MIT Sloan School of Management MBA Essays for Fall 2011, I think it is important to take a look at MIT Sloan's core values:
Before analyzing MIT Sloan School of Management MBA Essays for Fall 2011, I think it is important to take a look at MIT Sloan's core values:
Mind and Hand
MIT is well know for transforming theory into practice and this is certainly true of its business school. In my experience those who can effectively demonstrate how and why they share this "core idea" are most likely to be accepted. (For those who can read Japanese, I suggest looking at http://web.mit.edu/sloanjapan/101/index.html and Kaz's MIT MBA留学日記 blog. My English language interview with Kaz is here). For those interested in the LGO Program, I suggest taking a look at this blog by a member of the Class of 2012.
If you are able to, I suggest visiting campus or attending a Sloan-on-the-Road event. Click here for the full list of admissions events.
If you are able to, I suggest visiting campus or attending a Sloan-on-the-Road event. Click here for the full list of admissions events.
Sloan's application process is, in fact, very much focused on determining whether you share and can contribute, based on your own unique background, to their "core idea." This does not mean that there is only one way to write great essays for MIT Sloan. Nor does it mean that they are only looking for one type of student. That said, I think you can say that there are some right ways and wrong ways to approach their questions.
All questions are taken from the website.
All questions are taken from the website.
Cover Letter
Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions.
Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions.
Keep in mind that great cover letters result in job interviews. The purpose of a cover letter is accompany a resume. In MIT's case the cover letter does not only accompany the resume (Limited to 1 page and 50 lines), but the whole MBA application. Still assume the point of this cover is to get you an interview! How will your cover letter standout? If you don't know how to do a US-style cover letter, you need to learn. Here are two good sites for that purpose:
If you have attended Sloan-on-the-Road event or visited the campus, you probably heard from admissions that MIT does not ask for the sort of standard goals essays that almost all other schools ask for. Honestly this one of the things I love about this school. Admissions knows applicants are going to figure out what they want to do after they start an MBA program, so they think the question is absurd.
Having seen what happens to my clients once they graduate, I can say that MIT is often right about this: Many never do what they write in their essays. This is in no way intended as a criticism of my past clients. I tell this to all my clients so that they can relax and just simply concentrate on making sure that their goals are solid without having to think that these absolutely must be their real goals. Just as long they are comfortable with their goals as one possible future and can be convincing both on paper and in an interview, that is enough.
Still, goals questions are useful if you are trying to determine someone's vision and their ability to actually put together a plan (think business plan). Of course, a goals essay is simply the standard sort of essay that all kinds of graduate programs require. For other schools, think of them as a formal requirement that simply has to be met.
While I have written elsewhere about goals essays and recognize their importance, I have been wondering why other business schools don't simply copy MIT. In fact, HBS has done so. While an applicant to HBS would certainly need to say something about their motivations, they need not write a goals essay. Like MIT, HBS has recognized the standard short-term/long-term goals essay is often simply a formal exercise that can be dispensed with unless someone has something really important to write about that topic.
Unlike HBS, MIT specifically requires that you write a 500-word essay in the form of a cover letter that will convince them why you belong at MIT Sloan. Focus on your passions, values, and interests to show why you belong at Sloan. If you can answer the following questions in a convincing manner you will be on the right track:
1. Why do you fit at Sloan?
2. What do you want to learn at Sloan? Why? The more specific, the better.
2. What do you want to learn at Sloan? Why? The more specific, the better.
3. What motivates you and how does this relate to what you can learn at and contribute to Sloan?
4. Can you briefly state what your values are? That is to say, what are your core beliefs that are likely to provide Rod Garcia and his colleagues with a better understanding about what kind of person you are?
AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU IMPACTED A TEAM OR ORGANIZATION
In the process of answering these questions, you need to briefly tell a story about you had impact on a group or organization. My suggestion is to use that story as way of expressing something very important about you in terms of your values and fit for MIT Sloan. I would not suggest making this example, the principle topic of the cover letter, it is just one topic. The words "include an example" clearly indicate that this is just topic that you should address in your cover letter.
These topics are not easy to get into 500 words, so you really need to think very carefully about the most important things you want Rod and his colleagues to know about you.
BECOME A SLOAN EXPERT
I think it is critical that you really are well-informed about Sloan, so in addition to making full use of standard admissions information, please take a look at MIT Sloan Management Review and listen to the MIT Sloan Management School of Management Podcast (available on iTunes).
ESSAYS
We are interested in learning more about you and how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years.
In each of the essays please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.
We are interested in learning more about you and how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years.
In each of the essays please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.
This distinctive style of question that MIT asks 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. In addition to the MIT SLOAN Guide, I suggest also taking a look at the guide to the Star Technique that MIT Career Services provides.
The behavioral essay questions that MIT (and now Stanford) ask have their origins in behavioral interviewing. This method is not old:
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 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.
The STAR technique is really the core method you need to use for answering behavioral questions in MIT essays. It is simply this:
• 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.
MIT Sloan specifically requires that these experiences come from the last three years. This time constraint is important to remember. Also keep in mind:
1. You need to show the capacity for analyzing and acting in different ways, so, while all three 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.
LEADERSHIP STORIES
Depending on your selection of topics for Essays 1-3, you will be likely writing at least one, if not more, leadership focused essays. 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.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
4. Think about the results and identify how they relate to your action steps. So at minimum, you should be able to state the impact on others and/or yourself.
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 MIT interview.
Essay 1: Please describe a time when you went beyond what was defined, expected, established, or popular. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
This question is almost the same as Stanford Essay 3 Option D. The only difference is that MIT includes the word "popular" and Stanford does not. Actually, I have to say that I love this question. Going beyond something defined, expected, established, or popular may involve breaking the rules. Both MIT and Stanford are places 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. Show how you alter the very rules of something that you have been a part of and have a positive impact as a result. Leadership is often tested most profoundly in situations where one has to go against "common sense," organizational tradition, and/or the interests of others. In one way or another show how you possess the courage to act in the face of opposition.
Essay 2: Please describe a time when you convinced an individual or group to accept one of your ideas. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)
This is the only question that changed in this year's application. It is quite similar to Stanford Essay 3 Option C. Compared to last year's question on mentoring someone, this is a rather open-ended topic. I also consider it very close to the heart of MIT as the subject matter really is about a very practical aspect of ideas: Convincing others to take yours seriously. The idea might be large or small, those who are convinced might be an individual or a group. A group might be a team, it might be a client, it might be your friends, it might be senior management of your organization. What you want to do is explain what the idea was and then how you convinced the individual or group to accept it.
Provide a simple, clear, and concise explanation of the idea. Keep in mind that discussing the idea in too much detail is likely to interfere with focusing on the key point: Your ability to convince others about an idea. Focus on the methods you use: Did you convince others based solely on logic? Did you appeal to them emotionally? KEY QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF: Why was it hard to convince them? If it was not hard to convince them, this essay will likely be very ineffective because it will be a poor test of your ability to convince other people.
Essay 3: Please describe a time when you took responsibility for achieving an objective. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Provide a simple, clear, and concise explanation of the idea. Keep in mind that discussing the idea in too much detail is likely to interfere with focusing on the key point: Your ability to convince others about an idea. Focus on the methods you use: Did you convince others based solely on logic? Did you appeal to them emotionally? KEY QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF: Why was it hard to convince them? If it was not hard to convince them, this essay will likely be very ineffective because it will be a poor test of your ability to convince other people.
Essay 3: Please describe a time when you took responsibility for achieving an objective. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
DO NOT WRITE ABOUT YOUR PLAN TO APPLY TO MBA PROGRAMS! Hopefully no one will do that, but I know someone will. If there is one essay in the MIT set of questions that is well suited for a big story, this one is it. You can, of course, tell a small story here, but if you want to write about your biggest accomplishment that involved a significant amount of responsibility that is great. Simply state why you took responsibility. Focus on the execution of the objective, not its initial conceptualization. While there are no hard and fast rules, I would try to expend at least two-thirds of your word count focused on showing how you realized your objective. Make sure that you clearly state the result. An effective answer here will most likely be about an objective that has been effectively executed and has clear results.
One issue that will arise here is the meaning of the words "when you took responsibility" as this clearly indicates that someone actively wanted the responsibility in question and was not merely given it. Good workers are given responsibility all the time, but leaders take responsibility. If you are given a responsibility, you are merely carrying out someone's orders. If you take responsibility, you are showing initiative. I suggest you make sure that you are showing initiative and not merely a good worker doing a job someone has assigned to you.
One issue that will arise here is the meaning of the words "when you took responsibility" as this clearly indicates that someone actively wanted the responsibility in question and was not merely given it. Good workers are given responsibility all the time, but leaders take responsibility. If you are given a responsibility, you are merely carrying out someone's orders. If you take responsibility, you are showing initiative. I suggest you make sure that you are showing initiative and not merely a good worker doing a job someone has assigned to you.
Supplemental Information
You may use this section to address whatever else you want the Admissions Committee to know. (250 words or less, limited to one page)
You may use this section to address whatever else you want the Admissions Committee to know. (250 words or less, limited to one page)
What part of you that Rod Garcia really should know about is missing from or not emphasized enough elsewhere? Use this essay to give him a more complete perspective on who you are. My suggestion is to make sure you are comfortable with the content for your other essays before deciding what should be discussed here. Unless absolutely necessary, you should avoid using all of this space to discuss something negative. Instead use this question as another way to help MIT understand you and to become convinced that you belong there. I suggest reviewing MIT's admission criteria to help you determine what topic you should write about here.
This essay is an opportunity to explain the strengths and/or weaknesses of your academic background. You don't need a high GPA to get into MIT, but they are looking for applicants who have demonstrated intellectual curiosity, so utilize this space to help convince them of that. If you have to explain a weakness feel free to do so. It is better to provide an explanation for why you had a bad GPA in your second year of university than to make Rod Garcia and his team try to guess why. While you can use this space to explain something negative, the wording is such that I would try and use at least part of this space to write about something positive.
SHOULD I SUBMIT MY TOEFL SCORE? Given that MIT does not require the TOEFL, it is safe to assume that receives many applications from those with limited English speaking and listening skills since many international applicants can obtain a much better GMAT than iBT TOEFL score. If you have a strong iBT TOEFL, I suggest submitting it so that Rod and his team know you have strong speaking and listening skills. Especially anyone with at least 105 and a 25 in each section should submit their TOEFL score. While such a submission is optional, I think it can only help you.
GMAT VERSUS GRE:
MIT accepts both tests. The disadvantage of taking GRE is that MIT does not use ETS's official concordance table and does not seem to have an actual guide for what constitutes a good GRE score. I asked about this subject at the Tokyo Event in August 2010 and got the impression that they fully accept and are in no way biased against those who take GRE, but was told that there is no concordance table, so it is really clear what sort of GRE score they want, aside from the obvious- a high one!
My analysis of MIT interviews can be found here.
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 interested in my admissions consulting services, please see here.
-Adam Markus
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ビジネススクール カウンセリング MITスローン コンサルティング 大学院 合格対策 エッセイMBA留学
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