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Tightening up the Essay on your MBA Application
This is a transcript summary of the Expert Chat that TopMBA Scorecard runs at regular intervals throughout the year. This is a live expert chat with Ms Rachel Killian, Marketing & Recruitment Manager of Warwick Business School in the UK.
Questions to Rachel were sent in by respondents from all around the world.
Question: I'd really like to know what general advice you can give me about how to write a successful admission essay.
Answer: Include information that will help the admissions tutor understand who you are; this may be your background, the challenges that you have overcome, your ambitions, and your interests away from work. This may include for example, your volunteering work (what you do and why), your sports interests or information about your family.
A successful admission essay will also be well written! So I would always advise that every essay that you submit has to look professional (typed is always best). You should pay close attention to the structure of the essay and make sure it reads well, as well ensuring that your grammar and spelling are accurate. If you need to, break it up using headings. And definitely make sure you have an introduction and a summary at the end of what you have discussed. I'd also recommend that you get someone that you trust to read it once you are finished - just to be sure.
Question: How can I start my essay? How can I make my essay Interesting?
Answer: You have obviously realized that admission tutors will see many essays and so it is really important that you make your essay as interesting as possible.
The best way to do this is to remember that there is no right or wrong in writing essays. If you represent yourself honestly and openly, avoid generalizations and give sufficient detail, then your essay will be interesting, I'm sure. There is little point trying to be something that you are not, or trying to be something that you think the B-school is looking for; just be yourself.
Question: I have a specific question. How do I answer a detailed Essay Question that asks me to choose between two situations while I feel none of them is right and the third option that makes sense to me is not present?
Answer: This is an interesting question! I think you have to weigh up the pros and cons of the two scenarios that you are given and cover these in detail in your essay. In your conclusion, if you are asked to make a final decision, then you must do so; an admission tutor may simply want the reassurance that you can make such a decision, even when you are not 100% committed to the idea. However, if you have a bit more flexibility, then I would be inclined to say why you would reject the first 2 options and outline a 3rd option which you think is a much better choice.
Question: How long on average should an essay be?
Answer: Most schools will set word limits on their application essays. So the most important thing is to follow instructions.
If they don't specify any word limit, then I would usually exercise caution and assume that any admission tutor will not read more than a page or two of any one essay. Concise and relevant are definitely key words!
Question: How important is the use of vocabulary when writing essays? Is it advisable to keep the language simple?
Answer: It is very advisable to keep your language simple, especially if you are submitting an application in a language that is not your first. I often see essays from applicants where they have tried very hard to make their essay sound great, replacing complicated words where a simple one would have sufficed. The result is often confused or unclear messages, which are just very difficult to read and, at the end, I know very little more about the applicant, making it hard to reach a positive outcome. Most definitely, keep it simple!
