I. Find out your topics early! You can look online and find out what the essay questions at Top 10 MBA programs have been for the last several years. They don’t change much from year to year. This will give you a head-start on thinking about your topics.
II. Brainstorm with yourself! Once you have located the questions online, brainstorm with yourself to answer all of the questions honestly. Choose the first idea that comes into your head as your answer, and build on it.
III. Start writing early! Once you have found your topics, begin writing drafts of your essays. In my case, I began my drafts four months before submitting my application.
IV. Ask for help! Ask your friends, relatives, and people who may provide letters of reference to read through your essays and give you feedback. They may not be able to tell you if you are addressing the topic exactly the way the school would like, but they can tell you about your writing style, let you know whether you are making your point effectively, and give other suggestions.
V. Be Honest! Address the topics truthfully and in a consistent manner. Don’t just try to say whatever you think the admissions officer wants to hear. This will fall flat as the admissions officer can see right through it.
VI. Be consistent! If more than one school asks the same question, answer it in a similar way for each. Of course, you may add different details for different schools, but basically, keep it consistent. Remember you will be making a monetary investment to go to your Ivy League school, so you have a right to tell your own story!
It’s important that you tell your story honestly and consistently because this is part of what the school will base your admission on. If they don’t like your story, then you will never see them anyway. If they do, then they will respect you for your honesty and consistency and for the components of your story that make you unique.
In my own case, my journey to an elite business school was unusual.
I wanted to be up-front about it so that the school could make an honest decision and would know who they were dealing with right from the start.
For example, one question I was asked very often was: “Why do you want an MBA?”
When I looked at that question, the first thing that popped into my mind was, “Because I am stuck.” That’s my honest answer.
A lot of people would throw that answer away and go with something they think the admissions officer wants to hear, such as, how a business degree can help you be useful in the global economy.
I didn’t do that. I built on my honest answer.
“I want an MBA because my career is stuck. I’m a computer tech. I want to be an entrepreneur. I need a business degree to bridge the gaps in my knowledge so that I can move forward and achieve my goals.”That’s an honest answer. I gave pretty much that same answer every time I was asked that question, and I was accepted to Stanford's GSB.
Don’t write lots of different versions of your answer. Don’t make things up to try to please the admissions officers. Just tell your story honestly and consistently and you are sure to be well-matched with the right school.
