The Most Important Thing MBA Applicants Should Know - 工管

From application essays to LORs to the infamous MBA interview, thereˆs a LOT
that goes into getting into b-school. And that means there are a lot of
application Doˆs and Donˆts.

DO write a compelling essay. DO NOT use industry jargon.
DO choose the recommender that knows you best. DO NOT write your own LOR.
DO prepare questions for your interviewer. DO NOT spend 15 minutes
summarizing your resume for your interviewer….

Yeah, it can get pretty overwhelming. So what is the most important thing you
should know as you approach those MBA applications? We asked our team of
rockstar consultants for their best advice/greatest nuggets of b-school
wisdom/opinion on the one thing you should keep in mind as you work on your
apps.

And here is what they had to say:

MARK:
Donˆt tell the adcoms what you THINK they wanna hear; that just triggers
their B.S. detectors. Do the opposite: SHOW them what youˆre about. And win
their hearts.

KYN:
The easiest way to get rejected is to be identified as a ¨manufactured〃
applicant who is simply trying too hard to look good. Be authentic and true
to who you are within your applications. Youˆll naturally put in more
passion and enthusiasm into your essays and that WILL help you to stand out
from the pack.

LEE:
There are plenty of high-achievers applying for MBAs. In your app, be clear
about what youˆve accomplished, but donˆt forget: itˆs often the PERSONAL
aspect of your story that makes you stand out, and helps contextualize your
goals. Help the Adcom get to know YOU, not just your resume. This is the
time to be introspective about the experiences that have made you who you
are, as well as the interpersonal, human angles of the stories you are
telling.

DAMON:
Sometimes a person applies to business school not because he or she really
wants an MBA, but because of some other reason — to move to another country,
to be in the same city as a loved one, or even to stall for time as true
motivations are revealed. All these reasons are as VALID as getting the
opportunity to join Goldman Sachs or McKinsey, so long as the applicant is
truthful to him or herself. So my best piece of advice: know EXACTLY why you
applying and you wonˆt go too wrong.

MANDY:
Spend the time to do your own research on each of the schools – and provide
detailed, specific reasons why you want to go there. What clubs will you be
involved in? Which classes do you want to take? Which entrepreneurs in
residence do you want to meet with? Prove that you know the school inside
and out, and show how youˆll hit the ground running on day 1!

YARON:
Be open-minded about your choices of MBA programs!

Remember that the MBA is not your end-station. Iˆve seen candidates often
limit their choices of MBA programs by World Rankings, although they havenˆt
visited the school, done research into the program, and have even arbitrarily
chosen a ranking system. Your goals are not to ¨get an MBA from the highest
ranked program,〃 but rather to go the program that will enrich you the most,
teach you the most, and give you the best possible opportunities to reach
your goals and dreams.

ALEX:
Donˆt be afraid of adding dramatic flare to your essays, folks. At the end
of the day, an AdCom is reading HUNDREDS of essays day in and day out and you
need someway to stand out, someway of getting the AdCom to talk about you
during their coffee break. In truth, many of you have super impressive
accomplishments so unless you single-handedly developed the marketing plan
for the iPhone 5, itˆll be tough to stand out on nothing more than your
accomplishments. What I encourage you to do is to paint a narrative, give
the reader some vivid context which puts them in your shoes and thus, truly
appreciate the gravity of the situation. Make the reader bite their nails
when youˆre talking about how stressful your greatest challenge was; make
them cheer for you when you go into your greatest failure.

Not many of us are gifted writers so it might be tough to write such flowing
narratives, however, you have an advantage – unlike fiction, you actually
lived the moments you are writing about. You saw, smelled, felt, heard, and
in some ways, tasted the moment, so all of the material for this is locked
into that awesome brain of yours. For some help in writing, follow the
greats! Look at some of your favorite novels and go back to the best parts
and see what the authors did to convey that feeling. Even movies with great
scripts, V for Vendetta for instance, are wonderful examples of fantastic use
of emotive narratives.

Be yourself. Be honest. Be specific. Be bold.
Thatˆs the kind of stuff that will get you into b-school.

Jon Frank
weibo:http://weibo.com/n/jonfrank

http://www.precisionessay.com

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