Discussing Your Preferred Specialization in Your MBA Application Essays
Regardless of the essay question, discussing your preferred specialization in your MBA essay is a good idea. As long as you keep your discussion related to the essay question or topic, you show that you have a pretty good concept of why you’re taking an MBA, where you want to be, and how you are a right fit for the school that you’re applying to.
Writing about your goals
When you talk about your planned specialization, you can show more about your character, your particular goals, and the reasons why you chose that field. Since these essays are meant to let admission officials get a better feel of your personality, discussing your specialization plans on the essay will give them plenty of that. You may discuss particular events, achievements, and skills that you have to further make your case as to why you think your chosen specialization fits your abilities and talents.
But one should also remember to keep the discussion relevant to the essay question or topic. Find ways to establish a close relation to the topic and avoid digressing. By keeping to the topic, you also avoid making a litany of your qualifications, but instead, you can use those qualifications in a more meaningful and concrete way in helping you answer the essay question. This also shows a lot about your writing and communication skills. Since you’re able to relate your preferred specialization to the topic at hand, you illustrate your ability to relate and organize ideas in a way that will showcase your skills and personality without getting off track. For good examples, you can check out sample MBA application essays to get an idea on how it’s done.
Also, you can further explain your reasons why you chose their school to apply to. This shows that you selected their school after much thought and consideration, and that you think that their institution can help you achieve those goals. This would send a good message as it shows that you did your homework on researching the MBA school and determining whether it would be a right fit for your career path.
And the best case that you can make for yourself when discussing your preferred specialization is that you show you’re a person of vision. You illustrate that you have a clear concept of what you want to be in the future, and have a good idea on how to get there. This is not just selfish promotion on your part, it can also be construed as having foresight and a plan for the future—qualities that any leader should have. As such, you also present a case for yourself as having leadership qualities.
One may be afraid to discuss specialization plans as it seems as if it’s being cheeky or too assuming. But that is not the case. Discussing your preferred specialization shows a lot about your character and your seriousness in pursuing your MBA. And these are things that should be present in your MBA application essay should you want to get accepted.
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Business Jargon You Should Avoid Using in Your MBA Application Essays
One of the mistakes that MBA applicants make in their admission essays is that they include jargon in the mix, whether intentionally or unintentionally. When done willfully, people think that jargon can make them look more professional and knowledgeable about their fields. When done unwillingly, these people just forget themselves and write like how they would when communicating with people in their workplace. Whatever the case, it spells out carelessness, lack of preparation, and poor communication skills on their essays.
As you know, getting to an MBA school means you want to learn managing a business in a specific field. Basically, you’re gunning for a leadership position. And when it’s about leadership, it’s necessary that the qualities of good communication skills and forethought are present in a leader. If you use jargon intentionally, that shows that you can’t express yourself in other words besides jargon. It also shows a lack of creativity and originality when you rely on jargon to get your message across.
So instead of making you look smart, using jargon just makes you look as if you’re using technical words to hide your poor communication skills and to intimidate your readers into believing you’re an expert in your field. If you’re a real expert on a subject, then you can find ways of explaining yourself in a clearer way. For those who use jargon unwittingly or just through daily use, it shows that one is not fully aware of the purpose of the essay. You display inconsideration to the reader and use your language haphazardly. Now these are hardly the qualities that you would look for in a leader, much less from an MBA applicant.
Here are some jargons that you should avoid in making your mba application essays:
• Acronyms, especially the ones that are known only to your organization
• Industry-specific technical terms
• High-sounding but vague terms (for example, online enterprise development, human resources utilization)
• Clichés. Though these belong to a different category, they can stand as jargon for the business language. You always hear terms like “best of breed” and “value chain” in your organization. They may sound nice, but they also sound rundown.
Whether you’re writing for an MBA essay or your high school essay, the elements of good writing are the same. You need to be clear yourself on what you want to express, work on the right expression, and get feedback on what you wrote.
1. Make an outline before you write.
2. Remember the purpose of the essay and your readers.
3. Watch your jargon.
4. Consult sample MBA application essays for some tips and mistakes to avoid.
5. Read and edit your work thoroughly.
6. Have someone non-technical read your essay and get feedback if it is an easy read.
7. Read and edit again for jargons and cliché.
If you have good communication skills, you don’t need to use jargon to make you look smart. You’d even look smarter if you get your message across without relying on technical terms. By doing so, you show your confidence in your communication skills.
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Applying for an MBA program is quite similar to applying for a college program. You also need to comply with the application requirements for an MBA program. MBA application essays, in particular, are just of the crucial MBA admission requirements. These essays can make or break your application. So it is best to handle them with extra care. Below are some tips that can help you craft your MBA application essays for different MBA schools.
>Review the instructions
The first thing you should do when writing MBA application essays is to make sure that you have very well understood the instructions. Rules for writing MBA application essays vary from one graduate school to another. So, it is important for you to recheck instructions. There are graduate business schools that require applicants to answer a specific set of questions in their application essays. Others just give their applicants a particular topic to write about.
>Elaborate particular parts of your essay
Taking the word count limit in consideration, expand the important parts of your essay. Elaborating on particular paragraphs can give your essay a positive attitude that scores points with admissions committee members. If you want to emphasize a particular skill, make sure that you have talked about it in a way that will convince your readers to believe you.
>Improve your essay
If you have the luxury of time, let your essay cool for a while. Go back to it after a few hours to see if anything needs to be improved. If you are using a generic essay, try to add or delete some lines. Doing so will let you come up with different MBA application essays that will the MBA programs you are applying for.
>Know when to stop
If you thing that you have written all the things you need to say then stop. Don’t try to reach the maximum word count limit. Remember that the content and style of your MBA application essays are more important.
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