Using money as the prime motivation

It is important that you include your motivations in your essay. However, you should not emphasize money as your motivation. Otherwise, you may leave a negative impression on the readers’ mind. You can cite your interest in the field or your experiences as motivating factors. These things would give the admissions committee an impression that you are already mature and that you can really commit yourself to MBA.

Not having a clear set of goals and expectations

Another fatal flaw you have to avoid is being vague in your goals and expectations. As much as possible, you have to project yourself as an organized and goal-driven individual. You can do this by setting a clear goal and having realistic expectations. This way, the admissions committee would know that you have a clear objective and that you know more about the path your are going to take.

Failing to mention how you fit into the program and MBA school

Another thing you have to emphasize in your essay is your quality which makes you worthy of a spot in an MBA school. You have to convince the admissions officers why you deserve a slot in the school. By stating your experiences and goals, you can show the admissions committee that you deserve to be in an MBA school. Just make sure that you are sincere in your writing. Remember, the admissions committee can see through your lies.

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Go into details about your motivation

One of the things you can talk about in your essay is your reason or motivation in pursuing an MBA study. Sharing this personal information would set you apart from other applicants. Even if you have the same reason as other applicants, if you go into the details of your reason or motivation, you would surely come up with a unique essay.

Share a personal story or cite particular instances in your life

The purpose of your essay is to bring to light your qualities and experiences that are not presented in your resume. Your MBA essay is your chance to talk about your experiences that made you who you are. You can cite some of these experiences in your essay, but make sure that they are related to your application. Since the MBA application essay is supposedly short, you can just choose one or two experiences that changed your life or motivated you to pursue an MBA study.

Tell them what makes the school and particular program the perfect choice for you

One way to convince the admissions committee is to tell them why you deserve to be in that program. You can tell them about your skills and goals that make the school and program the perfect choice for you. You have to state clearly why you are worthy to be in that school.

Before you start writing your own essay, you should read an excellent MBA sample application essay. You can use this as a guide when you write your own.

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Speaking directly to the reader

Your essay is your way to present a four-dimensional image of yourself. Through your essay, you can show the admissions commitee your personality. In which case, your approach truly matters. A personal approach is the best way to speak to the admissions committee. You should use “I” but you have to make sure that this first person point of view is not overused. If you use the third person, you will have the tendency of writing a wordy essay. You also have to ensure that you don’t get TOO personal that you’re missing the real purpose of the essay.

Getting straight to the point

Do not beat around the bush. When writing your business essay, get straight to the point. You have to remember that the admission officers would likely be bored if you keep talking in circles. The pages of the business essay is limited, so you really have to deliver your points directly.

Writing in clear but convincing words

Clarity is one of the elements of a good essay. You don’t have to use high falutin words to impress the readers. All you need is to write a clear, interesting essay. A well-written essay would convince the admission officers of your worth more, compared to an essay filled unfamiliar terms that cause confusion. You have to read your business essay several times and watch out for the clarity of the ideas.

If you keep these things in mind, you will surely get better chances for admission to the business school of your dream.

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You have to know what makes the program and school suitable for your plans

Do you already have an MBA school in mind? Why did you choose this school or this specific program? These are some of the questions you have to ask yourself first. What kind of career do you want to have? Can that MBA school give you the right training? You have to ask yourself these questions to know if you are going to tread on the right path.

You need to set realistic expectations

Why are you going to obtain an MBA degree? To have an easy way climbing the ladder of success? If yes is your answer to the this question, experts would say, get real! Although an MBA degree would offer better career opportunities, it does not guarantee a sweat-free success in your field. This is why setting realistic expectations is very important. It also pays to be realistic with the admission application process. Expect a very tough competition. You have to anticipate success, but you should also prepare for failure.

You need to find the right motivations

The life of an MBA student is not easy. You really have to balance your personal life and the demands of MBA school. Expect your life as an MBA student to be full of ups and downs. Because of this, it is necessary for you to find the right motivations. Your motivation will keep you going on despite the obstacles. Let this be your guide when writing about your MBA application essays and pushing through with the application process.

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Contrary to what most people think, admission to a good MBA program at a good business school is still possible despite a less than flawless resume and professional record. While it’s true that a 4.0 GPA, perfect GMAT and TOEFL scores, and demonstrated business prowess are impressive, there is still hope for MBA applicants who have less than stellar transcripts and business track records. Most business schools try not to place too much weight on just one application requirement, so those with average business records can still be worthy contenders in the race for a good MBA program.

This is why MBA application essays are an important requirement when applying for a business school. MBA application essays allow applicants to redeem themselves and explain in detail what led to their business failures. Most business schools provide the option to applicants to submit separate MBA application essays for the sole reason of clarifying the inconsistencies reflected in their records. The sad part is, a lot of applicants make the mistake of using these optional MBA application essays to blame their business failures on other people and on other external factors. Your MBA application essays should focus on you as an actor, and not a passive receptor, in charge of how you live your life. Use the MBA application essays to show the Committee that you can own up to your mistakes and more importantly, learn from them.

MBA application essays can do a lot to cushion the blow that an unimpressive business track record can cause to the status of your application to a business school. If you’re able to thoroughly explain in your MBA application essays what led to the failure of your business, you can get them to focus more on your resiliency and the qualities you have to show that you’re not one to quit easily. You can explain in your MBA application essays that despite the knowledge of your venture’s instability, you pushed through with it because you believed that the risk was worth taking. This shows fearlessness to take that leap when all the others would retreat into safety.

After providing a detailed explanation in your MBA application essays of what went wrong and what you did wrong, it’s important that you also own up to whatever decision-making flaws you had. Such MBA application essays will show the Admissions Committee that you are open to constructive criticism and are open to different business perspectives – a quality that is highly desirable among would-be MBA students. The important thing to remember is to focus on how you recovered from the failure. Your MBA application essays should reflect how you dealt with the failure emotionally, mentally, and professionally. It is only by showing a more personal side of you that your MBA application essays will show the Admissions Committee the kind of businessperson you will become, and why you deserve quality education from their institution.

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Just because you didn’t graduate from college with a cum laude doesn’t mean you’re no longer deserving to get into a business school and acquire an MBA degree. On the contrary, some Admissions Committees of business schools focus more on MBA application essays that narrate what you did after college, and what you did with the knowledge and education you gained. Bad grades in college do not equate to disqualification from good MBA programs. All you have to do is show in your MBA application essays that the richness of your life experiences and business success more than make up for the average grades you got in college.

Don’t go on a tirade about how your college professors were highly subjective in giving grades, this will only be seen as a cowardly form of pointing fingers. Instead, your MBA application essays should show that despite poor academic records, you were able to effectively apply the knowledge you gained. If you were active in various business and economic organizations in college, you can also use this angle to explain in your MBA application essays why you got low grades. You can even mention in your MBA application essays that back when you were in college, you saw experience and application as equally important than theoretical learning in the classroom.

The key in drafting your MBA application essays is to write them in such a way that would work to your advantage. In this case, your MBA application essays should provide truthful explanations regarding your college experience and why you got low grades. If you had a class where you got a low grade because of a family emergency during the midterms, then you should tell the Committee about that in your MBA application essays. A lot of people may find this hard to believe, but some Admission Committees would actually even choose an applicant with a colorful and interesting background over someone who has squeaky clean records, but with boring MBA application essays. This is because Committees look for the ‘human’ factor in MBA application essays – the insights into your personality that no academic record nor test result can ever provide.

If your dream business school is one that places academic records over experiences and background, then the more effort you should put into writing your MBA application essays to justify your low college grades. One of the most important things to remember when writing MBA application essays is to remain truthful. Keep in mind that Admissions Committees have read gazillions of MBA application essays, and can easily tell whether an applicant is fabricating stories or telling the truth. Also, don’t whine. Own up to whatever mistakes you made, elaborate on how you learned from them, and how you plan to integrate these experience-derived learnings into all decisions you’ll be making in your MBA studies in their institution.

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What your MBA application essays should say

Say you didn’t pass certain classes or you got a relatively low score. Through your MBA application essays, you can explain why that happened and how you learned from the experience. Don’t enumerate excuses and shallow justifications, this is not what admissions committee members want to see in your MBA application essays. Instead, own up to whatever faults you had that led to your low GMAT score and focus on how you learned from the experience. Remember, MBA application essays can be a venue for explanations, but not a list of excuses and a document of scapegoat-naming.

If your academic records are not that remarkable, MBA application essays can also help you gain an edge over the other applicants who have statistically impressive transcripts. Just because an applicant has a 4.0 GPA doesn’t automatically mean that he or she has higher chances of getting into a business school. What most admissions committee members look for in MBA application essays are factoids and tidbits about the applicant that jump out of the page. When reading MBA application essays, they want that added value – that oomph – that would make an applicant worthy of an MBA degree from their school.

Everything in your mba application essays should be in moderation. Keep that in mind when you’re writing your MBA application essays. You want your admission essays to stand out but at the same time, be wary of certain beliefs, principles, and standards that the institution upholds. You may want the content of your MBA application essays to be different, non-conformist even, but be careful about sounding subversive. They want someone who will contribute and make changes to the community, but not overthrow authority.

You will find in various books and websites that MBA application essays should reflect the real you. It may sound like a cliché to you, but it’s true. One of the main reasons business schools ask applicants to submit MBA application essays is so they can get to know the applicant beyond the grades, and the out-to-impress data written in your resume. MBA application essays should provide the admissions committee with information that they won’t be able to derive from the other documents you submitted. In the end, your MBA application essays should reflect the different facets of your personality and professional attitude that would convince committee members that you’re deserving of admission into their business school.