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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