Georgetown McDonough, the top MBA program at the intersection of business and government, clearly articulates its principles: Learning, International Mindset, Integrity, Professionalism, Community. Make no mistake. It wants students who are guided by those same values.Your application should show that you need the education provided by McDonough to achieve your goals and that you wholeheartedly embrace its values.
Essays should all be double-spaced using 12pt. font. Prepare your attachments offline in separate document files and upload them individually. Please follow the instructions regarding length of each attachment, and label each page with your name.
1: Answer both Part A and Part B Essays
Part A - What is your short-term goal following graduation from the Georgetown McDonough MBA Program? What skills are you seeking to develop or improve upon in order to reach your goals? (500 words or fewer)
What do you want to do immediately upon earning your MBA? Frame your answer in terms of function — what do you actually want to do — and industry. If geographic is relevant, you can include that too.
Then what do you need to learn at Georgetown that in combination with your previous experience and education will enable you to achieve your MBA goals?
You could start this essay with a short vignette that illustrates both your strengths and what you need to learn in order to achieve your goals. Or you could start with your first day on the job after your MBA. Or with your first major success on that new job. Show that you have a clear picture of the future you are seeking and then circle back to where you’re at and what you need to learn to get to where you want to go.
Part B – What is your long-term career goal? (100 words or fewer)
Where do you see your career headed over time. You won’t have room for stories in this response, or certainly not long ones. Just one piece of advice, your long-term career goal should relate to either what you have done in the past or what you want to do in the future. It should make sense.
2: Answer either option A or option B
Choose the one that you can respond to most enthusiastically and most easily. Choose the one that will allow you to add the most information and insight to the portrait you already presented.
Option A - Describe a global business challenge and its relevance to your post-MBA career. (750 words or fewer)
This is a wide-open question, however if you intend your business to be primarily domestic, it may be a hard one to answer. On the other hand, if you are used to working with global questions, have an interest in international business, and see yourself working on a multi-national scale, this could be a home run for you. Just make sure that you tie your challenge to your career either by showing how you are going to take advantage of the opportunity that is almost always inherent in challenge or how you will contribute to solving this challenge.
- Or -
Option B - Describe yourself both personally and professionally and how you will contribute to the Georgetown McDonough community. (750 words or fewer)
This is a more traditional MBA question and option. What in your background or talents will you draw upon to contribute to McDonough’s community? And then how specifically do you intend to contribute? Will you be a leader of Net Impact at Georgetown? Or will you spearhead the 2014 Georgetown Energy & Cleantech Conference? Or…?
3: Why do you want to attend the Georgetown McDonough MBA Program? Tell us in tweet format. (140 characters or fewer)
Be specific & concrete. Leave off articles. Use common abbreviations. Do not exceed 140 characters.
The preceding line provides advice “in tweet format.” It is 99 characters. 
Optional 1: If you are not currently employed full-time, use this space to provide information about your current activities. (250 words or fewer)
Optional 2: Please provide any information you would like to add to your application that you have not otherwise included. (500 words or fewer)
Please see “The Optional Essay: To Be or Not to Be.”
If you would like professional guidance with your Georgetown McDonough School MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Georgetown McDonough MBA application.
Georgetown McDonough 2014 MBA Application Deadlines:
| Application Deadline | Decision Notification | |
| Round 1 | October 10, 2013 | December 20, 2013 |
| Round 2 | January 5, 2014 | March 20, 2014 |
| Round 3 | April 1, 2014 | May 15, 2014 |
By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools.
Accepted.com's experienced admissions consultants can help you create the most impressive application possible with comprehensive packages, or provide targeted assistance from picking perfect programs to designing a dazzling resume, constructing engaging essays, or preparing for intense interviews…and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 – we know what works and what doesn't, so contact us to get started now!
This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.
