MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Given Kudos: 2
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: assessment of finance guy
[#permalink]
03 Jun 2009, 14:37
There really isn't a one-size-fits-all piece of advice I can give you (because if there was, it defeats the whole purpose of 'differentiating yourself' in the first place).
It's a combination of what you say and how you say it in each individual essay, the mix of material across all essays, what your recommenders say that complement or add to what you've already mentioned in your essays, and how all of that narrative matches your actual resume/raw data. If this sounds awfully vague, it's because how YOU differentiate yourself will be different than how another finance dude does it (even if he has the same resume). That's the point -- finding a way to get the adcom to see you as an individual first. Which is hard - it not only takes some keen insight into who you are, but also a lot of work and time (i.e. it isn't "plug and play" with your applications -- it's more likely a process where your early iterations won't look at all like your final drafts because it's a process, where you discover, uncover, hit dead ends, and so forth and through trial-and-error you hopefully find a narrative that works best for you).