dcr
Hi guys. I am working on my essays and I'm struggling to get my professional and personal "hits" in essay one (essays two and three are too specific (and short!) to write much).
In essay one I decided to focus on a professional story, preceded by a summary of my long-term vision, and then move on to why MBA/Columbia and immediate post-graduation goals. The problem is that I have a personal story which equally underpins my motivation and reason for pursuing an MBA.
Has anyone used the optional essay to add a story about themselves? I know this is generally frowned upon, but the essays are so short it may be OK as an exception in Columbia's case?
I have 10 years work experience so feel that essay one should be primarily focused on professional goals. Appreciate any thoughts. Thank you.
I'm not really in a position to be giving anyone advice, but here's an independent perspective...
1) Is the personal anecdote really essential (= adding application value)? The way I think about essays, the point isn't to tell every story that's relevant - it's to tell those stories without which the application feels
incomplete. You probably already know this, so if the answer is yes, move on to Q.2.
2) Ok to use Optional Essay? Yes. While one should definitely be respectful of Adcom's time, they provide this option for a reason - if there's something compelling enough which doesn't find mention elsewhere in the application, then this is the place to talk about it.
3) Optional the best solution in this case? I'm not convinced. First of all, I'm not sure the professional needs more space simply because of the 10 years of work ex (unless you feel it needs more explaining). Also, I do think that if your personal story relates to your motivation for doing an MBA, Essay 1 is a natural place for it. Could some aspects of your professional story/path be conveyed in the other essays (eg. if being in NYC is important to your professional story, then that may find its way into Essay 2) or in the data forms? If so, then you might be able to make room for the personal in Essay 1. If not, then go with the Optional, but keep it as short as you can.
Good luck!