Why is now the best time for you to join our program?

for a career switcher like me, theres no reason to delay~

I'll talk about my long/short term goals (and link them, provide the motivation behind them, etc) then I think the 'now' question naturally answers itself.

I dunno, I'm interested in hearing what others have to say as well

I've just dedicated about 2-3 sentences to it. I feel my "Why MBA" is very strong so I just needed to provide a little justification on why now versus 2 years from now. My main reason why now is because I changed functions/careers a year ago and I want to be able to provide relevant examples from experience from both jobs. If I waited, my experiences would be heavily weighted to my current function. Also, I know that I'm ready to take the next step in my career and an MBA is a vital part of that.

so far (this may change) I've dedicated 2-3 sentences to this in my essays. I use it to transition from what I've been doing now to what my short/long goals are. So it becomes something like: "I've been able to do xyz, now I need to learn abc and so I need an MBA".

I struggled with this part. How many of us have reasons for pursuing an MBA that, realistically, can't wait another year? Very few, I would say. I finally opted for the, "I am finishing abc and xyz responsbilities in August (almost there!) and will then reach a natural break in my career; pursuing an MBA now will help me reach so and so goal." I didn't seem all that solid, but I doubt many other people had solid answers, either.

I wonder also whether they have more or less preset work ex bands for people of different demographics. If you are a finance guy, two years of Ibanking is probably not going to cut it. Why would they take you when they have a host of people with two years of Ibanking and 2-3 years of PE on top of that? That would be a natural break in your career that the adcom is familiar with, so you probably don't need a great reason for applying to b-school -- they already know why you are applying. I think they are inclined to make you wait and reapply if you apply too soon despite any reason you may be able to come up with. The adcoms say they want a mix, but it seems like the profiles of people who are admitted are fairly homogenous (with the exception of a few wild cards).

I think a few sentences is enough to cover this. It will look contrived the more effort you put into this part. The why now doesn't mean why not next year, of course most people could apply next year and be okay. However if you feel your at the point that you got the most out of your current position in terms of experience, and in order to get to that next level, or get fasttracked up, you need an MBA then the Why now makes sense.

I really want to return to the Detroit, MI area after my MBA, work in a management consulting role, and help contribute to the revitalization of the area.

Hard to believe that the area may eventually recover, but I love Michigan, so I am hopeful and want to contribute. I set the urgency in my essays that the area is slowly getting worse and I feel to make a difference, I need to be back in Michigan as soon as I can.

Not an amazing reason perhaps, but it fits with my goals of helping the area in whatever capacity I can.


~Sam

I'm probably not a good judge of what's a good answer, but this definitely sounds unique, so you've got that going for you.

That's a solid answer.

Haven't faced this predicament yet because Columbia's goals essay doesn't explicitly emphasize on this aspect. But I think the "natural break" argument is a good one, too.

I am working on my Columbia essay, too... #1 specifically....
I think a why now is needed in Essay#1, but that 750 words limit make it very hard to elaborate.

Try 500 words w/ Ross...now that is tough..

Ain't that true. I've got a non-typical background so I feel a need to explain what my job entails, that takes up a good number of words. I think the biggest challenge of the Ross essay is to fit everything you want to say into 500 words.

RF

Thanks! Unique certainly can't hurt!