To gain acceptance to Georgetown McDonough, you’ll have to prove to the adcom members that you have the skill, passion, and motivation to pursue an education that extends far beyond the campus gate. When the admissions committee is done reading your essays, they should hold a distinctive image of you as a strong, capable businessperson and leader.
Our tips are in blue.
Georgetown McDonough 2013 Essay Questions (Essays should be double-spaced using a 12-point font.)
Essay One: (answer both part A and part B)
Part A: What is your short-term goal following graduation from Georgetwon McDonough Full-time 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.
Essay Two: (answer either option A or option B)
First you have to choose which essay to answer. 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. For more on making the choice, please see "You've got options!"
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.
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...?
Essay Three:
Why do you want to attend the Georgetown McDonough Full-time MBA Program? Tell us in tweet format*. (140 characters or fewer)
*Twitter is an online social networking service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters known as “tweets”. Applicants not familiar with Twitter can learn more, here. (https://twitter.com/about) Follow Georgetown McDonough on Twitter @msbgu for daily student, alumni, and faculty-sourced content.
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 Essay One:
If you are not currently employed full-time, use this essay to provide information about your current activities. (250 words or fewer)
Option Essay Two:
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.”
RE-APPLICANT ESSAY (required only for reapplicants)
How have you strengthened your candidacy since your last application? We are particularly interested in hearing about how you have grown professionally and personally. (500 words or fewer)
How are you a better applicant now than you were last time? What growth can you point to? Why do you think you will get accepted this time if you didn’t last time? How are you “new and improved”?
Georgetown McDonough 2013 MBA Deadlines
Deadlines Decisions Released
Round One: October 15, 2012 December 15, 2012
Round Two: January 5, 2013 March 15, 2013
Round Three: April 1, 2013 May 15, 201
If you would like professional guidance with your McDonough MBA, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our Georgetown School Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Georgetown MBA application.
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.
This article originally appeared on the Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of Accepted.com.
