What will you gain from your two years at USC Marshall, and what will the school gain from you during that time? These are the questions you’ll need to keep in the back of your mind as you prepare your USC Marshall application essays. The adcoms want to hear about how you will give and receive when you obtain your MBA from this top B-school.
1) What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will USC Marshall help you achieve these goals? (750 words)
This is a straight-forward MBA goals question. As always with this type of question, connect the dots. Let the reader see that your goals grow organically from your experience and are achievable given your experience and an MBA from Marshall.
2) How will other USC Marshall MBA students benefit from your background, experience, leadership and teamwork skills? (500 words)
What can you contribute to your class? Where at Marshall do you want to contribute. In which clubs and organizations do you want to invest your talents?
I suggest you choose 1-3 examples from your past where you contributed to your school, club, church, or company and show how the very qualities you utilized then you intend to use at Marshall. Is Social Enterprise calling your name? Then perhaps Marshall Net Impact is where you intend to have impact? Perhaps you are a vet. Can you contribute to the Marshall Military Veterans Association. How will you contribute?
3) Select three from the following and describe: (250 words each)
a) A challenging international business experience
b) How would you contribute to the “Trojan Network.”
c) Your most significant accomplishment.
d) A personal or professional setback.
e) Introduce yourself to your future Marshall classmates in 100 words or less
First question: Which to choose? Those three that you can write most easily and enthusiastically and which complement the other essays and information found elsewhere. If you don't have much international experience, don't choose A. If you have been very active either as an undergrad or perhaps in your company's CSR initiative and you would like to continue to contribute in that way, then you should choose B.
While the question only asks you to describe the situation, go beyond that instruction. Do describe and then analyze. Why is this event important to you? What was your impact? What did you learn? And try to stay away from the cliched, "I learned that if I try hard enough I can do anything." You can't, and we all know it. Go deeper, and be real.
4) Optional Essay: Please add any additional information that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider in evaluating your application. Also, if you are applying to a dual-degree program, please address that in this essay.
Please see ”The Optional Essay: To Be or Not to Be.”
Re-applicant Essays:
1) What steps have you taken to strengthen your application since your last submission? Please reiterate your post-MBA goals. (750 words)
The first part of this question is the key question for any MBA applicant. What's changed? What's improved. Please tie your MBA goal into your essay. Have the year's experiences changed it? Better prepared you for it? Strengthened it? And of course, state clearly what it is.
2) Select three from the following and describe: (250 words each)
a) A challenging international business experience.
b) How would you contribute to the “Trojan Network.”
c) Your most significant accomplishment.
d) A personal or professional setback.
e) Introduce yourself to your future Marshall classmates in 100 words or less
Please see response to #3 for first-time applicants above.
3) Optional Essay: Please add any additional information that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider in evaluating your application. Also, if you are applying to a dual-degree program, please address that in this essay.
Show that you have grown since your last application. Reveal that you have addressed weaknesses. Demonstrate increased leadership. Present evidence that you have improved enormously since your last application. For more information, please see:
|
Application Deadlines* |
Test Deadlines** |
Interview Invitations |
Notification Dates*** |
| Nov. 1, 2012 | Nov. 1, 2012 | Dec. 7, 2012 | Feb. 1, 2013 |
| Jan. 15, 2013 | Jan. 15, 2013 | Feb. 15, 2013 | Apr. 5, 2013 |
| Mar. 15, 2013 | Mar. 15, 2013 | Apr. 15, 2013 | May 17, 2013 |
*We must receive your application by 11:59 p.m. PST on this day.
**GMAT or GRE, TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE
***Notifications/Decisions: Admit, Deny, Waitlist, or you may be invited to interview
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.
