Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business has published the MBA application for this admissions cycle. Your resume, transcripts, recommendations, and other application data will tell the story of your career and academic accomplishments. Therefore, your Tepper MBA essays should showcase your character and personality.
Tepper is an interdisciplinary program with centers like Sustainability, Architecture, Technology. CMU Tepper also has a startup incubator. The Tepper Quad delivers a campus with several interconnected parts.
As you prepare your Tepper MBA essays, keep in mind that Tepper is looking for diversity. Finally, the best candidates want a tight-knit community and analytical course structure.
Questions about your Tepper MBA essays? Contact us for a free analysis of your candidacy. To learn more about the CMU Tepper MBA program, visit the program website.
Post-MBA Goals
We know that you have a lot to tell us but to keep it fair, your answers are limited to 150 words.
1. What is your professional goal immediately following graduation from Tepper?
2. What other role would you consider? In other words, what is your Plan B?
This question is part of the data form for your Tepper MBA application. Because you have limited space, focus on clarity as you explain your career goal after graduation. If you have room, you can provide context, but use the field primarily to give detail about your plans.
For example, if you are interested in consulting after graduation, explain what kind of consulting, type of firm, and even industry. For the second part of the question, think about how your background and MBA can prepare you for multiple paths. What other options might you have? For instance, if you are preparing for a career in strategy, you can work in various industries. Many different companies require strategic focus.
Required Essay
The Tepper community is dynamic and unique. Each community member’s individual journey has shaped them into classmates who are collaborative, supportive, and inclusive. Describe how you have overcome adversity during your journey. What did you learn about yourself and how has that shaped who you are? (Maximum 350-500 words.)
CMU Tepper has a small and close-knit community. Because this factor is so important, the only required question in this set of Tepper MBA essays is about your character as a person.
The Tepper admissions committee is looking for the best fit. Therefore, your character and background are essential. Think about the experiences that have shaped who you are. Everyone has faced challenges. What were yours?
For instance, you could have faced personal challenges like poverty or family loss. Or, you might have struggled in school or work. Most importantly, how did you overcome this adversity?
This essay allows you to describe your past experiences. Also, explain how you have become a person who is collaborative, supportive, and inclusive. As a person who has faced challenges, how do you recognize and support others? Finally, consider how you will bring this support to the Tepper community.
Optional Essay
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee as we evaluate your application? If you believe your credentials and essays represent you fairly, you should not feel obligated to answer this question. This essay is intended to provide a place for you to add information that you think is important but is not covered elsewhere in the application. This could include clarification of your employment or academic record, choice of recommenders or helpful context for the admissions committee in reviewing your application.
This optional essay gives you the space to explain any gaps in your application. Some areas you could write about are academic issues. Or, a recommendation that is not from a current or former supervisor.
Another area is gaps in work experience. Explain each issue clearly, and then describe how you have improved. For example, perhaps you were unfocused during undergrad but have since made great strides professionally.
Or, you faced layoffs or a struggling industry that created resume gaps, but you now have career focus. In each case, highlight the positive. Stay future-oriented and explain why the issue won’t be ongoing.
One more thing
One more question from the Admission Committee – just for fun! List an interesting fact about yourself that you’d like to share with your future Tepper classmates (P.S. – 1 or 2 sentences will be just fine)
The final question from Tepper admissions is in your application data form. One more thing is a quick response designed to give personality to your application. Think about unique parts of your background or interesting experiences.
For example, have you traveled to any remote locations? Do you have a surprising hobby? Do you have expertise in anything unusual? This fact should be entertaining and add insight into your personality and background.
The post Tuesday Tips: Tepper MBA Essays and Tips 2020-2021 appeared first on Stacy Blackman Consulting - MBA Admissions Consulting.
