{"id":11505,"date":"2012-05-16T07:55:22","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T14:55:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=11505"},"modified":"2012-05-17T14:33:40","modified_gmt":"2012-05-17T21:33:40","slug":"successfully-negotiating-the-essay-maze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/successfully-negotiating-the-essay-maze\/","title":{"rendered":"Successfully Negotiating the Essay Maze"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the coming month or two, new essay questions for the 2013 applications will be published by the top MBA programs.<br \/>\nWriting the application essays is usually the hardest part of the MBA admission process. Below are a few guidelines to help you successfully negotiate the writing process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Prepare your strategy<\/strong><br \/>\nBefore writing the essays, take some time to familiarize yourself with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aringo.com\/Requirements.htm\" target=\"_blank\">MBA program\u2019s requirements<\/a> of its candidates and with your qualities as a candidate. Below is an example of some recommended basic steps:<br \/>\n- Note the candidate evaluation criteria (\"Admission Drivers\") used by the MBA program you are applying to.<br \/>\nYou may consult the program\u2019s website, current students, alumni, online forums, guidebooks, and services such as Aringo in order to draft an up-to-date list of criteria.<br \/>\n- Next to each criterion, estimate the weight given to it in the application process.<br \/>\nWrite down what you, as a candidate, can offer in respect to each one of these criteria.<br \/>\nThese are the main messages you seek to convey through the essays.<br \/>\n- Allocate each message to one or more essays. Use the aforementioned criteria weights to determine the extent of and emphasis used to present each message.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Convey clear messages<\/strong><br \/>\nLife isn't so clear-cut. Attempts at describing the path we have taken thus far, and our plans for the future, often require complex explanations and descriptions. It is important to remember that the reader of your essays may be unfamiliar with your industry. Moreover, remember that application essay readers go through hundreds of essays within a short period of time. Your messages must be clear, crisp, short, focused, and easily identifiable in order to help the reader, whose task is to evaluate your candidacy based on the Admission Committee\u2019s evaluation criteria.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Make use of conjunctions<\/strong><br \/>\nUse conjunctions (such as However, Therefore, Thus, Furthermore, Moreover, Nevertheless) to connect phrases and\/or paragraphs. Smooth transitions will help you write clearly and coherently. Moreover, such transitions help the reader follow the text and stay focused. You may want to go over these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aringo.com\/MBA_Essay_Examples.htm\" target=\"_blank\">MBA essay samples<\/a> to get the sense of good writing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Be personal<\/strong><br \/>\nUse concrete, personal, and factual examples to illustrate your point. It is a good idea to avoid general statements, stereotypical phrases, and clich\u00e9s.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Vary your vocabulary<\/strong><br \/>\nUsing a thesaurus is highly recommended.<br \/>\nEssays that make use of a limited vocabulary with often repeated words tend to wear out the reader, and often fail to achieve their objective.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Do your homework<\/strong><br \/>\nWriting a strong \u201cWhy our school\u201d essay requires <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aringo.com\/schools.htm\" target=\"_blank\">comprehensive research on each university<\/a> you apply to.<br \/>\nSentences such as \u201cI made Columbia my top choice because of its strong alumni network, distinguished faculty, and excellent reputation\u201d are an effective way to ensure rejection. These kinds of sentences show that you failed to recognize the program\u2019s unique character. They also suggest that you did not devote enough time to identifying why you are a strong candidate for this particular school, rather than any other program.<br \/>\nIn addition to reviewing the university\u2019s website, speak to students and alumni. Make use of online forums to gather up-to-date information about the school, so that you can present a compelling case as to why you chose this specific MBA program.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Be unique<\/strong><br \/>\nWrite a unique, personal essay. You want the readers to pore over your essay not only as part of their duty as Admissions Committee members, but also because they are intrigued. Like any good author, use techniques such as suspense, subheadings, an intriguing introduction and a little humor to capture the reader\u2019s attention. The last thing you want to write is an essay that sounds exactly like the five others read by the Admissions Committee member that week.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Answer the question<\/strong><br \/>\nIt may seem obvious, but make sure you remembered to do it: Answer the question!<br \/>\nNo less, and not much more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Good Luck!<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Aringo Team<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/aringo.com\/Registration.htm\">Contact us now to get started and get accepted to business school<\/a>!<br \/>\nTake our <a href=\"https:\/\/aringo.com\/ClientInfo\/ChancesIndication27985.htm\">free initial assessment<\/a> of your chances to get into a top MBA program.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.aringo.com\/\">MBA Updates<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.Aringo.com\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-11243\" title=\"Aringo\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/aringoLogo3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"44\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the coming month or two, new essay questions for the 2013 applications will be published by the top MBA programs. Writing the application essays is usually the hardest part&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,775,113],"tags":[90,24],"class_list":["post-11505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","tag-application-essay","tag-essays","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11505"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11579,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11505\/revisions\/11579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}