{"id":25209,"date":"2014-08-12T09:20:02","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T16:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=25209"},"modified":"2014-08-12T03:28:49","modified_gmt":"2014-08-12T10:28:49","slug":"tips-for-video-mba-essay-questions-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/tips-for-video-mba-essay-questions-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Video MBA Essay Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/12\/01\/mba-interview-tips-post-5-video-essays\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-25210\" alt=\"kellogg\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/kellogg2-300x197.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" \/><\/a>Rotman led the charge with a video essay question and last year <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2014\/07\/28\/yale-som-2015-mba-essay-tips-deadlines\/\">Yale<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/northwesternkellogg.aspx\">Kellogg<\/a> followed.<\/p>\n<p>Worried about being literally on stage? Here are my tips if you need to respond to a question in a short 1-2-minute video.<\/p>\n<p>First, realize that these video essays, like the written ones, are attempts to get to know you. Unlike the written word, however, the schools are seeking to see how you present yourself visually and with little time to prepare or polish answers. They are testing articulation and presence in a way that essays can\u2019t and at much less expense than interviews. In that sense, these videos are a pre-interview screening device in addition to a way to learn more about your likes and dislikes, <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/06\/23\/what-is-an-accomplishment-2\/\">achievements<\/a>, dreams, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/goalsessay.aspx\">goals<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/07\/28\/how-to-write-about-overcoming-challenges-without-sounding-like-a-whiner\/\">challenges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And while you may not be able to prepare for a specific question, you definitely can and should prepare.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/09\/04\/mba-video-essays-a-conversation-with-rotmans-niki-dasilva\/?utm_campaign=blogcta&amp;utm_medium=VideoEssayPodcast&amp;utm_source=CTA\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20371\" title=\"MBA Video Essays: Find out What You Need to Know to Ace Them!\" alt=\"Learn how video essays came about, how they work, &amp; how to ace them!\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/VideoEssayPodcast.png\" width=\"577\" height=\"139\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You need to practice for the experience of talking to a video camera with no responses from another human being. No body language. No facial expressions. No audience energy. Zero feedback. It's just a dumb machine. Having created <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLA9DFDD95F93D0D65\" target=\"_blank\">videos<\/a> for Accepted, I found the experience very unnatural, but I think\/hope I've gotten better with practice. You can too.<\/p>\n<p>Until the questions become known, practice answering different essay questions in the announced time limit and then view the video. Here are a few sample questions to get you started, but I may update this list as we get more information from the schools:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u2022 What do you do for fun?<br \/>\n\u2022 What are your <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/03\/15\/what-is-passion-in-admissions-2\/\">passions<\/a>, interests, and hobbies?<br \/>\n\u2022 If you could travel across the United States in a car with anyone, whom would you choose to travel with and why?<br \/>\n\u2022 What would you do on a rainy Sunday afternoon?<br \/>\n\u2022 How have you handled a difficult interaction? What did you learn from it?<br \/>\n\u2022 Describe a difficult professional decision you had to make. What were the consequences, and what, if anything, did you learn?<\/p>\n<p>If you are really nervous about the video exercise or about speaking in public, consider joining Toastmasters and forcing yourself to speak publicly. You will improve your \"presence\" and gain confidence. Both will help you with your video interview, any admissions interview, job interviews, and required public speaking.<\/p>\n<p>So beyond preparing and simply getting comfortable with the format or anticipated questions, when it comes time for the real thing, do the following:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">1. <strong>Dress neatly<\/strong>. Follow any dress guidelines the school provides. Women, put on make-up and jewelry lightly. If you wonder if your attire is too revealing, it is. Men, have a hair-cut and shave. Make sure beard or mustache, if you have, are trimmed and neat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">2. It should go without saying, but <strong>keep your language clean<\/strong> -- no profanity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">3. <strong>Think for a few seconds before you reply and then minimize pauses<\/strong> that we tend to fill with \"ums\" and \"uhs.\" They don't contribute to \"presence.\"<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">4. If you tend to perspire, <strong>put on the air conditioning<\/strong> so the room is cool.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">5. <strong>Sit up straight and lean a little bit forward.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">6. Remember to <strong>smile<\/strong>. I put a smiley face next to the camera.<\/p>\n<p><strong>And two final points<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">1. Schools want to accept students who reflect well on them.<br \/>\n2. You\u2019ll do great!<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you would like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/services\/mba\/admissionsconsulting.aspx\">help with your video essay<\/a>, Accepted\u2019s experienced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/AboutUs.aspx\">MBA admissions experts<\/a>, who have been prepping and critiquing MBA applicants for almost twenty years, are more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/services\/mba\/admissionsconsulting.aspx\">happy to help you<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/09\/04\/mba-video-essays-a-conversation-with-rotmans-niki-dasilva\/?utm_campaign=blogcta&amp;utm_medium=VideoEssayPodcast&amp;utm_source=CTA\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20371\" title=\"MBA Video Essays: Find out What You Need to Know to Ace Them!\" alt=\"Learn how video essays came about, how they work, &amp; how to ace them!\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/VideoEssayPodcast.png\" width=\"577\" height=\"139\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/LindaAbraham\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-8104\" title=\"Linda Abraham\" alt=\"Linda Abraham\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Linda-Abraham-150x150.jpg\" width=\"70\" height=\"70\" \/><\/a> By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/editors.aspx?editorid=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"author\">Linda Abraham<\/a>, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, <\/em><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba-smarties\/\" target=\"_blank\">MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools<\/a><em><a>.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><b><span class=\"il\">Related<\/span> Resources:<\/b><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\">\u2022 <em><a href=\"https:\/\/info.accepted.com\/audiovideo-in-admissions\/\">Audio and Video in Admissions<\/a><\/em>, a free guide<\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\">\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2014\/07\/28\/yale-som-2015-mba-essay-tips-deadlines\/\">Yale SOM 2105 MBA Essay Tips<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\">\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2013\/12\/01\/mba-interview-tips-post-5-video-essays\/\">MBA Video Essay Essays: How They Work and How to Ace Them<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p>Accepted.com's <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/aboutus\/AboutUs.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">experienced admissions consultants<\/a> can help you create the most impressive application possible with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/Services\/MBAProgramServices.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">comprehensive packages<\/a>,<b><i> <\/i><\/b>or provide targeted assistance from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/services\/mba\/admissionsconsulting.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">picking perfect programs<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/admissionsresume.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">designing a dazzling resume<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/essayediting.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewservices.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">preparing for intense interview<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/mba\/interviewservices.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">s<\/a>\u2026and more! Accepted.com has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top MBA programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accepted.com\/contactus.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">contact us<\/a> to get started now!<\/p>\n<p><em>This article originally appeared on the <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/2014\/08\/12\/tips-for-video-mba-essay-questions-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a>, the official blog of Accepted.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #222222; padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rotman led the charge with a video essay question and last year Yale and Kellogg followed. Worried about being literally on stage? Here are my tips if you need to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1,939,775,113,243],"tags":[1345,1087,1344],"class_list":["post-25209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-uncategorized","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-mba-application-videos","tag-video-essay","tag-video-questions","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25209"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25212,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25209\/revisions\/25212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}