{"id":34174,"date":"2016-08-15T13:07:06","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T20:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=34174"},"modified":"2017-05-03T17:19:20","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T00:19:20","slug":"mba-application-essays-10-common-mistakes-you-should-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/mba-application-essays-10-common-mistakes-you-should-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Application Essays- 10 Common Mistakes You Should Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Essays are the most critical part of the application package for business schools that showcase those aspects of the applicants\u2019 profile which other parts of their application package do not reveal. B-schools use essays as tools to know their prospective candidates outside of the typical academic and professional environment. When working with the B-school applicants on their application essays in the past five years, I have come across the following common mistakes which, I believe, can be easily avoided with careful thought and preparation.<\/p>\n

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    Insufficient Time:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Year after year, I have noticed that some applicants do not give themselves enough time for drafting their essays and begin writing them a couple of weeks (some of them even a couple of days) before the deadline.\u00a0 Assuming that their high GPA, great GMAT score, and strong work experience is all they require for entry into their dream B- School, they spend months in preparing for GMAT and leave essays to the last minute. \u00a0Some applicants approach me a week before the deadline which obviously does not leave them with enough time to strategize and think through their stories\/ experiences. \u00a0Working towards tight deadlines puts unnecessary pressure on the applicants (as well as the consultant who works with them) which can be easily avoided if they engage with an expert early in the application process. \u00a0You may find it extremely challenging to produce quality work within tight deadlines, if you are at work for long hours and write\/ revise your essays only at night when you are already exhausted from work.<\/p>\n

    Application essay writing is an extremely time- consuming and creative process that demands lot of self-reflection, brainstorming, strategizing, drafting, revising rewriting, rewriting, and editing on the part of the applicants to enable them to paint a unique, compelling, and authentic picture of their candidacy to the Ad Com.\u00a0\u00a0If you plan ahead and start on time, you will enjoy this process of reflecting on your experiences and translating them into memorable stories for the Ad Com.<\/p>\n

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      Failure to Comprehend the Essay Prompt:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      When writing essays, some applicants do not go deep into the essay prompt to comprehend its intent.\u00a0 As a result, the essay goes off track and completely lacks the underlying theme\/ main point of the essay.\u00a0 For example, if the question is about the contribution to the XYZ School, you do not want to discuss your reasons for choosing that particular B-school.\u00a0 They are not asking you about their particular resources that interest you; rather they want to know in what ways they would benefit by accepting you.\u00a0 Thus, you need to think through the essay prompt and dig deeper before you begin to answer the question.<\/p>\n

      While elaborating what value you will add to your target school, make sure you connect your skill-set, your professional (e.g. professionalism, leadership potential, team working experience, and innovative ideas), and personal attributes (e.g. integrity, accountability, humorous disposition etc.), and experience to the specific activities and resources (clubs, organizations, team groups, etc.) of your\u00a0 target school. (For examples, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

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        Lack of Stories\/real life experiences:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        A major issue with most admission essays is lack of stories or examples from real life.\u00a0 Some applicants just expand their r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and rewrite them in a language filled with technical jargon assuming everyone would comprehend them, while some others compose an objective statement of purpose somewhat like a newspaper article that completely fails to tell the reader who they are.<\/p>\n

        When brainstorming details for your story, please make sure that you have included all the relevant details with a beginning, middle, and end that would make complete sense to the reader.\u00a0\u00a0Please note that the beginning of an essay should be engaging enough to hook the readers and make them want to continue reading your essay. Many a time, my students apprise me of the most significant detail of their story during the final stages of the review process because they assume it\u2019s not important.\u00a0Do not assume that the readers (in this case Ad Com) will understand\/ what has not been relayed to them. Please make sure to connect all the dots of your story to make it comprehensible and appealing to the admission committee. (For \u00a0examples, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

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          Inadequate Structure\/ organization: <\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          In order to make a lasting impact on the reader, you should make sure to explain each logical step of your story without leaving any loose ends. Remember, the purpose \u00a0of an admission essay \u00a0is to provide the Ad Com an understanding of your professional and personal experiences\/ accomplishments to help them determine if you are a good fit for that particular school or not. Strong and memorable essays tell stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end that make complete sense to the reader. You are the author of your story, so in order to make a lasting impact on the reader, you should make sure to explain each logical step of your story without leaving any loose ends. Remember, you are not writing a suspense story that would force the reader to make speculations about the details. You are writing an admission essay and its purpose is to provide the Ad Com an understanding of your professional and personal experiences\/ accomplishments to help them determine if you are a good fit for that particular school or not. Your goal should be to present your story in a succinct and concise manner so it sticks in the mind of the reader.<\/p>\n

          I always recommend that you should pay equal attention to all aspects of the essay question. In order to answer the essay question holistically, you may break it down into multiple sub-segments and then build a structure around each sub segment.\u00a0 Some applicants go at length in addressing the first part of the essay question, leaving the other parts unanswered or unbelievably brief.<\/p>\n

          For more guidance on organizing your story, please refer to the links below.<\/p>\n

          Organize your story well<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

          Address Each part of the Essay Questions \u00a0 https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/essay-tips\/creating-compelling-essays-day-3-tip-3-address-each-part-of-the-essay-question\/<\/a><\/p>\n

          Use Transitional Expressions https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/essay-tips\/use-transitional-expressions-day-9-tip\/<\/p>\n

          Conclude Your Story Well https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/essay-tips\/creating-compelling-essays-day-12-tip-12-conclude-your-story-well\/<\/p>\n

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            Lack of Specific Details:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            One of the most common pitfalls of Admission essays is the writers\u2019 inability to use specific examples or details and share stories that are filled with vague generalities. To be able to make sense of your story and appreciate it as well, the reader needs to know the specifics of your story. Please note that the members of the Ad Com have to read hundreds of essays for evaluating candidacy of their prospective students, so if you want your stories to \u2018stick\u2019 in their minds, your writing needs to be succinct, articulate, and specific. By providing specific examples\/details about \u2018what\u2019 \u2018why \u2018where\u2019 and \u2018when\u2019 of your experience and by sharing your thought process at that time, you can turn your stories into memorable essays. (For examples, click here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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              Use of Jargon:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              It has been a common experience for me to review essays filled with technical terms of the applicant\u2019s industry. Whether it is \u2018leadership\u2019 essay, \u2018setback\u2019 essay, \u2018goals\u2019 essay, \u2018ethical dilemma\u2019 or even \u2018background\u2019 essay, some applicants inadvertently provide lengthy technical details which are comprehensible only to their industry people. In their enthusiasm to showcase their technical expertise, they often omit relevant information (e.g. \u00a0\u2018What were the main challenges?\u2019 \u2018How did they deal with the situation?\u2019 or \u2018How was the experience meaningful?\u2019 etc.). \u00a0The use of excessive jargon\u00a0makes it challenging for the readers to comprehend your story and\u00a0distracts them from the \u2018real story\u2019. \u00a0In order to create effective essays, you should aim at using only as much jargon as is required to convey your story. (For examples, click here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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                Use of Passive Voice:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                When narrating your personal and professional stories, make sure to be personal. Your experiences and\u00a0accomplishments, irrespective of how impressive they are, will fail to make an impression on the reader if they are written in passive voice. I often come across essays composed in flawless English, but they still don\u2019t succeed in making the desired impact on the reader.\u00a0 The lack of personal touch in those stories give an impression as if these stories are referring to someone else and not to the candidates themselves.<\/p>\n

                Please remember that your stories of goals, accomplishments, challenge, cultural experience, background, setback, leadership etc. need to be made personal. By using passive voice, you will make your own stories so impersonal and lifeless that they will not only weaken your message, but also turn your heroic accomplishments into lackluster ones. (For examples, click here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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                  Writing Quotations:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  When writing admission essays, most applicants tend to use quotes of famous and distinguished people (leaders, philosophers, and scientists etc.) who have made a positive impact in the lives of future generations. It is a general perception that using quotations of eminent personalities is a powerful way to impress the readers. I, however, do not recommend using precious words to quote someone else. These essay questions about your goals, accomplishments, leadership experiences, cultural experience, background, setback, and life experiences are designed to evaluate YOU to determine your \u2018fit\u2019 with the school, so using someone else\u2019s\u00a0 words, no matter how eminent that person is or was, is often\u00a0 a waste of valuable words,\u00a0 and \u00a0not a value addition. (For examples, click here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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                    Too many sentences starting with the word \u2018I\u2019:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    One of the most common mistakes I have noticed in essays is beginning too many sentences with the word \u201cI.\u201d Even though these application essays are about you, you should not have more than two sentences in a paragraph beginning with \u2018I\u2019. You can very well provide the same details and convey the same message by phrasing your sentences in a different way. In order to bring variety to your writing, try to compose a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences. Sentence variety helps make your essay strong and compelling.<\/p>\n

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                    1. \n

                      Grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation Errors:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      The most common mistakes I have noticed in essays are \u2013 missing articles, lack of parallelism, sentence fragments, and misplaced modifiers.\u00a0Please note that the last step in writing is to proofread your essay for sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, and spelling errors<\/strong>. <\/strong>If neglected, these errors are a poor refection on your candidacy and can jeopardize your chances of admission despite your great GMAT score, good GPA, and impressive work experience. Also, to make your story more comprehensible, avoid writing extremely lengthy sentences stretching 4-5 lines. Please note that writing extraordinarily bulky sentences is not an evidence of good English.\u00a0 The Ad Com only get couple of minutes to go through your essay, and you don\u2019t want them to get entangled in the maze of your intricate sentences.\u00a0 Your goal should be to convey your message effectively in a clear, concise, and simple language that is easy to understand. (For examples, click here<\/a>:<\/p>\n

                      For proofreading tips for non-natives, <\/strong>click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

                      https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/blogs\/?p=1920<\/a><\/p>\n

                      For some useful tips to convey your message in few words, click here<\/a> .<\/p>\n

                      To sum up, creating compelling and persuasive MBA admission essays is a skill that can be acquired with careful thought and preparation. The essence of writing is rewriting. Following the above mentioned guidelines, you must revise your essays multiple times to ensure that all the pieces of your story fit together, and then proofread them for any grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors. I am confident that by following this structured approach, you will transform your stories into memorable essays that will help you secure admission in your chosen school.<\/p>\n

                      Good luck on your Round 1 applications J<\/p>\n

                      This article<\/a> \u00a0first \u00a0appeared\u00a0 on myEssayReview blog.<\/p>\n

                      For more MBA articles, visit https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/success-stories\/emba-candidates\/#blog-sec<\/p>\n

                      For questions, email me at poonam@myessayreview.com.<\/p>\n

                      \/LinkedIn<\/a>\/ Facebook<\/a>\/<\/p>\n

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