{"id":38018,"date":"2017-06-29T06:45:40","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T13:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=38018"},"modified":"2017-06-29T03:57:34","modified_gmt":"2017-06-29T10:57:34","slug":"short-and-sweet-tips-for-writing-mini-mba-essays-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/short-and-sweet-tips-for-writing-mini-mba-essays-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Short And Sweet: Tips For Writing \u201cMini\u201d MBA Essays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Learn<\/a><\/p>\n

What is an admissions committee\u2019s message or intent behind limiting an \u201cessay\u201d answer to 100, 200, or 300 characters? Just the facts, please<\/em>. In fact, just the key<\/strong> facts.<\/p>\n

No adornment, no backstory, no extended rationale.<\/p>\n

Columbia Business School has had a short answer goals question<\/a> for a few years now; Darden<\/a> has had a 140-character Tweet question; and now HBS has a couple of these mini-essay questions. Yes, it\u2019s a trend.<\/p>\n

In working with clients on such questions, I\u2019ve been struck by how hard providing \u201cjust the facts\u201d really is \u2013 it\u2019s counterintuitive, it\u2019s letting go. It makes the writer feel, well, a little naked out there. Adornment, backstory, rationale \u2013 those are the comfortable \u201cclothes\u201d now in a heap on the floor.<\/p>\n

So how do you give the admissions readers what they want \u2013 while simultaneously serving your goal of creating a compelling application that differentiates and distinguishes you<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Here are 7 unadorned tips to answer that question:<\/p>\n

1. Read the question carefully and weigh each word, to make sure you\u2019re answering the exact question.<\/strong> (Seems obvious, right? But I\u2019ve witnessed many very smart people misread the question or simply disregard the question, with predictable results.)<\/p>\n

2. Short doesn\u2019t mean easy.<\/strong> The opposite is often true. Allocate and devote some up-front thinking time to what you\u2019ll say. The fewer words you have, the greater weight each word carries.<\/p>\n

3. While brainstorming, decide which 1-3 key points you must convey.<\/strong> Don\u2019t even consider anything else.<\/p>\n

4. Also while brainstorming, consider the application overall.<\/strong> These mini-essays must work within a larger whole. For example, if you only have 200 characters to write about your goals, and you\u2019re planning to shift careers, look for other places in the application to indicate that you have relevant skill sets, understand the industry\/function, etc.<\/p>\n

5. In drafting your essay, write a little over the limit and then pare down.<\/strong> It\u2019s always easier to cut your ideas down than it is to draw out new words once you\u2019ve completed your thoughts.<\/p>\n

6. Make sure each word is meaningful.<\/strong> Stick to nouns and verbs. Use short, direct sentences, which allow you to \u201csqueeze\u201d the most out of the limited characters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. Avoid repeating the question.<\/strong> If it\u2019s about post-MBA goals<\/a>, the reader will know what you\u2019re referring to, you don\u2019t have to say, \u201cPost-MBA I plan to\u2026<\/p>\n

You know the expression \u201cshort and sweet.\u201d Turn brevity to your advantage. A short statement can have great power, propulsion. The key is to do it right.<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cindy<\/a><\/em>Cindy Tokumitsu<\/a>\u00a0has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 15+ years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your MBA Application Essays<\/a>, a free guide
\n\u2022 School-Specific MBA Application Essay Tips<\/a>
\n\u2022 Choosing Topics For The B-School Essay<\/a><\/p>\n

This article<\/a>\u00a0originally appeared on\u00a0<\/i>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/i>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is an admissions committee\u2019s message or intent behind limiting an \u201cessay\u201d answer to 100, 200, or 300 characters? Just the facts, please. In fact, just the key facts. No…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,113,243],"tags":[1866,1046,811,2016,1280,1145],"class_list":["post-38018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-applications","category-blog","tag-application-essay-tips","tag-essay-advice","tag-essay-tips","tag-essay-writing","tag-how-to-write-an-applications-essay","tag-mba-essay-advice","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38018","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=38018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38021,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38018\/revisions\/38021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}