![\"Why](\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Why-Write-a-Series-About-MBA-Goals.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA few years ago, in the good old days when Wharton still offered feedback to rejected applicants, I talked with a potential client who was reapplying to Wharton. I asked him whether he\u2019d obtained feedback on his application, and he said yes. Well? \u201cActually they said they really liked my application. They said I was well qualified, and I would be a good fit for the school.\u201d Pause. \u201cThe problem was my goals. Venture capital. They said it wasn\u2019t a feasible goal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many people, this person dreamed of going into VC \u2013 he surely could do it, given the chance, and it would be wonderful for him \u2013 just that his chances of getting a VC job post-MBA were about zero. The adcom knew that, and he should have known it too.<\/p>\n
Inappropriate goals, ineffectively presented goals, and impractical goals can get otherwise well-qualified applicants dinged from top MBA programs. This story is not an isolated case. I have heard similar ones every year for the 20+ years that I\u2019ve been involved in the admissions world<\/a>.<\/p>\n Effort. Thought. Research.<\/strong><\/p>\n Many people start their MBA application process with their goals sort of sketched out in their head. But sketched out won\u2019t cut it, and if you focus only on what you\u2019d like theoretically, without figuring out how you\u2019re going to make it happen, you might not realize that there are obstacles, as the person in the above story belatedly discovered. It\u2019s not that you should never present complex or difficult goals in an MBA essay, but rather that if you do you should acknowledge that fact and have some concrete sense of how to achieve them.<\/p>\n If the above applicant had said in his original essay that he knew how hard it would be for him to land a VC job and here\u2019s how he was planning to go about it, and if it still didn\u2019t work out, here\u2019s what he\u2019d do instead that would also take him to his long-term goals, he might have been admitted, considering how positively the adcom viewed the rest of his application.<\/p>\n So what exactly are well-articulated, credible, engaging \u2013 and ideally exciting<\/em> \u2013 goals, and how do you craft them in the goals essay? The next four posts in this blog series will walk you through that process step by step.<\/p>\n Do you need help identifying, defining, and writing about your goals? Work one-on-one with an expert admissions advisor who will help you clarify your goals and present them to the adcom so you get ACCEPTED. Learn more about MBA Admissions Services here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhy Write A Blog Post Series on Goals?\u201d<\/em> is excerpted from the Accepted\u00a0guide,\u00a0Why MBA?<\/em>\u00a0Click here to download the\u00a0complete guide.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Best MBA Programs<\/a>, a free guide to selecting the right one for you <\/p>\n This article<\/a> originally appeared on blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/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.<\/em><\/p>\nHow do you avoid this scenario?<\/h3>\n
![\"Get](\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Why-MBA.png.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Cindy](\"https:\/\/blog.accepted.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/cindy.jpg\" "\\"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.\u00a0Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u2022\u00a0Business School Selectivity Index<\/a>,\u00a0a tool to help you discover the\u00a0schools where you are competitive
\n\u2022 Getting Your MBA Goals in Shape<\/a><\/p>\n