Anyone else's essays getting better?

Question

So I just finished my third app (Tuck).

The difference between that set of essays and my first set (Ross) is quite noticeable. It's not that my Ross essays are bad, it's just that my Tuck essays are a lot more "meaty". My skills at stuffing each and every paragraph with useful info is much better.

But then again, it makes sense doesn't it? I'm reusing 75% of my goals essay, so it's actually seen 2-3 months of revisions so far. I'm also reusing paragraphs here and there from previous essays, so those get even further refined. Plus, I think my brain is better equipped at writing now.

Hopefully this will work well with my plan to apply to a higher ranked school with every app.

RD

k88 · Answer

I felt that my essays got better with each app...a bit disheartening as my first app to go in was Wharton's (the earliest deadline). I think with each app you kind of take a little breather and re enter with some more perspective..allows you to make it better/more refined each time. I think the fact that each school has slightly different questions makes you brainstorm new ideas and ways of phrasing as well...by the last app you already have a great set of essays.

refurb · Answer

I agree completely! I don't know about everyone else, but writing good essays takes me a lot of time.

I might spend 8 hours on Sunday writing, but it's usually 1 hr writing, 1 hr finding info on the web, 1 hr writing, 1 hr filling out online app, 1 hr writing....

I find my effectiveness in writing drops off pretty quickly after an hour or so (although I've had a few really productive 3 hour sessions). I just end up staring at the words instead of comprehending what is really being said.

I can see why so many MBA consultants have MBAs, after spending 6 months writing, you tend to be pretty good at it!

RF

FN · Answer

yes..my HBS essays have gotten much much better..first when I started I was just answering the question, the more i thought about it I began to personalize them more, while answering the question but kind of sneeking personal experiences to relate what i was trying to say..

agold · Answer

Let's just say that I regret applying to Chicago first. So, yes.

isa · Answer

Mine definitely got better as I went on. Not the goals essays (I'd tons of drafts of those!) but the setback/failure ones are waaay better than the first app...

solaris1 · Answer

Same here, my later application essays just flow so much better. I am now a lot more comfortable keeping things well within the word limit too. It just sucks that my first application (and probably weakest in terms of essay quality) was to my top choice school!

Leverandon · Answer

Mine are so much more succinct and forceful now than my first batch (Ross') were. Maybe its a good thing that I lamed out and didn't apply to Chicago and Harvard R1...my apps will be that much better for R2.

nomsg7111 · Answer

I'm hitting burn out stage. If I dont get in, for first round. It'll be hard for me to start over and write some more for second round.

But yes, I'd agree that they do start to get easier. Kinda of like Mad Libs, but sentences instead of just words.

fooFighter · Answer

I've hit the burnout phase.

My earlier essays are almost as good as my latest ones, as I went back to them after doing a bunch of other essays

ElleBee · Answer

So, for those of us applying next year, would everyone definitely recommend that we start writing essays for schools we're less interested in, and save our top choices for the end of Round 1 or Round 2?

Gil · Answer

It really depends on your burnout rate. I filed 4 applications.

1st may have some glitches but I had a lot of motivation and creativity so i am really happy with it. Second was great because I could use stuff I've writter and tightened up. Third and fourth - still tightening up, but I lost some of the energy. Now working on fifth - It's hard to get it rolling.

fooFighter · Answer

Yeah either do that, ordo the essays for the school whose deadline comes first.

Then do essays for other schools and before submitting the 1st schools' essays, revise them with what you learned from the subsequent essays. Hope I'm making some sense here.

cpgmba · Answer

Same here! My #1 school was my first set of essays.

If I did it again, I would put my top school at #3. I seemed to really hit my stride on #3 and it's tapered off since then.

ElleBee · Answer

It makes sense to me. Thanks so much...sounds like good advice. I probably would have worked on my first choice first and it's good to know that I should rethink that strategy a bit.

greenoak · Answer

I've finished only two apps, but I would say that the essays on the second one weren't better. The opposite is true, in fact. However, those for the first one weren't great at all, to begin with

As for applying to your dream school not as No 1 - I have ambiguous feeling about this. On the one hand, the essays tend to get better with time for the majority of applicants. But on the other hand, if the dream school means a lot to you, you will keep thinking about it all the time, and it could damage your essay writing for the other schools. It was so in my case, and I believe I did the right thing when I started with my first choice school, even though I'm afraid to look at those essays now (I did once and immediately found a mistake there :oops:

)

Anyone else's essays getting better?

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