Essay #1: It can be said that life begins outside your comfort zone. Describe a situation when you were asked to lead outside of your comfort zone. What leadership characteristics did you exemplify in this situation that allowed you to succeed?Business school is very diverse, and you will be surrounded by people who are dissimilar to you. When we are leading outside our comfort zone, this is often related to differences: different gender, ethnicity, nationality, industry, orientation, personality. Leadership characteristics that allow one to succeed in this situation usually include communication, focusing on strengths, and empathy. Building common ground.
Essay #2: “Failure is not something to be ashamed of, it’s something to be POWERED by. Failure is the high-octane fuel your life can run on. You’ve got to learn to make failure your fuel.” – Abby Wambach. Describe a situation when failure has been your fuel. What was your failure (or when did you not succeed to your full potential), and how did you use this as motivation to move forward and be successful in a future situation?More and more, business schools are looking for candidates with resilience: an ability to quickly recover from a setback, use failure as information, and continue on. Ideally, applying what you learned from the failure to the next venture or initiative; and because of that, improve outcomes the next time around. Provide an example where your determination and persistence was the reason behind your success.
Essay #3: Think of the business leader or role model you admire or aspire to be. What are the defining characteristics of their personal brand that you see in yourself, why would you highlight those qualities, and how will those characteristics enrich the community at McDonough?
Focus on what resonates with you in that leader – and provide examples on both sides. Strongly recommend you listen to the Touch MBA podcast for clues about what they value (read: Jesuit tradition).
https://touchmba.com/21-set-the-world-on-fire-georgetown-mba-admissions-qa-with-ms-shari-hubert/Video Essay: We ask that you introduce yourself to your cohort in one minute or less. The Admissions Committee would like for you to appear in person during part of your video, and we strongly encourage you to speak outside of the experiences we can read on your resume. Use this video as an opportunity to bring life to your application. For more instructions, view our Video Essay Guide.This is a strong hint to help them get to know you as a person. Leave all the work shiz to the side: they already have a lot of information about that from your CV, recs, etc. Getting to know you as a person, as your friends know you, will open their heart to you and make you likeable. And get you admitted. Talk about your hobbies, passions, something interesting and unique to set yourself apart.
Optional Essay: Please provide any information you would like to add to your application that you have not otherwise included. (500 words or fewer).
If you need this section for a compelling and non-excusey “bad grades” story, great, but this question is fairly open ended and a good opportunity to separate yourself, show them your specific interest in GT.
Unless you have a lot of challenges you need to explain, allocate at least 200 words here to speak to the “fit” and “contribution” factors with GT. Articulate how GT is special to you and well-equipped to help you achieve your goals.
And, give them a clear vision as how you will contribute at GT. What unique contribution would you make there as a student and then later as an alum?