Clarification required - 'Introduce yourself' Essay

Question

Hi mbaMission team, 
Could you please let me know the followings - 
1. Are Ross Essay 1 and McCombs Essay 1 EXACTLY similar,EXCEPT the word-count difference? 
2.To what extent these two essays are similar to CBS Essay 3? 
 
Much appreciate your feedback...

mbaMissionJenK · Answer

Yes, they are the same except for word count and McCombs has the option of doing video or AboutMe instead. And along the same lines as Columbia's though Columbia is focused entirely on something your classmates would be 'surprised' to learn, so might be more focused while the others can include more general introduction/info (though all are limited in word count). You will want to highlight the key points you want to get across in the application about WHO YOU ARE, in a concise way. You'll also want to take a step back before submitting and look at everything you are presenting across all essays and the application to ensure you're getting what you want across as well as showing a fit with that particular school. Good luck!

bagdbmba · Answer

Hi Jen,
Thanks for your detail reply.

Re Qs 1 - If I go on elaborating the 3-4 traits or a max of 5-6 (considering the varying word-count limit for Ross and McCombs), will that be fine? And I think both of these two essays demand more of personal characteristics than professional ones.Right?

For McCombs - Which one is more preferred(if any at all!) by the Adcom - Video format or simply an essay-draft? Can you please shed some light on this?

Look forward to hear from you.

mbaMissionJenK · Answer

Good questions; it's fairly common and appropriate to focus on say 2-5 key things you'd like to get across about yourself (2-3 main points probably most appropriate). I'd focus on the main things you are trying to emphasize in your overall application... another way to think about it, how would you like to be remembered by the admissions committee?? Are you 'the investment banker who climbed Everest for charity', are you 'the engineer who spent time tutoring kindergarteners', are you 'the passionate entrepreneur who loves travel and cooking', 'the accountant from Brazil who is known for leading teams...' you get the idea! Think about key experiences, traits, and facts about you that are memorable and 'summarize' who you are if possible, and use those as a starting point.

As for format, either way works... they wouldn't have given you a choice if they had a preferred option. I would say do whichever you feel like YOU can present yourself the best with! The video option can be high risk/high reward... it can be more risky for sure, and has the potential to fall flat or not come out as you'd like... but if done effectively, can sometimes be more memorable or make more of an impact on a viewer, that's just human nature. That said, a solid and compelling essay can be very effective as well.

Good luck!

bagdbmba · Answer

Thank you so much Jen for further clarification.
Got you this time completely and if any further concern arises, I'd definitely revert to you...

On some other font- could you please let me know the followings:
1.Like LBS, is there any US school in top 20(US news ranking) that provides initial profile feedback on the basis of Resume review and academics prior to submitting the application?

2.What is the US GPA equivalent of an aggregate of 83/100 (top 10% of the class/department) in Engineering undergrad from an Indian university (tier 2, non-IIT) ? Any thoughts?

I'd much appreciate your feedback on these.

mbaMissionJenK · Answer

Hi there,

No, don't know of top 20 US schools that offer that type of review that LBS does, sorry! At the QS World MBA Tour fair events, sometimes you can have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with an admissions officer, and that can sometimes be the closest thing to an initial review.

As for the GPA conversion, we usually recommend you not try to do that conversion yourself as admissions offices do look at your program/academic institution and assess it on their terms. However the 83 looks very strong, even if non-IIT. And while undergrad is important of course and a top tier institution can be a big plus, GMAT is also weighted highly and if you think about it, it's more recent.

bagdbmba · Answer

Thanks Jen for your clarification. Appreciate your reply :-)

mbaMissionJenK · Answer

No problem!

Clarification required - 'Introduce yourself' Essay

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