This time of year, MBA hopefuls chomping at the bit to try their hand at Round 2 admission to selective MBA programs are always asking about how to craft strong essays for their dream school. They know it’s critical to stand out in the MBA admissions race and they want to make sure they are crafting the right answers to what MBA adcoms are asking in the MBA essays and MBA application questions. It’s understandable to want to make sure you are staying on point. One of the most common criticisms of reviewers of MBA essays is “you missed answering the question”.
But I am here to suggest there is a part of the MBA application strategy that comes before you start writing your essays that will position you to much better craft every component of your MBA application, not just the MBA essay answers.
The strongest MBA candidates understand the importance of soul-searching, using
the seven essential questions. The answers to these questions will flow into the four essential stories every candidate applying to business school will need to create.
These four stories are narratives about leadership, accomplishment, challenge, and growth.Every top tier MBA program looks for these qualities and asks for them in various parts of the business school application. They may be “disguised” under different names but they invariably fall into one of these categories. If you do the work to build a bank of examples that collectively amount to a track record in each one of your categories, you will have a source to tap when you tackle any MBA admissions stage – answering the MBA application questions, writing your MBA admissions essays, refining your career goals, acing the MBA admissions interview, and even choosing the best fit MBA program for you when admissions offers arrive in your inbox. Let’s take a look at how this framework fits into the admissions criteria of top MBA programs. Then further down, you will find some ideas about what personal and professional examples could go into each of the four essential stories:
https://www.mymbapath.com/insights/four ... cant-needs