MBA Application Essays - Time Commitment

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The MBA application process is quite rigorous as it requires an ample amount of research and dedication. We at the Red Pen have seen countless applicants who, despite starting early, end up scrambling to make their deadlines. While the pressure of deadlines might be your best motivation, the reality is that the best work submitted to universities is work that has been carefully drafted over a period of time. Applicants who manage their time well and work progressively on their materials not only submit stronger applications, but they tend to have internalized their goals, stories, and strengths in ways that help them communicate comfortably during their interviews, which improves their odds of success.

In order to draw the timelines for you, we would recommend getting on a free profile consultation call with you to understand in detail about your academic, nonacademic, and professional background, and more to ensure we help you chalk a strong application to your dream school.
Alternatively, you can also connect with us at +91 9820491179

Feel free to read our article below which talks about how you effectively manage your time while working on your essays in this hectic process.

Here are some of our favorite tips that can help you balance your applications & essays with your busy life:

1) Resign yourself to the process of drafting:
Many MBA applicants are high achievers and that’s fantastic! But this tends to result in a ‘one and done’ attitude that doesn’t serve them well in the MBA application process. The skills required to complete multiple global business school application essays are rarely those you use in your daily life and writing is one of them. You will not get this right the first time (or the second!), so just accept that you are going to go through multiple drafts of each essay. The upside is that you can free yourself of the expectation that you need to spend ten hours on each draft. Instead, take one, or two, depending on your pace of writing, but take them weekly. Create a draft, and don’t expect it to be all things to all people immediately. You’re going to get there eventually, but know that it’s a one-step-at-a-time sort of situation. You can save yourself a lot of frustration if you understand and accept this early on in the process.

2) Figure out your best method of working and follow it, religiously:
Some applicants love working on essays and forms early in the morning, before going to the office. Others prefer to take time on a Sunday afternoon when they are free from the distractions and stresses of work and social obligations. Whatever works best for you, you need to establish a routine quickly and stick with it. Applicants who plan to take 10 days off or inform us that they are going to take an ‘MBA application vacation’ rarely end up with strong applications unless they’ve also padded in time for work along the way. It’s consistency that leads to the best, and the least stressful, process for MBA applicants.

3) Prioritise a solid goal statement and programme research:
A lot of applicants want to jump straight into the essays and baulk at nailing down a goals statement or researching programmes. But, remember the old adage, haste makes waste? That could have been written specifically for this situation. Taking some time early on to clarify and define your MBA and professional goals and learning about the programmes you claim to be so eager to attend will help you with all of your essays, in conversations with your recommenders and in your interviews. You can shape your narrative around these goals and they are, hopefully, your strongest and best argument for why an MBA programme might want to admit you. So, this investment isn’t wasted work getting in the way of your essay completion. Goals refinement and programme research are, in fact, some of the most efficient and impactful activities you can do.

4) Give yourself internal deadlines and stick to them:
You can have a friend hold you accountable or make your mom your timekeeper (worked in high school, didn’t it?). Setting firm timelines for first drafts, resume iterations and forms is essential and helps prevent last-minute panic.

5) Focus on time management techniques:
This is especially important for applicants who have trouble with efficiency when working independently. Try the Pomodoro technique or one of the many others, that helps your brain stay on track.

We promise you, the work is manageable once you learn how to tackle it. If nothing else, this is all great preparation for business school and we invite you to build strong time management skills through this process. We can almost guarantee, your work will be better, your chances of success higher and your mental health much more secure, if you follow the tips we’ve outlined for you.

If you have questions about the MBA application process, book a Free consultation with our senior consultant. To know more about the MBA application process and its timelines, get in touch with us.