Forum Home > GMAT > Quantitative > Problem Solving (PS)
Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Jan 1812:00 PM EST
-01:00 PM EST
Applying to business school this fall? Make sure to lock in the 2024 Comprehensive Package prices before they increase! Schedule a consultation with Personal MBA Coach today!
Jan 2010:00 AM PST
-11:00 AM PST
Join us for an inspiring talk with Dhruvi, an ambitious Indian student who secured admission to Imperial College London's prestigious Masters in Management (MiM) program. In this podcast, Dhruvi shares her candid journey...
Jan 2108:00 AM EST
-09:00 AM EST
Meet Tuck at an informal student or staff-hosted coffee chat in a city near you!- Jan 21
09:00 AM PST
-10:00 AM PST
If you're aiming for top MBA programs like Stanford, Harvard, or Wharton, this video is your ultimate guide to crafting a standout application that B-schools can't ignore! We'll walk you through: - Jan 22
08:00 AM PST
-09:00 AM PST
In this video, two MBA interview experts and a communications coach holds a mock interview of a prospective MBA applicant. The experts assess the responses of the applicant on important interview questions and provide their feedback. 
Jan 2308:00 PM PST
-09:00 PM PST
Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!
Jan 2309:00 PM IST
-10:30 PM IST
Discover the most frequent errors MBA applicants make when applying to INSEAD and HEC, and how you can sidestep them. "From building a resume that speaks business to acing your essays and recommendations, learn how to avoid common pitfalls and more."- Jan 29
08:00 AM PST
-10:00 AM PST
Welcome to the GMAT Club's Free Interview Prep Event for Top 15 MBA Programs! Are you ready to take the next step in your academic and professional journey?
06 Sep 2022, 13:00
Kudos
Bookmarks
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Get into Marshall School of Business: USC Marshall Essay Tips and Examples |
|
[url=https://i0.wp.com/www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/USC-Marshall.jpg?ssl=1][img]https://i0.wp.com/www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/USC-Marshall.jpg?resize=300%2C154&ssl=1[/img][/url] The University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business takes a very traditional approach to its application essay questions. For the first required essay, applicants must detail their immediate short-term career goal—without much elaboration, given the 100-word limit. For the second required essay, which can be as long as 600 words, candidates are asked to write a letter to the Marshall admissions committee, though no specific requests are made beyond that, leaving applicants significant latitude. An optional essay gives candidates who feel they have an issue to explain or a particularly significant story to share the opportunity to do so, albeit succinctly. A fourth essay has been added this year for candidates who wish to waive the exam portion of the application, requiring them to explain why they should be granted a waiver. Our analysis of all USC Marshall’s essay questions for this season follows. USC Marshall 2022–2023 Essay Tips [b]Essay #1 (Required): What is your specific, immediate short-term career goal upon completion of your MBA? Please include an intended position, function, and industry in your response. (word limit: 100)[/b] Quite simply, Marshall wants to know that you have a specific intention in mind and are not just applying to business school with the expectation of figuring everything out later, once you are enrolled in the program. Many MBA applicants have a long-term vision for their career, of course, but with this prompt, Marshall is asking you to prove you have really given thought to the necessary steps in between. Your goal in this short essay is therefore to demonstrate that you do indeed have a plan, not just broad ambition. The school’s other key concern is whether its MBA program is truly the right one to help you attain your stated goal and that you have done the necessary research to discover and confirm this for yourself. Marshall has very little impetus to admit you—and you have very little to attend it—if you will not ultimately be equipped or positioned to pursue your intended goal once you graduate! For example, if you aspire to work in a field or position for which Marshall is not known to have particularly strong courses, professors, or other offerings, or if you want to work for a company that has no recruiting history with the program, it might not be the best choice to get you where you want to go right away. At just 100 words maximum, your response needs to be fairly straightforward. Avoid any generalities and vagueness. Do your research to ensure that Marshall can indeed position you to attain what you intend, and simply spell things out. Given that this essay involves at least one key element of a traditional personal statement, we encourage you to download a free copy of our [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/personal-statement-guide]mbaMission Personal Statement Guide[/url][/b], which provides advice on effectively addressing this topic in an essay. [b]Essay #2 (Required) – Please draft a letter that begins with “Dear Admissions Committee.” (word limit: 600)[/b] [b]This letter is meant to be your personal statement that provides the Admissions Committee with an understanding of your candidacy for Marshall beyond what is evident in other parts of your application. This essay is purposely open-ended. You are free to express yourself in whatever way you see fit. Our goal is to have an appreciation for and an understanding of each candidate in ways that are not captured by test scores, grades, and resumes. [/b] As the admissions committee itself admits in the prompt, this is essentially a request for a personal statement, which typically covers (1) why the candidate feels they need an MBA, (2) why the MBA is necessary now, and (3) why they wish to attend the specific school in question. So, at the risk of sounding repetitive, we will start by encouraging you—again—to download a complimentary copy of the [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/personal-statement-guide]mbaMission Personal Statement Guide[/url][/b], which is available for free and includes detailed guidance on approaching and writing such essays, along with multiple illustrative examples. Note the admissions committee’s acknowledgement that it already has a lot of information about you from the other parts of your application, including your resume, extracurricular activities, recommendations, short-answer question responses, academic transcripts, and GMAT/GRE score. You should therefore think first about what these elements convey about who you are as an individual and candidate, so you can determine which parts of your profile would best complement this information and the image it collectively presents of you. This does not necessarily mean that you cannot touch on anything mentioned elsewhere in your application but rather that you do not want to use up valuable word count repeating anything unnecessarily. Focus on supplementing the data the school already has. And despite the somewhat stuffy intro the school provides—“Dear Admissions Committee”—keep in mind that this is an opportunity for you to present yourself as a well-rounded, dynamic individual who would be a positive addition to the Marshall community, so do your best to infuse your essay with authenticity and personality, as well as information. [b]Essay #3 (Optional): Please provide any additional information you would like the admissions committee to consider. (word limit: 250)[/b] In general, we believe candidates should use a school’s optional essay to explain confusing or problematic issues in their candidacy, which this prompt does indeed allow. So, if you need to, use this opportunity to address any questions the admissions committee might have about your profile, such as a poor grade or overall GPA, a low GMAT or GRE score, or a gap in your work experience. Consider downloading our free [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/mbamission-optional-essays-guide]mbaMission Optional Essays Guide[/url][/b], in which we offer detailed advice (and multiple annotated examples) on how best to approach the optional essay to mitigate any problem areas in your application. That said, Marshall clearly leaves the door open for you to discuss any other information about your candidacy that you feel might be pivotal or particularly compelling—that you think the admissions committee truly needs to know to be able to evaluate you fully and effectively (and that might not have been appropriate for your required essay). We caution you against submitting a response to this prompt just because you fear that not doing so would somehow count against you, though (it will not). Remember that with each additional essay you write, you are asking the admissions committee to do extra work on your behalf, so you must make sure that the added time is warranted. If you decide to use this essay to impart information that you believe would render your application incomplete if omitted, strive to keep your submission brief and on point. [b]Essay #4 (Required for all candidates requesting a test waiver) – Test Waiver Essay – Please submit a brief statement that summarizes why you believe you qualify for a test waiver. (word limit: 200)[/b] If you wish to receive a test waiver, you will need to make a compelling, well-reasoned, and persuasive argument as to why you do not need, or should not be expected, to take one of the exams that aspiring MBAs traditionally complete. Marshall, like all business schools, uses these tests to gauge applicants’ verbal and quantitative abilities (including their command of the English language) and their readiness for the rigors of the MBA curriculum. The school does not want to admit and enroll individuals in such an academically demanding program who will ultimately struggle to keep up; this would not be good for the student, nor for their classmates. So you will need to demonstrate clearly for the admissions committee that you already have the skills and knowledge base necessary to absorb and engage with the content and assignments Marshall will require. The school clearly states, “While professional experience can be included as a component of the waiver request, the Admissions Committee will most strongly consider two elements: 1) overall academic achievement; and 2) performance in quantitative coursework.” In your brief essay response, share all the evidence you have of times you have excelled academically in the areas the MBA curriculum is founded on. |
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
07 Sep 2022, 09:00
Kudos
Bookmarks
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Get into IE Business School: IE Essay Tips and Examples |
|
[url=https://i0.wp.com/www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ie-business-school-logo.png?ssl=1][img]https://i0.wp.com/www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ie-business-school-logo.png?resize=200%2C141&ssl=1[/img][/url] The application essays for IE University’s International MBA Program are not overly taxing from a length perspective, but they require candidates to make some important decisions as to what they choose to share and how. We imagine most applicants will end up devoting a good bit of time to considering their options as far as topics to cover and just as much (if not more) time to crafting the presentation of that information. The school’s broad personal essay prompt instructs candidates to essentially “tell us anything important,” and applicants can do so in a video, via a PowerPoint presentation, or in writing. At the other extreme are IE’s “live questions,” which give applicants almost no time to prepare their responses in advance. Read on for our advice on approaching the school’s essays for this season. IE Business School 2022–2023 Essay Tips [b]Personal Essay: This section is important in understanding who you are, not just as a student but also as a person in order to grasp the value that you could add to our program. Take this as an opportunity to showcase your unique attributes and personality. There are three formats you can choose to express yourself: a video (max. 3 minutes), a PowerPoint presentation (max. 10 slides), or a written essay (between 250–650 words). Please pay special attention to punctuation, structure, and content.[/b] [b]What is the most important thing that you would like us to know that is not in your resume or application?[/b] IE’s essays are found in the “express yourself” part of the application, which should be a clear sign that the admissions committee wants you to imbue your responses with personality and character. Essentially, this prompt is a way of asking you to reveal who you are as an individual, apart from what the rest of your application already conveys about your job, education, activities, and interests outside of work. We encourage you to be as creative as possible without extending yourself beyond your comfort zone. Play to your strengths. If you are a strong writer, do not feel you need to make a video to stand out. If you are good at extemporaneous speaking, a video would likely be a more fitting choice. If you are great at organizing thoughts in a compelling and clever way, maybe a PowerPoint presentation would be your ideal option. Whichever format feels most appealing to you and aligns best with the kind of information you want to convey is probably the one you should focus on. As for the content of your submission, be sure to adhere to the school’s stipulation of “not in your resume or application.” The admissions committee will already have a lot of information about you that it can and will use to get to know you better from your resume, recommendations, short-answer question responses, academic transcripts, and test scores. You should therefore approach this essay by first thinking about what these portions of your application convey about who you are as an individual and candidate, so you can determine which parts of your profile still need presenting. A primary goal in responding to this prompt is sincerity. Avoid becoming gimmicky in any way. You are not trying to seem “cute” or even more creative than the next applicant; you just want to tell your personal story and provide a more dynamic image of yourself. We recommend that you start by grabbing some paper and making an old-fashioned list of your key experiences, achievements, pastimes, and passions. Then, consider what IE will already know about you and your story and strive to choose the item(s) from your list that can best complement that information to create a well-rounded representation of you. With a maximum of three minutes, ten slides, or 650 words, you will need to be relatively succinct, so take care not to spend too much time or space on unnecessary buildup or repetition. You want your story to have life and sufficient context so the admissions committee can fully understand and appreciate it, but you also want to give yourself enough room to share details that will imbue your message with color and individuality. [b]Live Questions: Once you have submitted the application form and paid the admissions fee, you will receive an email to complete an online assessment through our partners at Kira. During this exercise you will be answering questions to demonstrate why you would be a valuable asset to the IEU community. This will take around 20–30 minutes.[/b] For this portion of the IE application, you will receive three questions. For two of them, you will need to respond in a video of one minute long each, after taking 30 seconds to mentally prepare. For the third question, you will submit a written response and be given five minutes in which to craft it. We know that required videos—and spontaneous ones, in particular—often strike fear into the hearts of business school candidates, but let us reassure you a bit about this component of the IE application process, so you can relax and put your best self forward. First of all, keep in mind that these kinds of video/on-the-spot questions are not intended to trip you up or entice you to do or say anything that would immediately disqualify you from consideration. They are primarily opportunities for the admissions committee to put a “face,” so to speak, with your written application and learn a little more about your personality, energy level, communication style, and other such intangibles. Your goal is not to provide the “right” answer that the school is expecting to hear (because no “right” answer exists!) but to be yourself so as to convey a genuine impression of you as an individual. If you focus on being authentic and sincere, you will provide the admissions committee with exactly what it is seeking. To get a bit more comfortable with the format before you complete this part of the IE application, we suggest practicing responding to interview-type questions in front of a mirror to exercise maintaining a pleasant and natural expression as you speak and timing yourself to ensure your answers do not tend to run long. Although you can prepare as much as you want, you will have only one chance to record your response(s) when you do the official interview. If you stumble while answering or ultimately are unhappy with your answer, you will not, unfortunately, be able to rerecord anything or try again another time. This might make you nervous, but we encourage you to view the situation a little differently. As we have noted, IE wants to get to know the real you through these video essays. If you fumble for words or lose your train of thought, just laugh or shrug and continue with your response. Accepting a mistake with a sense of humor and grace will give the admissions committee a more positive and natural impression of your personality than rigid scripting and overpreparation ever could. For sample questions you can use to practice, consider downloading a free copy of the [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/mbamission-interview-guide]mbaMission Interview Guide[/url][/b], in which we present a list of 100 common interview queries. IE’s prompt notes that it intends for these questions to allow you to “demonstrate why you would be a valuable asset to the IEU community,” so the school will want to see evidence that you have done your research on it and developed a true and thorough understanding of its culture. Ideally, your responses will convince the admissions committee that you are eager to take advantage of opportunities at the school, that you have thoughtfully considered your potential role and place within the program’s community, and that you understand what you can offer as an IE MBA student. So, read student blogs, peruse discussion boards, catch up on the past year or more of the program’s press releases, spend some time on [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/user/iebusinessschool]IE’s YouTube channel[/url][/b]—these are all good places to start (or better, continue!) educating yourself about what life at the school is really like, beyond the coursework. You can also learn more about the school’s defining characteristics and key elements by downloading your free copy of mbaMission’s [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/ie-business-school-program-guide]IE Business School Program Guide[/url][/b]. |
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
09 Sep 2022, 10:00
Kudos
Bookmarks
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Get into Tepper School of Business: Carnegie Mellon Tepper Essay Tips and Examples |
|
[url=https://i0.wp.com/www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CMU_Tepper_School_of_Business.jpg?ssl=1][img]https://i0.wp.com/www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CMU_Tepper_School_of_Business.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1[/img][/url] Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business has only one required written application essay. For it, the school asks applicants to discuss how they have promoted inclusion and how they expect to apply their related skills and mind-set at Tepper. Candidates are also tasked with recording a brief video about their post-graduation aspirations. Applicants who feel the need to convey an additional important aspect or two of their candidacy to the admissions committee can take advantage of the optional essay, whose prompt is broad enough to accommodate topics other than problem areas in one’s profile. Our more in-depth analysis of Tepper’s 2022–2023 questions follows. Carnegie Mellon Tepper 2022–2023 Essay Tips [b]Required Essay: The Tepper community is dynamic and unique with students who strive to be collaborative, supportive and inclusive. Please provide an example of when you experienced or created an inclusive environment and how you will use that experience to help members of the community reach their full potential. (Maximum 500 words, double spaced, 12 point font)[/b] As an MBA student—and in life in general—you will encounter individuals who think differently from you, operate according to different values, and react differently to the same stimuli. And success in an endeavor often involves considering and incorporating others’ input and perspectives. Via this essay, Tepper hopes to learn how you view, approach, and engage with such differences. Once enrolled in the school’s MBA program, you will be surrounded every day by people who are unlike you in a multitude of ways, and you will need to work in tandem with and alongside these individuals when analyzing case studies, completing group projects, and participating in other activities both inside and outside the classroom. The school is clearly seeking evidence that you are capable of listening, reflecting, learning, and growing and that you are interested in people and information that come from outside your usual frame of reference. And by asking you to share an example of when you “experienced or created an inclusive environment,” Tepper is requesting concrete evidence of this open-mindedness in action. When admissions committees request examples, they invite essays that use a narrative structure, and we believe such essays are usually not only more revelatory but also more interesting to read (this is a definite plus when you are trying to make an impression on someone who sees literally thousands of essays each year!). So, consider starting your essay by launching directly into your story and immediately highlighting the actions you took to enhance inclusivity in a given situation: “When I realized that some of our new hires were reluctant to take part in our company’s weekly ‘wine wind down,’ I committed myself to finding out why and what could be done to ….” The Tepper admissions committee wants of course to know the outcome of the incident you describe, so be sure to relate the results of your actions, but what is even more important to the committee is understanding what your motivations were, what decisions you made, and what steps you took to effect change. This means you must illustrate the values and thought process behind your efforts, in addition to clearly conveying your actions and their outcome. Keep in mind, however, that the incident or situation you share should account for only one half of your essay. The school also asks how you expect to apply your mind-set and dedication to inclusivity once you arrive on campus. So, do your research on the program to identify specific areas and opportunities where you could contribute in this particular way, and clearly demonstrate your understanding of both the Tepper community and your potential to be additive to it. [b]Video Essay–Goals: Now, let’s hear directly from you! We know that your career goals are an important part of your decision to attend business school, and we are excited to hear them. Please describe your post-MBA career goals. You have up to 2 minutes to respond to this question.[/b] [b]Pro Tip: It would be helpful to consider the following information in your response:[/b] [b]-Please be as specific as possible. If you have not yet identified specific companies, that is okay. Just tell us what interests you for your next role or company. What about the industry, company, or functional role is appealing to you?[/b] [b]-If you have any criteria you are using to evaluate career opportunities, please share those as well. We may have great opportunities to add to your list.[/b] [b]-How does this post-MBA career goal relate to your long-term career plan?[/b] First, take a deep breath and let it out again. We understand that video submissions can often be intimidating and make you feel like you are being put on the spot, but Tepper is really not trying to scare you. The admissions committee simply wants to collect this key information from you in a more dynamic way than a written essay generally provides, while also getting a glimpse of your personality and communication style. You cannot answer the school’s questions incorrectly, so do not concern yourself with trying to give the “right” answer. Just respond to the query honestly, as smoothly as you can (despite any nervousness you might be feeling), and be yourself. Thankfully, Tepper explains what information it wants you to provide, so you can prepare your talking points in advance and practice a bit, rather than having to go in totally blind. For this video component, the school simply wants to understand where you hope to go professionally after earning your MBA, in as much detail as you can provide in the allotted time (more on this later). The admissions committee wants to know that you have given this topic very serious thought, have thoroughly researched your options, and are approaching business school with a strong sense of purpose—that you have fitting, attainable goals in mind and can articulate them clearly. First, make sure that the path you have chosen is a feasible one for you and that the connection between your short-term plans and your long-term aspirations makes sense. The school wants to feel that you will be able to achieve your objectives after completing its program, so you want to avoid goals that could sound farfetched. Establishing briefly that you have the skills and knowledge to enter your target field will establish that logical connection, reassuring the admissions committee that you can be a happy and productive graduate. Note that Tepper does not ask you to recap your career thus far, and you do really not have sufficient time in which to do so. Provide this additional context only if it is absolutely needed for your stated goals to be understood and/or believable—perhaps if you are making a fairly significant career change. Although the core prompt says you will have “up to two minutes” to offer your response, the fine print notes that the recording will end automatically at 90 seconds, so prepare to deliver the necessary information within that shorter time frame. You would be better off having a few extra seconds, if two minutes is in fact the correct measure, than running out of time before you finish your message. Because 90 seconds is really not very long, we encourage you to practice a bit in advance—perhaps even in front of a mirror—to get a sense of how quickly that time will pass when you are actually recording. When you are ready to record your video, you will have up to three attempts, so if you are not satisfied with your first (or second) delivery, you can try again. Note, however, that you cannot go back to an earlier version once you choose to record a new one, and your third video (if you use all available attempts) will automatically be your official submission. So if you stumble while answering or are unhappy with your answer, unfortunately, you cannot do anything about it. However, we encourage you to not judge yourself too harshly or become discouraged if your video is ultimately not what you would consider “perfect.” Tepper wants insight into the authentic you. If you make a minor mistake—such as fumbling for words or losing your train of thought—just laugh or shrug and continue with your response. Accepting a small blunder with a sense of humor and grace will give the admissions committee a more positive and natural impression of your personality and merely reveal that you are human—not disqualify you for acceptance. One’s career goals are often part of a traditional personal statement, so consider downloading your free copy of the [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/personal-statement-guide]mbaMission Personal Statement Guide[/url][/b], which offers tips and advice on responding to this type of query. This complimentary guide offers detailed advice on approaching and framing these subjects, along with multiple illustrative examples. Be sure to [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/personal-statement-guide]claim your copy[/url][/b] today. [b]Optional Essay: Is there anything else that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee as we evaluate your application? If you believe your credentials and essays represent you fairly, you should not feel obligated to answer this question. This essay is intended to provide a place for you to add information that you think is important but is not covered elsewhere in the application. This could include clarification of your employment or academic record, choice of recommenders, or helpful context for the admissions committee in reviewing your application. [/b](No word limit is indicated.) Tepper’s optional essay prompt is somewhat broad in the sense that it does not demand that you discuss only problem areas in your candidacy. That said, the second line of the prompt not too subtly implies that the admissions committee expects you to use the essay this way. If an element of your profile would benefit from further explanation—such as a poor grade or overall GPA, a low GMAT or GRE score, or a legal or disciplinary issue—this is your opportunity to address it and answer any related questions an admissions officer might have. We caution you against simply trying to fill this space because you fear that not doing so would somehow count against you, and this is definitely not an invitation to dump a bunch of remaining information about yourself that you have not included elsewhere or to offer a few anecdotes you were unable to use in your required essay. However, if you believe you have something pivotal or particularly compelling to share that is not mentioned anywhere else in your application and that you feel would render your profile incomplete if omitted, Tepper has offered some leeway to do so here. Although no word limit is stipulated, be mindful that by submitting a second essay, you are making a claim on an (undoubtedly very busy) admissions representative’s time, so be sure that whatever you write is worth the additional resources and effort. For more guidance, download our free [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/products/mbamission-optional-essays-guide]mbaMission Optional Essays Guide[/url][/b], in which we offer detailed advice (along with multiple examples) on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay. [b]Are you a re-applicant? Use the optional essay to explain how your candidacy has strengthened since your last application.[/b] Whether you have improved your academic record, received a promotion, begun a new and exciting project, increased your community involvement, or taken on some sort of personal challenge, the key to success with this essay is conveying a very deliberate path of achievement. Tepper wants to know that you have been actively striving to improve yourself and your profile, and that you have seized opportunities since your previous application to do so, because an MBA from its program is important to you. The responses to this essay question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next, because each person’s needs and experiences differ. We are more than happy to provide one-on-one assistance with this highly personal essay to ensure that your efforts are presented in the best light possible. |
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
