Things to ask yourself before you hit submit

Question

Hi all,

We tried to cover some of the major essay sets on our blog over the summer (https://educatedoutcomes.wordpress.com/), so hopefully you are feeling good about what you are submitting in the next few weeks. With some of the Round 1 deadlines approaching, we thought we'd give you one of our top checklist items for schools coming up in the next three weeks, just so you can do a final analysis on what you are sending over.

Duke (Sept 29) - Count how many times you write the word "global" - now go double it

HBS (Oct 3) - Leadership, leadership, leadership!

Wharton (Oct 3) - Innovation, particularly through community and with a global perspective

Columbia (Oct 5) - Pragmatism; have you articulated multiple clear paths to your long-term career goal?

Yale SOM (Oct 6) - Intellectual curiosity; specifically the raw case method

Ross (Oct 10) - Sharing your unique perspective; ready to learn from others as well

Booth (Oct 12) - Willing to take a risk and go for it

Haas (Oct 12) - Incorporate the four pillars into your answers!

Stanford (Oct 12) - Change Lives, Change Organizations, Change the World (make sure Essays 1 and 2 tell that story in tandem)

Tuck (Oct 12) - Be personal; show true, deep knowledge of and love for Tuck

Obviously it takes more than a sound bite to write the kind of essays required to get into these programs, but even if these one-liners help just one person, it was worth throwing it out there.

Good luck to all.

Best,
PL

golantrevize · Answer

Interesting! What about Kellogg & Sloan?

PaulLanzillotti · Answer

Was just trying to hit the most pressing deadlines, but...

Kellogg - Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork! Everything is better in teams, you need to show them you are going to make a great, dynamic, and FUN teammate. No a-holes allowed at Kellogg.

Sloan - It's all about thought. Thoughtful leadership, thoughtful actions, critical thinking, being able to work through ambiguity and incomplete information.

-PL

losttraveler · Answer

I would add one thing I think that probably gets overlooked (not related to your descriptions). If you get in.. will you go? Too many people apply to stretch, competitive, and safety schools but if they don't get in to stretch/competitive they will forfeit going to the safety school. Why waste the money or time to take a seat from someone else who would of attended if you truly have no intention to go? I had originally thought of Cornell as a safety but after realizing that I wanted to attend CBS or Tuck.. I removed my application before ever submitting (this is after LoR's were already sent in by my reviewers too).

PTK · Answer

Paul thanks for sharing really helpful.

losttraveler, the same for me. 
Last year except for stretches and competitive schools I also applied to Cornell, as safety school. I did not want to apply, but then after applying I rezlized that even if accepted I would not attend (except for the case if accepted full scolarship, but even though was in doubt). I was begging to be rejected. So I was. 
This year I apply ONLY to schools which I will attend, so I removed safeties. 
Moreover in today's economic environment I would rather take  the best or nothing , than paying a lot $$$ for something that i did not really want.

losttraveler · Answer

Pkit, you've nailed it on the head. With Cornell I was only considering if I got a Park Fellowship... and then said to myself, even if I do get a fellowship... I would rather pay the funds to attend CBS if admitted (was and matriculating fall 2012) so decided it was best to not waste my time or money.. nor the schools time and potentially someone who really wanted to go to Cornell's spot in class just for me to turn it down.

Sorry to hijack the thread Paul.. but something I think is important to add in.

Sorry to hijack the thread Paul.. but something I think is important to add in.

PaulLanzillotti · Answer

No problem - it's a pretty broad thread title. If this becomes a place where people can share "questions to ask before hitting submit," that is perfectly fine.

And you guys are both right in your analysis. It's not fair to the schools to apply places you simply would not go, so it is actually better for everyone if you only click submit with programs where you would actually enroll. As a colleague of mine always says, "You can't put a bumper sticker that says 'also accepted at the following schools' on your car." The end goal is to enroll in a program, not to collect acceptance letters like badges of honor.

-PL

PaulLanzillotti · Answer

Thanks for the kudos, guys. Glad its helpful. 
-PL

swargupta · Answer

Hi,

Would you like to give some piece of advice for Asian b schools??

INSEAD, ISB,..

PaulLanzillotti · Answer

Obviously, INSEAD is not in Asia, but you want to showcase "readiness." It's a truncated program, it's very social, and you hit the ground running. So no "wallflowers allowed" is a good way to approach it. 
-PL

swargupta · Answer

Hmmm... thats very helpful... THank you.

Not to invest more of your time... A one word advice for ISB Hyderabad will also do...

PaulLanzillotti · Answer

ISB is all about looking broader, beyond boarders, beyond provincial thinking. Expand your word view, your thinking, your understanding of culture.

shekmba · Answer

Isn't INSEAD also in Singapore and Abu Dhabi? Definitely 66% Asian at minimum.

PaulLanzillotti · Answer

It's considered a European program, is the point, but yes, you are correct that INSEAD has an Asian presence.

-PL

Irishtanman · Answer

What about UCLA and Tepper? Thanks

wordsmith15 · Answer

Thanks for writing this! I have 2 weeks to pull together applications to 4 schools and this really helped to create a plan of action. I'd even recommend that people read this before writing essays - it's a great lens to rearrange and put your story in the right perspective.

MBAbot · Answer

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Things to ask yourself before you hit submit

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