I've reposted this from my blog, but I think it would be helpful for some of the readers here -- a set of principles that not only apply to b-school essays, but to any form of writing you'll do in your professional career. ******************************* Good writing first and foremost is not about style or polish. I think that's the biggest disconnect for many people whose office environments are overwhelmingly focused on polish and style that it messes with their notion of what is deemed "good writing." When asked to write outside a corporate context, it can be completely disorienting -- right becomes left, up becomes down. What makes good writing? The most important quality is CLARITY. Unless you're writing a diary for your eyes only, you write to be understood. Your main thesis, opinion, and intentions have to be absolutely crystal clear to a reader. Oftentimes, it's scraping away all the double-speak, buzzwords and cliche phrases learned over the years in an office. When in doubt, use the simpler word because it's likely closer to the heart (which is what an essay with a subjective voice is all about - you are writing in the first person after all). Another important quality is SPECIFICITY. Without being specific about what you're talking about, you can't be precise in your insight. And if you're not precise, what you say has no substance, leaving no impact on a reader. Oftentimes, stripping all the sh*t away from one's writing into plain English can really reveal what you *really* know because you can't hide behind language. ECONOMY is also paramount. Even award winning novelists (or their editors at least) strive for this. You cut out as much fat as possible - both the words and the content. The more succinct, the greater the impact. And the last one for writing from a subjective viewpoint (first person narrative) is SINCERITY. Tonally, it's got to sound like a real person, not a robotic PR release. Aim for a lack of formality without being casual. Your essays may not sound like the stylized writing you are used to at work, but believe me it will be miles better than the overwhelming majority of sh*t you'll see in powerpoint presentations, website copy and business correspondence. Corporate speak makes it harder to separate the clueless, incompetent, and spineless from the knowledgeable, talented and ethical - that's why it can be an invaluable "cover your ass" dialect in a bureaucracy. One last thing. All of this doesn't mean that style is irrelevant. Highly stylized writing can certainly be fun to read especially in the hands of a talented writer with keen insight, but only if such writing is clear, specific, concise and sincere. In the context of b-school essays however, it's unnecessary and distracting. That's the underlying problem with language used in many office environments - it's a highly stylized form without the clarity, specificity, economy or sincerity one will see in truly good writing.

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EMLY16

Joined: 12 Apr 2016

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Schools: INSEAD Jan '17 (A)

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Updated on: 14 Apr 2016, 19:50

Originally posted by EMLY16 on 14 Apr 2016, 10:20.
Last edited by EMLY16 on 14 Apr 2016, 19:50, edited 1 time in total.

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AlexMBAApply

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14 Apr 2016, 11:11

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EMLY16

Please provide direct feedback on my chances for LBS, INSEAD, and top 10 US schools.

My profile: Australian/Taiwan/British female. dual nationality Australian/Taiwan. 2-3 years in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong

Undergrad: Top 10% of class Engineering degree from top 4 uni in the UK

GMAT: 700, roughly equal quant and verbal.

Work experience in chronological order:

1. 5 years in a top 3 US IB, of which 1.5 years as IBD analyst, 2.5 years in fixed income/credit research portfolio management, 1 year in Equity research. Promoted from analyst to associate

2. 1.5 years worked in a investment start up and managed family business in Shanghai

3. 1.5 years equity research experience as Associate Analyst (AVP) in a second tier North American bank, became sector lead analyst after senior director left the firm

4. Relocated country for personal reasons and currently associate director (credit rating analyst) at a credit agency. Contract ending in April.

5. CFA. Also undertaking CPA exams end this year.

Extra-curricular:
Currently Sunday school teacher for primary school children, 3 hours per week, ~8 months

Various social work such as weekly visit to the asylum seeker detention centre for one year

6 years yoga, planning to start teachers course

Grade 7 piano, attempted AMusA

Other facts: wrote GAMSAT (MCAT equivalent) in 2013 and was admitted to a medical school in Sydney in 2013. I didn’t attend the program though.

Why MBA: to apply financial skills and general management skills from MBA into a leading financial role at a hospital provider in Southeast Asia. Looking for a hands on and multi-dimensional role that involves leading a team, working with customers and staff, influencing an organization in tangible ways.

Given that you have 8 years of finance experience (on the older/more experienced side), the European schools like INSEAD and LBS are where you'll likely find a better fit. The US schools prefer them younger, and the sweet spot for finance professionals tends to be around 3-5 years at time of matriculation (i.e. your sweet spot for applying to a top 8 or top 16 schools in the US would've been while you were still an analyst at that US firm just prior to being promoted to post-MBA associate).

With that said, your GMAT is on the lower side for these top schools, where the averages are creeping up beyond 720. Furthermore, know that you're up against a lot of finance folks who will have strong GMATs as well. Flipside is that INSEAD is a bit more forgiving of GMATs than the US schools, so your 700 won't be as big a hurdle as it would be with the top 8 US schools in particular.

Foolishclam

Joined: 08 Feb 2016

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GMAT 1: 770 Q49 V47 Verified score

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Updated on: 15 Aug 2016, 13:36

Originally posted by Foolishclam on 13 Aug 2016, 02:33.
Last edited by Foolishclam on 15 Aug 2016, 13:36, edited 1 time in total.

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14 Aug 2016, 21:26

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Foolishclam

Hi Alex,

Could you please review my profile for HBS, GSB, Booth, Sloan and CBS? Thanks!

I'm a 24 year old French national (male) with Indian parents, speak native French and English

Undergraduate: 3.6 GPA (top 2%) in a good undergraduate business school here in France (with a study abroad in a lower-tier Ivy League school in the US)

GMAT: 770 (Q49 V47)

Work experience: Internship at a BB in London, full time position at an MBB in Europe (2 years)

Extra-curricular: not much, done some volunteering in Asia, and been a key external consultant at some of my friends' start-ups

Goal: to develop the necessary management and decision making skills to successfully fulfil my goal of starting my own business

Regards

it's quite simple - with a strong GMAT coming from M/B/B, you're competitive enough for any of the top 8 schools that it comes down to two things: choosing the list of schools you feel are a great fit for you given your personal circumstances and needs, and doing the best you can on the applications. Doesn't mean you'll get into every school you apply to, but you should have a reasonable shot at getting into at least a few of them if you apply to say 3-5 schools total in the top 8.

Good luck!

Foolishclam

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15 Aug 2016, 13:25

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Foolishclam

Thanks Alex! Just a bit worried about my perceived lack of ECs/leadership experiences

AlexMBAApply

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29 Jul 2025, 10:20

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Hi all,

It's been a while since I've been on here.

So I've been an MBA admissions consultant for over 20 years now, and honestly, I'm stepping back from the one-on-one client work.

But I figured there's still value in all the knowledge I've accumulated over those 20 years, so I built something new - an "MBA App Assistant" that includes detailed school-specific strategies and a Custom GPT I built that can answer questions about applications:

https://mbaapply.com/product/mba-app-assistant/

Since it's brand new and R1 deadlines are coming up fast in September, I'm willing to give it away for FREE to the first 30 people who DM me.

I'd love to get some honest feedback on whether it's actually useful, especially the AI component since that's pretty experimental.

If you're seriously applying this cycle and wouldn't mind testing it out and letting me know what works and what doesn't, DM me your email address and I'll send you the access links. Please include your full name and either your resume or LinkedIn profile in your message so I can confirm you're a serious applicant - just want to make sure this gets to real people (not bots) who can give meaningful feedback. I promise I'm not going to spam you or put you on some newsletter - just makes it easier to send the PDF with everything.

Just want to see if this thing I made actually helps people before I decide what to do with it long-term.

Thank you!