Many applicants for admission to foreign business schools try to pass all the documents quickly and prepare for the interview. However, it is crucial to understand that not all documents require speed. Take the admission essay as an example. Is it possible to remember and describe all your achievements and best qualities in just one night? You need to read the essay several times on a fresh head, check for errors, and edit it. All these essential little things require at least one week.
What definitely shouldn’t you do?
You should not take up motivation letters a couple of days before you turn in your MBA application. That’s not enough time for even one quality essay. This irresponsible approach to such assignments has led to the admissions committee’s refusal to enroll an applicant for a Master of Business Administration program.
By the business personal statement, the interviewer assesses the author’s career path and goals and his personality, character traits, potential, etc. Therefore, it is the motivational essay that should be taken highly carefully and thoughtfully. If there is anything that the admissions committee does not like, they may not even finish reading it. Consequently, the narrator’s personality will remain a mystery, and foreign business schools do not accept “dark horses” for an MBA course.
Other people’s essays: good or bad?
In the absence of free time, most applicants to a business school believe that they can deceive the admissions committee members. For example, it is possible to buy several versions of essays of students who have already been accepted to an MBA course and compose your essay based on them.
First, it makes no sense to use someone else’s examples and merits, as they are easy to check. Secondly, inexperienced applicants often apply other people’s qualities to themselves that are not their own. The result is an ambiguous and predetermined lose-lose situation. Finally, experienced and intelligent people on the admissions committee can spot the deception in a second.
Who to ask for help?
Assistance in writing an essay can be divided into two parts: proofreading and checking. In the first case, an outsider can read the essay of the applicant several times aloud. The latter, in turn, must understand his shortcomings. If you read it silently, you may miss many nuances. On the other hand, proofreading aloud always helps to identify semantic and linguistic errors.
As for checking the personal statement, it is also not superfluous to ask for help from an essay service, but the specialist must be qualified. It is not enough that he knows the basics of grammar better than the author. He should be confident as a competent editor. In this case, he will help eliminate punctuation and spelling errors and correct the semantics of the statement.
Nowadays, there are whole agencies involved in text editing. The services of the best essay companies are not cheap, but you can be confident in the quality of their work. Sometimes it is worth the money spent.
The translator is another specialist whose help is rarely in the way. The fact is that all documents to Western business schools should be brought in English (there are rare exceptions), but not all applicants are fluent in it.
How to prepare an essay by yourself?
Anyone can compose and write a high-quality and competent motivation letter. To do this, you first need to outline your strategy of action. It is about the plan of the narrative. In advance, the author should decide what form his essay will be, what experience he wants to share with the admissions committee, and what moments of his life it is better to leave out.
When composing the text of the essay, it is vital to show uniqueness and originality. If the introduction intrigues the reader, the letter will already make an excellent first impression. The main part of the essay should detail the major career successes, achievements in university or college, the best qualities that will help achieve unprecedented heights in business in the future. Management schools welcome applicants with the makings of a true leader who will take the initiative and competently manage the personnel.
While one good essay takes an average of 5-7 days, several letters will take about a month. You should not write essays in parallel. This is bound to lead to failure at the interview in the end. It is better to write one motivational letter, pause for 1-2 days and move on to another one.
When answering a question, it is essential not to go off topic. The fewer the generalizations and repetitions, the better the impression is formed about the storyteller. If the applicant is not strong in a particular subject, it is better to omit it. Otherwise, an admissions committee member might pick on the answer and catch the candidate off guard.
When talking about yourself, it is advisable to be yourself and honest in front of the audience. If the person is goal-oriented and confident, it will be immediately apparent. But if the applicant shakes with excitement and stutters in his words, and in his essay, he is described as a managerial leader, it will be a significant disadvantage and will most likely reduce the chances of admission to the minimum.
Top 5 mistakes when writing an MBA essay
#1 Uninteresting presentation of information
For an essay, you should not search for information on the Internet or in the library. It is enough to analyze your life, find vivid examples and stories from it, tell about them beautifully, mention your doubts, feelings, thoughts. If the situation was complex, describe how you found the way out. To do this, you need to analyze your experience, listen to your heart, refer to your memory.
Emphasize your specificity, note that the dream to get an MBA education is not groundless and is a logical continuation of existing experience. However, you should not only describe interesting stories and situations without characterizing your thought and emotional process, without introspection. Such an essay would be superficial and uninteresting.
# 2 The use of slang expressions
The essay should be written in interesting, vivid language. However, it would be a gross mistake to use slang expressions. Avoid such words, even if you use them in life. They will not emphasize your personality or individuality and will only harm you. Therefore, no slang expressions, even industry-specific ones, are allowed.
Use professionalism only if it is necessary. Be careful with them, however. Before writing these words in a text, consider whether they clarify or confuse the person reading it.
# 3 Unsubstantiated Loud Statements
You should not write loud statements in an essay. Any statement should be substantiated, illustrated with examples from life, professional experience.
For example, a candidate writes that he should study for an MBA. You can’t leave it like that. He has to explain: how did he figure it out? How did he understand that it was necessary? Why does he feel the need for it? That is, it’s worth writing more details.
#4 Writing style
As you write, it’s important to remember that you are an adult, not a child. So don’t complain, don’t whine, don’t tolerate negativity. Point out your weaknesses, but present them as advantages. If you had a negative experience, tell us what it taught you.
# 5 Typos
Typos are the most common mistake in essays. Surprisingly, they can be corrected simply by checking what is written. But only a few people do this.
After writing your essay, reread it. Correct mistakes, typos, inaccuracies, and put punctuation marks correctly. If you have doubts, reread it aloud, it may help resolve doubts. Only then send your work.
Remember that typos, mistakes, careless essay formatting have a negative connotations. They can cast a shadow on even the most interesting, brightest essay and cause doubts about your candidacy in the admissions committee. So respect yourself and those who will read your essay.
