The pivotal objective in writing the MBA application essays is to showcase (show not tell) that you possess the qualities that the admissions committee values the most. Deciding on what qualities to showcase in your application can best exemplify your fit for each school’s MBA class. Thus, you should demonstrate accomplishments in your work and outside, impact, collaboration, engagement with your community and quantitative skills.

Leadership

Business schools look for leaders who will have a positive contribution to society, and who have started exhibiting leadership early on. Leadership entails motivating others to reach a goal, using limited resources, being creative in solving a problem or facing a challenge. The impact is more important than the size.

For example, Violeta participated in mini marathons that his neighborhood in London organized. To make this activity into a leadership experience, we suggested her organizing a mini marathon with her colleagues in the area of London. She recruited volunteers, reached out to the charity that their donations would go and found persuaded the bank to support the event. She not only managed to gather a good amount of money but she also exhibited her leadership qualities. Her excellent academics, professional and extracurricular activities coupled with out mentoring led her to being accepted by Wharton, IBS, INSEAD, the three MBAs she applied.

Quantitative Skills

Although Business Schools welcome applications from all fields, it is essential that candidates have good quantitative skills. Thus, we advise our students to enhance their profile by attending online courses in Math, Statistics and Finance or acquire a relevant online certificate by distinguished Universities such as LSE, Harvard, Wharton, MIT. Also, getting a very good GMAT or GRE with a good score in the math section is another aspect that shows students will not be over their head.

Showcase communication and teamwork skills

It is imperative that you demonstrate to the admissions committee that you possess soft skills. By highlighting the experiences showing that you work well with others using effective arguments for your presentations to convince clients or your team, you will impress the committee. To improve on these skills, you can attend some relevant courses or reach out to mentors to get valuable advice or watch to learn from people that you admire. Your collaborative style will highlight that you are a team player that puts the good of the group above his/her self interest. Being emotionally intelligent shows your aptitude for understanding and sharing other people’s feelings.

Think carefully about your short and long term career goals

You need to be very specific about your short and long term goals, paying attention to explain why this career path is crucial to you. You have to explain what has led you to pursue these goals and most importantly why they resonate with you. Admissions committees want to know that you are passionate about something and that you have a vision. The long-term goal is your “big picture” and it is the culmination of your life’s work, but it should be specific a plan that not only has an impact, but you can also achieve it. The short-term goal should be in track with your long-term goal. By starting of your short-term goal you will work your way to the long-term goal by building on your skill set, enhancing your experiences and creating a strong network.

Careful choice of Recommenders

Your recommenders should be close to you so they can provide specific examples of your work and show the full range of your character and capabilities. Avoid using recommenders just for their position, name dropping, because they do not have the contact and relationship necessary to recommend you. Recommenders could be able to talk about your strengths, weaknesses, areas of development and your goals. They should be able to give depth and detail on how you worked and how you distinguished yourself from other colleagues.

Applying of an MBA can be a challenging feat, however, preparing early and optimizing every element of your application may earn you the acceptance letter to your dream school.

At CLC we help our MBA candidates maximize chances of being accepted by optimizing the quality of every aspect of the MBA application, CV, essays, reference letters, application forms and interviews and by offering them the insight of our alumni MBA network.