Blog Archive University of Michigan (Ross) Essay Analysis

Blog Archive University of Michigan (Ross) Essay Analysis 1. We believe one of the keys to effective leadership is the ability to transform ideas into action. Describe a time within the last three years in which you exercised such leadership. What did you learn about your leadership strengths and development needs? Michigan is not just looking for a standard leadership essay, but wants to ensure that you have imbued your actions with both vision and the drive to succeed. It should be noted that the idea that you discuss need not have originated from within, but it needs to be clear that you took a static idea â€" yours or someone else’s and turned it into something tangible, if not remarkable. In the same vein as Tuck, Michigan challenges you not only to discuss your strengths, but demands a critical appraisal of your talents as well. As always, be sure not to disingenuously offer strengths as weaknesses (“I tried too hard”) as they are transparent and have the negative effect of showing that you cannot objectively view your own actions. As for your strengths, try to push yourself; clichés about “realizing I had the potential to lead” are easy to write, but hardly differentiate you from others. If you spend some time truly reflecting on your experiences and successes, you should be able to create a distinct statement that reveals your philosophy, ideas and personality. 2. What are your career goals? How will a Ross MBA help you achieve your goals? How might the action-based learning aspects of the Ross curriculum make a difference? Again, because of significant overlap from school to school, we have produced a document on personal statements and are more than happy to offer it to anyone interested. Please email info@mbamission.com for an electronic copy which will help you approach this essay. It is important to note that Ross wants to understand how you intend to use their specific resources. With such an emphasis on “action based learning,” you must ensure that you are well-informed about the Ross curriculum and that you chart a course for how you intend to seize these offerings. You should not merely laud Ross’s curriculum, but do as the question says and explain the impact it will have on you professionally and how it will facilitate your career goals. 3. Describe the initiatives you have taken over the past two years to develop professionally and personally. What motivated you to take those initiatives? Most candidates are not so intent and focused that they develop a coherent two year professional/personal development plan and then methodically put it into action. So, if you are like 90% of applicants, this essay, at first, might seem a bit baffling. Well, you can relax and simply look back and “data-mine” your previous experiences; inevitably, you will have challenged yourself in many different ways, professionally and personally. While you may not have undertaken experiences specifically to develop, you pursued them and developed nonetheless. As you select a mix, possible one strong professional and one strong personal experience, consider that the context is key; you are not just telling stories of success; we need to understand that there were tangible changes and that you grew because of these experiences. Share ThisTweet Blogroll Blog Archive University of Michigan (Ross) Essay Analysis Note: The following essay questions pertain to the previous academic year. This section will be updated when the new question are released in early to mid-July of 2008.   You must answer the following four questions: Long Answers (500 word max) Essay 1: Briefly describe your short-term and long-term career goals. Why is an MBA the best choice at this point in your career? What and/or who influenced your decision to apply to Ross? Because of significant overlap from one MBA application to the next, we have produced the “MBA Mission Personal Statement Guide.” We offer our guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store.   Please feel free to download your copy today. It is important to note that  Ross includes the line, “what and/or who influenced your decision.” Increasingly, MBA Admissions Committees (Chicago, NYU, Haas) want to know that you have completed a priori research and you are not merely whimsically applying. In this essay, you should not just delve into the resources the school offers but also explain how your interest was generated, via interactions with alumni, faculty, students, admissions officers and possibly even educated outside parties. Essay 2: Describe your most significant professional accomplishment. Elaborate on the leadership skills you displayed, the actions you took and the impact you had on your organization. This is a relatively straightforward essay, but it is important that you offer more than just your accomplishment to the MBA Admissions Committee. Ross is seeking to understand the “leadership skills you displayed, the actions you took”; a solid essay will reveal your leadership skills via your actions. Thus, it is vital that you have a process-orientation in your writing, as this will ensure that the committee experiences your leadership style.  If you  create a narrative structure, the committee will gain a window into your personality and recognize not just that you are effective, but HOW you are effective.     Short Answers (300 word max) Essay 3: If you were not pursuing the career goals you described in Question 1, what profession would you pursue instead? (for example, teacher, musician, athlete, architect, etc.) How will this alternate interest contribute to your effectiveness in solving multidisciplinary problems? Through this essay, Ross is attempting to understand alternative aspects of your character. Indeed, the examples in the question are telling because “teacher, musician, athlete” are not typical post-MBA careers. So, it goes without saying that you should not write about how you would consider banking, if consulting were not to work out. It is important that you be creative in your response, but that you also connect your response to existing experience. If you have no background as a teacher, it becomes far more difficult for you to make the connection to this hypothetical career. (Thus, when you write about your proposed career, you need to strike a balance â€" you cannot afford to be too whimsical, and at the same time you cannot afford to be dull either.) Further, if you are not profoundly connected to this alternative career, you will find it quite difficult to answer how you will use this interest to attack multidisciplinary problems.   Essay 4: Describe your experience during a challenging time in your life. Explain how you grew personally, either despite this challenge or because of it. Harkening back to our Monday Morning Essay tip “Conflict is Good,” Ross substantiates our point that it is not all that interesting to read about a smooth and easy ride toward success. Indeed, Ross wants to understand that you have faced obstacles and that you have the strength of character to overcome. While you are free to draw from personal or professional experiences, it is important that you avoid “sympathy plays” and clichés about “learning resilience.” Write with candor and honesty and discuss the abiding impact that a challenging experience had on your life â€" a successful essay will show that you have substantively changed your mentality or actions and that the experience had an enduring and positive effect.   Share ThisTweet Blogroll