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1. Theme: Career Goals and the MBA
Describe your specific career aspirations. How will your goals be
furthered by an MBA degree and by our MBA program in particular?
How do you feel the X school MBA degree can help you attain your
specific career and personal goals for the five years after you
graduate?
- Discuss your career progression to date. What factors have
influenced your decision to seek a general management education?
- Based on what you know about yourself at this time, how do you
envision our career progressing after receiving the MBA degree?
- Please state your professional goals, and describe your plan
to achieve them.
Translation:
- What do I want to be when I grow up, and how will the MBA get
me there?
This may be the most important essay question. It lays out the
reasons why you should be given one of the cherished spots in the
program. Even if your post-MBA future is tough to envision, this
question must be answered.
A good way to frame this essay is to discuss how the MBA makes
sense in light of your background, skills, and achievements to date.
Why do you need this degree? Why now? One common reason is being
stymied in your work by a lack of skills that can be gained in their
program. Or you may want to use their MBA as abridge to the next
step. For example, an actress wants an MBA to prepare for a career
in theater management. The more specific, the better.
Don’t be afraid to present modest goals. If you’re in accounting
and want to stay there, say so. Deepening your expertise and
broadening your perspective are solid reasons for pursuing the
degree. On the other hand, feel free to indicate you’ll use the MBA
to change careers; 70 percent of all students at b-school are there
to do just that.
If you aspire to lofty goals, like becoming a CEO or starting
your own company, be especially careful that you detail a sensible,
pragmatic plan. You need to show you’re realistic. No one zooms to
the top. Break your progress into steps.
Finally, this essay question asks how a particular program
supports your goals. Admissions committees want to know why you’ve
selected their school. That means you not only have to know, but
also show, what’s special about their program and how that relates
specifically to your career aspirations.
(Hint: Many admissions officers say they can tell how much
someone wants to go to their school by how well their essays are
tailored to the offerings in their programs.)
Sample Essay Topic: Why are you seeking an MBA from the
Chicago GSB, and what are your plans and goals after you receive
your degree? (500 words maximum)
I am applying to Chicago GSB because I believe a Chicago MBA can
provide me with knowledge and tools necessary to open my own
business. My long-term goal is to create a sports club where I can
encourage more people to build strong bodies and get more fun from
sports while pursuing my entrepreneurial ambition. The goal may take
the form of opening a gym with the most members in the world, or
heading up some super Chinese national sports leagues like NBA in
the U.S. In long-term, I hope to list the gym or the leagues in
overseas markets and turn in into a public company, thus promoting
them into other countries. The demand for sports in China is
numerous, while the industry is very underdeveloped. There are still
huge potential and opportunities. I look forward to introducing the
foreign advanced management experience and leveraging global
expertise to build a national wide brand in sports industry.
I understand clearly that this career goal requires a lot of
skills, such as professionalism, business insights, management
capabilities, and social networking. An MBA from Chicago GSB is a
perfect choice since it will equip me with the skill and knowledge
to make a professional business plan, finance new ventures, assess
the value of a company, and grow them. Also, during my MBA
education, I hope to discuss my business plans with my classmates.
The innovative ideas and business insights that a diverse and
talented group could generate at Chicago GSB would be of tremendous
value for me.
Furthermore, I am attracted by Chicago GSB's unique educational
philosophy, which stresses equipping MBAs with a solid foundation
and framework of business concepts and critical analytical skills
which they can apply to a wide range of business situations. My
experience has proven that there is no ready model for China's
fledging yet promising sports industry. To be successful in this
market I need creativity and a deep understanding of principles, so
that the right solutions can always be attained despite the changing
variables.
I choose Chicago GSB also because its management consulting
specialization and its recognition among the world's major
consulting firms, perfectly bolster my short-term goal of pursuing a
management consultant career with one of the leading strategic
consulting company, such as McKinsey, or BCG. The work of consulting
is rewarding, since it will call on all of my skills, developed both
in my course work and through previous work experience, to complete
consulting involvements which have senior executive visibility.
These intensive involvements will deepen my understanding of the key
elements that a company requires in order to succeed. Also, solving
strategic problems in a team-based environment can significantly
polish my teamwork and leadership experience that is invaluable to
run a start-up company.
In sum, I believe that a Chicago MBA, when combined with my past
experience, will provide me with the right skills and knowledge to
pursue short-and long-term goals in Management Consulting,
Entrepreneurship, and even new ventures in other areas.
Next: Sample MBA Essays #2:
Extracurricular and Social Interaction |
