9 Do's and Don't's on Preparing Admissions Essays

Essays are school specific. Even if the topics is or sounds similar, your reply cannot be the same for each. This is because schools are very different and you will have distinct reasons for selecting each of them. Also, each school is looking for a particular student profile, so you should end up highlighting different aspects of your profile for different schools.

See How to Select the Best Business Schools? (Q&A)

Your admission essays should:

-      Be straight to the point

-      Be  within the word limit

-      Be free from spelling and grammatical mistakes

-      Clearly describe your ideas

-      Reveal your unique features and skills

-       Reveal how you will contribute to the MBA programme

-       Illustrate how the MBA programme will help you reach your goal

-      Demonstrate that you have carefully researched the programme and have adequate expectations

-      Cohere with the rest of the application materials – resume/CV, recommendations, facts in the application form

-       Be really personal.

Check out: How to Prepare Outstanding MBA Essays (Q&A)

Do's and don't's when preparing your essays:

1. Don’t use samples. They will just drain your unique ideas and lead you in the wrong direction.
2. Spend most of the time brainstorming the ideas which you will put in each essay.
3. Plan how you will distribute your ideas throughout all your essays (most schools require more than one essay).
4. Think of essays as being a part of the whole application package which presents the big picture of you.
5. Don’t copy and paste between essays for different b-schools.
6. Allow yourself enough time to work on essays. They will usually take much longer to prepare than you will initially anticipate.
7. Get a fresh look on your essays from a close friend, a colleagues or an expert to make sure you have stated your ideas clearly.
8. Don’t submit your essays (or any part of the application package, except the test scores) before the whole package is ready.
9. Always make a final cross check of all facts and figures referred to in your essays and the rest of the application package.

Read: Top MBA Admission Essays

If you are unhappy with your essays, work with an admissions consultant. Many applicants to top MBA programmes do this to improve their chances of admission. The added value of a consultant is to help you brainstorm, to identify what makes you unique and to ensure that you have expressed your ideas clearly.

See this free onlne course English Grammar and Essay Writing (MOOC Review)

Read: How to Get Admitted - Think Beyond MBA Admission