Blog: Archive for the “Application Tips” Category

There is an old journalistic maxim—“Show, don’t tell,”— that demands that writers truly illustrate the actions involved in an event or story and not just state the results of what happened. Tell (Results Oriented): “I arrived at ABC Bank and took on a great deal of responsibility in corporate lending. I managed diverse clients in … Read More  

As a general rule, “etc.” should never appear in the text of your MBA application essays. Consider the following sentences: 1. I helped draft prospectuses, analyze key company data, value companies, etc. 2. I look forward to courses such as “Small Business Management,” “Leading Teams,” “Multiparty Negotiations,” etc. In the first example, “etc.” replaces information … Read More  

In MBA application essays, many business school candidates unwittingly discuss their personal experience with a specific MBA program in the most vague and general way. Because they are writing from memory and discussing their authentic experience, they do not realize that they are not being specific enough. Consider the following example: “During my experience at … Read More  

In high school, most American students are taught to write essays with a formal introduction, a body that supports that introduction and a conclusion that reinforces the central point presented in the introduction. Although this structure makes for easily comprehensible academic work, business school application essays are constrained by word count, so candidates often have … Read More  

Although putting yourself at the center of the stories in your application essays is certainly important, a common problem applicants have is beginning too many sentences with the word “I.” As a general rule, you should never have two sentences in a row that begin this way. Consider the following example: “I worked for three … Read More