The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management asks you to provide several short essays, one of which is a very standard explanation of your professional aspirations and motivation for pursuing an MBA. The three brief Mission essays are meant to reveal evidence of your active dedication to The Consortium’s goals of inclusion and progressive diversity in higher education and the business world—how you have done so (1) in the past and (2) while in a leadership role, and (3) how you intend to do so in the future. If needed, you can use the optional essay to offer clarification on any ambiguous or potential trouble areas in your profile. The key to all these submissions is honesty, clarity, and enthusiasm. Read on for our full analysis of The Consortium’s essay questions for this season.
Core Essay 1 (Required)
Please describe your short- and long-term goals post-MBA. How has your professional experience shaped these goals and influenced your decision to pursue an MBA degree? (2,000-characters)
With this rather no-nonsense query about your expectations for where you will go with your MBA after graduating, The Consortium simply wants you to spell out what you have in mind as you approach this phase of your life and career. You have only 2,000 characters with which to respond, so avoid going into excessive detail about your past, but be sure to offer enough information to provide context and support for your stated goals so that the progression from one stage of your professional career to the next is clear and reasonable.
Although the word “why” never actually appears in this prompt, the overall query involves some implied “why” requests. In addition to soliciting the reasons behind your specified career aspirations, the school wants to know why you believe an MBA is the next logical step on your professional path. We believe that the crux of the prompt as a whole is that The Consortium wants to know that you have considered this next step in your career very carefully and thoroughly and are applying to business school for very clear reasons—not because you feel you are supposed to or because you are following in a parent’s footsteps, and definitely not because you do not know what else to do at this juncture in your life. All business schools want engaged, driven, and focused students who are ready to be an active part of the MBA experience and to do big things with the knowledge and skills they acquire from it, and this prompt is asking you to reveal yourself as such.
Because this prompt encompasses several of the core elements of a traditional personal statement essay, we encourage you to download our free mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants respond to these types of questions. In short, though, the most effective way to address this query is to simply provide the information requested, though we encourage you to also try to incorporate a sense of your personality and individuality into your essay to make the delivery of these basic facts more interesting to your reader.
Core Essay 2 (Optional)
Is there any other information you would like to share with us that is not presented elsewhere in your application? (1,000 characters)
This optional essay question might initially sound like an open invitation to discuss almost anything you feel like sharing, but you should be judicious in deciding whether to submit an essay here or not. This is not an opportunity to simply share another cool story or otherwise try to impress or pander to The Consortium reader. If you do not need to explain an issue or potentially confusing element of your candidacy, or you have nothing to add to your profile that is not crucial for the admissions committee to know to be able to evaluate you fairly, we do not recommend that you submit an optional essay. And if you do have an issue to clarify or key information to impart, keep things concise. In our free mbaMission Optional Essays Guide, we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay, with multiple examples.
Mission Essay (Required)
The Consortium utilizes the mission essays below to assist in evaluating your application for Consortium membership. Please review The Consortium’s mission statement and complete the three-part essay prompts. We are looking for specific examples where your involvement is clearly demonstrated with relevant actions and results.
The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management exists to identify, support and advance exceptional graduate management talent shaped by broad lived experiences and perspectives committed to the advancement of under-resourced and often underestimated communities.
Through collaboration with member schools, corporate partners, and an engaged alumni network, the Consortium cultivates high-potential business leaders whose achievements, leadership, community contributions, and life experience strengthen learning in graduate business environments and contribute to a more inclusive and productive business world.
- Mission in Action: Please provide specific examples of the actions you have already taken, through your professional, personal, academic, or volunteer activities, that demonstrate a commitment to advancing opportunity for under-resourced or often underestimated communities. Explain the context, your individual role, the actions you took, and the measurable or observable impact of your efforts. (300-word limit)
- Leadership: The Consortium values life-long leaders who demonstrate resilience, empathy, innovation, inclusivity, and tenacity. Share a specific example of how you have demonstrated one of these leadership characteristics in a professional or community service capacity. Describe the situation, the actions you took, the outcome, and what the experience reveals about your leadership approach. (300-word limit)
- Commitment: Describe how you will advance The Consortium’s mission both during your MBA program and after graduation. Identify specific ways you expect to contribute to the Consortium community, support others, and extend the mission through your leadership, career, or community involvement. (300-word limit)
Understandably, The Consortium wants to be confident that the candidates it accepts as members (and especially those to whom fellowships are granted) are individuals who are devoted to and will be effective at promoting its aims and continuing to effect positive change for the underrepresented populations it seeks to support. And these three prompts get directly to the heart of this—what have you already done, how have you demonstrated leadership capabilities within this context, and what will you do in the future to continue championing The Consortium’s mission?
For all three elements, you will need to offer clear evidence of your dedication to what The Consortium is working to achieve (“We are looking for specific examples”). With respect to the first prompt, the past few years especially have offered numerous opportunities for people to “show up” for or act on behalf of others who are different from them—such as participating in an organized protest, speaking up or stepping in when someone was being harassed or marginalized, or actively working to bring diverse people together in a harmonious and productive way—though the longer a history of involvement you can provide, the better. The Consortium wants to see evidence of how you have acted on your values and ideals and to understand what compelled you to do so. Your goal is to show initiative and input in the interest of others and to make sure both your actions and motivations are readily understood so The Consortium reader gets a clear picture of what you have accomplished and the aspects of your character that have inspired and enabled you to do so. To do this, you can draw examples from your career, academic past, community endeavors or volunteer work, and/or personal life. Be sure to clearly specify, if applicable, the populations you have served.
The first prompt does not specify that you must have served as a leader in the effort you are describing, though an example in which you did lead would likely be ideal if you have one. However, in response to the second prompt, you need to provide another example from your past that demonstrates your leadership. The Consortium is seeking evidence of another side of you, showing your “resilience, empathy, innovation, inclusivity, [or] tenacity.” Consider focusing on the trait(s) that are least evident in your response to the first prompt. In addition, you are not obligated to describe a situation where you demonstrated these traits to an underrepresented person or group, though such a situation, if you have one to share, would certainly be compelling. As the prompt specifies, just be sure to choose an example from either a professional or community service setting. Perhaps, for example, you instituted a mentorship program at your company, in which employees with different tasks and personal backgrounds were matched to learn from and support one another. In any case, you need to be sure that what the incident reveals about how you lead is front and center.
The third missions-related prompt essentially asks two separate questions. First, you must describe how you will contribute to The Consortium’s objectives while you are a business school student. Therefore, be sure to examine your target programs carefully to identify existing activities, groups, and events that align with the organization’s goals. Also consider opportunities that are lacking at your selected schools that you might establish while enrolled there. Authenticity is important here. Your goal is not to simply offer a list of things you could do, based on your research, but to show where you believe you would be most useful and demonstrate your enthusiasm for those options. Only discuss opportunities that you truly intend to become involved in or that you at least feel strongly hold such potential. Your choices will also show The Consortium where your priorities lie within its broad goal and which skills and strengths you are prepared to commit to your efforts. We have no doubt that The Consortium evaluators can easily discern pandering or shallow claims from true passion and dedication, so be sincere in both your claims and your ardor.
Next, with respect to what you will do after graduating, keep in mind that the group’s mission is not just about increasing diversity and inclusion in the workforce but also “in graduate business environments.” So, bringing greater numbers of underrepresented individuals into the MBA and other higher-education realms is just as valid as the focus of your anticipated efforts as increasing their numbers in the business world. And these efforts could target or involve potential candidates, the schools, The Consortium itself (e.g., participating in local events or orientation activities), or even other organizations like it. So again, dig deep to uncover the areas and opportunities that resonate most with you—that genuinely match what you feel is important to focus on, what you believe you can offer, and what you will be inspired to engage in wholeheartedly.
The character maximums for these three prompts are fairly restrictive; you have only 300 words for each one. So, you do not have room for subtlety or extended explanations. Choose your words carefully, and focus on conveying your core messages as clearly and directly as possible.
