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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. 

1. Please provide us with a summary of your personal and family background.  Include information about your parents and siblings, where you grew up, and perhaps a special memory of your youth.  (Please limit to 2 pages, double-spaced)

The power in this essay comes not from stating facts, but from being reflective and thinking about the events, experiences and people that have shaped your life. While this can be a brief whimsical memoir, it is important that you identify the factors that have made you who you are today. This does not need to be a chronological story, but the reader needs to gain an understanding of a set of values that are imbued in you – whether overtly or implicitly — via your experiences. Not all of this essay needs to be “sunshine”, but if you are going to approach difficult topics it is essential that you do so without bitterness or resentment. This is the committees first and only truly personal introduction to you and you want to implicitly give them a sense of the type of personality and contributor you will be on campus.

2. Discuss a situation, preferably work related, where you have taken a significant leadership role.  How does this event demonstrate your managerial potential?  (Please limit to 1 page, double-spaced)

With one page, it can certainly be a challenge to keep this essay within its limits. If you are like most candidates, you probably have one obvious choice from your work experience; still, if there is something absolutely remarkable that you achieved elsewhere, via your community experience for example, then it could be worth discussing. As you write your leadership essay, consider whether there is direct cause and effect between your intentions and actions. The reader needs to understand that you were decisive and led with a clear sense of purpose. After you have established how you led effectively, it is important to remember that there is a reflective piece; you need to analyze your skills and offer insight into how you will rely on them again going forward. Note: Many people attempt to write about how the experience gave them more confidence as a leader and that they will be more inclined to seek leadership in the future; this is the most obvious conclusion and thus is terribly clichéd; it does not even directly address your managerial potential.

3. Discuss your career goals. Why are you are seeking an MBA degree at this particular point in your career? Specifically, why are you applying to UCLA Anderson? (Please limit to 2 pages, double-spaced)

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.

Well, Canadian Business came out with its annual Business School issue this week and the good news is that it contained a complimentary article about MBA Mission Founder, entitled “Best Foot Forward.” In the article, author Erin Pooley, showcases MBA Mission as a firm that is making a difference for applicants around the world, despite raising the hackles of some Admissions Committee. The bad news is that the article is not currently available online and that the publisher does not grant permission to reproduce articles on external websites. So, you will just have to trust us that it was quite the article, unless you pick it up on a newsstand and then you can judge for yourself.

                       Application          Notification          Deposit                      Scholarship Notification
Round 1            Oct 10, 2007      Dec 7, 2007       Jan 18, 2008                     Dec 7, 2007
Round 2            Nov 14, 2007     Jan 11, 2008      Feb 29, 2008                     Jan 11, 2008
Round 3           Jan 9, 2008        Mar 5, 2008        Apr 18, 2008                      Mar 5, 2008
Round 4           Mar 19, 2008     Apr 30, 2008      May 14, 2008 MBA
                                                                    May 7, 2008 AMBA# N/A
      
      

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. 

1. Why an MBA? Please describe your short and long term goals and how your previous experience and an MBA will help you to achieve these goals. (500 words maximum.)

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.

2. Leadership Example: Describe a situation in which your leadership and/or teamwork had a significant impact. (500 words maximum.)

In this straightforward essay, Yale offers you the opportunity to show that you are an “impact player.” While the leadership/team process is crucial to your story (and you will need to show that you took very deliberate steps toward your goals), it is the impact of your actions that is vital. It doesn’t matter if you were the most inspirational leader in the history of your firm, if you don’t have the results, this essay will not work. Further, it can be helpful to broaden your conception of leadership, in particular. You don’t necessarily need to be inspirational – many can lead through diplomacy and influence, often-overlooked styles that can capture the Admissions Committee’s attention because of their differentiation.  Regardless of your style, if you are to write a compelling essay, it is important that your actions be clear and that the results flow directly from them.

3. Personal Statement: Please develop a question/topic of your choice and answer it in essay form. Please state the question/topic at the beginning of your essay. (500 words maximum.)

While there is no “right” answer for this essay, there is a way to make efficient use of this space. Generally, we advise candidates to consider their unique experiences and attributes and then try to conceive of an essay question that will showcase as many of them as possible in a clear and coherent way. We strongly advise against simply pasting a thoroughly revised essay intended for another school into this essay. In pursuing such a strategy, you may reveal a lack of effort or you may just miss an opportunity to reveal all that is distinct about you.

At mbaMission, we always work meticulously and intimately with our clients to ensure that their unique stories and qualities shine through in their applications. Still, a portion of our MBA admissions advice on essays, interviews, resumes, recommendations and personal statements boils down to key fundamentals, so we have prepared the “mbaMission Guides” series to share with candidates around the world. Today, we release seven e-books, which cover a diversity of MBA essentials: 

• The mbaMission Complete Start to Finish Guide
• The mbaMission Brainstorming Guide
• The mbaMission Essay Outlining Guide
• The mbaMission Personal Statement Guide
• The mbaMission Resume Guide
• The mbaMission Letters of Recommendation Guide
• The mbaMission Interview Guide

Of course, these Guides are no substitute for working with a dedicated mbaMission professional. However, our Guides will provide outstanding basic guidance for anyone applying for an MBA. If you need any advice at all with respect to any element of applying to Business School, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.