{"id":29440,"date":"2025-04-21T09:56:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T13:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/?p=29440"},"modified":"2025-04-21T09:56:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T13:56:03","slug":"multidimensional-brainstorming-for-your-mba-application-essays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/multidimensional-brainstorming-for-your-mba-application-essays\/","title":{"rendered":"Multidimensional Brainstorming for Your MBA Application Essays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We at mbaMission often tell candidates, \u201cYou cannot turn a bad idea into a good essay.\u201d We insist on taking our clients through a lengthy brainstorming process\u2014starting with a thorough questionnaire\u2014to discover the stories that make them distinct. As you uncover your stories, consider each one from as many different angles as possible. Doing so will not only help ensure you understand the various \u201cweapons in your arsenal\u201d but also provide you with maximum flexibility, considering that MBA admissions committees ask questions that vary dramatically from school to school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, an experience coaching a baseball team at an underfunded high school may have multiple dimensions, such as the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Creatively motivating an underachieving team and changing attitudes, despite losses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Initiating and leading fund-raising efforts so that each player could afford proper equipment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mentoring struggling players and seeing an improvement in their on-field performance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helping a player deal with a family issue off the field<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recruiting other coaches and then working to improve a team\u2019s on-field performance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are just a few of the stories that could be gleaned through brainstorming, proving that considering your experiences from various angles can help you discover multiple unique approaches to your essays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, many MBA candidates\u2014whether they work as bankers or lawyers, in internal corporate finance or corporate strategy\u2014feel they must tell a \u201cdeal story\u201d in their application essays. Although discussing a deal can be a good idea, what is vital is showing your distinct impact on the deal in question.&nbsp;<em>You&nbsp;<\/em>are the central character, not the deal. A straightforward story about how you dutifully completed your work and steadily supported others as a deal became a reality will not likely be very compelling. Further, the important thing is that the admissions committee gain insight into your&nbsp;<em>personality<\/em>, not your spreadsheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ask yourself the following questions to ensure your story is truly about&nbsp;<em>you<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What did you do that was beyond expectations for your role? Did you grow into additional responsibilities at a crucial time?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Did any particular interactions take place in which you used your personality to change the dynamic, thereby ensuring the deal\u2019s progress or success?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Did you need to take a principled stand at any moment or speak out on behalf of a needful party?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Did you help others overcome any corporate or international cultural barriers?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These questions can get you started, but the point remains: do not simply offer&nbsp;<em>any<\/em>&nbsp;deal; instead, provide insight into<em>&nbsp;your<\/em> deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We at mbaMission often tell candidates, \u201cYou cannot turn a bad idea into a good essay.\u201d We insist on taking our clients through a lengthy brainstorming process\u2014starting with a thorough questionnaire\u2014to discover the stories that make them distinct. As you uncover your stories, consider each one from as many different angles as possible. Doing so &hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/multidimensional-brainstorming-for-your-mba-application-essays\/\">Read&nbsp;More&nbsp;&nbsp;<i class=\"fal fa-sm fa-angle-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":37253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119],"tags":[108,85,84],"class_list":["post-29440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays","tag-brainstorming","tag-business-school-essay","tag-mba-application-essays"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Multidimensional Brainstorming for Your MBA Application Essays<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Great MBA essays start with great ideas and finding yours begins with deep, thoughtful brainstorming. Here&#039;s how to do it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/multidimensional-brainstorming-for-your-mba-application-essays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Multidimensional Brainstorming for Your MBA Application Essays\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Great MBA essays start with great ideas and finding yours begins with deep, thoughtful brainstorming. Here&#039;s how to do it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/multidimensional-brainstorming-for-your-mba-application-essays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-21T13:56:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-21T13:56:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mbamission.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Multidimensional-Brainstorming-for-Your-MBA-Application-Essays-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erika V\u00e4\u00e4t\u00e4inen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erika V\u00e4\u00e4t\u00e4inen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Multidimensional Brainstorming for Your MBA Application Essays","description":"Great MBA essays start with great ideas and finding yours begins with deep, thoughtful brainstorming. 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