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1. Theme: Career Goals and the MBA Describe your
specific career aspirations. How will your goals be furthered by
an MBA degree and by our MBA program in particular?
How do you feel the X school MBA degree can help you attain your
specific career and personal goals for the five years after you
graduate?
- Discuss your career progression to date. What factors
have influenced your decision to seek a general management
education?
- Based on what you know about yourself at this time, how
do you envision our career progressing after receiving the
MBA degree?
- Please state your professional goals, and describe your
plan to achieve them.
Translation:
- What do I want to be when I grow up, and how will the
MBA get me there?
This may be the most important essay question. It lays out
the reasons why you should be given one of the cherished spots
in the program. Even if your post-MBA future is tough to
envision, this question must be answered.
A good way to frame this essay is to discuss how the MBA
makes sense in light of your background, skills, and
achievements to date. Why do you need this degree? Why now? One
common reason is being stymied in your work by a lack of skills
that can be gained in their program. Or you may want to use
their MBA as abridge to the next step. For example, an actress
wants an MBA to prepare for a career in theater management. The
more specific, the better.
Don’t be afraid to present modest goals. If you’re in
accounting and want to stay there, say so. Deepening your
expertise and broadening your perspective are solid reasons for
pursuing the degree. On the other hand, feel free to indicate
you’ll use the MBA to change careers; 70 percent of all students
at b-school are there to do just that.
If you aspire to lofty goals, like becoming a CEO or starting
your own company, be especially careful that you detail a
sensible, pragmatic plan. You need to show you’re realistic. No
one zooms to the top. Break your progress into steps.
Finally, this essay question asks how a particular program
supports your goals. Admissions committees want to know why
you’ve selected their school. That means you not only have to
know, but also show, what’s special about their program and how
that relates specifically to your career aspirations.
(Hint: Many admissions officers say they can tell how much
someone wants to go to their school by how well their essays are
tailored to the offerings in their programs.)
Sample Essay Topic: Why are you seeking an MBA from the
Chicago GSB, and what are your plans and goals after you receive
your degree? (500 words maximum)
I am applying to Chicago GSB because I believe a Chicago MBA can
provide me with knowledge and tools necessary to open my own
business. My long-term goal is to create a sports club where I
can encourage more people to build strong bodies and get more
fun from sports while pursuing my entrepreneurial ambition. The
goal may take the form of opening a gym with the most members in
the world, or heading up some super Chinese national sports
leagues like NBA in the U.S. In long-term, I hope to list the
gym or the leagues in overseas markets and turn in into a public
company, thus promoting them into other countries. The demand
for sports in China is numerous, while the industry is very
underdeveloped. There are still huge potential and
opportunities. I look forward to introducing the foreign
advanced management experience and leveraging global expertise
to build a national wide brand in sports industry.
I understand clearly that this career goal requires a lot of
skills, such as professionalism, business insights, management
capabilities, and social networking. An MBA from Chicago GSB is
a perfect choice since it will equip me with the skill and
knowledge to make a professional business plan, finance new
ventures, assess the value of a company, and grow them. Also,
during my MBA education, I hope to discuss my business plans
with my classmates. The innovative ideas and business insights
that a diverse and talented group could generate at Chicago GSB
would be of tremendous value for me.
Furthermore, I am attracted by Chicago GSB's unique
educational philosophy, which stresses equipping MBAs with a
solid foundation and framework of business concepts and critical
analytical skills which they can apply to a wide range of
business situations. My experience has proven that there is no
ready model for China's fledging yet promising sports industry.
To be successful in this market I need creativity and a deep
understanding of principles, so that the right solutions can
always be attained despite the changing variables.
I choose Chicago GSB also because its management consulting
specialization and its recognition among the world's major
consulting firms, perfectly bolster my short-term goal of
pursuing a management consultant career with one of the leading
strategic consulting company, such as McKinsey, or BCG. The work
of consulting is rewarding, since it will call on all of my
skills, developed both in my course work and through previous
work experience, to complete consulting involvements which have
senior executive visibility. These intensive involvements will
deepen my understanding of the key elements that a company
requires in order to succeed. Also, solving strategic problems
in a team-based environment can significantly polish my teamwork
and leadership experience that is invaluable to run a start-up
company.
In sum, I believe that a Chicago MBA, when combined with my
past experience, will provide me with the right skills and
knowledge to pursue short-and long-term goals in Management
Consulting, Entrepreneurship, and even new ventures in other
areas.
Next:
Sample MBA Essays #2: Extracurricular and Social Interaction
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