sample essays (from great application essays for business school)
TRANSCRIPT
Collected from http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbainsider/sample_essays.html
Sample essays (from Great Application
Essays for Business School)
The following are essays from the book Great Application Essays for Business School
(McGraw-Hill, 2005) that is being made available on BusinessWeek Online.
CONTENT
1. Kellogg - Career Progress Essay.......................................................................................211
2. Wharton - Personal Achievement Essay...........................................................................514
3. MIT Sloan Cover Letter Essay............................................................................................817
4. NYU Stern - Creative Essay..............................................................................................1120
5. American (Kogod) - Essay 1.............................................................................................1423
6. Arizona (Eller) - Essay 1....................................................................................................1524
7. Baylor (Hankamer) - Essay 1............................................................................................1826
8. Boston College (Carroll): Essay 1....................................................................................1928
9. Boston College (Carroll) - Essay 2...................................................................................2231
10. Boston University - Essay 1............................................................................................2433
11. Boston University - Essay 2............................................................................................2635
12. Boston University - Essay 3............................................................................................2937
13. BYU (Marriott) - Essay 1..................................................................................................3039
14. UC Berkeley (Haas) - Essay 2.........................................................................................3241
15. UC Berkeley (Haas): ) - Essay 3......................................................................................3342
16. UC Berkeley (Haas) - Essay 4.........................................................................................3544
17. University of California, Irvine: - Essay 1.....................................................................3745
18. UCLA (Anderson) - Essay 1............................................................................................3846
19. UCLA (Anderson): ) - Essay 2.........................................................................................4048
20. UCLA (Anderson): ) - Essay 3.........................................................................................4149
21. Cambridge (Judge) - Essay 2..........................................................................................4251
22. Cambridge (Judge) - Essay 3..........................................................................................4352
23. Case Western Reserve (Weatherhead) - Essay 1..........................................................4553
24. University of Chicago - Essay 2......................................................................................4755
25. Chicago School of Business - Essay 3..........................................................................4856
26. Columbia - Essay 1..........................................................................................................5058
27. Columbia - Essay 4..........................................................................................................5361
28. University of Connecticut - Essay 1...............................................................................5664
29. Cornell (Johnson) - Essay 1............................................................................................5765
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30. Cranfield University - Essay 1........................................................................................5966
31. Cranfield - Essay 3...........................................................................................................6068
32. Cranfield - Essay 4.............................................................................................................6270
1. Kellogg - Career Progress Essay
Vassily K. (Admitted by Kellogg)
Essay prompt: Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate
on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing a
graduate degree at Kellogg. (1-2 pages double-spaced)
"You came all the way from Israel?" Though my initial reason for visiting
Honolulu was in fact a study abroad program at the University of Hawaii, my
tour guide at Olakino Life's international headquarters could have been
forgiven for getting it wrong. My personal pilgrimage to Oahu to see the
birthplace of the firm that epitomizes socially and environmentally responsible
business on the Pacific Rim was one of the true highlights and lasting influences
of my semester. My conversion was total: I studied Vance Nakamatsu's book
"Pacific Healthy," visited Olakino Lifes all across the Pacific Rim, and even sent
a letter to Mr. Nakamatsu himself. [Effective word choice ("pilgrimage," "conversion")
convinces reader that Vassily is a true believer in corporate social responsibility]
Though I had learned about Olakino Life during my international
marketing course at University of Hawaii, it only crystallized a realization that
had been forming since my first marketing class at the Jerusalem College of
Technology: marketing, not software engineering, was my real calling. [Deftly
introduces essay's second theme-marketing-by tying it into story he opened essay with] I
was gripped by the world of consumer behavior, brand management, and
marketing strategy I glimpsed through that class, and after returning to Israel
added a second major in marketing. Since that semester abroad, my career
path has become an unconsciously choreographed dance between two themes:
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corporate marketing and social responsibility. My experiences with Olakino Life
and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide have shown me that, with an MBA, it will be
possible to fuse these two themes into one. [Wisely ties story into need for MBA at
earliest opportunity]
I joined Tel Aviv Consulting after graduation because I knew that as a
mid-sized management consulting firm specializing in marketing and sales it
would offer me an ideal blend of functional focus and project variety. Over the
next two years, I helped grow its first global product marketing strategy project
to more than 35 people; rose to manager of the firm's flagship market analysis
tool, MarketTouch; and, in my last assignment, helped plan the launch of a new
$17 million data security product for one of the firm's largest clients. I moved to
Wolfgang Puck Worldwide in 2002 to gain exposure to qualitative, more
traditional consumer-focused brand marketing and to work with a corporation
with a fully developed corporate responsibility program. Starting with the
Market Research department enabled me to lead both quantitative and
qualitative consumer research market studies while I learned about the
industry. I transferred to the brand marketing team for Wolfgang Puck's
Catering & Events Group in November 2002 because I knew working in the
company's smallest operational unit would expose me to many different
functions and enable me to assume greater responsibility than marketers
working on larger brands have. I did everything from manage the marketing
campaigns, develop long-term event schedules, and create custom marketing
programs to ensure integration between reputation and execution and train the
marketing department. [Paragraph deftly interweaves accomplishments with his
explanations for his career shifts]
The responsibilities of jump-starting the Catering & Events Group were
demanding. Almost immediately after joining Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, I had
joined its Community Participation Team for the environment, where I had the
pleasure of participating in such events as a local park clean-up and an Earth
Day clean-up/celebration. Because the Catering & Events Group was undergoing
a transitional period, however, I frequently had to work 12-hour days, which left
me virtually no time for the community involvement that gave my career
balance.
To find that balance I seek a career that will marry my parallel interests
in marketing and corporate social responsibility. My long-term career goal is to
start or join a consultancy that specializes in corporate social responsibility
issues or cause-related marketing/branding like The Wishnow Group or Sutton
Social Marketing. By showing for-profit companies how to integrate values and
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social issues into their brand equity, organizational identity, and daily business
practices, I will help firms build sustainable competitive advantages in a socially
and environmentally responsible way. Toward that end, my short-term goal is
to work for one of the elite socially and/or environmentally responsible
companies or brands such as a Brand Manager for Avon or Marketing Manager
for Olakino Life or Chiquita Brands. [Compact but meaty description of two-stage
career plan]
To establish a foundation to make my career goals plausible, I chose to
leave Wolfgang Puck Worldwide in August 2003 and pursue an experience that
would bring my dual community and marketing interests back into balance
before beginning an MBA program in 2004. In August 2003, I became a member
of Points of Light Foundation, a Washington-based volunteer center and
national network that recruits and mobilizes millions of volunteers nationwide
to solve serious social problems in thousands of U.S. communities. Today,
through Points of Light Foundation's Youth & Family Outreach program I
analyze data from the national evaluation of the Points of Light Youth
Leadership Institute; help create reports to communicate results of the PLYLI
evaluation to stakeholders and funders; and help design and format the
Service-Learning Impacting Citizenship curriculum.
The Kellogg School of Management--renowned for the excellence of its
marketing program and its commitment to community--represents the same
fusion of marketing and community I seek in my career. [Nicely establishes
paragraph's theme: the tight link between his career goals and Kellogg's
program] As a dual marketing and public/nonprofit management major, I can
build an in-depth understanding of such advanced topics as product
development and design, marketing channel strategies, and sales promotion to
prepare myself for a position in brand/marketing management after graduation.
To develop a framework for socially responsible business, I will study nonprofit
management, social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and change management
among other topics. Supplemental courses in subjects like finance,
management and strategy, and organizational behavior will help prepare me for
my longer-term interests in consulting and entrepreneurship.
More generally, the accelerated, flexible nature of Kellogg's four-quarter
MBA program will enable me return to the workforce as quickly as possible.
[Note shift in this paragraph from curricular to extracurricular reasons for
choosing Kellogg] I plan to participate actively in such student organizations as
the Social Impact Club, Marketing Club, and Business With a Heart. I am also
interested in participating in a Kellogg Service Initiative before the fall quarter
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and in one of the Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) in the winter. Finally,
Kellogg's noncompetitive, team-oriented culture is an excellent fit for me. Three
campus visits and conversations with Kellogg friends Norm DeVry (Class of '02)
and Sharon Weisberg (Class of '00) have already made me feel a part of the
Kellogg community. [References to multiple campus visits and specific Kellogg
people show true interest] Time and again I have witnessed students'
cooperative, supportive team spirit in my visits to the Jacobs Center to attend
classes, Social Impact Club meetings, and TGF social events. I am continually
impressed by the caliber of Kellogg students and their willingness to help
others even during this year's ultra-competitive recruiting season. [Ends
somewhat abruptly but only after making very strong case]
2. Wharton - Personal Achievement Essay
Naomi K. (Admitted by Wharton)
Essay prompt: Describe a personal achievement that has had a
significant impact on your life. In addition to recounting this
achievement, please analyze how the event has changed your
understanding of yourself and how you perceive the world around
you. (3 pages, 1000 words)
Since 1997, I have been volunteering as a Big Brother for a 12-year-old boy
named Lonnie through the Alameda County United Way's Big Brother/Big Sister
program. [Naomi's story is strong enough that she can get away with a direct,
"uncreative" lead sentence] When I joined the organization, it was clear that
Lonnie needed someone to boost his self-esteem. At the end of his school term,
Lonnie's mother told me that he did not do very well in math so I also started to
help him with his homework. We spent last summer doing extra math work, and
I tried to spark his interest in math by explaining things to him using examples
from his favorite activity: sports. Once he understood that math had practical
value for things in his own life, he was able to catch up to other students. In the
fall term Lonnie improved his grade from a C to a B. Hearing this news was one
of the proudest moments of my life.
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Later in the spring term, however, Lonnie experienced behavioral problems
emanating from his inability to control his anger at his school, and the school
authorities moved him to a special school. [Effective use of a "plot reversal":
apparent happy ending leads to deeper challenge] He told me he missed his old
school a lot and was willing to do anything for a chance to go back. He also
admitted that he knew he might get his chance if he could control his anger.
Seeing that Lonnie needed somebody to help him control his emotions, I worked
to give him a sense of security and urged him to reason out the implications of
the actions his anger drove him to. I also encouraged him to get a summer job
to develop a sense of responsibility. He listened to and practiced my advice,
and by the end of summer the authorities allowed him to return to his old
school.
My friendship with Lonnie over the past two years is one of my proudest
achievements because I have seen the tangible effect my help is having on his
confidence and his life. The feeling that I can improve someone else's life by
giving of myself is deeply satisfying. Before Lonnie let me help him, I used to
divide the world into two parts: good and bad. The Good were the law-abiding
citizens like you and me, and the Bad were the criminals we often see on TV
being arrested. I firmly believed that all criminals had to be incarcerated and
held responsible for their deeds. But by helping Lonnie through his behavioral
problem, I realized that had all those "bad" people gotten help in their
formative years, they might not have chosen the path they did. [Strong "lesson
learned": life is more complicated then she used to believe] Because of my experience
with Lonnie, my whole outlook toward society and the world has changed. I no
longer believe that incarcerating young people who break the law is the only
solution. Though incarceration might help in the short term, the longer-term
solution is to take care of the problem proactively. If we all were to devote
some time and effort and influence to the lives of the less fortunate, the world
would definitely be a better place to live in.
Motivated by the positive impact I had on Lonnie's life and the change it
had on my outlook, I began participating in other community activities where I
can make the world a better place. [Effectively uses impact of one personal
accomplishment to tell a second personal accomplishment] While reading about the
recent skirmishes between the Bosnian and Serbian armies, for example, I was
moved by the sacrifices made by the Bosnian armed forces to protect their
country from internal or external invasion. My research showed me that
although the Bosnian Army provides sufficient financial support to soldiers
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killed during war, it does not provide the same level of support to the families
of soldiers killed in internal counterinsurgency operations.
The amount of money the average American spends eating one restaurant
meal could pay for an entire month's education and living expenses for one
child of a slain soldier in Bosnia. I therefore decided to found an organization
that would establish a scholarship fund for these children. [Shows impressive
ability to translate her social concern into concrete action] My friends greeted my idea
enthusiastically, and I soon had five volunteers who were willing to support the
cause by paying a nominal amount every month for the education of these
fatherless children. However, I encountered bureaucratic red tape when I
presented Bosnia's Veterans Wives Welfare Association with my plan. To cut
through it, I contacted the adjutant general of Bosnian Army, Lieutenant
General S. L. Nemosevic, and detailed my plan directly to him. [Shows she can go
straight to the top when necessary] Impressed by the idea, he promptly offered all
the help he could give.
Leveraging my experience as a volunteer for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, I
then formed an organization, [organization name] (Slavic for "helper of brave
warrior") whose sole aim is to bring together host families and beneficiary
families. The Adjutant General's Office provides us with the contact information
and estimated financial needs of the families of the slain soldiers, and we
match them with a host family living abroad who donates up to $30 a month.
The beneficiary family is required to write the host family every month about
the child's academic performance and furnish them and [organization name]
with grade reports. [Paragraph is full of specific details that make achievement
credible]
While talking to some Bosnians living in the United States about my plan to
set up the fund, I learned that they were uncomfortable with the lack of
transparency in the way funds would be disbursed. To address their fears and
ensure the appropriate disbursal of the donated funds, I am now contacting
Bosnia-based banks to help us facilitate a one-to-one transfer of funds between
the host and beneficiary families. I am also setting up a web site
(http://www.organizationname.com) to promote the cause amongst Bosnians
living abroad. I plan to recruit more volunteers and meet a target of ten host
families by year's end by starting low-cost campaigns like chain e-mails and by
setting up information booths at Yugoslavian functions. [magnifies impact of her
achievement by showing she plans to expand it]
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The change in my outlook that Lonnie effected opened my eyes to the
responsibility each of us has to serve our local community, whether it's down
the street or on the other side of the globe. Because Lonnie let me help him in
his community I was able to establish [organization name] to serve my own
community by rehabilitating the families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives
for Bosnia's security.
3. MIT Sloan Cover Letter Essay
Ingrid T. (Admitted by MIT Sloan)
Essay prompt: The cover letter serves as a sort of executive
summary for your application. It is also the written equivalent of
the first impression which you make when meeting someone for
the first time. As such, it should reflect a great deal of time,
thought, and energy. Ideally, we will finish reading your cover
letter eagerly anticipating reading the rest of the application. (500-
800 words).
Dear Admissions Committee Members:
It is with the single-minded determination to become a new product
development manager in the supercomputing industry that I am applying for a
seat in the MIT Sloan MBA Class of 2003. [This lead would be too stolid for an essay,
but because of MIT's business-letter format it works here] Pursuing an MBA at this
time fits perfectly with my career goals and eventual desire to start my own
venture.
Ambition, achievement, and acceleration are common themes in my
academic and professional experiences. I chose the Hamburg Technische
Institute (HTI) for undergraduate studies not for its top-ranked Advanced
Computing program, but for its unparalleled emphasis on developing well-
rounded leaders and managers who can take charge in tough situations, readily
address any audience on any topic, and provide effective and efficient solutions
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for challenging problems. No other college in the world offers its students such
extensive practical summer training; by the time I graduated, I had been a
contributing member of a hot-air balloon team, a Baltic resort design group, a
Berlin art museum renovation technology team, and a DM400 million
government supercomputer project. [Responds to MIT's instructions for a "summary"
by telegraphing several key projects that intrigue reader in her other essays]
I was one of only a select few engineering students to pursue a minor in
Arabic, and was among only 4% of my classmates admitted to an early-entrance
fast-track graduate program in my third year at HTI. Now, in considering
graduate business programs, I am seeking a rigorous academic curriculum with
parallel opportunities to put theory into practice. In this regard Sloan stands
out among the top MBA programs, setting the standard with programs like the
MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition and by providing MBA students with
special access to the world-renowned Media Lab.
The leadership and service experiences I had as an HTI honors student and
government consultant have had a tremendous impact on my interests outside
of work. Whenever possible, I have committed my time and energy to my local
community whether co-directing an orphanage in Ethiopia, helping the children
of Turkish Gastarbeiter seek job opportunities, or raising funds for the
reconstruction of the Marienkirche in Dresden by participating in cross-country
skiing events.
I feel very fortunate to be able to share my most substantial
accomplishments with you: [Use of bullets provides visual relief and allows Ingrid to
cover wide-ranging material without seeming to ramble]
- Graduating first in the HTI Supercomputing Department's Scientists
Training Program, and later ranking 1st among 35 peer HTI undergraduate
researchers assigned to the Bundes Wirtschaftliche Agentur (BWA); being
personally selected to serve on the BWA Director's East German Integration
Team
- Leading, managing, and motivating 106 scientific and business personnel
in four different organizations responsible for computer design, marketing,
commercialization, and supercomputing project evaluations
- Earning the designation Zeugnis für Supercomputing Systeme Bauweise
Fachmann (ZSSBF), earned by fewer than 4,900 high-speed computing
professionals and equivalent in the industry to the CPA and CFA certifications
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- Achieving success as a commercial project and account manager for
China's largest chemical products distributor and the world's largest robotics
manufacturing company, delivering over DM$15M in scientific consulting
services[Ingrid offsets her letter's somewhat formal tone with several truly impressive
mini-accomplishments]
My past scientific and commercial experiences involved immersing myself
in the management issues of high-tech organizations, honing my leadership and
organizational skills, and allowing me to develop extensive expertise in
supercomputing. I now wish to apply these experiences and knowledge towards
improving existing private-sector computing applications by employing
advanced computing designs, as I am certain that the next few years will
witness a surge in the efforts of businesses to exploit the data-mining and
modeling benefits supercomputers permit.
Considering my rapidly building career momentum and interests, now is
the most appropriate time for me to pursue an MBA and grow my new
technology product development skills. Sloan's MBA curriculum will supplement
my engineering background with a solid understanding of marketing, finance,
and technology management. A new product development manager must
interface effectively with different business functions, identify and manage the
best design strategies, and quickly make sound decisions on the basis of often
limited information. The New Product and Venture Development track's focus
on innovation will help me to become an adaptive and strategic-minded new
product development manager. The chance for hands-on experience through
MIT's Entrepreneurship Lab will enhance my grasp of the management tools and
techniques successfully applied by rapidly growing ventures. Immediately
following my MBA, I intend to assume a position as a technology design
manager at a high-intensity startup where I can lead teams in building
innovative, useful, high-quality, and profitable supercomputers, such as those
now offered by Siemens, Cray, and IBM.
Reflecting on the strong relationships I have maintained with my Hamburg
Technische Institute classmates, I welcome the chance to build equally strong
bonds with my Sloan classmates, enriching my classroom experiences by
interacting with them on both social and professional levels. Looking five to 10
years into the future, I would like to start my own venture involving
supercomputing technologies. Being able to tap into the extensive experience
of Sloan School alumni and the greater MIT alumni communities will be a
powerful catalyst for my efforts to create a viable business plan, secure
funding, and successfully build a profitable company.
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My direct and very recent experience as an early employee of a startup
reveals that the road of an entrepreneur is freshly paved with calculated risks
and varying uncertainty. Since experiencing the German government's rejection
of my application for research funding earlier this month, I am undeterred in my
resolve to improve myself as a leader, manager, and supercomputing
professional, and am eagerly awaiting my next opportunity for growth and
success. [Takes risk by mentioning a setback so near end of essay, but preceding
paragraphs have shown Ingrid's successes, goals, and knowledge of MIT's resources to be
so strong that her admission only enhances her credibility]
I look forward to the opportunity for a personal interview and would be
pleased to answer any questions you may have regarding my candidacy.
With warm regards,
4. NYU Stern - Creative Essay
Ashish S. (Admitted by NYU Stern)
Essay prompt: Creatively describe yourself to your MBA classmates.
You may use any method to convey your message: words,
illustrations, etc. (2 pages)
Like any other test day, I was extremely nervous on August 3, 2003, and
had slept poorly the night before. [Uses intriguing lead-in to pique reader's interest]
The horror stories I had heard about Master Chang's black belt tests had been
gnawing at me since I began my training, thirty-three months earlier. Knowing
that this test was going to be even more grueling than that for my red belt, I
was amazed at my courage in even showing up.
As I entered the gym, I remembered the beginning, the day I had asked the
owner of the fitness equipment store next door what he thought of Master
Chang. He said simply, "He offers real martial arts instruction. Most places
don't." More than two years of continuous training and countless competitions
against other schools' students had convinced me that the storeowner was
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right. I was part of a training program that had no equal. As my training
progressed, I became fascinated by the philosophical underpinnings of our style
of martial art, traditional Tae Kwon Do. I learned everything I could about the
principles of sustaining determination and focus, maintaining an unassuming
demeanor, and constantly remaining attentive to my surroundings so as to
better respond to any situation. [Shows his dedication to this hobby has a deeper,
"philosophical" side] The milestones of my journey to my black belt were still
vivid: my first sparring match, my first successful spinning heel kick, the first
time one of the high-ranking students told me my technique looked good. With
each new achievement my resolve to complete the journey grew stronger
So, despite our anxieties, here we were, the seven students who had risen
through the ranks together, steeling ourselves for the most arduous exhibition
we had ever experienced: the black belt test. But as I listened to Master Chang
count us through our 1,500-crunch warm-up a feeling of calm fell over me. I was
experiencing a pivotal moment in my life, but I had been through such moments
before. I recalled the day in June 1997 when I decided to leave Indian Institute
of Technology Roorkee to gain a Western business education at University of
Michigan. [Use of flashback here shows Ashish's response to Stern's invitation to be
creative] I had enjoyed my year at IIT, from the academic awards in my first
semester and the invitation to join a prominent student club to making several
lifelong friends. University of Michigan's fit with my goals was inescapable,
however: an entrepreneurial atmosphere in the American business environment
coupled with a substantive natural resources & environment program that
would enable me to build my own environmental consulting company after
graduating. When Michigan offered me an expedited spot in the semester
beginning in January, I knew what I had to do.
At 600 crunches, I ignored the pain in my abdominal muscles and
remembered the summer vacations in Ann Arbor I had spent working at
Musgrave Enviro Systems. [Effectively uses the stages of the 1,500-crunch warm-up
exercise to work in self-revealing examples from different parts of his life] I decided to
work for Musgrave, a local environmental consultancy, because it would give
me a working knowledge of environmental consulting. At Musgrave I learned
how to do work in an analytical laboratory and gained an understanding of
wastewater treatment and solid waste management as well as familiarity with
local environmental regulations. Moreover, I was able to interact with
environmental consultants, engineers, concerned citizens, corporate
executives, and government officials-the dramatis personae of the industry.
Dealing personally with all of these individuals showed me what they were like,
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what their jobs demanded, and how they responded to inevitable changes and
problems. This six-month apprenticeship became not only a foundation but also
a prerequisite for my career with my startup, New Earth Services, a colloquium
on the art and science of environmental consulting.
At 1,200 crunches the pain and fatigue were harder to ignore, but I focused
on the day two years before when I had stood glowing triumphantly in a
reclaimed greenfield site outside Flint, Michigan. As I waited for Bundy Motors'
attorneys to arrive for the final handover ceremony I reflected on the deal
about to crystallize, my most significant to date. The Environmental Protection
Agency's ruling against Bundy had vindicated New Earth Services' study of the
hazards posed by the old Bundy facility and opened the door for a public buy-
out of the site for remediation as a public park. My in-depth analysis concluded
that there was sufficient equity in the deal to turn a profit and cash out
investors. The deal made headlines in the local press and doubled New Earth
Services' business. Standing there scanning the early-spring grass, I felt a
surge of pride at my accomplishment.
At 1,500 crunches, it was time to leave my life's pivotal moments behind
and face my latest one: Master Chang. In a grueling four-hour marathon we
were required to perform every strike, block, form, and board break we had
learned before finally sparring with multiple attackers. Both our physical and
mental stamina were tested as we threw unremitting combinations of kicks and
punches with little time to stop and regain equilibrium. When fatigue brought
me to the verge of full collapse during a flurry of push-ups, I fixed my mind on
the number "10"-the percentage of students who ultimately earned their black
belts from Master Chang-and rode through the exhaustion.
Three weeks later Master Chang presented me with a black belt before the
entire advanced class. My martial arts career has taught me the same lesson as
my entrepreneurial environmental consulting career: with dedication and
determination anything is attainable. Humble perseverance is superior to
impulsive audacity. Cumulative action speaks louder than words. [Effectively
draws distinctive and well-earned lessons from his moment of truth and triumph]
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5. American (Kogod) - Essay 1
Question: Why do you wish to pursue a master's degree from the
Kogod School of Business? (Your statement should include short- and long-term
career goals and your ability to undertake graduate education at this time.)
I moved to New York in 1998, intent on becoming a professional writer. In
my mind, that meant supporting myself solely by my writing and eventually
having a book published. At the time, I expected these career goals would take
at least ten years to achieve. But due to hard work, perseverance, and a little
bit of luck, I had been successful. Not only had I become a staff writer for a Wall
Street-based financial website less than two years after arriving in New York,
but had made the difficult transition into self-employment and freelancing.
Yet by the time my wife and I relocated to Richmond, this was no longer
enough. I knew that I wanted to pursue an MBA, but still had not achieved all
my existing goals. Although I was a professional journalist, I still had yet to
publish a book. I decided to pursue this goal before returning to school, and
took the opportunity to breathe new life and drive into my day-to-day work by
expanding into new areas of writing. Soon, I was no longer just a journalist, but
a ghostwriter for private clients, a copywriter for corporations, and a published
author. At the beginning of 2003, I had never published a book in my life. By
year's end, I had written four – one published under my name, and three
ghostwritten for clients published under their names.
As I worked on these books last summer, I considered the next step in my
career. Feeling proud of my ability to achieve both goals in less than five years,
I also realized that my opportunities as a self-employed writer were narrowing.
My success was encouraging, yet I had not reached my full potential. I wanted
to take my career in a new direction, and acknowledged that I am at my best,
both professionally and personally, when I am challenged to learn something
new. Although I had written for a variety of clients and publications on various
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topics, and had written books both for a national publisher and self-published
individuals, I had run out of challenges in the world of self-employment.
So as I began creating new goals for myself, I realized that one thing was
essential to the next step in my career – an MBA.
I say this because although I intend to continue writing, I want to
eventually run my own publication and/or business. At this point, I'm uncertain
just what that would be, but I've learned that few executives in the publishing
world are accomplished writers themselves. By getting an MBA and working
towards an executive position at a media or publishing company, I would have
an opportunity to do something few in the business can – bridge the gap
between content and management.
As I discussed this with colleagues, clients, my mentor, and others, my
opinions were reinforced and I was encouraged to pursue this route. Today, I
am confident and ready to gain the business education necessary to achieve the
goal I've set for myself.
6. Arizona (Eller) - Essay 1
QUESTION: What are your current career objectives and what role
does the MBA have in helping you achieve them?
My long-term career goals are in the field of marketing with a specific
interest in brand management. The importance of well-managed brands in a
competitive market cannot be overstated. They create significant value and
consistently generate higher returns than industry competitors. Effective brand
management benefits all stakeholders: customers, shareholders and
employees. In many respects a brand is an identity, effectively managing that
identity will have significantly positive long-term effects on a companies
competitive position in the marketplace.
In order for these continuing effects to be realized a brand management
strategy must move beyond the initial placement of a product in the market.
Developing a platform on which a brand may extend its reach is critical to
success of these long-term positive impacts. Without such a strategy, products
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will move in to the market and move out just as quickly. The development and
maintenance of these strategies in increasingly competitive and fragmented
markets is truly where my career interest lies.
Knowing that this is the direction in which I intend to take my career, the
next logical step is to take inventory of my skill sets and experiences. This
inventory reveals that while I have a strong background with respect to
leadership and management skill sets, I do not have a functional knowledge
base in the field of marketing. My past successes have been that result of
effective employment of my functional expertise in naval logistics and my
leadership, management and team building skills. From a functional expertise
or functional knowledge point of view, these experiences and successes have
little or no relation to neither marketing nor brand management. This is a
significant problem if I am to realize my career goals. Now that I have identified
the major roadblock to realizing my career goals what do I do next? First I
decided I had to leave the Navy. However, separating from the Navy was not an
easy decision. I had a good job and one that was largely enjoyable. However, it
did not fit into my long-term plans. Thus, when I made the decision to leave the
Navy it was paired with the decision to acquire the skill sets and knowledge
that will allow me to make my career goals a reality. My post Navy experience
has shown me that I have a base of leadership and management skills that are
well developed and competitive in a corporate environment. However, my
functional expertise in naval logistics has not transferred into a set of skills or
knowledge base that is easily utilized in the same environment. Through an
MBA program I will seek to develop the knowledge and skill sets that will allow
me to compete in the corporate world in the field of marketing.
In choosing Arizona's Eller School of Management as a perspective MBA
program I considered many factors. First, it goes without saying that Eller has
an impeccable reputation for producing top-notch MBAs. Further, Arizona is
clearly making a run up the rankings in recent years. I intend to focus my MBA
on marketing, however, I also wish to develop general management, finance
and entrepreneurial skill sets as well as to learn how to leverage information
systems technologies within the marketing arena. These areas play right into
Eller's strengths. Developing these skills will enable me to understand how
marketing fits into the larger corporate picture, utilize entrepreneurial
knowledge to compete within an organization as well as on my own and hone
the leadership and management skills required of future leaders in industry.
The Eller School of Management gives me the best chance at attaining these
skills and developing them to such a level that I will be able to achieve my long
term-career goals.
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Second, Arizona's location in the Southwest and its diverse student body
are assets of which few schools can boast. The resources and opportunities that
exist in this area are unparalleled and growing everyday. The southwest offers
a plethora of opportunities for expanding both your professional and personal
horizons in a very diverse environment. Eller's efforts to embrace that diversity,
both on and off campus, ensure the students a truly robust learning
environment, one in which the free exchange of ideas is encouraged. The
University of Arizona's environment gives me the best chance to experience
culture and ideas in a truly diverse environment.
Lastly, I have chosen Eller because it is hard. I do not have the traditional
background that is required of most MBA students. Arizona's MBA program is
not a cakewalk for anyone, and that will be especially true of me. However, I
will succeed and I will contribute and I will make Arizona's MBA program a
better experience for my classmates. Earning my MBA from Eller will be an
accomplishment I will be supremely proud of and it gives me the best chance to
realize my personal and professional goals.
7. Baylor (Hankamer) - Essay 1
QUESTION: Explain how your academic background, prior
professional experience, ideas and goals would contribute to the
educational experiences of your fellow graduate classmates.
Completing my degree in computer science and mathematics has given me
a strong technical foundation in computer development. My undergraduate
work covered areas such as hardware architecture, data structure concepts and
software development. One of the most interesting programming assignments I
was given was to develop an algebra tutor software package to be used by
college algebra students. I worked with a team of developers to design a
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program that could solve any set of linear equations and display a 2D or 3D
graph of the equations. The aspect I liked most about our project was the fact
that it was used to teach a difficult subject in a clear and simple manner.
I have always enjoyed teaching others. For three semesters at [deleted], I
had the unique opportunity to teach College Connection courses with a
professor. College Connection is a course designed to help incoming freshman
make a smooth transition from high school to college. As a peer leader, I
covered material such as personal responsibility, personal finance,
relationships and the study habits of a master student. My job was using my
experience as a student and young adult to give practical advice to the class.
One of the main aspects of being a peer leader was being a friend to whom the
students could come for help, advice and guidance.
I brought many of the skills I learned in the College Connection classroom
to my job as a certified pharmacy technician. Two of my prominent
responsibilities as the most experienced technician on our staff are training
new I.V. technicians and preparing new employees for the pharmacy technician
certification exam. In a hospital I.V. room, sterile technique and cautious
procedure must be followed in order to prevent the accidental infection of
patients. I have created a formal training program each new technician must
complete before meeting I.V. room qualification for our pharmacy. I have also
devised the curriculum and quizzes for new employees to follow in order to
prepare for the pharmacy technician certification exam. This test covers all
areas of pharmaceutical work including I.V. technique, drug families, narcotics
and pharmaceutical mathematics. Many of our new technicians do not have
previous pharmacy experience, and one of the challenges I face is presenting
this new pharmaceutical information in a manner in which they can relate and
understand. I look forward to the challenge and realize explaining foreign
concepts may be a large facet of my future career.
As I look forward to a profession of combining my computer science
background with the business capabilities an MBA will provide, I realize
explaining technical information may very well be a part of my job description.
When explaining new concepts to coworkers, managers or clients, it is
important to be able to present the information in more than one light. People
have diverse styles of learning and it is necessary to have the ability to adapt
to each person's particular style. It is also important to be able to convey a
sense of what information is vital and what information is supportive.
Instructing others has helped me develop both my ability to look at problems in
different ways and my ability to decipher what information is most significant. I
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feel this experience will prove to be very beneficial in both my business and my
academic careers.
The prospect of both teaching and learning from others is one of the key
elements that attracted me to pursue a computer science/MBA/MSIS
combination. I look forward to working with other students from diverse
academic backgrounds. I will be willing to help my classmates with any
technical aspects I am familiar with from my experience as a computer science
undergraduate. I will be able to apply my background of teaching both at
[deleted] and at the hospital to helping my classmates with technical
information covered in [deleted] course work. At the same time, I will be open
to the assistance my classmates can give me from their particular
undergraduate field of study. I will enjoy the opportunity to work with highly
talented and motivated students. Sharing ideas and experiences will give me
the chance to improve myself while helping my peers.
8. Boston College (Carroll): Essay 1
QUESTION: What are your career goals upon graduating from the
Carroll School of Management at BC? Please be specific. What
steps do you plan to take before, during, and after your degree
program to achieve career success in this field?
I have worked in the nonprofit world for seven years and witnessed the
elemental nature of nonprofits' role in small communities. I have also observed
that they operate under their own terms, often overlooking business trends and
omitting basic strategies that could lend stability to their vital programs. While
nonprofits largely depend upon the corporate world for financial support and
expertise, they struggle to develop mutually beneficial relationships with these
corporations. This factor handicaps their ability to be both entrepreneurial
within their mission and competitive in current markets.
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My goal is to become a leader in the nonprofit sector supporting the visual
arts. I hope to become an executive director for an arts institution, such as a
museum. I believe that the arts are valuable agents for social change, capable
of building tourism and economic stability, educational opportunities and
mutual understanding among people. My goal is to find creative ways for arts
institutions to take full advantage of their cultural resources and provide solid
economic development within communities. Museums have a unique capacity to
drive tourism and retail sales that exponentially increases a community's
economic strength, all while adding to its cultural breadth. I wish to develop
these facets to their fullest potential.
I envision leading a nonprofit that specifically works to build markets for
local artists and integrates arts curriculum into public schools. At the Museum
of [deleted] Foundation, I have built funding constituencies for four museums.
These museums consistently integrate education into many aspects of their
public programs and exhibitions at great benefit to local families and visitors.
While these elements are at play in museums they can also occur in a distinct
capacity, as with Aid to Artisans. This global nonprofit represents artists and
simultaneously builds their marketing acumen, facilitates the distribution of
their products and fortifies their livelihoods.
For four years I have devoted myself to the Museum of [deleted]
Foundation. Housed in a beautiful 200 year-old adobe house on the [deleted]
Plaza, surrounded by 400 years of multicultural history, the work accomplished
by the foundation brings progressive ideas to an historic community. In this
extraordinary setting, I have learned the strengths and weaknesses of the four
museums whose funding is my charge. Our dynamic foundation manages $12
million in endowment and builds private support for these state museums. The
foundation effectively ties together arts, education and economic development
by offering state museums an entrepreneurial avenue for growth. We
incorporate both the museum shops and a licensing program into fundraising
operations, and steady income streams are growing as a result. As Director of
Development, my experience has encompassed communications, funding
campaigns, finance, donor cultivation, estate planning, management, and
marketing inclusively for the museums.
Fundraising is the central focus to the foundation's mission and my work
has a major influence on our direction and success as an institution. I am the
primary liaison between the museums and their donors and my role is both to
promote institutional credibility in the eyes of constituents and to gain their
financial commitments. One unexpected benefit of working with the foundation
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is that I have been given tremendous responsibility. I was promoted to a senior
leadership position two years ago, becoming the youngest woman to hold this
position in foundation history. I have excelled in building cooperation among
museum departments, involving donors in our organizational vision, and
improving intra-office relations with museum staff. Additionally, my fundraising
colleagues are primarily volunteer board members who are active community
leaders 50 to 80 years of age. The ability to gain their respect has developed
my confidence as a leader early on in my career. I have learned to work within
the [deleted] community to build private funding sources within the political
context of a state institution.
I seek an MBA degree from Carroll School of Management because it will
empower me to improve the level of professionalism and management in the
nonprofit world, while also working to increase sustainable income in a
competitive economy. I plan to build relevant finance, marketing and
management skills through business studies. Nonprofits need to better
translate their needs into a message that communicates with corporate
sponsors, engaging businesses to fulfill their corporate goals and fundraising
goals at the same time. I intend to gain a better understanding of the private
sector and apply it directly to the unique issues and politics of nonprofits.
Charles DuBois once declared that the important thing is, "To be able at
any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." This
eloquently embodies my motivation to enroll in graduate school at this time.
While I am currently in a career that offers much growth potential, I believe that
it is more important to gain skills now that will not readily be learned on the
job. MBA training will dramatically broaden my scope of business vision and I
will be able to apply this new knowledge immediately. In return, my
contribution will be to bring maturity, humor, determination and a passion for
nonprofits to the Boston College community. Carroll School of Management will
lend structured business acumen to the experience I have already gained, truly
bringing renewed creativity to my nonprofit arts career.
9. Boston College (Carroll) - Essay 2
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QUESTION: Discuss the accomplishment of yours which required the
most effort to achieve. What intermediary steps were necessary?
How did you overcome challenges along the way? (1-2 pages)
As life progresses, the significance and related difficulty of achieving
accomplishments also changes. I can recall winning a photography contest in
the local newspaper and thinking it was a great accomplishment, but by the
time I reached high school, the achievement decreased in relative importance.
Similarly, the accomplishment which requires the most effort to achieve is often
the most recent one, perhaps only due to fading memories of the effort
required for earlier achievements.
During my adult life, I have tried to continually re-establish new goals
every few years. These have grown from simply wishing to see the world to
furthering my education, both personally and professionally. Attaining a patent
by the age of 30, co-founding a start-up company by 35, and now pursuing an
MBA are examples of such goals - each requiring substantial effort to achieve.
But one of my most recent goals was difficult to accomplish due to an
unexpected lack of support from my family, which was very unique for me
considering the closeness of my family in other matters.
Learning to fly had always been an interest of mine even before I briefly
considered aeronautical engineering while in college: I always requested a
window seat on commercial flights, and enjoyed small planes while traveling. So
at the age of 33, I decided to pursue a private pilot's license.
Investigating flight schools, instructors, and costs were the first steps in
my typical engineering analysis. The time commitment, both ground-school and
in the air, would be substantial and would require cut-backs in other
recreational activities, such as golf, softball, and skiing. Budgeting time
between work and personal life would also be a challenge, since family visits
with grandparents and a new niece were high priorities. My search led to a
part-time flight instructor who was also an engineer and a flight-school with
brand-new equipment and a need for students. The one initial obstacle that I
did not foresee in my analysis was that of my family's lack of support.
Virtually my entire extended family lives in the [deleted] area: Parents,
sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins - quite a nice crowd at holidays and
birthdays. They have always been supportive, even during difficult times such
as when I divorced. But learning to fly small planes was not something that they
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could appreciate or support: They questioned my safety, the costs, the benefits,
and the reasons. Instead of sharing my eagerness and excitement, they only
questioned and dampened it.
Dealing with the rigors of flight training, bumpy landings, and windy
weather, all require fortitude of mind and body. Pushing personal limits of fear
and mental acuity, while making reasoned, safe decisions can be learned, so
that soft landings even in high winds can be accomplished. Soloing and a few
cross-country solo trips were major milestones where hours of training and
studying won out over apprehension and self-doubt, not to mention
complicated weather.
But the issue of my family's support of the whole endeavor was the most
difficult obstacle to overcome. Throughout life we tend to highly value family's
opinions about our life choices. Most are reasonable and do not often conflict
other than in some specific situations that can be reasoned through. But whole-
hearted disagreement and concern are difficult to appease.
Being unable to discuss my progress and accomplishments with my family
was the most difficult aspect of the learning process. Being able to share one's
goals and experiences is a key part of any relationship and separating this from
my relationship with family members was certainly a challenge I had not
expected, and had much difficulty with.
Fortunately, I have a wide and diverse group of friends who were
supportive and with whom I could share my experiences, personal
achievements, and disappointments. Without these people who are close to me,
I doubt that I would have reached my goal. But now taking friends up for short
trips has become a well-earned point of pride and enjoyment for us all.
Within my family, I have been able to break down misconceptions and
inform some of them of my recent license. A famous aviation author did not
inform her mother about her license for eight years, so my goal is to improve on
that timeline. It will surely be a slow process, but as with any difficult endeavor,
the opportunity for continued learning and growth is an on-going benefit of the
process, and one that I look forward to every day.
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10. Boston University - Essay 1
QUESTION: Describe how your personal distinctiveness will
contribute to a stronger learning environment at Boston
University and will serve to further your success as a manager.
When I am asked to define myself I smile and explain that I am a "financial
translator". Professionally, I translate financial needs and transform these
requisites into effective solutions with the aid of technology. In fact, everyone
tells me I am quite a rare species because I am able to combine the best out of
economic and business knowledge with experience in information systems
creation, design and implementation. My whole array of intangible tools helps
me everyday to redefine business processes and interact with a wide spectrum
of individuals. Naturally, I have become the reference person in all the financial
departments of my company supporting the decisions made regarding financial
systems. As a teenager, I clearly interpreted that it was fundamental to
understand the best of both worlds and that this equilibrium was going to be
the key to my success as a professional. Indeed, it has been very rewarding
since.
My personal attributes are singular. I am definitely a well-rounded person,
including personal achievements, a wonderful family and extraordinary life
experiences. All of these combined with professional success and self-reliance
helps me identify the special things. For example, sharing a cooking session
with my wife on a Saturday afternoon before our guests arrive is a perfect
balance after nearly killing myself in a tough hockey match. This is special.
My mind is also ethically at ease. My core values are respected throughout
my activities and feelings towards the rest of the society. There is no use in
going forward with some kind of action that can hurt or damage anyone. I tend
to look for win-win situations in which every member gets his share. This
constant aim has focused my short and long term objectives in every new
venture. If there is anyone involved in the project who does not benefit from it,
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then something has to be revised and corrected. Every participant should have
his incentive.
In Argentina, youngsters usually live with their parents until they get
married at the age of 25 or 30 years old. That was not my case. My struggle for
independence was such that at the age of 21 I was already feeling restless at
home. It was a perfect occasion for moving together with my fiancée at that
time, today my wife. This forced us to become economically independent and to
make essential decisions at an early age. However, this was of enormous help
in the years to come and forged us both as individuals and as a couple. Today I
am completely prepared for facing one of the most important decisions of my
life.
Because my father's family came from Ohio to Argentina and my mother's
directly from Spain, my education had a smooth mixture of Anglo-Saxon
rationality with Latin energy. On the one hand this may seem as water and oil
mixed together, but on the other hand it magnificently helped me to
understand how both cultures coexist and how to use the best out of each one.
At work, I absolutely know how to communicate with a local subordinate as with
an international business manager. Undoubtedly I have made good use of this
skill.
Boston University's classroom will assuredly be enhanced with my whole
set of working situations and experiences ranging from entrepreneurship in my
early days, family small business, consulting activity and current corporate
exposure. Moreover, Argentina does not fall back in all my non-formal
education and capacity: having been exposed to Argentine reality since a
teenager gave me the grip I now need to manage in easy and in difficult times.
Also, my compulsory military service showed me how to understand hierarchies.
Only now can I realize how much these experiences have added value to my
personal and professional life, and in what a manner will they continue to
mould me and enrich BU's classroom. There are really no boundaries for my
growth and the only limits that I might find are the ones created just by me.
I will definitely bring different South American point of views and creative
perspectives to the widespread classroom discussions. I hope that my complete
development as a person and personal experiences will have effects on other's
minds and feelings. Every member of the BU community should benefit from
this wonderful contribution.
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11. Boston University - Essay 2
QUESTION: Your reasons for applying to the Executive MBA Program
at this time, and the role you expect the MBA degree to play in
changing your future.
I am applying to the Executive MBA Program because I am confident the
program is ideally suited to my personal and professional development needs. I
believe my contributions and participation will benefit the experience for the
other participants. After reading about the program, attending an information
session including classes, meeting with current and former students and
speaking with some of the staff, I am eager for the opportunity to become a
member of the 16th EMBA class.
My background matches the EMBA Executive Profile. I have been working
professionally for 15 years and have enough experience to be familiar with
many of the problems facing business leaders today. In recent years, I have
taken on more leadership and management responsibilities within [deleted]. I
recognize the experience offered by the Executive MBA program is ideally
suited to help me meet the challenges I face on a daily basis.
While at [deleted] I transitioned from an individual contributor as a
software developer to software project lead to engineering manager. Although I
found this transition a natural progression, I recognize the need to improve in
many areas, especially as my responsibilities require me to interact with other
functional organizations outside of engineering, such as marketing and finance.
As I interact with other functional organizations within [deleted], I realize I can
better contribute in a collaborative environment if I have a more thorough
understanding of their needs and how these organizations run.
I expect my MBA degree to be more than a "resume bullet". I intend to gain
knowledge in areas that I have not studied before such as in marketing and
finance. I hope to develop lifetime friendships and forge professional
relationships that extend well beyond the completion of the program. Finally,
as I share and relive my personal and professional experiences with others, I
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will gain new insights to these experiences and will be able to better internalize
them.
In addition to my personal and professional experiences, I believe my
personality and style are ideally suited for the team learning environment. I
have been recognized for my leadership, energy, drive and ability to "get the
group moving". I am consistently upbeat and maintain a positive attitude. I am
particularly proud of the following highlight from my recent performance
appraisal, "[deleted] not only makes it ok to laugh and have fun, he makes it a
part of our daily lives. Every organization in the company would be better off if
they had a [deleted] in this area."
As I have transitioned to management, I have been privileged to work for
two extremely seasoned and competent managers. The lessons, guidance,
mentoring, leadership and insights they have provided me have been
instrumental in my growth and development. They have been excellent role
models and have inspired and encouraged me to follow management as a
career growth path. I believe I can bring their lessons and experience to the
classroom.
The experiences I can contribute come not only with former managers but
also with the diverse companies I have worked for. I have worked for two
startup companies with less than 30 employees, as well as larger companies.
My employment with startup companies has given me significant exposure to
the executive staff and insight into the roles of these positions within a
company. Working for larger companies has provided me the opportunity work
in and observe more complex organizational structures.
The most critical issue facing my organization, as well as all of [deleted], is
the collapse of most of our market segments, especially the optical
telecommunications market. This collapse has impacted all aspects of our
business and poses some of the greatest challenges that [deleted] has ever
encountered.
The first major challenge we face is to remain focused on customer
centered product development and on execution of new product development
processes. Our customers have also been severely affected by the downturn in
the economy and many have been through significant reorganizations and have
radically changed their product roadmaps. It remains more critical than ever to
work and partner with our customers to ensure we can deliver product solutions
to meet their needs.
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The next challenge is to be fiscally prudent, improve gross margins and
manage expenses. Gross margins can be improved through disciplined discount
management and reducing the cost to build and manufacture our products. We
continue to manage expenses through staff reductions, shutdowns and delayed
capital investments.
The final challenge is to continue to invest in our people. We need to
communicate honestly, encourage collaboration and give people opportunities
to work on exciting and challenging projects. We need to remain positive
regarding our future, continue to reward success and lead through the
downturn.
The most significant challenges I face in my immediate job are extensions
of the items listed above with an emphasis on keeping my organization focused
on creating products to enable [deleted] to make it through the downturn.
In closing I want to reemphasize that I believe I am an ideal match for the
EMBA program. If accepted to the program I assure you I will not let the school,
faculty or my fellow students down. I am mentally and emotionally ready for the
challenge of the program and will tackle it with all my drive, energy and
enthusiasm. I have shared my desire with family, friends and coworkers and
have their full support and encouragement for taking on this endeavor.
12. Boston University - Essay 3
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QUESTION: Describe how your personal distinctiveness will
contribute to a stronger learning environment at Boston
University and will serve to further your success as a manager.
I have never lived in a developing country. I did not have to overcome
social and economic hurdles to make a better life for myself. I am an American
from a middle-class family brought up in the suburbs of New York City. Other
than being a woman who is committed to her career during a time when
executive suites are still male-dominated, I am not the stereotypical picture of
diversity. Yet, I am also more than what I fill in on a census card. The
experiences that have shaped me have brought distinctiveness to my business
approach and to my interactions with others that is clear to those who know
me.
Perhaps the first trait that new acquaintances notice is my ability to voice
my ideas and opinions, even when they differ from those of the group. As one of
five outgoing siblings, I learned at a young age to express myself loudly and
clearly, lest I get drowned out. Although I am no longer concerned about my
voice being heard above the din at the dining room table, this training affects
my professional life. If I believe that a project is misdirected, I will let the team
know, even if I am not the team leader. I voice my ideas at meetings without
timidity. As a student, my classmates can expect spirited discussion that may
challenge their conclusions or help them learn from my mistakes, successes,
and experiences. As a manager, this trait will help my firm to improve their
thinking or processes each time that I question the status quo.
Speaking my mind, however, is not all that my home environment has
taught me. When you come from a large family, you also learn to take turns. As
a team member, I respect and try to learn from the expertise of others in the
group. As a manager, I encourage and listen to the ideas of my staff. By
appreciating differences and encouraging new ideas, I will be able to contribute
to a team-based learning environment in which innovative solutions to
problems can be discovered. This holds true in a work environment as well.
Departments I've headed have been noted for thinking that is smarter than the
competition's as a result of teamwork and collaboration. This talent will
continue to aid me in fostering innovation within my organization and among
my staff members as my career progresses.
Formative training and experiences have undoubtedly left their mark on
me, but much of my business and personal style has formed as a result of
lessons I've learned during my career. One of the most valuable lessons has
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been the importance of developing good relationships both inside and outside
of the company. I have worked for organizations in which the culture has been
open and nurturing, and for others that have been elitist. In the latter case,
arrogance becomes pervasive, straining external partnerships. Teamwork is
often constricted internally as the condescending attitude affects individual and
inter-departmental relations. Furthermore, when business becomes difficult, I
have witnessed that few help as the mightiest and most arrogant fall. As a
result, my perspective on competition may differ from the "crush all
competitors at all cost" attitude that is often associated with business
students. I hope to contribute to an atmosphere of rigorous but friendly
competition within the classroom. As a business manager, I am aware that
change is constant and that it has become more rapid over the past few
decades. Sound relationships are key to survival during changing times because
today's competitor may be tomorrow's partner.
13. BYU (Marriott) - Essay 1
QUESTION: Because the Marriott School MBA program receives
substantial financial support from the tithes of the LDS Church,
the faculty and administration are committed to advancing the
mission of the Church as they operate a nationally recognized MBA
program. Thus, the goals of the MBA program include the melding
of spiritual and secular truths in your studies, as well as sharing
the benefits of your education with people throughout the world.
Please describe ways that the program might realize these goals
and what role you might play in those efforts.
I plan for the mission of the church and the goals of the MBA program to
play out through me in the actions, experiences and people that I imagine in my
"life vision." The concept of my "life vision" started in my adolescence. My
parents and grandfather were a big part of this ongoing sculpting process. My
parents always believed in me. They always encouraged, and supported me in
my goals. I remember my mother regularly staying up into the night talking
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with me about my desires, my dreams, and stories of people in my life. My
mother used to say, most kids bring home stray dogs and cats, but I would
bring home stray kids. In hindsight, it seems to be true. I guess I was always a
champion of those left out. My grandfather further impacted me with the only
letter he wrote me while I was serving a two-year church mission in Argentina.
In his own rite, he had quite a personal "life vision". He was a hermit of sorts
and spent his last years writing and philosophizing, absorbed by his pursuits of
ontology, which is concerned with the nature, and existence of being. He
graduated in 1967 with BYU's first ever dual PhD in Philosophy and Ancient
Eastern Religion. He told me in that letter, among other things, that he had a
vision of me, and that he felt I would become a great ambassador some day. I
always thought it interesting that he spent his life trying to understand and
express the importance of human existence and that somehow, his studies may
have given him a more intimate understanding of my importance and potential.
Since that letter, I have been trying to better understand my grandfather's
vision for me. I knew that some ambassadors were foreign diplomats and I also
knew its basic definition to be one sent to serve and represent a great cause to
others. I haven't figured everything out about this idea of ambassadorship, but
it feels right and the idea of leading and bringing others along is what I would
like to do with my life. For the last eight years since that letter, I think time and
time again about the quest of becoming a great ambassador, the
accomplishment of which will be the capstone of my "life vision."
My BYU experience has been an important part of this quest to understand
ambassadorship. It has been a time of much self-discovery as I have
experienced the melding of spiritual and secular truths. I listened to Elder
Henry B. Eyring, a church apostle, speak about this principle to a group of BYU
student leaders. He reminded us of the importance of our example and that the
spiritual and secular are melded together as we apply the spiritual to
understand the secular. On occasion, while studying, I have felt an extra bit of
comprehension because of the spirit that was in a classroom. And beyond the
classroom, we have an obligation to bless others lives and affect them for good.
Personally, the melding of the spiritual and secular that happens at BYU is one
of the main reasons I want to continue my MBA here. Afterward, in my business
career, these classroom experiences of applying the spiritual to the secular will
guide my ethical and moral principles. My peers won't feel religion pushed on
them, but they will recognize my leadership and know me as a man of integrity.
This commitment to high ethical and moral standards is the foundation of my
"life vision".
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Along with the great opportunity of attending BYU comes the realization
that I am taking a seat that many others long and wish for. Most of the people I
taught in Argentina had no access to an advanced college education but they all
knew about BYU and longed to study here. I can see the faces of these people. I
can hear their voices. I remember their dreams and while I can't help all of them
now, I feel motivated by them and someday hope my experience at BYU touches
their lives by something I do for them. I realize I have a great opportunity, and I
want to seize this chance to learn and be taught by some of the world's
greatest faculty. I am committed to making a difference for the people of
Argentina and others like them. Serving these people make up part of my "life
vision".
Later, after my career has matured, I want to do many things; most of
which don't deal with business or money. I want to give back to the people,
communities and universities that affected me for good. I want to be
remembered as a good person who rewarded others for their effort and hard
work. I want to be remembered as kind and caring. Maybe someday I'll discover
that I have become a great ambassador and maybe I'll realize that that just
means I was a great leader and friend to others. Maybe someday all those stray
kids I brought home will remember me as the person who gave them a chance,
who gave them hope and who helped them write their own great "life vision."
14. UC Berkeley (Haas) - Essay 2
Question: If you could change one characteristic about yourself,
what would it be?
One year ago I called a meeting with [Company 1]'s commercial team to
present my new Direct Marketing campaign and wrap up final implementation
details. I was excited: the company had never approved such an innovative
idea. My excitement contaminated the team so thoroughly that they wanted to
implement it quickly and unconditionally. My IMPULSIVENESS was almost
blinding my reasoning when I suddenly remembered an occasion when the
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same impulsiveness brought me a big headache. Years before, as a trainee at
[Company 2], I had to launch a promotion that could be a real blast. Torpid by
my impulsiveness, however, I simply forgot that our recently hired bread
vendor might not be prepared for a fast increase in sales. The campaign itself
was a hit, but when we ordered the extra necessary bread supply, the brand
new vendor simply said: "I am sorry guys, terribly sorry! Even working under
full capacity I cannot cover your needs. I lack personnel to handle the
packaging section". I started cold sweating. I pictured the guy behind the
counter, "Pardon me, customer. We are out of bread". Terrified at this
possibility, I immediately gathered a team and there we went to the vendor's
packaging section to help the supplier (and me) to deliver the product. We
worked overnight and fortunately guaranteed that no customer hear the
infamous apology.
Back to [Company 1], I interrupted the meeting and suggested that we
implement the direct marketing action according to our commercial team's
capacity to follow up the prospects. As predicted, the piece provided a return of
over 60%, far outweighing the market average of 3%. Impulsiveness can get the
engines running, but today, whenever I make an important decision, I resort to
an ancient Roman poet, "Grant us a brief delay; impulse in everything is but a
worthless servant."
15. UC Berkeley (Haas): ) - Essay 3
Question: What are your professional goals? How do your past and
present experiences relate to those goals?
I PICTURE myself PERFORMING a Marketing ROLE in the Media and
Entertainment Industry.
In the very short term I want to be working with a large M&E company, in
charge of a significant division of that business. Among the many sectors
available, I have a special interest in the New Media and Media Convergence
sectors. But the range of possibilities within the M&E industry is so wide that I
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would be naive to point one that attracts me the most; I am confident that Haas
will provide me with the necessary information and tools for a deeper
evaluation of these the segments, allowing me to make my best choice.
Moreover, I wish to hold larger responsibilities. Knowing marketing
principles is certainly an advantage in the tremendously competitive scenario
we live in, but I need to learn further, I need to improve my General
Management Skills to guarantee a successful path towards higher management
positions.
In the long term I intend to make a particular dream come true. I will run
my own business within this industry, developing an investment fund based on
the Cultural Industry in [Country] - a daring dream with potential to transform
the [Country] M&E Industry - which has always lacked financial and professional
human resources. My work experiences have matched perfectly the Marketing
career I designed in the very beginning. I have gathered many different
experiences in diverse industries, to experience distinct Marketing realities,
which can be applied in most industries. I worked with start-up companies and
large multinationals and I have been given the opportunity to cross the
traditional boundaries of Marketing touching the General Management field.
I believe choices cannot be motivated by single issues, such as financial
rewards, success, pleasure or learning but by a combination of them all. The
demanding reality of the business environment in our age, based on fast and
increasingly results, can only lead me to a career which will enable me to
deliver the expected outcomes and feel absolutely passionate about everyday.
Aligning my passions with my job will grant me with a bright and successful
future.
Thus, that is the reason I have chosen the Media and Entertainment (M&E)
industry, one in which I have been involved during most of my career. From the
publishing of [Company 3]'s first CD-ROM in [Country] when I was still a trainee
to the promotion of Sports Events for [Company 4] as part of a global Marketing
action during the 2000 Olympics. From my involvement with the [deleted] – the
largest music festival in Latin America – managing its Interactive
Communication Strategy to my own personal entrepreneurial venture gathering
people for cinema and gastronomy sessions. These are among the experiences I
cherish the most, for they are also the most rewarding in my career. My E-
commerce graduate course also helped me get involved with M&E since it
broadened my mind to the amazing possibilities that will be opened with the
convergence of different types of media and the development of new
distribution channels in the industry.
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Apart from that, my most recent experience at [Company 1] – though not
directly related to the Media & Entertainment industry - provided me with the
knowledge of the particularities of Marketing in the Business-to-Business. A
knowledge that I will certainly put into practice in the relations with the trade
and the distribution segments within the M&E industry.
My decision to follow the M&E industry is also based on the great
perspectives and challenges that the segment will face in the next decade. It is
a 1.1-trillion-dollar industries experiencing great technological changes which
will soon redefine the way people consume information and joy. Development of
broadband channels will modify and expand the distribution market; traditional
retail chains will confront the growing on-line marketplaces. Analog
technologies will be replaced by digital radio and television. Simultaneously,
cautious consumers, hesitant advertisers and piracy will temper growth,
making it more difficult to implement new business models, models that will
require a comprehensive strategic analysis and combination of the economic,
cultural, and technological factors that will affect the industry's forecasted
average annual growth of 4.8% until 2007. This challenge excites me as much
as the opportunity does. It is a risky option. But no other industry could better
translate a motto that marked my whole career: NO RISK, NO FUN.
16. UC Berkeley (Haas) - Essay 4
Question: Describe your greatest professional challenge and how
you resolved it.
It's tough to launch a new brand. Now picture how much tougher it can get
to re-launch a wounded brand. [Company A] represented a huge challenge for
any Marketing professional, for its brief history in the [Country] market had
been all trouble. A combination of a mistaken brand positioning, a high price
point, and intensive competition had forced their withdrawal from the market in
less than 2 years. At the time I started working with [Company A], a customer's
perception towards the brand was probably, "Well, you know, those guys don't
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offer the traditional Italian pizza and charge way above any pizza place on
every corner". Thus, my challenge was to reintroduce [Company A] in [Country],
breaking all misconceptions that customers had. The solution was a customer-
centric Marketing Strategy based on consumer behavior analysis and surveys
which I conducted. Through this strategy I decided which of [Company A]'s
products could and could not be in the Market and what message to deliver in
order to please the customer.
I changed the focus of the old operation thoroughly, redefined the target
group (from adults to young adults) and repositioned the brand to the delivery-
only market, avoiding the intensive competition of the whole market. I set up
more competitive prices and decided not to simply import the products and
concepts from the US, but rather adapt the product to the regional
characteristics and customers' expectations. Today, a customer perception
towards the brand is much different, "Man, these guys rock, there's no better
pizza to ask at home. It's always delivered hot and crispy, way different from
ordinary pizzas." I am proud to see that, through a customer-oriented strategy I
was able to change the customer's perception, set new quality standards, and
sediment the base for a consistent and effective growth of what today is a 30-
store chain in the [Country] Market. It was also a truly entrepreneurial venture
in which we made dough from flour, literally.
17. University of California, Irvine: - Essay 1
QUESTION: What are your short term and long term career goals (be
as specific as possible)? How do you feel your MBA experience will
enhance your career development? (250 words)
My primary career goal is to own and operate my own radio station. Prior
to this I will complete an MBA in order to acquire the additional knowledge and
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skills necessary in order to be a successful entrepreneur and businessman.
While working towards the degree I plan to do a summer internship and
immediately after the degree work full-time in operations for an established
radio station. Besides the educational component, an MBA will allow for greater
opportunities for internships and full-time positions that otherwise may be
unavailable to me without the degree.
Once I have my own station, I have a number of marketing ideas I intend to
try such as using billboards along the freeways to indicate what is currently
playing and what is coming up next in order to encourage listeners to switch
stations. Longer-term goals focus on establishing a strong brand name for the
radio station. I want to develop a strong social aspect to the overall radio
station brand including charitable functions and fundraising along with events
to simply draw people together such as "speed dating". In time I plan to
leverage the established brand name to start sister companies, such as a
restaurant chain, then each sister company will mutually strengthen the
reputation and brand awareness of the others.
I have chosen to apply to the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management
because the strength and quality of both its overall MBA program and its
Entrepreneurship concentration will provide the knowledge, skill building and
team experiences needed to achieve these goals.
18. UCLA (Anderson) - Essay 1
QUESTION: How have people, events and/or situations in your life
influenced who you are today?
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Choice. A wonderful word, filled with political napalm but wonderful
nevertheless. Given the chance to totally control my destiny, my choices would
result in a secure, promising future. Life being what it is, however, I am
sometimes faced with events or situations outside my influence. How I respond
is my choice.
When I was 19 years old my parents joined the majority of married couples
and divorced. For reasons too complex for children to understand, our family
unraveled and spun out of control. My brother was 14 and my sister was 9. Both
were too young to choose how to respond. They fell victim to the anger and
hatred that grew between my parents. I was old enough to sort through the
deception and choose how this event was going to affect my life. My faith in
marriage was put to the test. I had watched my parents' relationship dissolve
after 19 years. Did I really want to commit one quarter of my life to someone
only to end up with nothing?
Perhaps the most devastating event in my life brought the most positive,
long lasting effect. I chose how it was going to affect me. If I ever married, I
would make sure it lasted. I sought the help of someone five years my senior
whom I respected. [Deleted] had known me for four years and was my role
model. He took me under his wing and he taught me what made a marriage
work. He taught me how to communicate, the importance of honesty and the
value of being committed to my word. When I fell in love with [deleted], I was
well down the road to understanding how to make our relationship and
marriage succeed. [Deleted] officiated at our wedding in [deleted] 1981. This
year we celebrated our 22nd anniversary. We have spent over one quarter of or
our lives….together.
Shortly after my parents' divorce, I was diagnosed with diabetes. It was
the worst of times. The doctors could not even tell me what caused it. So there I
was again, swept off my feet. My life changed forever. I faced days filled with
needles, glucose testing and no candy! If the statistics were correct, I had a
good chance of developing heart disease. Because of poor circulation,
retinopathy could take my eyesight and I could easily develop infections and
lose fingers, toes or limbs. My future was not very bright.
One thing could save me from these dangers: discipline. I had to eat right,
exercise regularly, test my glucose levels daily and see my doctor twice a year.
That sounds easy, but diabetes is a shrewd disease. Lose the discipline once or
twice and no one will know. Your body does not send up a flare. Lose the
discipline for months or years and the side effects creep up on you. There is no
grand announcement. You do not notice the disaster just around the bend until
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it is too late. Within a short period of time doctors must take extreme measures
to save your life.
I have lived with diabetes for 26 years. I exercise regularly and referee
soccer. I test my glucose several times a day and I see my doctor twice a year.
This is the same discipline I established when I was 20. At my last visit, my
doctor said I show absolutely zero diabetic side effects. My lab tests are normal
and my blood pressure reeks of longevity.
In my life adversity has served as a catalyst, forming my determination to
uphold the values that define me. I learned from my parent's divorce the
importance of being committed to my word, whether to my wife, a friend, or a
business associate. I can trace the balance between my relationship with my
wife, my relationships with my children, my professional career and my
personal interests to [deleted] teaching me how to make my marriage last.
Discipline in my life is rooted to my experience with diabetes. Whether working
full time and graduating with an accounting degree, working at [deleted]
Company and passing the CPA exam or volunteering as an [deleted] soccer
referee and mentor…discipline was the key.
Bad things happen but I can choose a positive, constructive response that
will make me a better person. Life has taught me that I can develop and mature
through the best of times and the worst of times.
19. UCLA (Anderson): ) - Essay 2
QUESTION: Describe your most challenging team-building
experience.
I had just reported back to work after a two-week vacation. There was an
urgent call from my manager; he wanted me to take charge of product validity
testing in different languages for the complete OS/2 TCP/IP package! This $100
million product was to be built in eighteen languages at our site, and then we
were to ship it to different countries. The language testing centers in these
countries test for specific language needs and interact with us to solve any
problems.
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My manager identified five members for my team to take care of the build
and testing aspects. We started well, but soon I found myself dealing with an
extremely reluctant group of people, none enthusiastic about the repetitive
work in eighteen languages. The fact that most of them were my peers over
whom I could not exercise managerial power did not help much either.
I realized that I had to do something about it. I started making
presentations about how language translations were important to maintain the
global image of [deleted], and what an important contribution it would be if we
could make a truly international product. I circulated schedules among the
teammates to solicit their opinion. After a lot of debate on the best schedule,
we came up with an extremely robust plan, one that everyone agreed to. These
intra-team interactions generated a strong team spirit that proved very helpful
when the going was difficult. Only once did we miss a deadline, and that too for
factors beyond our control. Soon everybody stood as one, and shouldered the
responsibility as a team.
Apart from gaining a set of trustworthy friends I learnt some valuable
lessons from this experience. Each person is an individual and has distinctive
character traits. A successful team leader should know how to deal with each
person in an appropriate and unique way. One individual would show
application and do well if left to work independently while another would need
constant supervision. Effective leadership is a blend of camaraderie and
authority, and is also the ability to strike a balance between them. It needs
advance preparation, an understanding of human psychology, and some
diplomacy. Any work can be made important and interesting to people by
making them understand its relevance and significance, and above all, by
granting them due importance and recognition.
20. UCLA (Anderson): ) - Essay 3
QUESTION: Discuss a situation, preferably work related, where you
have taken a significant leadership role. How does this event
demonstrate your managerial potential? (Limit to 500 words.)
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On Monday, June [deleted], 200X, at 10:30 p.m., I received a call from my
boss telling me that the plant where [deleted] operates was in great danger of
flooding, it was the worst storm that Chile had faced in almost a hundred years.
I grabbed my fishing waders and rushed to the plant. When I arrived to the site,
the property was under more than a meter of water. We decided to go inside
and try to save as much as we could; files, records, computers, etc. But the
damage was done and we thought that it was the end of the group.
The next day, the management team gathered in front of the property to
plan an emergency course of action. As the Administration Manager I felt the
responsibility of taking the initiative, so I talked to the personnel and asked
them to go home for the day until the water level diminished, telling them to
get ready for the next couple of weeks that were crucial to save our jobs. Then,
some of us went into the plant. Sitting wet, in my office, using a cell phone, I
called all of our banks and major suppliers. I described to them the situation
and assured them that we would be back in business in less than a week. TV
news reporters were interviewing the C.E.O, who asked help from the
government. They sent machinery in the afternoon, which resulted in the water
retreat.
It was now Wednesday, all [deleted]'s employees arrived in "combat
clothing" and I told them the exact same thing I told the banks and suppliers,
we have a week. I explained to them how important was everybody's
collaboration and help. It was pretty amazing to watch 258 people working
together, cleaning, brushing, etc., from Security Guards to Managers. We
worked very hard and 5 days later; we were dispatching products again and
attending our customers.
Now we needed to collect the insurance money. Insurance Companies are
very reluctant to pay, at least in Chile, so the collection process was really
exhausting. I had to lead the process with my accounting team in order to
present detailed inventories to the Company and explain each item on every
financial statement that they asked for. Finally I had to present and defend my
last report on the losses caused by the rain. We were able to collect a 100% of
the losses and now [deleted] is an even stronger position than before the
flooding.
After this experience I understood that to be a leader you must not only
give orders, but also motivate people showing them how to achieve a common
goal working together. I was also able to strengthen my managerial skills that
will be useful for the rest of my career and life. I have maintained the attitude
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that I had during the flooding towards my subordinates and peers and I am
convinced that we work in a much better way now.
21. Cambridge (Judge) - Essay 2
Question: Describe a project or a piece of work in which you have
been involved since university, which you found difficult or which
did not go well. What did you learn from this experience and what
would you have done differently in retrospect?
At [Company 1], nearly everyone in the company had a tense, almost
adversarial relationship with the woman who produced the films we developed.
We reported to her directly, and all of our input on particular projects was hers
to judge and critique. She did not believe in constructive criticism. As a result, I
found myself timid to introduce new writers and projects to her for fear of a
rather harsh rejection by her. When we implemented a new policy in which each
member of the company was forced to submit a number of new writers and
projects that we believed to be the promising "up-and-comers" in Hollywood on
a regular basis, several writers sprang to mind that had written quirky scripts
very far out of the mainstream.
When the time came for the first company meeting to discuss each of the
projects that we had submitted to our boss, I chose to present a safe bet –
scripts that had already been purchased by film studios. In fact, one of them is
currently in theaters in the United States under the name Cold Creek Manor,
starring Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone. I took what I believed to be the safe
route, because I found it difficult to stand up to the head of my company with a
riskier idea. As a result, I was publicly skewered for my lack of original thought.
Perhaps I would have suffered the same tongue-lashing had I chosen a
project that a believed in, rather than one that I knew others had already taken
a chance on, but at least then I would have felt that I didn't capitulate out of
fear of rejection. In retrospect, I should have presented the scripts I was
passionate about, even if I knew my boss hated them. This experience helped
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me to realize that I cannot present ideas solely because I think that others will
like them – in future meetings I presented material I explicitly believed in to
much better results.
22. Cambridge (Judge) - Essay 3
Question: Describe a moral dilemma you have encountered, how you
responded to it, and what you learnt from it.
While I have always considered myself to be a person with integrity, I
initially chose to work in the film industry, a business which actually
encourages duplicity. One of the most cutthroat areas of the industry is
management and representation, where I first worked after university. From
the beginning, my job as an assistant was first and foremost to lie for my
supervisor. I was even asked to lie to his family members. Although there were
relatively few major tests of my honesty, I encountered small dilemmas every
single day. While I wish I could say that I completely disregarded my
supervisor's instructions, I did not. However, as time passed, I did choose to
remain tight-lipped when faced with questions that would force me to lie, even
knowing that I would incur his ire.
In particular, my boss was extremely slippery in his dealings with other
agents. He spent hours on end attempting to woo clients away from other
agencies, while at the same time asking me to speak with those agents to
smooth over any questions they had as to his ulterior motives. Rather than
make those calls and lie bold-faced to people that my supervisor called friends
and colleagues, I refused. I was unwilling to sully my own reputation and
integrity for the sake of my boss' own vanity. He eventually got this very
important client, but destroyed a slew of a relationships along the way. As a
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result, I knew that I would never advance in the double-dealing world of
management and representation. However, by this time I had learned
everything I could from my boss and then used my newfound understanding of
the industry as a springboard to a considerably better job in feature film
development.
Though I did not disclose my supervisor's immoral and hypocritical back-
room dealings, I did choose to distance myself. Therefore, I have maintained a
positive relationship with the agency from which he has been effectively barred.
23. Case Western Reserve (Weatherhead) -
Essay 1
Question: How will your background and experiences enhance the
quality and diversity of the entering class of Weatherhead MBA
students?
"India is shining," screams the caption to the country's latest marketing
strategy to advertise a steady and growing economy to the business world.
India is the largest growing economy in the Asia-pacific region with
impressive growth rates averaging 8% every quarter. Jumping up the ladder on
the Competitive Index at a rapid pace of nine ranks a year; India surely
demands lots of respect as an investment market. Marketing to the world's
second largest democracy with a varied population and ideas is definitely a
challenge and I believe that I have the experience in such dealings in the
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growing industrial sector. Business outsourcing deals are inventing the market,
turning jobs over from around the world to India. And, when I join the
Weatherhead School of Management, I plan to bring with me, the backing and
knowledge from one of the swiftest growing economies in the world, the India
that I have described above.
As an employee of a growing Indian engineering firm, I have been lucky to
literally study the growth and have also been a victim to the rising demand
scenario. Engineering goods exports have increased by nearly 35% over the last
few months, an indication in the trust and the high quality standards being
maintained. I had to take important and major decisions during this period to
keep the productions costs low and yet maintain standards. This has given me
the ideal of making bold decisions and also witnesses strong growths as a
result. Even though at the initial stages when the manufacturing lines were
tight, I had to incur a disappointing dry season, but that did not deter my
interests from experimenting with a lean budget and subsequently attain a
satisfying growth trend. With a degree in engineering from one of India's oldest
university, [deleted], I also shoulder the intellectual 'know-how' required to
take technical challenges, involving the spur in electronics and information
technology related areas, in my stride. With my mathematical background, I am
sure I have the necessary prerequisites to study the changing marketing
statistical columns and recommend suitable solutions.
Indian business managers the world over are known to have strong ethical
beliefs and discipline, not to mention the commitment to execute bold decisions
and to stand their grounds. This is an inherent quality of the India culture,
growth and education. I believe that I have these qualities and will surely use
them to my credit to strongly influence my fellow students in the course of my
graduate program. With due respect to qualifications and experience, I have an
exceptional back-ground with a mix of both technical and marketing skills which
I am sure will be productive to your school, given the highly varied background
of your previous students. This would help me understand and interact in par
with a global audience that is so obvious from your distinguished alumni
listings.
From my point of view, I find that the Indian business style differs from its
peers with the simple fact that we believe in simplifying the most complex
situations to attain simple goals that is a result of very exhaustive evaluation
procedure. More than anything, I believe that the present business motives
demands discipline to define an optimistic approach to global business
solutions. Such developments has had a positive influence on me and has
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enforced my believes that the Indian individual has a lot to offer when it comes
to superior will-power and a urge to contribute to a motley crowd of
professionals from different economies, cultures, thoughts and ideas. I am sure
that with my experience and knowledge of the Indian business fraternity and its
contributions to the world, and also the impact of the Indian economy on its
Asian business counterparts, I will be able to exhibit wide and varied qualities
and ideas that will help in keeping with the ideals of the Weatherhead School of
Management, of creating distinguished global managers.
24. University of Chicago - Essay 2
Question: Why are you seeking an MBA? What are your plans and
goals after your receive your degree? (500 words)
Having been a management consultant for nearly three years, addressing
business issues in four industries, for seven clients, in five countries, I can
confirm that I want to return to that field, but I also want to rank among the
most senior executives at Fortune 500 companies. While I remain open to
opportunities I may discover at the GSB, my present goal is to become a partner
in a professional services consulting firm. To accelerate my achievement of that
goal, I would like to complete a concentration in Strategic Management at the
GSB.
Fundamentally, I seek the toolkit that will enable me to counter a complex
business problem with a creative, outside-the-box solution. And when I can't
come up with a solution on my own, I will need to assemble and effectively
collaborate with a team that can. An MBA will give me the skills I need to
develop my own innovative solutions, to recognize the talent I want on my
team, and to lead even the most diverse group to success.
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In the short term, the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business
(GSB) will provide me with unparalleled analytical skills. While I believe my
undergraduate major in Finance has served me well thus far in my consulting
career, I need more rigorous quantitative coursework to develop the analytical
skills required for solving more challenging business problems. In addition, I
look to the GSB to help me become a more effective manager. For example, I
expect to implement such principles as set forth in the LEAD program as the
managerial groundwork, the feedback approach, and the teamwork principles it
sets forth. Therefore, the near-term reason for seeking an MBA is to enhance
my analytical and managerial skills.
Now, as a woman with clear career and family goals, timing of the pursuit
of an MBA is everything. I do not have the luxury of "letting things fall into
place". If I wish a family and a career, I have to move swiftly, with conviction. I
recognize this year as the right time for me for three reasons. First, I have
gained extensive and varied work experience that will allow me to contribute in
the classroom, as well as benefit from others' experiences. Secondly, I am no
longer convinced that I can achieve my long-term career objectives within my
company, given the changing focus of the company toward such areas as
outsourcing and away from strategic consulting work. Finally, an MBA is a
critical part of my personal development plan to constantly challenge myself by
pursuing learning opportunities beyond those I have already encountered.
25. Chicago School of Business - Essay 3
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Question: You find yourself on an elevator with the Dean of
Chicago GSB. Please tell him why this is the right school for you,
and what you hope to contribute if admitted. (500 words)
The Coat and the Candidacy
"Good morning! Which floor do you need? Seventh? Well, you'll have some
company, then. I have to tell you I just love your coat! Very classy and smart,
not something trendy you see every day. And what a great fit! That reminds me
of my candidacy for the GSB, actually. You are Dean Snyder, right? I recognize
you from the school brochure. Well, if you have a minute, I would love to tell
you what your coat and my candidacy have in common."
A Perfect Fit
"I have to start by saying that the GSB is where I belong. On my two visits,
I experienced camaraderie that exactly reflects the business school culture I
wish to enjoy. During Homecoming weekend, I went to a party hosted by some
of the GSB first-years. On my second visit, I went to "TNDC" with my friend and
current first-year, [Name], where I felt accepted into the GSB circle. I found that
I share similar goals and interests with the students I met, making 'fitting in'
effortless.
In addition to the culture, many other attributes draw me to the University
of Chicago. During my two visits to the GSB, I saw how concerned the faculty is,
was impressed by the flexible curriculum, and visited the top-rated career
services center. I also love Chicago and have returned many times since first
visiting in the fall of 2001. My experiences with Chicago and the GSB have left
me feeling that I want nothing more than to attend the University of Chicago."
Classy, Smart, Different. "I will also be a 'smart and different' addition to
your 2004 Entering Class. Two attributes that stand out in my mind are that I
am Southern and I am smart. With my Southern hospitality, I will help you with
your goal of fostering a sociable and warm environment at the GSB. As for
intelligence, I graduated in the top 1.5% of my class with a double major and a
minor. Selective admission into the Honors College at my university is
comparable to that of many top tier schools, with requirements of 1300 on the
SAT and a top 5% ranking in one's high school class. I achieved my 3.9 GPA
while heavily involved on campus, serving on the executive board of six
organizations. Which reminds me - I am excited just thinking about the
extracurricular opportunities offered by the GSB! I anticipate pursuing
membership in the Management Consulting Group and Chicago Women in
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Business. I also know I will strive to become a LEAD facilitator in my second
year, if accepted to the GSB. Dean Snyder, I hope my short introduction has
demonstrated that I am as unique and well-fitting as that coat of yours. It would
be my pleasure to bring these attributes and more to the University of Chicago.
Perhaps we'll meet again on the elevator in the new GSB campus building next
fall."
26. Columbia - Essay 1
QUESTION: What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
How will a Columbia Business School MBA help you achieve these
goals? (Limit 1000 words)
My long-term career goals entail working as a positive catalyst in the
development of a more entrepreneurial environment in Canada by influencing
public policy and creating aggressive venture capital investment programs. I
intend to bring about the creation of public and private venture capital
partnerships, drawing on my professional and academic experiences as well as
the study of such programs in other countries, to stimulate growth in this area.
I believe that Columbia is the right place to pursue this goal, not only for the
school's traditional strengths in finance, but also for innovative programs in
entrepreneurship and social enterprise. The opportunity for students to take
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classes outside of the Business School, in programs like International Affairs,
also fits perfectly with my career goals.
As a young Canadian with extensive international experience, I have mixed
emotions about having left the country to pursue career opportunities. While I
have grown both personally and professionally by living and working abroad, I
have often reflected on how national attitudes and government policy have
limited aggressive entrepreneurial activity in Canada. When I left Canada
several years ago, I did so with the intention of ultimately returning to apply
the skills and experiences that I gained abroad. Recently, I began working with
[deleted], a group of young Canadians working to improve opportunities for
talented young people domestically. The project struck a nerve with me as I left
Canada, in part, due to the absence of an aggressive, risk taking culture. The
aim of the group fits well with my goals and aspirations and I have had
significant input on how the entrepreneurial spirit in Canada could be
stimulated to compete for talent with the United States.
I plan to eventually return to Canada to found public and private
partnership programs aimed at stimulating opportunity growth for
entrepreneurs, implementing the skills and lessons I have learned in Asia,
Europe and the United States. I believe that there is significant need for
improvement in order for Canada to become, and remain, a country capable of
attracting and retaining talented young entrepreneurs. One of the goals of
[deleted] is to address the regularity with which talented individuals from most
every field go abroad to pursue their professional development. My primary
long-term goal is to work with government agencies and private corporations to
create a first class venture community in Canada, drawing on lessons gleaned
from similar programs in the US and elsewhere. Obviously, such ambitions are
not achieved quickly or easily and there are many short-term goals that must
be achieved in order to build a foundation from which to work towards long-
term goals.
Over the course of the next few years, I intend to complete an MBA, ideally
at Columbia Business School, which will provide me with an academic base from
which to pursue my career goals. In addition to education, I will need to develop
my professional experience in both public policy and entrepreneurial finance.
My current position, at [deleted] has required me to become deeply involved
with the Small Business Administration and specifically, the [deleted] program.
I intend to continue, and increase, my involvement with this program over the
course of the next ten months, prior to attending business school. I plan to
learn more about the workings of this program, as it has demonstrated
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significant success in stimulating entrepreneurial activity. At the same time, I
do not believe that any program is perfect, so I plan to research and consider
opportunities for improvement.
An internship within a Canadian governmental agency will be necessary in
order to gain a better perspective on exactly how I can influence public policy
and create the kind of programs that I intend to. My goals in completing such
an internship would be to learn first-hand, about current public policies
affecting the entrepreneurial community and to establish contacts, in the
private and public sectors, that I will work with to make my ideas reality. During
my MBA study, I would hope to pursue opportunities abroad, in the form of a
full term or perhaps independent study for a shorter period of time. The
availability of such opportunities at Columbia certainly attracts me.
Following completion of my MBA, I plan to extend my experience in three
key fields: public policy, entrepreneurial finance and international business. I
will pursue opportunities internationally (including those in the US), working
with other entrepreneurial-minded people to study, create and implement
combinations of aggressive public policy and private financing opportunities for
new companies. In my career, I have met many people who share ideas similar
to mine that I am excited to work with. I am anxious to further develop my skills
to help me achieve all of my goals and I believe that Columbia offers the best
opportunity to do so.
Pursuing a Columbia MBA is a natural progression, from both a personal
and professional standpoint. The Columbia name is internationally recognized,
many political leaders have completed this course of study and professionals in
the private equity industry regard the program as being highly innovative. My
interests in public policy, entrepreneurial finance and international business
would all thrive at Columbia Business School in ways not possible at other
schools. Being located in New York, with international students, professors and
curriculum, there is the opportunity to focus on the aspects of my career that
are most important to me. The public policy strengths at Columbia are also of
great interest to me, as I believe that as globalization continues to progress,
there will be an increasing blurring of the line between business and public
policy. I plan to pursue a career at the crossroads of these two historically
divided disciplines.
My academic, professional background and personal interests will make me
additive to the overall learning environment of the Columbia Business School
and I would make a valuable asset for classroom discussion. I possess the
intelligence, creativity, determination and compassion necessary to excel at
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Columbia and after. The combination of these attributes with the management,
interpersonal and analytic skills offered by the MBA program at Columbia would
ultimately prepare me to return to Canada to pursue my career goals. Over the
course of the past five years, I have attended university in [deleted] and
worked in Seoul, London, and New York. Each one of these living situations has
taught me something about myself, the world and has shaped my ideas about
the contributions that I wish to make. A course of study at Columbia would
enrich my life personally and professionally, but I also believe that the business
school would be enriched by my attendance.
27. Columbia - Essay 4
Question: Clearly state how you will apply the tools of the MBA in
meeting your short term and long term goals. In additions, discuss
your cultural, social, and civic commitments.
As a supplement to my initial application, I would like to address three
areas: First, I will chronicle my professional advancements since submitting my
initial application. Second, I will discuss my community service activities since
my initial application submission, activities planned for the coming year, and
those in which I intend to participate while at Columbia Business School.
Finally, I will detail why a Columbia MBA is still the best way to attain my short-
and long-term goals. At the time of my initial application, approximately six
months ago, I was a relatively new hire at [Company 1]. Because of this, my
responsibilities were not indicative of my abilities, particularly in the
management arena. While I quickly proved myself to be worthy of greater
responsibility, I kept my initial assignment until it was completed in May 2003
due to its high priority and my superior skills. I was then assigned the
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management of the product design team of a major module of a different
project. After three months of successfully managing the design of that module,
two other product design teams were assigned to me. In addition, I took on the
management of the product design team of a subsystem related to the two new
teams. Responsibility for a derivative of the initial module I was managing was
also assigned to me. While the subsystem has been completed, I am currently
managing product design teams, ranging in size from three to six engineers, on
three major modules and a derivative of one of those modules. None of my
peers have managed more than two modules at one time. In a relatively short
span I have gone from a new hire with unknown abilities to one of my
department's most valued members.
Even with my increased professional responsibilities, I have continued with
my community service activities while adding additional activities, and I intend
to continue to do so until enrolling at Columbia Business School in the fall of
2004, when I will transition into new community service opportunities. I still
tutor a learner with a learning disability twice a week. Soon after submitting my
application, I participated in a four-day trip to Mexico to build houses for poor
families of which I had been assisting in the organization. I have also
participated in a number of workdays on a local Habitat for Humanity
construction project. In addition, this past July I spent a week teaching Vacation
Bible School at my church after work. I intend to continue tutoring my learner
and participating in Habitat for Humanity workdays throughout the coming
year. In addition, I expect to be an organizer and participant in the annual trip
to Mexico to build houses. While I am sure that I will not have an opportunity to
participate in all of the community service programs offered by Columbia
Business School, some of the ones I intend to participate in are the Harlem
Tutorial Program, Managers in International Development Initiative, and Small
Business Consulting Program. Community service is a major part of my life, and
it will continue to be so while I am at Columbia Business School and beyond.
While I enjoy the challenges of my new projects and responsibilities at
work, my current community service work continues to fuel my passion for
helping others. In particular, my passion for helping emerging markets develop
environmentally and socially responsible, modern economies has not wavered.
Specific to that broad ideal, my short- and long-term goals have not changed
either. I still intend to enlist in the MBA Enterprise Corps upon the completion
of my Columbia MBA, followed by several years in the private sector leveraging
my engineering background and Columbia MBA to develop and manage non-
exploitive production facilities in developing nations. After gaining a thorough
understanding of the issues affecting international development, I intend to
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segue into changing some of the well intentioned, yet misguided, policies
affecting the fate of developing nations. Since my goals have not changed, a
Columbia MBA is still undoubtedly the best preparation for accomplishing these
goals. Specific to my short-term goals, a Columbia MBA will provide me with the
skills and knowledge I do not currently possess that are necessary to succeed.
Courses in areas such as emerging markets, finance, and operations will
provide me with the strong academic foundation necessary to accomplish my
objectives. From my classmates, professors, and the general populace of New
York City, my understanding of the various cultures in which I will be working
will be greatly enhanced. Columbia's proximity to innumerable corporations
working in emerging markets will also be quite helpful to me. Networking with
Columbia alumnae and other executives at these companies while attending
Columbia Business School and in the years following will be greatly beneficial to
me. Interning with one of these corporations throughout the year will allow me
to graduate from Columbia Business School with a significant amount of work
experience directly related to international development. Clubs such as the
Emerging Markets Club, Net Impact, and the Africana Association will provide
an additional avenue for improving my understanding of emerging markets and
corporate social responsibility.
Finally, study abroad opportunities and the Chazen / Berlitz Language
Program will also improve my abilities to succeed in developing nations.
Combining the skills I currently have and my passion for international
development with a Columbia MBA will assure me of great success during my
MBA Enterprise Corps service and while establishing non-exploitive production
facilities in emerging markets in the years following. Many of my same
experiences while at Columbia Business School that will help me succeed in my
short-term goals will be of great use to me as I develop policies affecting the
development of emerging markets. However, aspects of my Columbia MBA
education that may not be used as prevalently during the early stages of my
career will become more important as I segue into a career of policy
development. One of these is my coursework in public and non-profit
management. In addition, while at Columbia Business School, I intend to
leverage the proximity to and many connections within the United Nations for
networking opportunities. While many of the clubs and activities that will assist
me in my short-term goals will do the same for me during my career in policy
development, a few additional ones will also be useful to me. Three of these are
the Columbia Business School Political Association, the Social Enterprise Club,
and the Global Social Venture Competition. My years at Columbia Business
School and my experience in the years following will provide me with the skills
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and knowledge necessary to develop prudent and effective policies affecting
emerging markets.
Since submitting my initial application six months ago, I have continued to
show myself to be a superior manager and a tireless worker for causes in which
I believe. These traits and a Columbia MBA will provide me with the skills and
opportunities necessary to succeed in my objective of developing emerging
markets in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
28. University of Connecticut - Essay 1
QUESTION: What is it about your background and your experiences
that would make a contribution to the diversity of the entering
class and the educational experience of the other students?
I was born in [deleted] Angola during a volcanic year that symbolized the
eruption of a colony's desire to end five hundred years of Portuguese
occupation in their country. Cultural commonalities, such as the Portuguese
language, were not enough to unify Portuguese and Angolans, nor was it
sufficient to dissipate the Angolan desire for independence. Ultimately, after
years of prolonged civil unrest and protests Angola was freed from its ties to
Portugal. As a result of beginning life on the brink of a waking volcano, I
cultivated a strong will and a sensitivity to the plights of different cultures.
Living in Angola during a time of severe change, I felt the impact of the
events even as a child. It was fatal to walk through particular parts of the city
during the day. The Angolan dialectic language of Kimbundu gradually replaced
Portuguese and schools were closing to be used as shelters to provide safety
for citizens. I became intimately familiar with the feeling of separation and not
being able to exercise all of the freedoms that I normally possessed. All of
these events were poignant for me because they marked my first
understanding of adversity and the differences that divide people. Amidst this
revolution, I saw my parents work hard to salvage the normalcy of our lives and
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remain hopeful that Angola would once again become a peaceful country. My
parents were my grandest teachers and they showed me through their words
and actions that our differences should unite us and create an even greater
humanity. When most parents were transferring their children to private
schools in an attempt to limit their children's exposure to the African culture,
my brother, sister and I remained in the predominantly Black public school
system. My parent's decision to keep me in public school gave me a profoundly
rich experience and made me awake to the beautiful yet complex Angola that I
lived in. I was determined to not yield to the negative ideology that was
permeating through Angola and believe that one day peace would return.
In all the years that I have lived in America I have remained connected to
the African, Portuguese and American sides of who I am. I speak Portuguese
and Spanish laced with some African idiomatic expressions. I'm immersed in the
Portuguese Community that is vibrant in its celebration of gastronomy and
religious festivals. I collect first edition novels from 20th century American
Literature authors such as F.Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway and have
traveled over the course of 4 years to 30 U.S cities. I look to share all of these
experiences with my peers and be further enriched from their own life lessons
as well.
Witnessing the devastation of civil war unravel and arriving into a New
World with the challenge of fusing three cultures has shaped me into an
individual that does not falter in the face of adversity, possesses a strong will
and a heightened sensitivity to other cultures. My observations, perspectives
and approaches are an amalgam of the worlds that I have seen and will define
my contribution to the classroom.
29. Cornell (Johnson) - Essay 1
QUESTION: Why are you seeking an MBA from the Johnson School?
What do you hope to experience and contribute here and what are
your plans/goals after you receive your degree? What factors have
influenced your career decisions to date?
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My short-term goals are to enhance my knowledge base in business related
topics, meet new friends and colleagues, and succeed in my studies. Fulfillment
of those goals will lead to the longer-term goals which also constitute my post-
graduation career plans, namely, building a solid and professional career in
business or academia. I believe that an MBA will assist me in furthering my
academic and professional experience in order to achieve both short and long-
term goals.
I also believe that a business education will help me to strengthen my
capabilities in the business world. In many ways, a business education will
perfectly complement my current skills and experiences. I consider myself
fortunate enough to possess highly developed social and intellectual skills and
in addition, I have been working as an intern in a law firm and as a lawyer. This
enabled me to become familiar with many business transactions and get
involved in the drafting of numerous business oriented legal documents.
Nevertheless, during this period I was having concerns about the nature of the
job and my professional objectives. I soon realized that I need to expand my
professional horizons, and acquire a solid business education that will
complement my legal training. Currently I am working with a computer
company in which I act as the Head of the Marketing Department. In this
capacity I not only exercise my leadership skills, which I perfected during my
service in the Israeli army, but also take part in business meetings and
strategic decisions making. In my view, this gives me an advantage for
successful completion of my business education.
I believe that those experiences give me an advantage for successful
completion of my business education. Studies at Cornell will provide me with a
unique opportunity to gain access to the knowledge and the experience of a
varied body of students and teachers. In my view teamwork is a key element for
success in today's world. It facilitates interaction between students and helps
absorb information and retain knowledge. It also acquaints students with
different approaches to business problems. In addition, the exposure to
outstanding people from all areas of life does not only enrich but also helps
forge friendships that remain for life. By that I do not only mean students but
also Professors who are at the forefront of knowledge. Hence, they can become
role models, influence, and drive students for success. Another important
aspect of a Cornell business school education is the variety of courses and
subjects from which a student can shape his program to suit his specific career
goals.
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I believe that my social background, personality and education can
contribute to Cornell's student body. The program can help me by providing me
with a strong education, the ability to absorb cutting edge knowledge, and the
opportunity to study with the best minds in American business education.
30. Cranfield University - Essay 1
QUESTION: What single event or achievement has been most
significant in your life? What were the results of this event or
achievement?
When my grandfather died in October 1998, I was a bit relieved.
I had been afraid of him for most of my life – not for anything he had ever
done or said, but because he was a quiet man given to complete stillness or
very measured actions that had no hesitancy or wasted motion to them. He
didn't have the swagger of my American dad or the easy bravado of the kids I
grew up with. He didn't thrill me. And I loved to be thrilled. He was so utterly
foreign that even among the Greeks of his own community he seemed a kind of
distant cousin.
But there was an insistence in his presence. You could not be in a room with
him and not feel the weight of his existence there with you. He was so different
from other men, so singular in his manner, that he unnerved me.
When he died, I realized that, despite a tentativeness on my part that had
bordered on rudeness, he had always treated me with complete kindness. He
never said a cruel word or had been, in any way, unjust to me. He was a man
composed of subtle gestures – he would give a small hop when he first laid eyes
on me during my visits, but never told me that he loved me.
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Since his death, I've stopped looking for grand gestures of personality in
people. In a room, my eye seeks out the quiet, subtle, details of unassuming
kindness – details so small that they can have no other source but a deep
affection passing from one person to another.
These are his actions, and they are what I aspire to now. Because I find
that, like that revelation about my Papou's kindness, while in reverie my
memories increasingly turn to moments of just such subtle kindnesses done for
me and done by me for others, and I can scarcely recall the flitting, obvious,
spectacles that once so easily caught my eye.
31. Cranfield - Essay 3
Question: Describe yourself as a person. What positions of
responsibility have you held (not necessarily business related)?
What have you gained from this experience?
A. You as a Person
After twelve years of interesting assignments, I have built up my career to
reach a regional head position. Thanks to my diverse exposure, I have acquired
functional skills as well as practical knowledge of different industry sectors and
their unique challenges. I have worked in many organizations, each role
requiring acquisition of new job knowledge. Today, I am confident of my
capability to switch job roles and industries without wondering whether I would
be able to handle it.
I have throughout sought responsibilities that would increase my
understanding of diverse industries. However, my career has progressed largely
in the Finance & Commercial (F&C) stream, making me an F&C specialist.
Although, my job profile at [Company 1] has evolved over the years, it has
remained within the realms of F&C.
My dream role would combine the strategic elements of product
development, finance, marketing and operations. In order to achieve my
ambition of becoming a general management person in the senior cadres of a
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professionally managed concern, my current knowledge and experience may be
inadequate.
I aim to build upon my knowledge base, incorporating it into a career
opportunity that offers a wider range of disciplines and challenges. To broaden
my horizons and reach the senior management cadre, I need to gain
experiences beyond my hometown and country. I would like to move into
international management for cross-cultural exposure and challenges.
I need to educate myself once again on all major business disciplines, aside
from F&C, this time from a practitioner's point of view. I therefore intend to
pursue a one-year MBA program at a world class institute. This would be a
lifetime opportunity to learn from the experiences of a culturally diverse
student and faculty body, obtain international exposure and acquire knowledge.
Another reason that I am considering an international MBA is that
sometime later in life, I would like to become an entrepreneur. I took a
conscious decision to not join my family business right after graduation. Before
taking the plunge, I wanted to work in a professionally managed concern and
learn about the business environment, and also build up some capital to act as
a financial cushion. Once I realize these aims, I intend to turn entrepreneur.
B. What positions of responsibility have you held (not necessarily business
related)? What have you gained from this experience?
My first supervisory role with a wide span of responsibilities came when I
was appointed as Branch Finance & Commercial Manager at [Company 2]. From
handling a limited function in my previous assignment, I was placed in charge
of entire North Indian operations. This was my first role as a multi functional
team leader and it augmented my technical knowledge, giving me significant
professional growth. The organization culture encouraged freedom and respect,
providing me with opportunities to test my skills and deploy them effectively.
Within eight months of my joining, my team delivered on a cost optimization
drive by achieving savings of about INR 1.6 million, the highest by any region.
[Company 2] had assigned me a position of responsibility despite my youth and
negligible prior exposure of handling teams. The fact that I was able to measure
up to their expectations gave a tremendous boost to my self-confidence.
Since then, I have held positions of increasing scope and responsibilities.
Today, I head the Commercial operations, leading a team of fourteen at
[Company 1]. In this role, I am not only responsible for various Commercial
operations, but also for administrative duties, team building, grooming my
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subordinates and shaping their careers, and giving direction and focus to the
Commercial function.
When I joined [Company 1], I felt that my team found their operations jobs
monotonous and dreary. Since I feel that individuals who are not charged up do
not deliver their best, I decided to bring in some excitement. I joined a
voluntary committee titled [Company 3] (translated, the word means
'Communication') that looks after [Company 1] staff welfare. I set up a
mechanism through Sampark whereby all staff in North India have been divided
among four houses, and inter-house competitions are organized – Carrom,
music, quiz, dumb charades, family get-togethers and many more. The
[Company 3] events have been a runaway success. I have earned recognition in
the organization for this effort, which has resulted in team building on the one
hand, and better inter-departmental relationships on the other. This was my
first attempt at trying to implement an "out-of-the-box" morale boosting
technique. I introduced a new concept into a structured environment, sold the
idea to my seniors, improvised on the initial idea, and most important of all,
successfully implemented it. I was thus able to initiate a major change in not
only my department, but also the entire North region.
32. Cranfield - Essay 4
Question: What single event or achievement has been most
significant in your life? Describe an ethical dilemma you have
experienced firsthand. Other activities - give details of your
hobbies, sporting activities and other outside interests.
Collected from http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbainsider/sample_essays.html
When I joined [Company 1], I inherited a team suffering from internal
friction. To bring harmony into the team, I employed Total Quality Management
(TQM) tools like Kaizen, 5S and Small group activity. I introduced my team to
the principles of TQM by creating a manual and conducting a workshop. I then
set up a three-member facilitator team responsible for conducting Kaizen
meetings and selecting the best Kaizens every month. I personally monitored
the facilitator team.
As judges, the facilitators had to look beyond their own desk and
understand functional diversities, handle group activities and organize
structured meetings. They were trained to ignore personal biases in order to
work as a cohesive unit. Since everyone in the department got a chance to be
facilitator through periodic rotation, all members grew to appreciate the others'
contribution to the department. Today, we work smoothly as a team, and the
department is a happier workplace. The Kaizen meetings continue.
The idea and implementation for this initiative was entirely my own. To my
mind, my biggest achievement is the fact that [Company 1] recognized the
impact of the TQM initiative to my department, adopted it as a part of its
strategic imperative in India, and implemented it across all 47 offices in India,
including the Franchisees.
B.Describe an ethical dilemma you have experienced firsthand. Discuss
how you thought about and managed the situation.
In the selection process for a position with one of my earlier employers,
one of the personal interviews focussed on my ethical beliefs. I was selected
after other rounds of interviews and accepted the offer. After I joined, I was
assigned the responsibility of day-end settlements. I collected the daily sales
proceeds from the sales team, and accounted for the stocks and collections.
Either sales or bonafide stock movements accounted for the difference between
the daily opening and closing stock balance. Over a period of time, I observed
persistent unexplained shortages from some salesmen. I questioned the
concerned sales officers, who were incidentally related to my supervisor. They
asked me not to report the shortages, and to make it up in the books through
fake transactions.
At that time, my family's financial position was not very good, and my
salary was crucial to meet the household expenses. In such a scenario, I was
tempted to close my eyes to the misdemeanours and thus salvage my job.
However, I could not bring myself to be dishonest to my employer. I not only
recovered the shortages by debiting the concerned staff accounts, but also
Collected from http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbainsider/sample_essays.html
brought the matter to the notice of my supervisor. Much to my annoyance, my
supervisor instructed me to back up the sales officers. He was however not
willing to give this authorization in writing. I found myself in a situation where
instead of being praised for protecting the interests of the organization, I was
rebuked for the same. My supervisor also held back my promotion and
increment when they fell due.
Disheartened by such unprofessional attitude and lack of integrity, I
started looking for other job openings and soon found an excellent position.
Despite undergoing professional setback and upheaval, I have never regretted
my decision to highlight and rectify the financial misappropriations. This
incident has given me the belief that any adverse impact of following the
straight path is at best temporary. The personal satisfaction of knowing that
what I have done is fair and correct offsets any short-term upheavals that I may
have to face.
C. Other activities - give details of your hobbies, sporting activities and
other outside interests, for example work in the community.
I have recently involved myself with a Non Government Organization in
India called [edit]. I not only make regular financial contributions, but also on a
weekly basis teach English to children from deprived communities.
I also enjoy creative writing. A few of my articles had won the Best Theme
Writing competition in Siemens' in-house magazine. I am also a regular
contributor to [Company 1] India's staff magazine.
I enjoy collecting and reading books on management. I have been
instrumental in rolling out an innovative mechanism within [Company 1],
inspired by Stephen Lundin's "Fish". The idea is to boost employees' morale and
motivation levels, by making the work environment a fun place.
I love to organize events and am associated with an [Company 1] team
called [Company 3] that organizes various activities towards recreational and
social causes. Carrom and table tennis tournaments, quiz competition, music
festival, family excursions, theme parties and donations to charitable
organizations are just a few of the events that Sampark has organized in the
last year.
I am an associate member of the [edit], New Delhi and have volunteered
my services to undertake coaching classes. This stems from my desire to be
associated with academics.
Collected from http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbainsider/sample_essays.html
I used to play as right-winger for the school hockey team and participated
in various inter-school tournaments. I still follow the game closely though I do
not play now.