personal statement for mba

A good sample of MBA personal statement is one that exhibits the elements of unity and coherence. The ideas are organized, and the supporting details are closely related to the main topic or theme. This type of essay is what you need to boost your chances for success in MBA school admission. Below are some tips on how to keep your essay organized and focused on your topic.

Keep the real questions in mind

If the school you are applying to gives specific questions for you to answer, you have to keep these in mind when writing your personal statement. You have to focus on these questions and make them your guide in weaving ideas. Each of them should be addressed in the essay to fulfill the requirements of your MBA application.

Veer away from meaningless prose and vague expressions

An ideal personal statement is concise but still persuasive. This is because excellent MBA essays
do not contain meaningless prose and vague expressions on them. In order to write an excellent essay, you have to be concise and straightforward in explaining your points. You should not coat your ideas with meaningless prose and vague phrases. Remember, your main goal is to write a concise and clear essay that won’t mislead your readers or leave a bad impression.

Delete irrelevant details

It is understandable that you can come up with too many brilliant ideas for your essay. However, the pages for the essay are limited. Because of this, you only have to choose ideas or topics that are relevant to the field you are applying to. If you deem some experiences and ideas irrelevant, don’t hesitate to delete them from your essay.

These tips will help you create an MBA admission essay that’s clear, concise, and persuasive enough to ensure your success in MBA school application.

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Essay Writing Tricks – How to write effective MBA admission essays
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What does it take to be on top of piles and piles of personal statements? Getting ahead of other qualified applicants is simple and easy with just the appropriately detailed MBA statement. You can make your personal statement stand out by being yourself. You don?t have to be flowery with words–just be real. Take it to them straightforward, avoid going in circles and overwhelming your essay with fillers. Other application requirements can boost your chances but having an eye-catching personal statement could be your biggest key to admission.

Let your essay speak on your behalf

The essay could be your other half when it comes to applying for MBA. Your resume and other parts of application are not enough for the selection panel to know more about you. So don?t just focus on your grades bu also on your quality or traits as a person. This will show them how you are as a person. It would make it easier for them to judge you if you are fit for their program. Don’t just focus on your skills but also your character traits

All your skills can already be found in your resume or curriculum vitae. So what you need to focus on your personal statement are your personal traits. Show them your true character and how it has helped build your career in your chosen field. Show them how, with your attitude in life, you are the right one for their program. Tell them a story like how you got through a major family crisis and reveal just enough about yourself.

Do be interesting, creative, and sincere

Making it interesting from the start till the end of your personal statement could be challenging, but providing the right details to your essay can make it easier for you. Be creative but be formal about your choice of words. You don?t have to be fancy about your experiences or what you?ve done–just be honest. Also avoid jargons and always think about your readers, whether it will interest them or bore them.

Remember to be sincere about what you share in your personal statement. It will show them how determined you are for a position in their program.

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Writing Personal Statement – Tips and tricks in writing an MBA personal statement
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Great Personal Statements ? List of steps in writing a great personal statement

After all those hours, days, or even weeks you spent working on your personal statement for your application, you would, of course, want your intended readers to really read your personal statement to the end. But you have to do your share in making your personal statement worth the read. Let your personal statement engage them like their favorite books do. Here are tips on how to do that.

Capture the readers’ attention right from the start

Attract your reader from your first few words and hook them up right away. Make your reader interested in what you have to say and anticipate the next lines. There are two aspects that you have to focus on: what you write and how you write it.

Let them see the world through your own eyes

Like your favorite book?s author, you must be able to effectively communicate what you see and feel through writing. If you choose to write about your favorite pet, let them “see” and “experience” what it?s like having a pet like yours.

Appeal to their emotions

One way to make your readers remember your personal statement against all other personal statements they?ve read is by making them remember you by heart. Studies show that emotions are harder to forget than facts, so if you want your readers to remember you, you can try making a personal statement that can touch their hearts. Describe yourself through interesting topics that are not overrated. You can also choose to write about an event or person who inspired you to choose a particular course or pursue a particular career path.

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Personal statement tips – Personal statement writing tips
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Using MBA essay samples as guides – All about using MBA essay samples as guides for writing your own

When thinking of a topic for your personal statement for MBA, you can try to recall some of your most recent travel experiences.  This is because travel experiences are good springboards when coming up with an essay topic that’s sure to capture the readers’ attention.

Why travel experiences are good essay topics

When you travel, you are able to see, experience, and get to taste a multitude of cultures, sights, and sounds.  Because of this, each trip you make especially to far away places are eye-opening experiences.  When writing your personal statement for MBA, try to think of a travel experience that had made a great impact on your decision in pursuing an MBA degree.  The travel experience doesn’t have to be a trip to an exotic country.  It could be just a trip to another state or to a place you’ve always wanted to see.  The important thing here is to be able to present that travel experience in your essay as a topic.

Travel experiences are also interesting to read, especially if you were able to help the readers conjure vivid images in their minds through your beautiful words.

How to discuss travel experiences in your essay

To help you discuss travel experiences in your MBA admission essay, here are some tips:

Make sure that the travel experience you’ve chosen is relevant to the topic of your essay.  Discussing a travel experience in an essay just for the sake of doing so is not a good idea.  The admission panel might just get the impression that you’re just showing off.  Including an irrelevant travel experience in your essay also makes your work look sloppy and unedited.

Use the appropriate descriptive words or phrases for a more effective approach.  When telling the admissions panel about a recent trip, make sure to use the right words or phrases to achieve the effect you want.  However, don’t go overboard.  Keep in mind that your personal statement is to convince the readers that you deserve an acceptance letter to the MBA school and not to serve as a travel article.

Know what details to include.  When writing your personal statement, it’s important that you know what details to include.  Too much details might make your essay confusing.  Try to keep yourself focused as your write your draft.  To make sure you are on the right track, come up with an outline for your essay.

Coming up with a Winning Personal Statement for MBA for a Successful Career in the Corporate World

Coming up with a winning personal statement for MBA is not difficult as long as you have the right reasons for entering MBA.  Just wanting to get an MBA is not going to cut it.  You need to be clear with yourself about the reasons for wanting an MBA and you should express those reasons in an interesting and attention-grabbing manner.

Be clear on your MBA goal

The basic thing that you should determine when applying for an MBA is the reasons why you are applying for an MBA.  Saying that your parents want it or that you think it will look good in your resume isn’t just going to cut it.  You would need to do some serious reflection (if you haven’t done it yet) on the reasons why you would like to get an MBA.  Sure, it sounds impressive, but you should remember that getting an MBA is more about you, your goals, and how an MBA will contribute to your growth as a person.  As such, getting into an MBA is not as simple as choosing your shampoo or the brand of cereal to buy.  You need to remember that your MBA goals should reflect your personality, abilities, knowledge, experience, and how those make you fit well with the MBA program that you’re applying for.  Basically, you should show that you know what you are doing with your life by applying for an MBA, and that you can help your organization and the community by doing so.

Watch your language

Once you are clear with the reasons why you want an MBA, the next step is putting that into words or writing.  Is there a specific tone or method that you should follow for a personal statement for MBA?  The good thing is that there is none.  But that would also leave one in a limbo as you would not know what to do. The best approach usually is to speak from the heart. As personal statements are devised to let admission officials know you personally, you should let your personality, beliefs, and opinions show in your personal statement.  But that doesn’t mean that anything goes. You should also be selective in the details that you present; you should present details that show your goals and your abilities, and forward your convictions and qualifications for deserving an MBA.

On a practical note, you should edit your statement as many times as it takes.  Get the feedback of as many people as possible on your work and objectively assess their points.  Doing so would let you see issues with your personal statement that you can’t see when you do it on your own.

Winning personal statements usually depend on the candidate, what his or her reasons are, and whether they gave serious reflection on those goals and whether they can express those ideas clearly.  In the end, it would depend on the person, his or her qualifications and reasons, and how well those ideas get through on the personal statement.

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Discussing Relevant Study Group Experiences in Your Personal Statement for MBA

If you’re looking for an angle to discuss in your personal statement for MBA and you have experience in study groups, then you could mention that in your personal essay.  It would be helpful if the study group that you were involved in was in the company level, but if it was from your university days, it will do as well.  The only thing you need to do is to relate your experience in the study group to the specific MBA program you want to apply to.  There are things that you can highlight when you do discuss your study group experience in your personal statement.  Here are some of them.

Teamwork and collaboration

As study groups require interpersonal relations, you can highlight your ability to work well with other people. You can mention instances of personality clashes and mention how you handled them.  You can also mention any leadership qualities that you displayed in the study group, like maintaining the focus and discipline of the group and making helpful suggestions.  Especially in a professional or company setting, you can mention any new initiatives or breakthroughs the study group achieved because of your suggestions.

Relating your MBA goals

You should also make sure to relate your study group experience to your personal and career goals.  Mention things that you’ve learned or experiences that influenced you in pursuing an MBA.  For example, if you’re pursuing a career in financial engineering, you can mention how your study group experience made you realize the importance of applying what you’ve learned in a business setting.

Aside from that, you can also mention skills that you’ve learned, challenges that you’ve faced while working with the study group.  This can give admission officials an idea of your potential for growth and ability to handle obstacles.  These details can help the officials gauge your leadership qualities and be convinced that you have what it takes to be an industry leader.

Relate the school

You also need to mention some details about the school and how you’re a right fit for their program.  You can mention how well the school’s program matches what you need in your MBA program.  This also shows that you have seriously considered your MBA goals and looked around for the right school that can give you what you need to achieve your career goals.

Another thing is, your study group experience may not amount to much if you didn’t study the school that you’re applying for.  So, show off some of your research skills by mentioning details about the school which you deemed best apt to help you in your MBA study.

Mentioning study group experience is a good angle so long as you know how to use it.  And not just use it, you should remember to mention this experience only if it was crucial in your MBA decision.  If it is, just highlight some of the things mentioned here to emphasize your skills and let admission officials know the person behind the MBA application.

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Effectively Discussing Your Preferred Business Specialty in Your Personal Statement for MBA

As a personal statement for MBA requires that you discuss your goals and reasons for applying for an MBA, it will be good for your application if you discuss what your plans are for your specialization.  Doing so would show that you have a clear view of the future, and that you consider an MBA necessary for your goals.  But how should you go about it?  Here are some things to consider when discussing your MBA specialization.

Don’t forget yourself

Though it’s tempting to discuss your qualifications and achievements, they are already in your resume and other application documents.  What the personal statement should contain is a glimpse of you as a person.  You certainly can mention your qualifications for a certain program, but you should also bring in your own story to the discussion. You can mention details as to why you chose that program, such as certain experiences or people that influenced you.  You can also mention some aspects of your personality that matches your preferred specialization.  These things can present both your qualifications and have the admission committee have a good grasp of you as a person.

Don’t forget the school

Make your personal statement as specific as possible to the school that you’re applying to.  If you sincerely believe in your goal and an MBA is the means to that goal, then you should have been serious in your school selection.  You should have done research on the school and found out reasons why you think the school provides you the best opportunity for your growth and success in your chosen specialization.  Once you have those details, it’s just a matter of sharing those details in your personal statement for MBA.  Basically, you just tell them why you think their school is one of the best that can offer you what you need to advance your career.  It may sound like sucking up, but it won’t be if you provide a context, mentioning your greater goal of achieving success in your chosen field.

Choose your details carefully

Since the space allowed for the personal statement is limited, you need to exercise discretion in the details that you’ll discuss.  You can’t mention everything about yourself, so you should choose the best details that can illustrate you’re suited for the school and the program.  How do you choose the details?  You already have your goals, the school, and the program as your guide.  Follow your gut; include details which you feel are the most important aspects on why you chose to take up MBA and select the particular specialization.  You can also ask friends, family, and colleagues for help on which details to discuss.  But eventually, it is you who will decide which are important details about yourself that relates strongly to your application.

Discussing your preferred specialization is a good angle to pursue when making your personal statement.  It shows that you have plans for the future, and that you’re aware of what you need to achieve your goals.  All you need to do is to express those reasons in your own words and you should come up with an effective personal statement.

Photo Credit : phototram

In the 2008 MBA School rankings by Business Week, the Haas School of Business falls in the 10th place, the Johnson Graduate School of Management is in the 11th rank, and the Tuck School of Business is the 12th placer. The following are short descriptions of these three MBA schools.

Haas School of Business (University of California–Berkeley)

The founding of the Haas School of Business was put forward by Arthur Rodgers who was a businessman and an alumnus of Berkeley. Rodger’s idea of a College of Commerce in the University of California was heard in his 1883 commencement address and it took more or less 15 years for this idea to become a reality. The types of programs offered at the Haas School of Business include full-time and part-time MBAs, undergraduate and executive programs, PhDs, non-degree programs, and Masters in Financial Engineering.

Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth College)

The Tuck School of Business is notable for producing graduates who later became distinguished individuals in the world of business. This business school was founded in 1900 and is located in Dartmouth. In the course of its long and splendid history, Tuck School of Business gave birth to many distinguished individuals who have helped shaped the world of business. Among them are Colin Kenny, Mark Byrne, Philip J. Moss, Anne Sullivan, John Jacquemin, and Quentin L. Kopp.

Johnson Graduate School of Management (Cornell University)

Another notable school of business is Johnson Graduate School of Management. This academic institution was founded in 1946. There are various programs to choose from at Johnson Graduate School of Management. Among these are MBAs, executive MBAs, and PhDs. Prominent alumni of Johnson School include Daniel Hesse of Sprint Nextel Corp., Nancy Schlichting of Henry Ford Health System, Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods, Inc., Robert Ramin of National Aquarium, and Kyung-Bae Suh of AmorePacific Corp.

If you plan to pursue your studies in any of these academic institutions, you have to prepare your personal statement for MBA. You can visit the site of each school to get more information about the application process.