Know Your Brand: Acing the MBA Admissions Essay
By Chioma Isiadinso
Admissions Consulting and Personal Branding Expert
No two successful admissions essays are alike, for the simple reason that no two successful
applicants are alike. A myth persists that there is a formula, or an ideal candidate profile,
one that will automatically please admissions officers at top MBA programs – yet nothing could
be further from the truth. The essays are, by definition, unique: it is your one chance really
to be yourself. What follow are the ten things to keep in mind as you approach the most challenging
part of the MBA application.
Chioma founded EXPARTUS based on her vision of
personal branding as a key component of a successful
admissions process and her passion to enable others
to realize their life's dreams. Previously, Chioma
served as an Assistant Director of Admissions and a Member
of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School, where
she reviewed applications, interviewed U.S. and international
candidates, and developed a marketing strategy focused
on minority candidates and the MBA program.
1. Find a cohesive brand theme, even across multiple essays
Most top schools ask that you write two, three, or even six essays. While these pieces
shouldn't overlap and should reveal a broad array of details about your life and experience,
there should also be a strong theme that connects them.
2. Connect to your brand
No other part of the application offers a better opportunity to define your personal brand than the
essay. It is the perfect chance to find your own unique angle, what separates you from other
prospective candidates. Make the essay your own – and, in doing so, be yourself, not who you think someone wants you to be.
3. Show, don't tell
The first trap applicants fall into is the broad stroke: they tell about themselves rather than
showing who they are. Be specific. A simple rule of thumb is to avoid lists of adjectives – "I
am poised, tenacious, and hungry to achieve" – and instead tell a story that shows the reader
that you are poised, tenacious, and hungry to achieve.
4. Build a narrative
It is impossible to tell one story across the multiple essays of an application, but to the extent
that it is possible, each essay should have a strong narration – a progression of ideas and events,
a sense of pacing and structure, a quality of anticipation and revelation. The essays can't be a
paperback thriller, of course, but the more you make an admissions officer want to finish
reading your essay, the more memorable you will be as an applicant.
5. Discuss the future
An offer of admission is an investment on the part of a top MBA program: each new student is a
future graduate and, the school hopes, a future success story. Therefore, the school is eager to
know what you plan to do once you have left. Your discussion of career plans need not be exact –
you aren't expected to have every single thing figured out – but it should be as specific as possible,
and it should be plausible. Ambition is a good thing to have, but it should not make the reader
incredulous: connect your plans to the past experiences you have discussed elsewhere in the essay;
these goals should progress naturally from what you have already accomplished.
6. Don't brag
Admitted students at top MBA programs are, by definition, impressively accomplished – that is why
they were admitted. However, you can be sure that every one of them discussed those accomplishments
in their essays without coming across as boastful. In the personal statement, as in other parts of
life, hubris is a vice. Do not be excessively or falsely modest – you want admissions officers to
know what you have done – but discuss your accomplishments in a tone that is professional and humble.
No one likes a braggart.
7. Failures are "challenges" and even "opportunities"
If there are aspects of your biography that constitute disappointments or failures, then put a positive
spin on them and turn those setbacks into advantages: show how you have grown. For instance, if you
applied to business school in the past and did not gain admission – a common experience – then show
what you have done to bounce back, how you transformed an unexpected letdown into an opportunity for
personal growth.
8. Know the school's mission and strengths
Applications aren't read in a vacuum. As you compose your essays for, say,
Harvard and
Stanford,
they will be much the same – but they should by no means be exactly the same. Different schools
have different strengths and different focuses. Know the schools you are applying to and play
to their individual qualities.
9. Avoid minutiae such as test scores and grades
The essays are not the place to justify a low GMAT score or to parse your G.P.A. With rare exceptions,
the transcript and test scores speak for themselves, and attempts to annotate them only get on the
nerves of admissions officers. Don't nitpick – rather, use the essay to clarify and expand on your
personal brand.
10. Be mindful not to repeat other parts of the application
You have limited space to establish and reinforce your personal brand. Don't waste it repeating
information covered elsewhere.