We have the instinct to understand themes in paragraphs. The first paragraph is about a certain topic; the second is about another, and so on. But when writing an open-ended essay, like the What More Harvard Essay or What Matters Stanford Essay, applicants are confused about the themes to choose. Many choose projects from their professional career, while some choose values, and many are stuck in childhood victories that often don’t translate well in MBA application essays.
So here is the one thing that you must keep in mind before using themes:
Keep themes to 3 and Tie it All together.
Our memory can hold 7 + or – 3 data points. That is why phone numbers are limited to 9-10 digits. In editing an essay, the most time I spend is structuring the essay and limiting the theme to 3. This applies to open-ended essays, which typically start with a pivotal moment in the applicant’s life that sets the foundation for a value. That is theme #1. But if you choose to make the essay all about One theme, it will look forced. This is the biggest challenge I see while editing Yale’s commitment Essay. The school is asking you to limit the theme to 1 - commitment. And many struggle with this essay. The school recognizing the limitations of the essay, has now incorporated additional questions.
It can’t be a generic professional, volunteering, and extra-curricular contribution with three different themes.
For Example: Let us say, you work in Venture Capital For Clean Tech, the volunteering is in equitable access of solar energy through a non-profit, and your extra-curricular is about educating communities about Climate Change through your art – painting, drawing or music, then the common thread of the three theme is the value of clean energy.
So keep this secret in mind when you are tempted to add all your achievements from the resume into one essay.
It is all about themes.
And not all themes can work well with each other in one essay, regardless of how impressive your achievements were in that theme.
If you want to know more about how to write MBA Application Essays, Download F1GMAT’s Winning MBA Essay Guide
