How to write the Best MBA Application Essay

If you had seen the keynote address that Steve Jobs delivered during MacWorld Expo and other Apple launch events, you would notice four things in his communication: Emotional Connection, Focus, Minimum Jargons, and Creative Solutions. You can highlight these four traits in your essays.

a) Emotional Connection

One thing that made Steve Jobs different from other presenters was his passion. What does passion mean? A powerful emotion of anger or love. It is clearly visible in charismatic leaders – the manner in which they explain things, the way they see the future and how they sell their vision. Interestingly, it is contagious. In MBA application essays, your words should convey strong emotions. Don’t overdo with powerful adjectives but if the sentence conveys a strong belief in values like integrity, hard work, resourcefulness, boldness, and goodwill for the community, you will stand out from hundreds of wannabe MBAs.

b) Focus

Initially, what Apple’s competitors failed to do during their presentation was that they focused on features, rather than benefits. Of course, we love features but it should serve the purpose of benefiting us in one way or the other. Let us imagine that the Adcom is not an Apple Loyalist, and you are Steve Jobs. How will you show that an Apple Product is different from other products that they are used to? You are most likely to focus on:

a) Design
b) Ease of Use

How would you focus on your achievements so that it highlights your uniqueness? That is a tough task. You should have a deep understanding about your competitors and what a typical essay look like. An essay that summarizes achievements is like a presentation that focuses too much on Features. Pick your two traits or values that led you to achieve your goals.

Let us say for you it was:

a) Persuasion

b) Sense of Community

The essay word limit will force you to think about explaining things in a succinct manner. By understanding and selecting the most relevant strengths and values, you can make the narrative more convincing. The passion will come across.

c) Minimum Jargons

If you have closely watched Steve Job’s presentation, you will notice that he goes through the Gigabytes and Screen Inch size but eventually will focus on what it means to the end-user. In 2001, when Steve Jobs introduced 5 GB IPod, he mentioned the size of the storage but quickly followed it up with the benefit.

“1000 songs in your pocket”

AdCom members who have very little experience in your industry might read your essay. Don’t bombard them with jargons. But if you can’t avoid it, mention it but follow it up with what it means to achieve the goal. This is a common issue seen among tech applicants. Let us assume that a tech MBA applicant’s team developed an IPhone app that allows Pilots to review historical data about engine checks and other maintenance activities. The essay can dwell either on the features of the app or on how it made air travel much safer. Support it with statistics like there was 15% reduction in the number of emergency landing. Don’t fudge facts. Research and find out how your contribution has impacted the community.

d) Creative Solutions

Admission team wants candidates who are creative, but they don’t want individual contributors, who can single-handedly create solutions. The candidate should be open to the idea of collaborating with other MBAs. Picasso had a once famously said 'good artists copy; great artists steal.' Most creative artists find inspiration in several sources. What differentiates you from the artist is how you credit the team. Reveal a few names in your essay and demonstrate your maturity as a leader.

Find out how to write the Best MBA Application Essays