University Applications

We have been discussion preparations for GMAT, researching business schools etc. I will continue to post further on those topics. However, I now want to also focus on the university applications part. Some myths and facts that we need to clear before we move further.
Myth1: I need to have a lavish vocabulary to impress the admissions committee
Fact: While a lavish vocabulary is good, using too many woolly and fluffy words can actually reduce your chance to grab a berth and get short-listed for the interview. Based on inputs from friends, peers and acquaintances in business school, and some pedantic knowledge via media (now I could easily have said theoretical instead of pedantic. What was your first reaction when you read 'pedantic'?), the evaluator of your essay has about 10 minutes to score the essays. What the evaluator is looking for is your experience, your thought process and your power of communication. The evaluator could be a senior student from the business school, a faculty member or some external consultant hired to do the evaulation. The evaluator wants to understand your story not your vocabulary. Trust me if the evaluator has to resort to the thesaurus every minute, its a big turn-off.

Myth2: I need to spend a lot of hours and money to get a good essay done
Fact: You don't need more than 10 hours to get a crisp application package in place. Your resume is in place but it typically is drafted to apply for jobs. A typical MBA Application Resume is never more than 1 page giving an executive summary of your work experience, proficiency in your area of work and academic skills. A lot of information, normally present in the job resume is filled in by you in certain forms provided by the business school. You need not repeat it.

Moreover, its going to be extremely difficult for an external consultant to draft your story. You know your story best. You should be the one driving this. That being said, it is always good to have 2 or 3 opinions on the essays preferably from various backgrounds. Lets say you are into marketing, you should try to choose 1 friend, 1 business acquaintance and a good consultant if you can find one (this is not mandatory at all) There are multitudes of people who pay consultants hefty sums of USD 150 to USD 500 to get an application package done. Unless you don't really value your money, don't go for it. Either get a consultant who can do at least 3 applications for you within USD 100 or seek assistance from some local freelance journalist who writes about careers and education. (Typically they charge about USD 10 to USD 25 per hour. A fruitful application session is done within 3 hours)

To simplify myths further, I have decided to share some of the Winning Essays done at GMAT Wings. These are all essays that either got our student admitted or at least an interview call. These essays have been reproduced with permission from the candidates. Sensitive information has been masked for obvious reasons. I would like to stress that any attempt to reproduce the essays will only harm an aspirant's chances with business schools. These materials are not protected by copyright laws. Feel free to share these with your friends, colleagues who might benefit from these inspiring essays.

The essays can be found on www.gmatwings.in