Paul Bodine is the author of
Great Application Essays for Business School (McGraw-Hill, 2005),
Great Personal Statements for Law School (McGraw-Hill, 2005), and a past contributor to the
Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University. A senior editor at the online admissions consulting service Accepted.com, Bodine has helped clients earn admissions to top B-schools.
Bodine (AuthorBodine) recently fielded questions from an audience of applicants and B-schools channel editor
Francesca Di Meglio (FrancescaBW). Here is an edited excerpt of the live chat event:
FrancescaBW: The first question comes from someone who could not join us today. The member writes, "I work with Ernst & Young in China and have three years of work experience. I want a career change with the MBA. I hope to work for the World Bank or a nonprofit organization. How can I articulate the reasons for a career change?"
AuthorBodine: It is acceptable to tell the admissions committee that you want to work for nonprofits. You need to explain why, if you had that as a goal your whole life, you didn't pursue it earlier. You also need to show what you've been doing outside of your current career that demonstrates your interest in nonprofits. You don't have to have experience in the career that you want to change into, but you have to have a really good reason for wanting to switch industries, and you have to demonstrate some concrete knowledge or due diligence about the career you want.
jps: How do business school essays compare to undergraduate essays?
AuthorBodine: In general, business school essays are probably less creative (see BW Online, 11/3/05,
"Cover Letter Essay"). The things [admissions committees] ask are a little less off-the-wall than college essays. In terms of your response, you're expected to show more maturity and self-knowledge. Since you're applying to business school, it's important to demonstrate your business experience and to know what your specific goals are. For a college essay, you don't necessarily have to know what your career goals are.
theashish: Won't I sound boastful if I talk about my qualifications and achievements in my essay?
AuthorBodine: It's a question of tone. If you show that what you value in your achievements is the impact they've had on your organization or the people within it, then you don't sound boastful. But if you talk about how many people you stepped over to get where you are, then that paints a different picture. The schools understand that it's about self-marketing. This is not the time to be overly modest. I think you need to express your achievements in concrete factual terms, rather than subjective "I'm great" terms.
FrancescaBW: Next, we have another question from someone who could not join us today. The member wanted to know what kinds of extracurricular activities she should write about in her essays -- volunteering, doing your friends' taxes, etc.?
AuthorBodine: I think volunteering is an excellent extracurricular activity, because it shows selflessness and the kind of community orientation that schools value. Those extracurriculars that are solitary are less valuable. At the same time, there are two other factors to keep in mind. One is how passionate you are about the activity. The more passionate you are, the longer it's been part of your life, the better addition it will make to your essay. The other is basically showing leadership wherever possible, whether it be sports, a club, or volunteer organization. An activity that shows leadership is better than one that does not.
FrancescaBW: We often hear that applicants look to get help on their essays from editors or admissions consultants. How do the schools feel about that?
AuthorBodine: I think that schools are definitely against services that provide prewritten essays or that write it for you. But most schools are open to the idea of working with someone, whether it be a consultant, friend, or family member who can help you write your best essay. Most schools know that admissions consultants are out there, and they feel that as long as the line isn't crossed in terms of putting words in the applicant's mouth, then it's a valuable service. As a consultant, I have to help communicate who the person is, as opposed to what I think the school wants to hear.
FrancescaBW: Here's another question from someone who wasn't available to join us today. What's the best way to organize the essay explaining why you want to earn an MBA?
AuthorBodine: There are basically three essential parts of the goals essay. One of them is "career progress" (see BW Online, 9/12/05,
"Career Progress Essay"). It's the reflective part of the essay where you explain where your goals came from and talk about your accomplishments. You create a context for discussing what your goals are, and show that they extend from who you are and what you've done. The second part is the statement of the goals themselves. And that can be broken down into short-, intermediate-, and long-term. You want to be as specific as you can be.
And the third major part is the "why our school" section, which is when you must explain why a given school is the best one for you. The best way to show why a particular school is ideal is to do some research on the curriculum and resources. In other words, link some of your post-MBA career goals with the specific strengths of the program. And the other way to show that you're interested in a particular school is to refer to particular members of the school who you've actually spoken to. You want to show that you've taken steps to know the place, through talking with the alumni, professors, and students. By the way, these sections don't have to be in that order.
kdhong: If I spoke with alumni of the school I want to attend, would there be any value to putting their specific names in my essay?
AuthorBodine: It's an excellent idea. But you have to do more than just drop names. You have to talk about what impressed you about what they said and how what they told you deepened your knowledge of the school. It might even help you if you did more than drop their name, but also show that you know something about their career track, because it might be relevant to your goals.
lilydj: What should I be focusing on when writing for Executive MBA application essays?
AuthorBodine: The level of your accomplishment is expected to be much higher than if you were applying for an MBA. You have to demonstrate greater impact and leadership/management experience. Also, your goals should be much more highly defined. The other big difference is that the EMBA application is usually for someone who is looking to advance in their existing career path, whereas the full-time MBA is more often than not used to make a career change.
tkovalsky: What is the best way to figure out your long- and short-term goals?
AuthorBodine: Short-term is from when you get your MBA to five years out, maximum. And long-term can be anything after that -- five years until the end of your career. The best way to figure out your goals is to ask yourself what you like and dislike about your current job. Then do some research into the careers that might allow you to maximize the things you enjoy. After that, you should do some information interviews with people who work in that field, so you can determine if you'd like this industry. Most people's goals stem from their work experience. In other words, they find out what they want to do as their career evolves because they get exposure to a new career that interests them.
MBAShelly: How do you show the personal side of yourself in the essay?
AuthorBodine: I think you have to have both factual and subjective information. By subjective I mean that you should show them what your values are and what you enjoy. Those are subjective things, but you have to provide evidence or examples that demonstrate those subjective assertions, that illustrate you live by those values. It's important to illustrate your personal side with specific stories.
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