Lucky for MBA applicants, Haslam College of Business tends to stick to the same prompts year-on-year, which means it’s never too early to get started! Wondering where to start, what to write? No worries, we have all the tips you need to get a nice start on writing a quality essay for Haslam College of Business.
Most MBA programs will highly value the personal statement in your application. So don’t slack on it! Writing a unique essay that captures your individuality while responding to the prompt is a challenging task, but here at Menlo Coaching, we have a comprehensive guide to perfect it.
Haslam College of Business is looking for students with a well-rounded background and lots of experience that can be translated into a succinct and compelling statement. One of the essential tips for an impactful essay is asking yourself why you chose to highlight a particular experience. Did it show significant professional development? Did it show how you overcame a personal struggle? Making sure your essay connects to the prompt, especially that it shows why you are pursuing an MBA, will make your essay stand out. No matter what the essay prompt is, these tips are broadly applicable. With that being said, the two types of essays you will see on Haslam College of Business’s application are career goals and behavioral.
The career goals essay is the space to emphasize your post-MBA plans. MBA programs want to accept students who have concrete, achievable career plans and a roadmap to success. MBA programs want a glowing post-grad report that proves they produce successful graduates with many job prospects (and who will donate money in the future)! Haslam College of Business also wants students to promote their program to friends, co-workers, and prospective applicants.
The career goals essay combines your hard statistics (ex: GMAT score) with your interpersonal skills (ex: recommendations) to formulate the case for getting an MBA. Make sure to state your achievable short-term and long-term goals explicitly. Explain why an MBA would help you achieve these goals and how Haslam College of Business is essential to your plan. Also, research what fields the graduates of Haslam College of Business enter, and emphasize your findings in the essay to show you’re genuinely interested.
The behavioral essay asks you to reflect on your professional leadership skills. This could mean recalling a time when you’ve led a team to success or recovered after a failure and what you learned. Be honest with this essay, and don’t downplay the story; AdCom can tell if you’re disingenuous. Showing growth is essential to a constructive essay and shows development that you can easily apply to on-campus activities.
Say what mistakes you made and how you remedied them; if there is a situation where you used the lessons you learned from the failures, be sure to include that. Having the bravery to express your failures shows that you are willing to admit your mistakes.
Overall, honesty and growth are the most important parts of a successful MBA application essay. In addition, applying the lessons you learned shows improvement in your interpersonal and professional skills, making you a more attractive candidate for MBA programs. At Menlo Coaching, we are prepared to help you take the next step and perfect your essays. Visit our process page to understand how Menlo Coaching can help you!
