At Menlo Coaching, we noticed that most MBA essays will fall into one of a number of categories: personal essays, career goals essays, behavioral essays, etc. Read ahead for our expert guide on approaching these essays for UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
We all belong to different communities representing various aspects of who we are, including groups we belong to, where we come from, how we think, what we believe, and how we see and experience the world. The process of discovery is strengthened when people with diverse perspectives and life experiences come together to share and learn from one another, negotiate differences, and engage in diplomacy.
At UNC Flagler, they have a customizable curriculum that urges their students to think innovatively and deal with problems head-on. Through the story you relate in your essay, the admissions council is looking to see if you reflect these same values that the school does. The school is looking for students who are innovative and yearn to gain tangible work experience in the program that they can use to further their career. The best way to represent that you possess those qualities is through the type of essay you choose to write.
It’s crucial to pick the right experience to discuss in your essay, and the different types of prompts help narrow that down for you. Keep reading for a closer look at the different types of essays, and how best to utilize them in order to write some stand-out UNC MBA essays.
You’re not the only one hoping you’ll have a job after you’ve graduated with your MBA. Admissions committees are looking for students who are motivated and clear in their intentions so that when they get a job post-grad, they’ll be more willing to speak positively of their experience in the program. And, of course, in the hopes that their alumni will earn enough money to become a donor to the school one day.
For example, if you aim to work in real estate, this is an essay to take seriously. UNC Kenan-Flagler is well-known for their alumni’s success in the real estate field, and showing them that you also strive to achieve that same success is wholly beneficial to your chances of being admitted.
There are three aspects to the career goals essay:
Your aspirations need to be convincing, ambitious, and realistic. The admissions committee is looking for applicants who have meaningful goals grounded in their past experiences, and it’s important that you relate that notion in your essay, however it applies to your experience in life.
To make it simple: the behavioral essay is meant to show UNC Kenan-Flagler that you have developed some sort of leadership skills, what your values are as a leader, and how you are going to most benefit from their development programs.
The admissions committee is looking for applicants that are self-reflective. Whether it’s through a setback you’ve experienced, or how you dealt with situations that have gone awry, the school is looking for students who are resilient and able to learn from their mistakes.
Do not overexaggerate (or underexaggerate!) the situations you decide to write about. Be honest about what happened; UNC Flagler is looking for genuine people to join their campus community, and they are less likely to admit an applicant who has overinflated their prior experiences.
Last but not least, make sure to describe what you learned and how you implemented this in a subsequent situation. This is an expected element of the behavioral essay, even if it’s not directly written in the prompt. Prompts that deal with these topics can be daunting, especially when they require you to write about a weakness you have or a failure you’ve experienced.
Once you’ve completed your application, the optional UNC MBA essay gives you an additional opportunity to provide the AdCom with any additional information or clarity that you feel would enhance your application.
One trap that MBA applicants fall into is using the additional space provided by this essay to write on a whole new topic. However, this is not always the best idea.
You should only make use of this essay if you what you write will provide context to an element of your application to improve your candidacy—you don’t want to jeopardize your chances by adding unnecessary noise to your application.
Writing strong, coherent, genuine stories is an essential part of your MBA application. These essays are meant to help you stand out among many other applicants, so it is worth your time to do the work and write about situations unique to your life and that you truly learned from.
Struggling to tackle Kenan-Flagler MBA admissions essays? Our experienced team specialize in MBA admissions consulting, offering personalized guidance to help you craft compelling essays that stand out.
