When entering a business school, applicants undergo a series of tests (interviews, questionnaires, exams). Application essay is one of the most difficult and responsible of them. Therefore, special attention should be paid to this assignment. Reading MBA application essay examples will greatly facilitate the preparation process.

Features of an MBA essay

Essay is a written creative work on the theme prescribed by the business school. The student's task is to reveal the proposed topic, to reinforce the arguments with persuasive examples and arguments. There is quite a reasonable question: why do you need it if you have already written a questionnaire, and one of the hardest interviews in life is waiting for you?

Such an essay gives the first idea of the potential student. Members of an admission committee want to know whether you are a promising person, effective as a leader and a team player, able to find creative ways out of unusual situations, what values and principles guide you when making certain decisions.

In fact, the essay should convince representatives of a business school that you are suitable for their environment, will easily become a part of local society, can contribute to the educational process. Moreover, the essay reflects the course of your thoughts, literacy and ability to persuade other people.

Types of MBA essays

Looking for an example of MBA application essay, you need to understand exactly what kind of paper you need. There are several options:

Personal Statement or Letter of Intent which has two main types: general and responding to specific questions posed by a program or a university.
Short essay - a paper of limited size inside an Application Form.

Structure of the essay

A classic MBA essay example consists of the following parts:

An introduction that contains the main idea. It can be expressed in the form of a question, a description of the situation, a quotation, etc.
The central part maximally reveals the idea given in the introduction. Remember that each subsequent paragraph contains a new thought, but it should be a logical continuation of the previous one.
In conclusion, the author must return to the main idea and describe the lessons learned from the situation, or make his own forecasts.

Number and volume of the essays

The number of essays, depending on the requirements of a school, can vary from 2 to 12. All of them are considered as part of a single set of documents. The volume of a text is from 500 to 2,000 words (1-3 pages). As a rule, the less the number of essays is, the larger they should be in volume.

A recommended limit can usually be exceeded by 10%. Still, it is better to adhere to a requirement for the number of words and pages. It is possible that a business school will automatically cut off the unnecessary text, thereby making the essay unfinished and decide that the author did not follow the general rules and instructions.

Essay style

The essay is a prosaic genre, where a free composition is allowed. However, you should not overdo with creativity. Each excellent MBA essay example for a business school is written, rather, in an official style. Slang, jargon and abbreviations are unacceptable.

Formatting

Bad design can substantially spoil the impression of the admission committee and significantly reduce the chances of enrollment. Pay attention to the font. Many business schools set their own demands. If there are none, use the popular Times New Roman, Arial or Verdana. The size should be not less than 10. In most cases, the line spacing is 1.5 points.