Ask Stacy Blackman

Hi Stacy/Amy,

I took the GMAT in May 07 and score 750 (Q 49, V 42, AWA 6). I plan to attend a b-school in Fall 08. By then, I will have around 3 yrs of work experience.

Chicago GSB is one of my target schools. I was drafting the essays for the GSB and have a doubt in the second essay "If you could step into someone else's shoes for a day, who would it be and why?" (500 word maximum).

I want to confirm which of the interpretations (given below) are correct:

1. The question, in a way, asks who your role model is and why. "One day" can be substituted by "one month" or the entire life-span of the person whom I choose.

Basically, in this essay, I should talk about the most desirables qualities that my role model has and how imbibing those qualities has shaped up my life.

OR

2. Should I select a particular person (say Mr. X) and then pick up a day in his life and elaborate on why I picked up that day from the person's life? I should not delve too much into telling stories about how some desirable traits in Mr. X have affected my life.

OR

3. Is there some completely different interpretation that you have?

Thanks,
Dhaval

Hi Dhaval,

"If you could step into someone else's shoes for a day, who would it be and why?" (500 word maximum).

Well, to begin with you should take it quite literally and make sure you answer the question. Make sure you say who you would want to be for a day and why. I would not ignore the "day" part and start talking about their entire lifespan - one reason for the limit is to keep your answer discrete, specific and manageable.

I can imagine many different angles to take on this question in terms of the person and why. It could be someone you admire either personally or professionally and perhaps you are interested in stepping into their shoes to learn something about their life, and by extension, about yourself. On a basic level, showing introspection here is valuable.

Good luck!

Amy