Stacy/Lisa,

Thanks for taking the time to help us out.

I have a question about the typical essay question that asks what our short and long term career goals are. I understand that this question is important because if shows whether or not real thought has been placed into the reasoning for completing an MBA, but is that their main reason for asking this question?

Do they look at the desired career field and base admission decisions based on the goal? For example, I am 100% sure I want to work in an investment management function when I graduate. These jobs are some of the most difficult positions to obtain and the fact that I am a career switcher with no previous investment management experience just makes it that much more difficult.

Will schools look at this and ding me just because the chances of me landing my dream job directly out of school are slim? Are they worried that I will not be placeable and thus will not risk impacting their stats by offering me a spot in the class?

Would I be better off saying that I wanted to go into a general financial management position?

Any insight into how the schools use this question to determine admissions would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any advice as how to proceed with this question, I would appreciate it.

Thanks