How do you approach this Haas EWMBA essay question?

[saintforlife]

Essay topic: Please tell us about yourself and your background. Include information about your family, where you grew up, your interests, and any other people or experiences that have influenced you. The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally. (1,000 word maximum)

What are some strategies to tackle this question? When you talk about your past life experiences, are you still being expected to tie this somehow into your future goals, why MBA, etc? But they do ask you not to talk about your professional accomplishments, so are we supposed to use personal experiences only as examples and draw something from those to justify MBA plans at this time?

Any suggestions, tips and advice from experts on how to approach this question is appreciated.

[Jon@Admissionado]

Well take the question at it's face value for starters. It's not a trick question actually. They REALLY want to know who you are. Of course they also want you to write about it very well. So my first idea would be to look for STORIES. What are your most interesting/wild/fun/spectacular/impressive/meaningful personal stories??? Actually the fact that the question is soooooo open is what makes it hard. And the critical point is in the selection of the right stories and ideas. So think about 3-4 of your best stories which illustrate your characteristic, which show your diversity (so for example four different stories about totally different things is great!), which will make them want to have you as a part of their student body.

[bremkofi]

This is your chance to get up close and personal with the adcom people. Think about a few things that happened to you or that you were involved in that made a difference in your life and show why they were important to you. These do not have to be success stories, but rather character-building episodes. What people or experiences changed the way you look at life and what in your background has influenced you the most? Family, friends and mentors. You do not have to justify your MBA plans here. This is the place to show your life learning curve in a personal way.

[Gowri@CrackVerbal]

What are some strategies to tackle this question? When you talk about your past life experiences, are you still being expected to tie this somehow into your future goals, why MBA, etc? But they do ask you not to talk about your professional accomplishments, so are we supposed to use personal experiences only as examples and draw something from those to justify MBA plans at this time?

Since the Haas EWMBA has 2 other questions that ask you about your goals and your motivations to pursue these, it is best to keep this one as a personal essay.

As Jon and bremkofi have pointed out, this is your chance to let them glimpse who you are - your personality, passions (apart from work), your influences and likes.

When you talk about these, think from the point of view of what image of yourself you want to convey to the AdCom. A good way to start is by listing all the awesome experiences you have had in various spheres of life, then writing down what each of these says about you - then evaluate whether you want to convey this message to the AdCom. Since you have 1000 words, you can talk about as many as 5 different aspects of yourself.

[PythaGURUS]

Hi,

Sit on a beach, Open a scotch ( Or whatever you prefer), GET DRUNK man, and think through the following:

- If you grew up in a small town, how did that shape your character? Haas has a very small community and strong bonding is really valued at this school. How have you been nurtured that makes you feel that you will create a strong connection with Haas?

- Think about the defining moments of your life and what is it that happened that empowered your decision making. Stepping outside the comfort zone for the first time? Staying in hostel?

- Identify someone who has been your mentor for a very long time and see what is it that you seek from him. It does not have to be a comfort zone, but what is the value that you try to create for yourself as a protégé. Who has influenced you?

- If your day does not inspire you, what could someone bring in now, and leave you with a life that you always wanted to live?

- When you picked your engineering college, what was it that really ticked you from deep within, and you had the most memorable moment?

While you get the behind scenes of your emotions, and really dig deeper, you will find common patterns in your responses. You will be able to see that ther are many overlaps in that have been driving your life and your decisions. ( If you cannot find them, you haven't looked deep enough. If you still can't find them, probably you are not inspired to apply).

As some of the responses have already pointed out, please create a diversity in your response. And this is not an essay to talk about your goals. ( unless you can spin a very convincing story, and inspire people about what you intend to do in the future.



Regards

Jatin Bhandari

Darden MBA 2008

PythaGURUS MBA Admissions

PythaGURUS Education

[PythaGURUS]

Hi,

Sit on a beach, Open a scotch ( Or whatever you prefer), GET DRUNK man, and think through the following:

- If you grew up in a small town, how did that shape your character? Haas has a very small community and strong bonding is really valued at this school. How have you been nurtured that makes you feel that you will create a strong connection with Haas?

- Think about the defining moments of your life and what is it that happened that empowered your decision making. Stepping outside the comfort zone for the first time? Staying in hostel?

- Identify someone who has been your mentor for a very long time and see what is it that you seek from him. It does not have to be a comfort zone, but what is the value that you try to create for yourself as a protégé. Who has influenced you?

- If your day does not inspire you, what could someone bring in now, and leave you with a life that you always wanted to live?

- When you picked your engineering college, what was it that really ticked you from deep within, and you had the most memorable moment?

While you get the behind scenes of your emotions, and really dig deeper, you will find common patterns in your responses. You will be able to see that ther are many overlaps in that have been driving your life and your decisions. ( If you cannot find them, you haven't looked deep enough. If you still can't find them, probably you are not inspired to apply).

As some of the responses have already pointed out, please create a diversity in your response. And this is not an essay to talk about your goals. ( unless you can spin a very convincing story, and inspire people about what you intend to do in the future.



Regards

Jatin Bhandari

Darden MBA 2008

PythaGURUS MBA Admissions

PythaGURUS Education