Top 5 Reasons for Not Discussing Sensitive Topics in Your MBA Personal Statement
There are a lot of MBA applicants who get carried away when writing their personal statements. Global news happening around you are good topics, but do not commit the blunder of talking like a news reporter. There is actually no limitations as to what topic you can discuss in your essay, as long as it is relevant and will let you show a side of yourself to the admissions panel.
However, there are certain things that are better not discussed in an MBA personal statement, such as controversial themes that have been debated upon since time immemorial. These sensitive topics can also include issues that involve a lot of ethical questions. Here are five reasons why you shouldn’t discuss sensitive topics in your MBA personal statement.
Reason #1: It would probably offend somebody in the admissions panel.
It is so easy to come across as preachy when writing an essay, and if you include a line that goes “I think women who go for abortions are very selfish,” then your personal statement is living dangerously. What if a member of the admissions committee has just undergone an abortion, or a family member of hers? She may be objective, but she would find it very hard to like you. If you have to mention a sensitive theme, avoid being judgemental; you can simply narrate how your friend’s abortion has made you decide on a crucial action.
Reason #2: It might reveal very little about you as a prospective MBA student.
Take note that an admission essay is not a mere recitation of your political or ethical thoughts. What the admissions officers expect is to see in the essay the writer’s capability of analyzing themes and discussing issues effectively while still keeping the relevance of such issues to the main topic of the essay.
Reason #3: It might destroy your essay’s coherence.
If you have a paragraph in your essay saying that a certain political candidate should not have won the recent elections, you need to elaborate on it, and chances are, the resulting supporting statements would simply reveal your political inclination, and nothing else. It would distract the readers from your main topic and goal, which is to make them see that you deserve a slot at their school. Plus, it’ll make your essay
unnecessarily longer. There are two main questions that you need to ask yourself if you are intent on discussing a sensitive topic in the essay. First is, will it make your essay more interesting? And second, is this theme very meaningful that it has to be included?
Reason #4: It might make you look like you’re trying to impress the panel.
There are certain topics that require a clever way of discussing them. If your only goal in discussing a sensitive topic in your essay is to impress the panel, then you might want to stop and think about it first. It’s good to make a good impression on the panel by showing off your writing skills. However, choosing a topic that you’re not really interested in but sounds controversial is never a good idea.
Reason #5: Some topics may not be sensitive, but should be avoided as well.
These are the topics that are so hard to analyze or discuss within a two-page essay. Complex topics that require much analytical skills should be avoided when writing an MBA personal statement. After all, you don’t want to give the admissions panel members a headache.
Sensitive or controversial essay topics may grab the attention of the readers but you should be able to discuss them effectively in your essay. To come up with a winning essay, you should know the type of topics to avoid. When choosing a topic, make sure that you are interested in it, you have some personal experiences to back it up, and that it is relevant to the essay questions or your goal, which is to convince the readers regarding your application.
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Highlighting Your Strengths in Your MBA Personal Statement
A key to coming up with a well-written essay is writing one that properly focuses on your strengths without sounding too arrogant. After all, there is a big difference between an MBA personal statement that is so obnoxiously arrogant, and one that properly highlights your strengths. It is also a bad thing to present an admission essay that short-sells yourself, because such an essay would defeat your purpose, which is to convince the admissions panel that you deserve a slot in their school. Striking a balance between the
two is the challenge. Read the following tips on how to write an MBA personal statement that focuses on your strengths.
Discuss your academic achievements without being too redundant.
Having high grades can be one of your strengths. Take note though that having a high GPA won’t guarantee a 100% application success. What it can tell the admissions panel is that you, as a student, were able to really focus on your studies. However, discussing your high grades as strengths in your personal statement doesn’t mean you have to repeat what’s written in your transcript or other submitted documents. The trick here is to discuss having good grades as a reflection of your personality or traits such as discipline and perseverance.
Discuss your well-rounded personality by focusing on certain experiences.
The admissions officers are more impressed with somebody who is well-rounded. Thus, if you took on a part-time job such as waiting tables at a restaurant or selling shoes door to door, mention them in the essay. What these experiences show is that you have good time management skills, especially if you were able to maintain good grades despite having to work part-time. However, don’t make the mistake of discussing too many experiences in your MBA personal statement. Too many information or details can make your essay confusing. When writing your essay, it’s best to focus on experiences that made you learn important lessons in life, thus improving your character in the process.
Other tips
The personal statement is one of the most crucial parts of the application process. It is here that you
would ultimately sell yourself without sounding like the most arrogant person in the batch. Mention factually the things you were able to do, while at the same time incorporating life experiences. It is not sufficient to mention your strengths without linking them to your decision to pursue an MBA degree. An effective essay discusses the writer’s strengths while connecting it to his or her decision to pursue an MBA degree or explaining a response to a given essay question.
Selling yourself is the ultimate goal when writing an admissions essay. After all, you have to convince the admissions panel that you deserve to be accepted to their school. Once you have listed down your strengths, select a few that would make your essay stand out from the rest and grab the readers’ attention. Then discuss these strengths effectively without sounding boastful.
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Writing an MBA Personal Statement Focusing on Your Analytical Skills
Analytical skills are very important in whatever field or career you choose to study or excel in. Especially in the corporate world where important business decisions are based on critical and analytical thinking, having good analytical skills is an advantage. Focusing on these skills in your MBA personal statement is a good idea to come up with a winning essay that’ll stand out from other essays.
Right from the start, the admissions people are very critical when it comes to admitting applicants. After all, the competition among MBA schools is tough, since only a few slots are available. To help you out, here are some tips when writing a personal statement for MBA school that focuses on your analytical skills.
Discussing relevant experiences
When writing your admission essay, discuss experiences that helped you improve your analytical skills. These experiences can include previous leadership positions, being able to handle a difficult task by using your analytical skills, or being able to join school organizations that really honed your critical thinking skills.
In your essay, focus more on relevant experiences instead of listing down your achievements or grades as proof of your exceptional analytical skills. You’ll also be required to submit your transcript and other application documents so avoid repeating information in your essay unnecessarily.
If you do not have strong analytical skills, should you give up?
The answer is of course no, because there are other considerations that the admissions people would look into. As mentioned, analytical skills could be learned, and in the essay, you can actually discuss the steps you’ve taken to further hone such skills. Always remember that analytical skills can be developed with the right experiences.
Other factors to consider
There are other factors you have to consider when writing an essay. Aside from your analytical skills, your people skills are also very important. Discussing these other strengths or skills in your essay is also a good way to come up with a well-written personal statement.
Aside from discussing your skills and strengths in your essay, you should also make a point to thoroughly edit and proofread your work. An essay filled with technical grammars is not worth the readers’ attention even if it effectively discusses your strengths as a prospective MBA student and as a future corporate executive. Let others read your essay so that they could give objective suggestions that can improve your essay. Be open to constructive criticism since you would have to revise your essay thoroughly before you can submit it. If you want to get some ideas on how to start your essay, you can look online for samples. Just make sure that you don’t copy off ideas from sample essays.
Always keep in mind that having analytical skills is very important when applying to MBA school. However, these are not the only important skills you should have if you want to increase your chances of getting admitted into your dream MBA school. Analytical skills, partnered with people and networking skills, can definitely be an advantage.
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