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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Pursuing an MBA degree can be time-consuming, and more so if you have a part-time or a full-time job. It is very important that you develop your time management skills so that you will be able to balance the time for your career, studies, and personal life. The following are some tips that will help you take control of your time:
* Know your priorities
It is important that you determine what comes first in your list of priorities, your study or your job. Knowing your priorities would be easy for you to make your choice when you have to choose between these two.
* Make a schedule and be strict in following it
In making a schedule, you have to determine your assignments and activities for the day and how much time you need to accomplish them. If your time will not allow you to accomplish all the goals you have set for the day, you should determine your priority goals.
* Make preparations
Making preparations will help you avoid getting stressed. If you have prepared the night before the things you will need for your morning activities, you don’t have to hurry finding these things.
* Spend some time to relax and rest
It is important that you spend some time to rest and relax so that you will be physically and mentally ready when you resume your other activities that require much effort. You can do some relaxing activities with your friends and family.
* Believe that you can reach your goals
One of the very important keys in succeeding in anything, including in MBA school, is the belief that you can achieve your goals. It is always best not to be discouraged by the amount and difficulty of your tasks. You can motivate yourself by thinking about those people who have already surpassed similar obstacles you now face. So no matter what happens, just believe that you can finish your degree.
Photo Credit : Fabiola Medeiros
