Describe your career progress to date and your future short-term and long-term career goals. How do you expect an MBA from Wharton to help you achieve these goals, and why is now the best time for you to join our program?

Here’s the prototypical b-school essay question.  In this case it’s Wharton’s, but you’ll encounter similarly worded questions from many if not most schools.  It’s really four questions in one: 1) career progress 2) goals 3) why an MBA/why Wharton 4) why now?

When you encounter a question like this, be sure to answer completely.  A common mistake is to give inadequate attention to part of the question.  Sometimes this happens when an applicant repurposes a similar essay written for another school, but fails to make the necessary adjustments.  Admissions Officers get annoyed when they encounter an essay they believe was written for another school’s application.  To be clear, I’m not suggesting that you need to start every single essay from scratch, especially given the similarities you’ll face.  Just be careful to make the appropriate edits when warranted.

Regarding the review of your career progress, don’t let it simply be a restatement of your resume.  This common approach is neither insightful nor especially interesting.  Rather, help the reviewer understand the decisions you’ve made, and be sure to highlight where you’ve excelled.

When it comes to articulating your career goals and why an MBA makes sense, it’s important to understand that schools really do want you to have a clear idea of why you’re pursuing an MBA.  I’ve seen otherwise strong candidates rejected when it became apparent that they had no idea what they were planning to do.  Their perspective was that two years at school would be plenty of time to figure it out.  While there’s a certain logic to this approach, rest assured it’s not what admissions officers want to hear.  Schools don’t expect you to have every step of your career mapped out, but they would like to know you’ve given it enough thought to be able to discuss the direction you plan to head.

As to the question of “how will [insert school name] help you achieve your goals?”  schools want to know that you’re not applying simply because of their prestige or rank among MBA programs.  Rather, they expect you to have done your homework and be able to articulate why the school is a match.  Although it’s important to express enthusiasm and genuine interest in the schools you apply to, try to avoid hyperbole such as, “If you don’t admit me to your school, I won’t be able to achieve my goals,” or “Nobody wants to go to your school more than I do.”

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at commonly asked application essay questions among the nation’s top b-schools, and I’ll give you my take on what admissions committees really want to see in your response.

This week’s question: “What matters most to you, and why?”

This question, long used by Stanford GSB, is the ultimate values question. Extremely open-ended by B-school essay standards, this question allows the candidate to go in any direction. Compounding the challenge is that the length guidelines have historically been as open ended as the question itself.

Admissions officers readily talk about how they want to get to know you through the admissions process. Beyond learning about your strengths and accomplishments, they really do want to understand what’s important to you. Stanford just happens to ask more directly than most. So give a lot of thought to what you want to communicate. The adage that there’s no right answer is especially apt here. Is it your family that matters most? That’s great. Is it your desire to change the world? Awesome. Your passion about something? That’s good, too.

Once you’ve decided which direction you want to go, your next step is figuring out how to make it genuine and compelling. What evidence can you provide to back up your assertion? What stories or anecdotes can you share? Keep in mind that being a good storyteller is very much a part of writing effective essays.

One potential pitfall to steer clear of is the outlier essay. All of your essays should fit nicely together in a consistent fashion, with each response building on the others. When any essay, even in response to the question posed here, comes across as out of sync with the others, it strikes a discordant note and can raise questions about the genuineness of the entire application package.

What are the five most common mistakes applicants make in their essays/personal statements?

1.  They fail to distinguish themselves. Often, candidates approach essays from the vantage point of “what do the admissions officers want me to say?” This approach leads you down a path of sounding too much like all the other applicants.  Rather, you should be thinking, “What makes me unique, and what stories can I share to highlight that uniqueness?”  Think of every essay as an opportunity to communicate your personal brand.

2.  They fail to answer the questions. There’s nothing inherently wrong with “re-purposing” essays from one school’s application to another, but be sure that you are in fact answering the question being asked.  Admissions officers are familiar with each other’s essay questions, and they’ll react badly if they suspect you’re recycling your essay from another application.  The more you research your target schools, and the more you’re answering the question being asked of you, the less “recycled” material will show up in your essays.

3.  They fail to make the essays/personal statements compelling. You certainly don’t want your essays to be seen as boring.  Essays that simply list accomplishments, restate the resume, or are just plain poorly written are foolproof ways to do just that.  Keep in mind that the quality of your writing is extremely important.  Try sharing your story with a friend or colleague – if it’s not compelling when spoken out loud, it’s probably not compelling on paper.

4.  They fail to demonstrate their strengths. Instead, they simply assert them.  Declaring yourself  smart and talented, while perhaps true, isn’t very compelling.  Rather, you need to demonstrate your skills and intellect through evidence as communicated through stories and anecdotes.

5.   They fail to follow the guidelines. If a school asks for a 500 word personal statement, how long do you suppose it should be?…..yes, about 500 words.  Anyone who has ever heard me speak on admissions knows what I consider to be Rule #1 of the admissions process: Never aggravate irritate the admissions officer!  Failure to follow guidelines is as good a way as any to violate this rule.  And the easiest way to break the guidelines?  Accidentally mentioning another school in your essays.  Every year, applicants say, “I would never make that mistake,” but some of them do – and their applications are promptly discarded.