EssaySnark

  • about
  • contact
  • help
  • sign up
  • login
CLICK FOR MORE!
  • Essay Questions
    • Harvard
    • Stanford
    • Wharton
    • Chicago Booth
    • Kellogg
    • MIT Sloan
    • Tuck
    • NYU Stern
    • Columbia
    • Yale SOM
    • Berkeley Haas
    • UVA Darden
    • Duke Fuqua
    • Michigan Ross
    • UCLA Anderson
    • Cornell
  • Strategy Guides
    • MBA Interviewing Guide
    • Getting Off the Waitlist
    • Applying in Round 3 mini-guide
    • Applying to European Business Schools
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Columbia 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Harvard 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • MIT Sloan 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
  • MBA Consulting
    • Free essay reviews
    • What stage are you in?
    • Military MBA
    • BIPOC Program
    • Testimonials & Reviews
    • Guest Posts
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts
    • Discounts & Offers

Essays are not a writing test. They’re a thinking test.

August 28, 2015 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

Here’s our wrap-up post for WRITING WEEK – which is actually not about writing. If you’re just joining us, the first of the series from Monday is here.


So much can be learned from an essay.

You may think it’s just a mechanical exercise that you have to get through, but honestly, an astute reader can glean so much about you from reading a simple essay.

Not only does presentation and professionalism matter, but what you say – and what you DON’T say – matter just as much.

What might matter most of all is how you organize your thoughts and express your ideas. You have to have a reasonable grasp of the English language to do a good job with this (which hopefully your college education gave you). Fancy writing is not the key. What will tilt your chances towards admissions success is how you construct your thoughts and lay them out for the reader – in specific response to exactly what was asked.

The problem of applicants not answering the question is so pervasive that it’s often the first thing you hear admissions people lament when they’re asked for application tips.

How to get into bschool?

Answer the question.

So that’s first. Be direct, and answer it quickly – usually in the first paragraph is best.

Then, the rest of what you construct needs to support that answer. An essay is presenting a position and backing it up. It doesn’t matter if that “position” is a statement of your short-term career goals, or if it’s your most significant achievement. In all cases, the purpose of an essay is to communicate something specific about you with enough evidence that the reader can go along with it. You’re taking a stand. You’re saying, in response to the question, “X is true for me, and here’s why.”

It’s also your duty to the reader to be consistent, and to manage expectations.

What we mean by that is, if you start the essay making a particular claim or statement, or including certain facts, then the reader is expecting you to follow through with that.

And, they’re expecting you to operate within the standard conventions of an application to a top business school.

We had a BSer submit an essay to us recently – we’re going to change the details here but yet use the same story to illustrate what happened. This person was trying to convey “fit” to the school and they introduced it by saying (this part is fictionalized) “Community.” OK great, that’s a pretty common topic for bschool-world. Community. We know what that means.

But then, the headliner statement in this section about “Community” was about the TV show (which EssaySnark has not seen but we’ve heard of it).

OK fine, we can make that leap with you, though we’re wondering why you as the writer are asking us to do so.

But THEN, the real problem hits when the actual story they presented had nothing to do with “community” – neither the idea relevant to the MBA cultural experience, nor the TV show. They actually presented a story about having to confront a colleague at work when a project wasn’t going well.

So, that story that we got could very well work in an MBA essay. In a vacuum, it was an appropriate topic to be presenting in an app.

The problem is, it had nothing to do with what the writer said the essay would be about. The BSer was being too cute with the presentation. It was a clear abuse of the flexibility of the question that the adcom had asked. It was a case of style over substance – and style ALWAYS loses to substance in this battle for getting in. (And unfortunately here the “style” was as jarring as seeing the old dude with the plaid shorts and white knee-high socks with sandals; in another context, the individual elements could work, but all put together, just, no.)

What you’re doing with your MBA admissions essays (or trying to do) is to prove to the adcom that you can think. That you can take a vague assignment and wrestle it to the ground and come up with a solution. That you can deal with ambiguity and come out a winner.

You know that thing called the case method? Heard of it?

Yeah, well, that’s when you take in all this data and spit out a cohesive opinion.

It’s kinda like what you need to do when writing essays.

It’s true. Dee Leopold says it all the time. Getting into bschool is not an essay-writing contest.

But until they invent something better, the essay is what we got.

And writing is one of the hallmarks of being human. It’s what separates us as a species. It reflects our ability to think.

If you write it well, your essay will let you show that you can do that.


Want to know if you’ve written it well? Check out our Essay Decimator two-stage essay review service – that’s the standard one, and here’s the one for Harvard. Or, to get all the pieces of your pitch mapped out carefully before writing a single word in an essay, the Complete Essay Package – there’s still time to go through the entire process with us! We’ll be around this weekend intermittently too for current clients with questions.

Filed Under: writing essays

« Previous: ($) Timewarps.
Next: This post may cause you stress. »

So who the heck is EssaySnark, anyway?!

We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

Want EssaySnark's personal assistance with your MBA applications? Start with our menu of consulting services and please read the Help FAQ to learn how we operate. Still have questions after doing all that? Email Team EssaySnark at gethelpnow at essaysnark dot com.

Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

Tell us what you think. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for the 'Snark via email

Enter your address to get weekday blahg posts by email.

UPCOMING MBA APP DEADLINES

  • INSEAD Jan '22 intake Rd 1
    in 0 weeks, 2 days, 17 hours
  • INSEAD Jan '22 Intake Rd 2
    in 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 17 hours
  • (expected) HBS Class of 2024 app requirements released
    in 2 months, 0 weeks, 3 days, 18 hours
  • (expected) Columbia J-Term/ED app to open
    in 3 months, 0 weeks, 1 day, 18 hours
  • INSEAD Jan '22 Intake Rd 3
    in 3 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 17 hours
   
From a BSer January 2020:
"love the guide books!"


CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

Brave Supplicants' latest reviews on The 'Snark


Feb 11, 2021
by hopeful on MBA Interview Prep: Custom Practice Questions
Helpful

Just wanted to say thank you for these questions! A lot of them were really tailored to my profile, ... Read more

Apr 10, 2020
by George on EssaySnark
Great Starting Point

I thought getting over the GRE/GMAT hurdle was fairly straightforward--disciplined study then test execution... Read more

Apr 10, 2020
by George on Single Shot Express MBA Essay Review
Worth Every Penny

I used the Single Shot Express to decimate essay #1 at my first-choice school. Paired with the school... Read more






Not sure where to begin with EssaySnark?
Our Snark Selector
will tell you!



What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2020: What did the Fed do with interest rates today, and why?
  • 2020: ($) "Will applying in Round 3 weaken my application next season?"
  • 2017: Success Story! Research and the right school targets bring results!
  • 2016: What ethics is not
  • 2016: ($) Why telling the truth in your apps is important.
  • 2015: Quiz Leaderboard
  • 2015: ($) Do bschools have quotas in admissions?
  • 2014: Extracurriculars and military applicants
  • 2012: "School X, or School Y with $$$?" (Part 1.5)
  • 2011: More reasons why a Round 3 application is not a good idea
My Tweets

See the Top U.S. Business Schools on a Map!


EssaySnark is currently available! We're accepting new clients! Standard turnarounds apply. If you're in a hurry, Speedy Review is available!

EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2021 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy

Where should you start with EssaySnark?

Which EssaySnark service is right for you? Answer a few questions to find out!

This field must be set to Everyone - then in the Settings -> HTML -> After Fields screen there's JavaScript to hide it.
Sending