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 Reapplicant Guide
    • Pitching Entrepreneurship as Your Post-MBA Career
    • Applying to European Business Schools
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Harvard 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Stanford 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Wharton 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Columbia 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
  • MBA Consulting
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts

($) Every word counts

July 31, 2018 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

Sometimes we give feedback to BSers and we can just see the eye-rolling that it triggers on the receiving end.

We get really down into the weeds with you when we’re going through something like a career goals plan or reading an MBA essay.

A common example is when someone says something like, “I want to work for an international consulting firm.”

Here’s what we said in response to this type of thing a few months ago for an early-bird BSer who was out hunting MBA worms:

What is the “international” aspect to all of this? Obviously you do have significant overseas experience from your career to date, but that element is missing entirely from this pair of future goals statement. Remember: Every word counts! If you want an international career post-MBA then that needs to be properly specified and integrated. If you’re just trying to identify a type of firm you’re targeting, well OK but why does “international” matter?

Is “international” meant to show the size of firm? A better way to do that is to name names. What firms exactly are you targeting? What do you have in mind for the specific companies you’re interested in? Including those can be way better.

A similar issue is when someone says they want to work at a Fortune 500 firm. That is MEANINGLESS. It’s almost as bad as saying you want to go to an M7 school.

When you look at a sentence you’ve written for an essay — especially one where you’re stating your post-MBA goals — then we invite you to closely examine every single word.

What are you actually SAYING with it?

Is it a collection of buzzwords?

Or does it mean something?

WHY do you have each of those adjectives in the sentence?

Can you back them up?

Is there substance here?

This is how you can take your MBA app from generic and run-of-the-mill and the same stuff that everybody is saying, and elevate it to one that’s personal and specific to you.

Or another word for “personal and specific” is “authentic.”

Adcoms love authentic.

Filed Under: career goals, writing tips Tagged With: authenticity

« Previous: “Rankings will not tell you what’s the best school for you.”
Next: Lay of the Land: Leveraging the app dataset »

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 *

UPCOMING MBA APP DEADLINES

  • (expected) Columbia J-Term/ED app to open
    in 1 week
  • INSEAD Jan '24 Intake Rd 3
    in 4 weeks
  • INSEAD Jan '24 Intake Rd 4
    in 2 months, 1 week
  • Harvard Round 1: Sept. 6
    in 3 months, 1 week
  • Harvard Round 1: Sept. 6
    in 3 months, 1 week
  • Stanford Rd 1: Sept. 12
    in 3 months, 2 weeks
  • Columbia J-Term: Sept 13
    in 3 months, 2 weeks
  • Wharton Round 2
    in 7 months, 0 weeks
  • Harvard Round 2 (FINAL HBS RD!)
    in 7 months, 0 weeks
  • Stanford Round 2
    in 7 months, 1 week
   
   

CLASS OF 2025 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

From a former BSer:
"love the guide books!"




    The 2022 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2025
   
    The 2022 Harvard MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
  The 2022 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with clear guidance for the 2022 essays!
   
  The 2022-2023 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2022-2023 applications
   
    The 2022 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video, plus the new optional short-answer question on "the world you come from" -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2025!
   
    The 2022 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values'
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - revised for 2022!
   
    The 2022 UVA Darden MBA Application Guide gives insights on the essays, Early Action, the possibility of a test waiver, and everything else going on here!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Darden MBA - updated for the Class of 2025 requirements!
   
   
The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2025 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2022
   
    The 2022 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2022-2023 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the essays, the EQ Endorsement and test strategies!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2025 essays!
       
   

EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2023 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy