We’re reviving this series from the ‘snarchives because it’s so important as a concept to understand in constructing high-quality MBA applications — and in life!
We talk a lot about strategy in your MBA apps here on the blahg.
Strategy comes down to:
- pitching the right schools
- pitching the right way
- maximizing your strengths
- offsetting your weaknesses
We also talk about authenticity and say over and over again how much the schools value it.
Authenticity is about:
- Being you.
Strategy and authenticity are not in conflict with each other. Yet people often get so mired up in convoluted ideas of “strategy” (yes, in quotes) that they lose sight of the fact that it’s THEM pitching the schools. That there needs to be a real person coming through in the application, and the person that’s communicated through the essays and resume and recs is one who bears a striking resemblance to who you are in real life.
Sounds silly, but it happens all the time. An applicant does so much manufacturing of the image that they’re presenting in their essays that the essays are no longer representative of the applicant.
Premium content starts here… If you’re reading this in email, click through to get the full ‘Snark!
———–
Premium content ends. Not yet a blahg member? Buy access to all the snark here!
EssaySnark will get off our soap box now, but you can bet we’re going to be looking at these questions, and, yes, strategies, more over time. There’s a lot to talk about.
If you’re wondering, “OK great, but how do I do it??!??” since this seems very esoteric, don’t worry, we’ll get to that, too. All of our App Accelerators are designed to guide you through this process of self-exploration and discovery of authenticity, so you can start there if you’re raring to go, or just jump in with the Complete Essay Package which is at its lowest price of the season for at least another few weeks.
You’re in your 20s, or maybe playing at the edges of your 30s. If you want to avoid the cliche of the mid-life crisis in your 40s, and you want to maximize your ability to live a fulfilling life every single day in between, then identifying what’s real, and what’s true for you, is highly recommended. The pursuit of authenticity is a noble endeavor. It may seem all high-concept and unattainable when we put it like that, but we guarantee you, it’s worthwhile.
Tell us what you think.