writing essays

($) “I thought I was supposed to talk about the buzzwords.”

September 21, 2022 by EssaySnark

The thing with buzzwords is that when you’re using them in your own essay, you may lose sight of the fact that they’re buzzwords. And, it seems like you’re SUPPOSED to be using them! Why else would the schools be talking about all these things so much? Here’s a question we got on this from...

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($) When you’re asked to identify a weakness

September 16, 2022 by EssaySnark

A perennial angle on many schools’ MBA essay questions is an angle asking about strengths and weaknesses. That typically comes up not as a direct question, but instead they ask you to present a challenging experience or your key leadership story or maybe your biggest failure and then discuss what you learned from it. Some...

($) “Impact on the world”

September 13, 2022 by EssaySnark - Discusses Stanford GSB

Did you know that you have an impact on the world just by breathing? It’s true! You know, that whole butterfly effect thing? All of us, by our very existence, we are changing the destiny of everyone else! But probably most of you writing essays for Stanford are trying to say something greater than that....

($) “Why do I have to say that in the essay when I’m already telling them that in the app?”

August 3, 2022 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

When we give feedback to a BSer in the Essay Decimator process, sometimes they come back with questions of “Why?” Premium content starts here… ———– ———– Premium content ends.

($) It’s not an essay-writing contest. It’s a research and how-well-you-know-yourself contest.

July 28, 2022 by EssaySnark

Harvard’s former Admissions Director Dee Leopold liked to say that getting into Harvard is not an essay-writing contest. And it’s not. Premium content starts here… ———– ———– Premium content ends. Continue reading......

The best way to convey your readiness for bschool

July 13, 2022 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

OK that title is misleading – there’s not one “best way” to convey readiness. Readiness needs to come through in many facets of your application – definitely through the stories you present in your essays, but also in the progression of your career as reflected on the resume, and the individual bullets on the resume […]

($) Unintended messaging

July 12, 2022 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

In this essay commentary from ages ago, EssaySnark pointed out the issue with unintended messaging on an MBA app. It came up again much more recently, in this post about what (not) to say about a low GMAT score. Premium content starts here… ———– ———– Premium content ends. The risk of unintended messaging […]

($) “I don’t know what to do with my hands.”

July 8, 2022 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

We see a lot of essays that are kinda like this: “First of all, where did you learn to drive like that?” (mumbles) “Can you speak up, Ricky?” “The car. Handled real good. I felt like I was on a space ship, and uh… I’m not sure what to do with my hands.” When we […]

($) One of the most common answers to Stanford’s “What matters most?” question and why it’s so tricky

July 6, 2022 by EssaySnark - Discusses Stanford GSB Leave a Comment

One of the most challenging essay questions of all time is Stanford’s prompt asking: “What matters most to you and why?” So simple! Such a straightforward question! And yet… so incredibly difficult to do well!! As we did last week, when we shared actual real-live feedback offered to a Harvard applicant struggling with how to […]

($) “Halp! What do I do with all these stories?” aka how to identify your theme – especially for HBS!

July 1, 2022 by EssaySnark - Discusses Harvard Leave a Comment

We worked with a Brave Supplicant recently who was having a tough time implementing some of the feedback we were offering on their Harvard essay. They were trying to write about their professional experiences but things weren’t coming together cohesively. In case you need a reminder, the prompt for Harvard Business School is: “As we […]