Partner Sites


Logo BusinessBecause - The business school voice
mobile search icon

Getting into B-School: Essays!

Application, Essay, Advice

Thu Aug 26 2010

BusinessBecause
For me there’s no doubt that writing fantastic essays is much more difficult than scoring a 700+ at GMAT. The reason is that it takes a lot of effort to formulate ideas that may have been brewing for some time into paragraphs that should create a crystal clear, coherent, picture of oneself.

My Essay Writing Method:
I think that one of the key aspects is to not take each essay separately but to tackle them as a holistic portrait of oneself, tailored for each b-school*. I could divide the essay redaction (for each b-school) into 3 steps:

Create a Holistic Picture

I printed each essay topic on the same page and broke them down into small elements corresponding to ideas/concepts.

Example : "Describe a setback or a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself?” becomes: setback or a failure + role + learn about yourself.

Then, for each essay/idea, I added cases I wanted to mention. Some cases may apply to more than one essay element.

That’s a good thing as they will help you tie applications together. I’m not sure if you’ll need more cases for a 1000 words essay than for a 500 words one but it all depends on the case’s “density.”

Once this exercise is finished, you still need to sort your cases but from there you’ll have a good essay structure. All you need now is to write them.

Effort : 1 day

Essay Redaction

Once the essay structure is defined, the writing itself becomes straight forward. But there could be times when inspiration is lacking and there’s some frustration from not finding the right word.

For this, I found that lists of active verbs helped a lot- especially for a non-native speaker like me.

But there is still a LOT of sweat…

Effort : 1 hour every 100 words worth of essays (I may be slow…)

Proof Reading by Others

Toward the end of my essays, I was unable to take any distance from my essays or even look at them with critical judgement. Getting them proofread by someone with a professional and critical judgement (so, not your mother) and who’s genuinely focusing on your success is essential.

I had my essays proofread by two friends of mine, including an Ivy League graduate for English. Without their feedback, my essays would be only 80% of what they turned out to become. If possible, it is important to discuss feedbacks in detail.

Effort : 4 hours (discussions + corrections)

*: Essay questions are rarely structured the same way and reflect what’s important for each b-school. So be careful to take these nuances into account and not directly copy/paste.

In the end, for ONE b-school London Business School (LBS), I remember working on it every week end for a month without seeing my friends. As a result, I have no idea how people can apply to 5+ b-schools at the same time… It seems like a horrible amount of work…

Eventually, my hard work on essays allowed me to get accepted to the interview for LBS and HEC Paris despite an average GMAT (660).

LBS and HEC Paris Accepted Essay Samples :

Below I’ve added the essays I wrote for each application They may be useful inspiration if you’re applying for an MBA:
LBS MBA application essays
• HEC MBA application essays

If you use them, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment and let me know what you think of them :)

Paméla Chin Foo is in the first year of the MBA at HEC Paris. Her blog was originally published on June 1st 2009.

Student Reviews

HEC Paris

Student

Verified

7/07/2022

On Campus

Cultural experience

I have met the most competent and diverse batch in this school. These people not only thrive on their own but also makes sure that you are doing it with them. The professors will take your had and walk you through all milestones and make sure you are not left behind. I have found their extracurriculars extremely engaging. There was always a room to have social life after academic life. The only hindrance is the location of the school, it is slightly outside city and living in city is expensive.

Sarah

Verified

18/03/2022

On Campus

Internationality and diversity of opportunities

About my programme I would say it is very international and flexible: we have the opportunity to choose exactly the courses we want. But at the same time, the frame of the campus is crucial in students' life and enable us to create friendships.

Student

Verified

29/10/2021

On Campus

Great selection of people

While HEC's MBA is highly selective, I really enjoy the type of people HEC's selects to make sure everybody gets the best out of their MBA experience and networking opportunities. Not only it's an incredibly diverse pool of people (~60 nationalities) but most importantly they make sure to let in friendly empathic and curious people.

Veronique

Verified

28/10/2021

Blended

Best in France for Grande ecole

A prestigious business school. Languages ​​are important. It is better to have a scientific baccalaureate with excellent grades in high school and good assessments. The courses are well designed as per the latest trends and practicality of learning in stressed upon. Overall, a very good experience.

Ghadi

Verified

11/06/2022

On Campus

Diversity and quality of fellow students

Very international and interesting place to be and opens a lot of opportunities, however the administration is very french and facilities are subpar (gym, classrooms) meaning the academic affairs is pretty much useless and lastly we are graded on a curve which can create a toxic environment because of the competition. With that being said the pros outweighs the cons by far.

Student

Verified

27/03/2022

On Campus

The quality of the teachers, the campus, the clubs

The school is very international indeed, we have courses with international students and share things with them within the extra academic life (in the social clubs especially). We have great career prospects if we prepare ourselves well - however, the global curriculum is still very finance-oriented, which is a pity for other interesting domains of the company world, which does not rely on finance only. The social clubs are good practice for the management and for now, are quite independent.

Lb

Verified

26/03/2022

On Campus

HEC Paris awaits you

HEC Paris is really a nice place to do a master's in business. Many classes are useful and interesting (corporate finance, financial accounting, contract law…), some are less - but the curriculum is to be reviewed in the year to come. Regarding the student life, it is incredible, with about 130 clubs, lots of great parties with even greater people. The Jouy campus offers a lot of opportunities to do sports, and you can breathe fresh air every day. HEC also helps a great deal to find an internship or a job.

Rajarshi

Verified

28/10/2021

Blended

A dream institute

Enrolling in the HEC MBA was by far the best decision I made for myself. The people and faculty are great, with lots of opportunities to meet people and expand your horizons. Very nice campus where I have had some good running sessions. The alumni network is superb and very helpful. It also has a good support system for entrepreneurs. Would definitely recommend it!

Student

Verified

19/10/2021

On Campus

Good choice for a career boost

The classes were extremely practical and relevant to the current challenges that businesses are facing. You have access to a wide range of professionals and good career prospects once you leave the university.

Student

Verified

7/07/2022

On Campus

Cultural experience

I have met the most competent and diverse batch in this school. These people not only thrive on their own but also makes sure that you are doing it with them. The professors will take your had and walk you through all milestones and make sure you are not left behind. I have found their extracurriculars extremely engaging. There was always a room to have social life after academic life. The only hindrance is the location of the school, it is slightly outside city and living in city is expensive.

Sarah

Verified

18/03/2022

On Campus

Internationality and diversity of opportunities

About my programme I would say it is very international and flexible: we have the opportunity to choose exactly the courses we want. But at the same time, the frame of the campus is crucial in students' life and enable us to create friendships.

Student

Verified

29/10/2021

On Campus

Great selection of people

While HEC's MBA is highly selective, I really enjoy the type of people HEC's selects to make sure everybody gets the best out of their MBA experience and networking opportunities. Not only it's an incredibly diverse pool of people (~60 nationalities) but most importantly they make sure to let in friendly empathic and curious people.

Veronique

Verified

28/10/2021

Blended

Best in France for Grande ecole

A prestigious business school. Languages ​​are important. It is better to have a scientific baccalaureate with excellent grades in high school and good assessments. The courses are well designed as per the latest trends and practicality of learning in stressed upon. Overall, a very good experience.

Ghadi

Verified

11/06/2022

On Campus

Diversity and quality of fellow students

Very international and interesting place to be and opens a lot of opportunities, however the administration is very french and facilities are subpar (gym, classrooms) meaning the academic affairs is pretty much useless and lastly we are graded on a curve which can create a toxic environment because of the competition. With that being said the pros outweighs the cons by far.

Student

Verified

27/03/2022

On Campus

The quality of the teachers, the campus, the clubs

The school is very international indeed, we have courses with international students and share things with them within the extra academic life (in the social clubs especially). We have great career prospects if we prepare ourselves well - however, the global curriculum is still very finance-oriented, which is a pity for other interesting domains of the company world, which does not rely on finance only. The social clubs are good practice for the management and for now, are quite independent.

Lb

Verified

26/03/2022

On Campus

HEC Paris awaits you

HEC Paris is really a nice place to do a master's in business. Many classes are useful and interesting (corporate finance, financial accounting, contract law…), some are less - but the curriculum is to be reviewed in the year to come. Regarding the student life, it is incredible, with about 130 clubs, lots of great parties with even greater people. The Jouy campus offers a lot of opportunities to do sports, and you can breathe fresh air every day. HEC also helps a great deal to find an internship or a job.

Rajarshi

Verified

28/10/2021

Blended

A dream institute

Enrolling in the HEC MBA was by far the best decision I made for myself. The people and faculty are great, with lots of opportunities to meet people and expand your horizons. Very nice campus where I have had some good running sessions. The alumni network is superb and very helpful. It also has a good support system for entrepreneurs. Would definitely recommend it!

Student

Verified

19/10/2021

On Campus

Good choice for a career boost

The classes were extremely practical and relevant to the current challenges that businesses are facing. You have access to a wide range of professionals and good career prospects once you leave the university.

RECAPTHA :

69

16

0e

af