How to use MBA Essays Samples the Right Way

Are you a football fan? Real football, that is. Lionel Messi football.

[OK, I forgive you if you call it soccer. After all, I’m a European living in the US. I know the struggle.]

A year ago, were you pumped to start watching the 2022 World Cup? Yeah, me too. Although at first it felt strange to be watching the World Cup at Thanksgiving.

Now, what does the World Cup have to do with the perfect MBA essay?

First, a bit of history.

Unlike those of you out there who belong to nations that flaunt the Azzurri or Oranje as their teams and who've basked in the glory of many victories, both my first and my adopted homeland have had spotty success in the World Cup.

My first homeland Bulgaria had its moment under the sun in 1994. We made it to the quarterfinals, after beating Mexico in the Round of 16 and eliminating Germany in the quarterfinals. It was the stuff underdog legends are made of. But I digress. And yes, I know that most of you weren’t even born back then.

My adopted homeland, the US, has also gone through its fair share of FIFA World Cup heartache. In last year’s World Cup they got defeated by Oranje and the dream ended.

And that brings us to Gregg Berhalter, the head coach of the United States men's national soccer team.

This is how Gregg wrote a perfect MBA essay

Well, it wasn’t him writing it. Someone did it for him. No, he didn’t pay an MBA admissions consultant to write it.

What happened instead is that a New York Times journalist who was profiling Berhalter for a piece called “Gregg Berhalter’s Dutch Education Comes Full Circle” did it. Accidentally.

That journalist wrote such a crisp, tight intro of Gregg that if Gregg was to try his hand at the HBS “What else would you like us to know?” essay, I would strongly encourage him to use it.

What did it say?*

An entire career, perfectly summarized in 177 words. Crisp as the tree leaves in autumn and just as colorful.

Now, why am I telling you all this in an article about MBA essays?

Two reasons.

Reason number one is because I see way too many candidates who fret and complain that the MBA essay word count doesn’t give them enough space to tell their story. Gregg begs to differ. In fact, his story would’ve been so much less powerful to read if it was packed with details and sports jargon.

Reason number two is because these are the kinds of samples you should read to find inspiration for telling your own story. Not the ones in the online forums. Not someone else’s essays (not even the ones of candidates who get admitted because you will never know if they got admitted because of or despite something in their essay).

But what makes this a perfect example of an MBA essay?

This is a classic “Once upon a time” set up. And it drops you straight into a scene - and in interesting one. In just this one first sentence you get a sense of time, place, and mood.

The use of language is sublime. “Trying to start a career” uses just five words to convey the difficulties of the hero’s early professional path.

The choice of “yelling” as the conduit for the character’s trials but also for his learnings and growth.

The crisp, tight summary of a career paints a richer picture than three pages of details and accolades would have done.

Which brings us to the next point.

What kind of writing style is best for an MBA essay?

While I can confidently tell you no two MBA stories are the same, they do have a lot in common. And one of the things that’s often consistent across strong MBA essays is the choice of style. The journalistic writing style is marked by short, tight sentences. Each paragraph presents actual stories, based on facts. These are exactly the traits you should be aiming for in your own MBA essays.

How do you apply this advice to YOUR MBA essays?

Seek inspiration in unexpected places and you will be rewarded with ideas that are unconventional and fresh. Just the kind that might take your MBA story to the finals.

[Do you want to read my own MBA essay back from so many years ago when I was a timid and anxious MBA candidate myself? I have it here for you.]

Onwards and upwards,

Petia

P.S. Over the next weeks, I’ll be posting more installments of “Take your MBA story to unexpected places”. There will be more examples. I might even run a special workshop for those of you who are applying to Stanford, Harvard, or Berkeley Haas (schools were a standout story in your essays is a must). Stay tuned. How do you stay tuned? Sign up for the Sunday AdCom Insights if you haven’t already!

*Note that I took the liberty to change the narrative to first person.