[Why Mba Application Essay
Saija Grzegorek
Writing an essay for college admission gives you a chance to use your authentic voice and show your personality. It's an excellent opportunity to personalize your application beyond your academic credentials, and a well-written essay can have a positive influence come decision time.
A typical college application essay, also known as a personal statement, is 400-600 words. Although that may seem short, writing about yourself can be challenging. It's not something you want to rush or put off at the last moment. Think of it as a critical piece of the application process. Follow these tips to write an impactful essay that can work in your favor.
Few people write well under pressure. Try to complete your first draft a few weeks before you have to turn it in. Many advisers recommend starting as early as the summer before your senior year in high school. That way, you have ample time to think about the prompt and craft the best personal statement possible.
You don't have to work on your essay every day, but you'll want to give yourself time to revise and edit. You may discover that you want to change your topic or think of a better way to frame it. Either way, the sooner you start, the better.
Before you begin the writing process, take time to understand what the college wants from you. The worst thing you can do is skim through the instructions and submit a piece that doesn't even fit the bare minimum requirements or address the essay topic. Look at the prompt, consider the required word count, and note any unique details each school wants.
Spending more time working on your opener is always a good idea. The opening sentence sets the stage for the rest of your piece. The introductory paragraph is what piques the interest of the reader, and it can immediately set your essay apart from the others.
A common mistake many students make is trying to fit previously written essays into the mold of another college's requirements. This seems like a time-saving way to avoid writing new pieces entirely, but it often backfires. The result is usually a final piece that's generic, unfocused, or confusing. Always write a new essay for every application, no matter how long it takes.
Essay prompts typically give you plenty of latitude, but panel members expect you to focus on a subject that is personal (although not overly intimate) and particular to you. Admissions counselors say the best essays help them learn something about the candidate that they would never know from reading the rest of the application.
Use your usual vocabulary. Avoid fancy language you wouldn't use in real life. Imagine yourself reading this essay aloud to a classroom full of people who have never met you. Keep a confident tone. Be wary of words and phrases that undercut that tone.
Capitalize on real-life experiences. Your essay may give you the time and space to explain why a particular achievement meant so much to you. But resist the urge to exaggerate and embellish. Admissions counselors read thousands of essays each year. They can easily spot a fake.
Generally, essays for college admission follow a simple format that includes an opening paragraph, a lengthier body section, and a closing paragraph. You don't need to include a title, which will only take up extra space. Keep in mind that the exact format can vary from one college application to the next. Read the instructions and prompt for more guidance.
Most online applications will include a text box for your essay. If you're attaching it as a document, however, be sure to use a standard, 12-point font and use 1.5-spaced or double-spaced lines, unless the application specifies different font and spacing.
The goal here is to use an attention grabber. Think of it as a way to reel the reader in and interest an admissions officer in what you have to say. There's no trick on how to start a college application essay. The best way you can approach this task is to flex your creative muscles and think outside the box.
Every application essay you write should include details about yourself and past experiences. It's another opportunity to make yourself look like a fantastic applicant. Leverage your experiences. Tell a riveting story that fulfills the prompt.
The best way to make your essay interesting is to write about something genuinely important to you. That could be an experience that changed your life or a valuable lesson that had an enormous impact on you. Whatever the case, speak from the heart, and be honest.
Assess your credentials and your likelihood of getting into the program before you choose to take a risk. If you have little chance of getting in, try something daring. If you are almost certainly guaranteed a spot, you have more flexibility. In any case, make sure that you answer the essay question in some identifiable way.
Get several people to read it and write their comments down. It is worthwhile to seek out someone in the field, perhaps a professor who has read such essays before. Give it to a friend, your mom, or a neighbor. The key is to get more than one point of view, and then compare these with your own. Remember, you are the one best equipped to judge how accurately you are representing yourself. For tips on putting this advice to good use, see our handout on getting feedback.
When you think it is totally finished, you are ready to proofread and format the essay. Check every sentence and punctuation mark. You cannot afford a careless error in this essay. (If you are not comfortable with your proofreading skills, check out our handout on editing and proofreading).
If you find that your essay is too long, do not reformat it extensively to make it fit. Making readers deal with a nine-point font and quarter-inch margins will only irritate them. Figure out what material you can cut and cut it. For strategies for meeting word limits, see our handout on writing concisely.
If your schedule and ours permit, we invite you to come to the Writing Center. Be aware that during busy times in the semester, we limit students to a total of two visits to discuss application essays and personal statements (two visits per student, not per essay); we do this so that students working on papers for courses will have a better chance of being seen. Make an appointment or submit your essay to our online writing center (note that we cannot guarantee that an online tutor will help you in time).
ETA: Please note I am not available for additional application consultations or follow-up questions. Offering that kind of individualized service for some, but not all, would be antithetical to my intentions for making the application process more equitable for everyone. If you have found this free, public application valuable and would like to give back, you can buy me a coffee here. Thank you!
During my time at Harvard, I also worked with the Harvard Food Law & Policy Center to write several memos that will be used to shape future legislation. This experience strengthened my ability to understand and navigate food policy at all government levels, and will be instrumental in contextualizing my research on Singaporean food systems for a global audience.
In the next 5 years, I hope to be in a leadership position within a public federal agency that oversees food and education-related Task Forces like the one on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. I will apply my 11 years of experience advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the private food sector to transition into a public servant role that spearheads the implementation of new food-related interventions at a federal level.
I see my National Geographic project as a public proof of concept for expanding the type of research expressions at the future organizations I lead. To me, social justice is a concept that must be rooted in people and their relationships. Research methodology and deliverables aimed at improving social good should then magnify and highlight the humanity and beauty of its subject matter. I see this project as a way to introduce meaningful aspects of community building through storytelling using photo essays, first-person interviews, audio samples, and short-form videos as part of a holistic research process. I believe these integrations can provide vibrant new possibilities for the American government to approach food justice in personally attuned ways that more accurately reflect the varied lived experiences of the people within our shared food ecosystem.
Yet, the future of these spaces is threatened by shifting consumer attitudes within an increasingly fast-paced and globalized society. In 2018, 38% of Singaporeans had not visited wet markets in at least a year, instead opting for the convenience of modern supermarkets with set hours and pricing. At the same time, vendors and hawkers are aging out; the median age is 59, and younger generations are more apt to join the white-collar workforce and sell the family business, instead of taking over.
The ongoing evolution of hawker centers and wet markets in Singapore mediate a larger conversation about cultural preservation in the face of modernity, weighing legacy against socioeconomic mobility, and solidifying food security while maintaining equitable access. For my multimedia project, I will utilize photo essays, one-on-one interviews, audio clips, and short-form videos to showcase the lived experiences of vendors and local residents engaging with these spaces in uniquely personal ways. Food is a vessel for the stories of humanity; ensuring a future of food justice requires us to first understand our shared history to collectively create environments where the people and culture behind food can adapt and thrive.
There already exists important works like the book Wet Market to Table, guides like Makansutra, and research projects like On Hawker documenting the lives and knowledge contained within hawker centers and wet markets. My National Geographic project will contribute to this conversation through an ethnographic combination of visual, auditory, and written storytelling with concrete historical research and qualitative fieldwork. I aim to express the intersecting lives contained within Singaporean food culture and its full range of struggle, triumph, and perseverance against the backdrop of existential change. That way, my project can offer a path to both protect an intangible wonder of the world, while also taking part in actively improving it for generations to come.
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