Michigan Ross MBA Essay Tips 2011 - 2012

Introduce yourself to your future Ross classmates in 100 words or less.

• This is your elevator pitch.  The best advice I can offer here is - KEEP IT SIMPLE.  Give your reader a few clear signals to remember you by - "he's the Peace Corps guy from NC", or "he's the marathon runner from McKinsey" or "she's the professional dancer from India", or "she's the Indonesia Govt emissary..".  You get the message. 
• Keep your "change the world" ambitions out of this one - how would you really introduce yourself to other classmates?  Where you're from, where you grew up, what your professional experiences have been, what your goals are, what your interests and hobbies are - that's it!

Describe your career goals. How will an MBA from Ross help you to achieve those goals? What is your vision for how you can make a unique contribution to the Ross community? (500 words)

• Spend about 250 words describing your short term and long term career goals, including post-MBA next steps and your career vision; use the rest to answer how the MBA from Ross will help you, and how you will help the Ross community
• You may have to describe your past experiences when you start this essay to set the context - it's okay to do this, but don't use up too many words doing this

Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What did you learn from that experience? (500 word maximum)

• Please, try to avoid blaming someone else through this essay - a large number of candidates will write about a co-worker who let them down or a horrible boss - remember, this is an essay about you, not them!
• A lot of candidates also think "what you learned from the experience" actually means "how did you fix the problem" - please don't fall for this trap.  It's okay just to describe a setback or challenge, and what you took away from it - you don't have to describe how much better you were the next time you faced the same issue or how you resolved it. 

What are you most passionate about? (300 word maximum)

• Can be a cause, a hobby, a sport, a professional objective, a personal goal, etc.  
• If you don't have a passion, it's okay.  A lot of people don't.  Don't force one, this is an optional question. 

Describe a personal challenge or obstacle and why you view it as such. How have you dealt with it? What have you learned from it? (300 word maximum)

• Somewhat similar to the third question, except that this is in the personal domain.  Almost everyone we know has a great personal situation or experience they went through to share, so try to use this question if possible. 
• Again, what you learned from the experience is not "how did you solve the problem", or "how did you deal with the same situation the next time around"; please just stick with your takeaways from the situation :-)