You are perhaps aware that, when you enter McCombs, you will undertake your core curriculum in the company of 65-70 classmates, who will be referred to as your ‘cohort.’ They will, in fact, be your ‘family’ in the school.
For the purpose of this essay, shut your eyes and imagine you are standing before your cohort for the first time. You only have a minute and perhaps a little more, and within this brief span of time, you have to present yourself to your class mates in such a way that they both get to know you, and take to you as a person.
Note that the prompt stipulates that you should touch upon both your personal and professional life, so that, apart from talking about what is unique about you as a person, and your likes, dislikes, and hobbies – a small anecdote or two is always welcome, and adds spice to your account – also make a brief reference to your professional background and career goals.
You can express yourself through one of three mediums – a 250-word essay, a 1-minute video, or an about.me profile. The choice you make will naturally depend on the kind of person you are. If, for instance, you are visually inclined, the video introduction might be appropriate for you. On the other hand, if you happen to have a strong social media presence, you may want to go in for a combination of texts and visuals in an about.me profile. You are advised not to venture too far out of your comfort zone. For instance, if you are not at ease before the camera, the video would obviously be an unsuitable medium for you.
Last year, as much as 70% of the applicants opted for the essay.
Let us now pass on to the second prompt.
First up, you will need to discuss why the Texas MBA program has all of what you are looking for. In so doing, it is best to avoid vague generalizations like “it’s an excellent program” and has a “world-class faculty” etc. – words which sound empty and may give the adcom the impression that you have prepared a generic essay which you are modifying and using to apply to various business schools. Therefore, it is imperative of you to be very specific. Once you have researched the Texas program, you should have much to talk about here: the elements of the curriculum, the Professors in your department, the experiential opportunities, and the student clubs that resonate with your career path and will help you in achieving your short and long-term goals. You should be able to explain how they do so.
Make sure you get the course and club names, as well as names of faculty members, exactly right, because slipping up in this respect creates a poor impression. Show you know what you are talking about. There is no point in blandly naming a professor and stating that you are eager to study under him or her. You have to go deeper than that, and reveal your familiarity with the professor’s research work, publications, etc.
Next, you proceed to what you will contribute to your classmates’ experience. Texas takes pride in its collaborative culture, and the adcom would like to know what you can bring to the program to add value to it. If sustainability is what drives you, perhaps you would like to join or run a student environmental advocacy group that takes up sustainability projects like initiating an audit on paper use, or the prevention of the sale of plastic water bottles within the campus. Additionally, perhaps you are an outdoors type, and would be interested in the formation of an Outing Club which will offer a range of activities from camping to rock climbing. Mention practicable action plans in areas where you have adequate knowledge and expertise. If you have experienced and enjoyed being part of a diverse community, it would certainly pay to bring it in at some appropriate point in your essay.
It would be brilliant if you could identify features that are unique to this particular program and, giving cogent reasons, express your enthusiasm for them. This would be evidence that you really are serious about pursuing your MBA at Texas, rather than from anywhere else.
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