Explore Winning Business School Admission Essay Samples
In the competitive arena of MBA, Masters in Finance, and EMBA admissions, a strong resume is only half the battle. Elite programs at M7 and T15 institutions - like Harvard, Wharton, and INSEAD—are looking for candidates who can articulate a clear "Why an MBA" and a "Why Now." They don't just want to see what you’ve done; they want to see how you think as a leader.
Explore our featured Business School Admission Essay Sample to see how we help professionals bridge the gap between their past achievements and their future executive potential.
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Before
Describe a time when you successfully transformed an idea into action. How did your leadership and interpersonal skills contribute to this experience, and how will this experience impact your contribution as a team member at the XXXX School?
When I joined China Undergraduate Student Association, it was just established, because there were a few undergraduate Chinese student before 2007. I took an initiative and leading role to create a sophisticated and efficient fund raising team model in the young organization.
The biggest problem that the organization faced was fund. The organization’s mission was to help, protect and entertain Chinese student while they were far away from home. At the same time, the organization act as an intermediary for people in XXXX University to know Chinese culture and China itself. Of course, all sort of these activities required money. We only had one source of fund from Office of International Student and Scholars at the time. The fund was way too few. When I was assigned to be the team leader of the fund raising team, I had eight team members. At the time, they all acted on themselves to raise fund. The eight individuals all had different ways to solicit for fund. This situation caused chaos, because of the lack of communication and standard procedure. Sometimes, team members went to same stores to propose the same rejected proposal. As a result, some fund-raising targets were really irritated. The all eight members have different proficiencies of English and personalities. Also, it’s hard for eight individual to cooperate and communicate with each other efficient and effectively.
I recalled SBU-Strategic Business Unit I read about as I tried to solve this problem. This SBU method divides a whole organization into smaller divisions to act on their own and carry out individual tasks. Though the organization was not like a giant international company, I found this method could be the solution to the problem. I selected three people with most out-going personality first as leaders. Then I conducted interviews with the eight members and divided the eight members into three groups with consideration of their personality and English proficiency.
After the groups were formed, I give them different tasks to finish. I assigned one group to look for additional sources of fund and as a result they came back with fund from Chinese Embassy. I assigned the other two teams to be responsible for different territories, so they would not approach the same target multiple times. After I assigned tasks, I initiated a meeting with all the members and talked about the strategy we should use to raise fund. I introduced knowledge and experience I had. For example, I talked about some sales-man techniques I learned in my psychology class such as reject and retreat strategy and commitment strategy. I told team members to always prepare two sets of proposals, and start with the bolder one. If they accept the proposal, we gain more benefits. If not, then we propose the second one. This would increase the successful rate of the second proposal. Another strategy is to try to let target say he/she is willing to support our group before negotiating specific terms. This would make the target more likely to agree with our terms. Finally I emphasized more of our team members did not explicitly offer what we can provide to our supporters. I understood the things always come at a price. If we let people know what we can provide especially the huge potential customer pool we have, they will more likely to support us. Furthermore, I asked the leaders to write down what they had tried to raise fund and what the reaction was. With this information, we could modify and standardize our process. For example, we learned that a letter signed by the president of the organization is a very good proof of the validity of our organization. Hence people felt more willing to support us. In addition, I asked them to bring back any proposal people provide, so we can discuss during meeting.
As the result, our financial condition was much better improved. Though we do not have more than we need, we had enough to cover all the activities such as China Spring Festival Gala, XXXX State University International Affair, and picking up new students at airport.
After
Describe a time when you successfully transformed an idea into action. How did your leadership and interpersonal skills contribute to this experience, and how will this experience impact your contribution as a team member at the XXXX School?
I was excited to join the newly formed “China Undergraduate Student Association” at XXXX University. However, I soon learned this organization suffered from problems encountered by many new organizations: disorganization, a lack of a coherent vision, and funding issues. I decided to take the initiative to analyze the structure and management style of this valuable organization, and ultimately, helped transform our organization into a model student association at XXXX University.
Our biggest problem was funding, so I focused my efforts on overhauling the fundraising apparatus to create a sophisticated and efficient fund raising team. The organization adopted a broad mission: to help, protect and support Chinese students on campus, and at home. In addition, we expanded our vision to promote Chinese cultural understanding at XXXX University through cultural events. All of these goals required money, and the funding from the Office of International Student and Scholars was insufficient.
I was assigned to be the team leader for the fund raising team, which included eight team members. Unfortunately, I soon learned they did not act as a “team” but instead operated independently. They had their own ideas about the best ways to solicit funds, which resulted in a chaotic situation that often meant multiple contacts with the same potential sponsors. Another complex problem was that our team members had different proficiencies in English, and some were not suited for the “sales” element of marketing.
As inspiration, I remembered the SBU-Strategic Business Unit organizational model. The SBU method divides an entire organization into smaller divisions to act independently to complete tasks. Even though we did not have a large organizational structure, I felt this concept might assist our operational issues. I began by selecting three people with the most out-going personalities who also had sufficient English skills to be team leaders.
Then I conducted interviews with the eight members and divided the eight members into three groups, and matched their personalities and English proficiency. After the groups were formed, I assigned different tasks. One group was responsible for identifying new sources of funding; this worked extremely well as they contacted the Chinese Embassy and arranged funding through this organization. The remaining two teams were assigned different territories to solicit businesses in the Lansing area.
After rearranging our organizational structure, my next goal was to revise our marketing strategies. I initiated a meeting with all the members and asked for feedback based on their experiences with fundraising. I introduced some strategies learned from my psychology class, including the “reject and retreat strategy,” and the “commitment strategy.” I encouraged team members to prepare two sets of proposals – an ambitious goal, and a fallback goal. If the sponsor accepted our ambitious proposal, we gained the most benefits; if not, we requested a more modest amount, which increased our overall success rate.
Another strategy that we employed involved asking our sponsor how he/she was willing to support our group without offering specific terms. This often made our target feel less pressured. Finally, I emphasized a better marketing approach by offering a grander vision of what we hoped to accomplish, and how specifically their group could contribute to our success.
Perhaps my greatest innovation was to encourage our leaders to document their experiences. Our success rates, how different clients reacted to different approaches, and what information was needed from our organization, were all documented. We evaluated this information as a team and continuously modified our process. For example, we learned that a letter signed by the president of the organization increases our sponsor’s belief in the validity of our organization. I also encouraged more brainstorming by our members to develop new approaches based on their successes and their failures.
These efforts not only dramatically improved our organization’s funding; it also improved team morale, and the cohesion of our organization. It allowed us to offer several unique cultural events to promote our country and our heritage including the China Spring Festival Gala and the XXXX University International Affair. We also assisted students by arranging for transportation to and from the airport, and performed other helpful tasks to help new Chinese students feel more integrated into the XXXX State community.
Although this experience began with an idea to transform an organization – it also showed me the importance of vision, leadership, teamwork, and in the importance of applying academic principles to solve real-world problems. I plan to expand and augment these skills at XXXX University.