Essay Thought Process

Essay Thought Process

I applied to Georgia State University’s Professional MBA and Georgia Tech’s Evening MBA as discussed in a previous post. I applied for these programs, because I wanted to start right away. Both have a similar deadline October 1 and October 2 respectfully, both start in the spring, and I can use essentially the same essays for both.

Now, don’t scoff at the last reason, I think it is perhaps the most important. It is very hard to have a life, write essays, and work full time. I used my commute to jot notes, and got to work early to put to the notes to work in drafts of the essays. Probably took me a solid week to write esach and another to edit them for use. Is this the “perfect path” to writing essays? Of course not, preferably, I would have three months of preparation and four versions of the essays with different approaches and directions. Instead, I will tell you my thought process.

Georgia Tech Essay Question One Creative Writing:
If you could host a dinner party and invite any four people, either living or dead, whom would you invite and what would the five of you discuss together? There is no right answer concerning dinner guests; rather, we want you to be creative and thoughtful in your response.

My beautiful girlfriend (LM) is a huge music nut. She has really introduced me to music. My car radio is always on 680TheFan, a local sports talk radio channel here in Atlanta. She suggested John Lennon, a very good fit as my first guest. I went to my good friends Steve and Sam’s condo, to watch the Florida State Miami game and Steve suggested Arnold Schwarzenegger (which I now know how to spell) because of my love for weightlifting and fitness. Arnold doubled as a Conservative to counter Lennon’s "Liberalness". And from there I got Muhammad Ali (my poetic athlete) and Sam and LM collaborated on J.K. Rowling, a modern day writer.

Once I had my four guests, I was able to come up with topics and how each would react… Took me a few days…

Due to my duffus move of incorrectly reading the word limit of 4000 as 400, I was able to write an inadvertently brief, albeit content packed essay.

Georgia Tech Essay Question Two Traditional Question:
Describe how your experience, both professional and personal, has led you to the decision to pursue an MBA at Georgia Tech. How does this decision relate to your future career goals?

A very traditional essay topic, I decided to go in a different direction; putting myself into the future.

Georgia Tech Optional Essay:
(Optional) The admissions Committee believes that the required essays address issues that are important in learning about you and in understanding your candidacy for the MBA program. However, you may provide us with any information pertinent to your admission that has not been covered in the rest of the application. Feel free to discuss any unique aspects of your candidacy or any perceived weakness.

Aha, as discussed in a previous post my GPA in undergrad was average at best. Here is the time when I would try and describe my life, my interests, and my inadequate GPA, all in my self-created 400-word limit.

Once the essays were written, I knew I could apply to the two schools on the top of my list, since Georgia States only essay required was the same as Georgia Tech’s essay about expectations and also had an optional essay. Copy and Paste! Be sure to change Georgia Tech to Georgia State… And presto! Two applications finished.

That’s it for now. With rolling admissions, I should be able to postpone any more applications until I hear back from my first two school options.