The Dartmouth Tuck School of Business has a small student body and a rural location, combined with world-class faculty and academic focus. As you approach your Dartmouth Tuck MBA application it will be important to consistently show how you will fit into the school values of leadership, teamwork and collaboration and bring your own unique qualities and experiences to the community.

If Tuck is the right fit for you and you are thinking about applying in the first round, this is the ideal time to start thinking about how to approach this set of Tuck essay questions.

Before you begin the essays think about the areas you want to communicate to the Tuck Business School admissions committee. As you consider each topic be sure to provide specific examples to illustrate your unique qualities. Real life experiences are your best evidence of leadership qualities, teamwork skills and management potential.

Tuck Business School encourages a 500-word limit for each essay in this set.

Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you, and what will you uniquely contribute to the community? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)

This standard career goals question requires you to clearly outline your short- and long-term career goals. Your short-term goals are the aspirations you have for your job immediately after graduation, while your long-term goals may be 10 or 20 years after you complete your MBA. In this relatively short essay you will need to explain what you have been pursuing in your career thus far, and why you need an MBA at this point in your life, along with your career goals.

“Why Tuck Business School” is an important aspect to this essay, and your opportunity to demonstrate fit. Make sure you have researched the school’s programs and determined your education will suit your plans. By reaching out to current students and alumni you will gain crucial insights that will provide a personal perspective on the culture of the school.

Discuss your most meaningful leadership experience. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?

This question gets at your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Reflecting honestly upon how you behaved in your most significant leadership experience and assessing what you did well and what you could have done better is a great way to start.

This essay requires that you describe one specific example that illustrates your leadership challenges and strengths. Think about the leadership opportunities that led to a deeper understanding of yourself and others, and may have resulted in definition of your strengths or an improvement in your weaknesses. The example you choose can be from work or community involvement, as “great leadership can be accomplished in the pursuit or business and societal goals.” You will need to adhere to the Tuck School of Business definition of leadership and include a team-based aspect to your example. As you describe your leadership experience, make sure you explain how you were able to inspire and enable others to accomplish.

Describe a circumstance in your life in which you faced adversity, failure, or setback. What actions did you take as a result and what did you learn from this experience?

This question is your opportunity to show how you handle challenging situations. Everyone faces adversity, failure or setbacks at work or in personal life, and it is how you decide to react that demonstrates your character. Revealing your emotions and thought process along with your actions in this essay will provide a window into how you process difficult experiences and emerge from them with a new direction. Think back to Tuck Business School’s criteria, and consider using this essay to either demonstrate your interpersonal skills (if your challenge was of the interpersonal variety) or to show something from your background or experience that is unique.

When brainstorming for this essay think first about what you learned from the situation, and then work backwards to describe the circumstances and the initial challenge or hurdle, that will help you see the whole situation from a more optimistic viewpoint. Did you learn from the experience – and did it impact your life or demonstrate anything specific about your character, goals or accomplishments? Even the most difficult situations often lead to personal growth and change and have contributed to who you are today.

(Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.

This is your opportunity to discuss any perceived weaknesses in your application such as low GPA or gaps in your work experience. When approaching a question of this nature, focus on explanations rather than excuses and explain what you have done since the event you are explaining to demonstrate your academic ability or management potential. If you do not have a weakness to explain this may be an opportunity to address something new and unique about your candidacy. However, there is no requirement to complete this question, and it would be wise to use the space for something truly new and important to your application that has not been addressed elsewhere.

Stuck on your Tuck MBA essays? Contact us to learn how a Stacy Blackman Consultant can help.

Two campuses, multiple degree options and a diverse and international class set INSEAD apart from its competitors. INSEAD has released the essay questions for this year’s application, right before the deadlines for the January intake. When you approach this set of essays, make sure you are ready to explain your career plans in detail, and highlight any International experiences in your background.

INSEAD focuses separately on the job and personal portion of your MBA application essays, seeking to understand candidate’s current career position in detail before delving into the personal aspect. While most MBA programs combine all aspects of your career goals trajectory into one essay, INSEAD provides three separate opportunities to discuss your current job, past experiences and future goals. Though career is covered in three essays rather than one, you should make sure that all of the essays work coherently together. As INSEAD states on the website: “We evaluate each applicant against four central criteria: leadership potential and work experience; academic capacity; international motivation; and ability to contribute to the INSEAD experience.”

Job Description Essays
1. Briefly summarise your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, clients/ products and results achieved. (250 words maximum)

This question should focus entirely on your current (or most recent) work situation. Though you will want to provide relevant context for your current role, make sure you are devoting most of the essay to describing the details of your day-to-day responsibilities and oversight. If you are lighter on supervising others or managing a budget, you have the opportunity to highlight some key responsibilities and results.

When you are composing this essay make sure you focus on what you uniquely have contributed to the role, rather than reciting the job description. What have you done that is above and beyond?

2. Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words maximum)

This is essentially a walk-through of your resume using the essay format to allow you to provide a unifying thread through the narrative. INSEAD is seeking to understand your career trajectory and how you have grown and progressed through your career. Think about the choices you have made in your career, and how your past experiences have combined to provide you with your current skill set. If you have a fairly straightforward career path you can take the opportunity to comment on some of the learnings from each position. The second part of the question also needs to be answered. Think about the next step at your job, and where you might land if you did not leave to pursue an MBA. While this is a straightforward question, you may need to demonstrate that you can’t get where you want to go from here – and that you will need an MBA to achieve your goals.

3. If you are currently not working, what are you doing and what do you plan to do until you start the MBA programme if applicable? (250 words maximum)

If you are not employed at the moment, you will want to answer this question to show how you are utilizing your time without full time employment. Ideally you are currently involved in an activity that is going to further your career or personal goals at this time. The best answer is one that shows you are self-motivated and do not need paid work to continue developing yourself. Perhaps you are volunteering in a non-profit that is related to your career goals. Maybe you are working with a friend on a start-up. Or you are consulting and building contacts in your industry. If you are out of work only briefly, it’s also perfectly reasonable to be pursuing travel or other activities that develop your international awareness and perspective. However, make sure that your activities can tie back to your long-term goals or other key aspects of your application strategy.

Essays
1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (600 words maximum)

Strengths and weaknesses are a common topic for MBA applications. This is a great opportunity to highlight some of your skills and attributes that demonstrate leadership, teamwork or other qualities that will drive your future career success. Demonstrating self-awareness and the ability to assess your own performance will be impressive. While examples aren’t required, consider that adcomm is reading a vast number of essays and that concrete examples are both easy to understand, and may help you stand out from the crowd.

When describing weaknesses you will want to focus on those weaknesses that you have taken concrete steps to address, or that have been a route to learning more about yourself. Often strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin, in which case you can even tie your key weaknesses to your key strengths. Because it is often difficult to write about one’s weaknesses this is an especially important essay to share with others to seek feedback on tone and impact.

2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date (if possible specify one personal and one professional), explaining why you view them as such. (400 words maximum)

Similar to the HBS question, this is an opportunity to describe two of your most important accomplishments. While impressive accomplishments are great and will certainly enhance your overall application, you should pay equal attention to explaining why these accomplishments are valuable to you. If you concisely explain the accomplishment and how you were able to bring it to fruition, you will have room to provide the context for your personal pride in the accomplishment.

Note that INSEAD prefers to see both the personal and professional in this essay. This is your first opportunity in this essay set to bring in a new angle on your profile through describing one of your most substantial accomplishments outside of work.

3. Describe a situation taken from your personal or professional life where you failed. Discuss what you learned. (400 words maximum)

The classic mistake essay seeks to understand how you handle failure and learn from challenging situations. The most important aspect of this essay is to demonstrate that you are able to learn and grow as a result of your failure. Everyone fails; it’s how you react that determines your effectiveness in an organization and in achieving your own personal goals.

A strong essay will include a clear and concise description of the situation. Describe your failure quickly and avoid any lengthy backstory. Your failure should have stakes for you – was it embarrassing? Did it set your career or school pursuits back? Establish why you considered the situation a failure in your life. Once you have defined the failure you can devote most of the essay to discussing your reaction and what you learned. Demonstrating that you learned something from the situation is crucial to demonstrating self-awareness and emotional intelligence. If you have the room, either applying your lesson learned to a current situation or a subsequent experience would be an excellent way to wrap up the essay.

You are provided the freedom to pull examples from multiple areas, and this is an opportunity to demonstrate another side of you that has not been explored in the previous personal or career essays.

4. a) Discuss your short and long term career goals. (300 words maximum) and b) How will studying at INSEAD help you achieve your vision? (250 words maximum)

This essay is a continuation of the first two essay questions. Here you should make a case for why an MBA is the appropriate next step in your career and life, and why INSEAD is the right place to do it. You already laid the groundwork on where you have been in essay 2, and where you are right now in essay 1, and this essay is a continuation of your overall career trajectory. Consider what you said about your next position in career essay 2, and how INSEAD will enhance your future career.

INSEAD seeks MBA candidates with a range of experiences and the school wants to clearly know why you are seeking an MBA. Your future career goals should flow logically from where you have been in your career and your education at INSEAD. If you are confident about where you are going the admissions committee will be confident about your ability to take advantage of the unique MBA experience.

5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics:
a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What insights did you gain? (250 words maximum)
b) Describe the ways in which a foreigner in your country might experience culture shock. (250 words maximum)

Both of these essay choices seek a response that will demonstrate your awareness of the world outside your home country. INSEAD is a highly international program and seeks candidates that both demonstrate and value diversity. Either one of these essays offers an opportunity to highlight any international or cross culture exposure you have had, whether while traveling outside your home country, or when experiencing foreigners within your home country. You will want to demonstrate cultural sensitivity, but also an awareness of the real cultural differences between people and nationalities.

Culture shock can be a result of visiting or living in a new country, an unfamiliar group of people, or even a novel situation. Because INSEAD is such an international community it would be best to use this opportunity to discuss your awareness of other cultures and people. Choose an example that is easy to understand, and then spend some time explaining why you felt the culture shock and what it signified to you.

Option b allows you to act as host in your own country, describing the customs and challenges that may await a foreign visitor. This essay can demonstrate your skills of observation and empathy as you step into a stranger’s shoes and evaluate your own culture and values.

Whether you choose option a or b, it will be important to make sure you are highlighting your ability to conduct business across cultures. A highly international program like INSEAD will want to see demonstrated international savvy in any successful candidate.

6. Is there anything that you have not mentioned in your application that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (350 words maximum) This section is optional.

This essay is 350 words you can use for anything you would like to showcase and that you were unable to work into the rest of your application. Because INSEAD’s questions are quite thorough you may have covered all aspects of your candidacy and personal qualities in the other five essay questions, in which case you can feel comfortable skipping this question (it IS optional). If you did not have a place for an interesting hobby, new aspect of your background to describe, or key accomplishment, it may be appropriate to use this space to tell that story.

It is far better to fully explain any issues in your application than to leave the admissions committee to guess what happened. If you have any challenging aspects to your candidacy like a low GPA or a failing grade in college, this is the correct place to address those concerns. Explain your issue clearly and focus most of the essay on the correction for the issue. For example, if you had a disciplinary issue in college, spend most of the essay demonstrating that you learned from the experience and have been an ideal citizen ever since rather than focusing on the negative. Avoid blaming anyone else for your issue, and relentlessly show why this one incident is in your past and will stay there.

7. In case of reapplication, please provide an update on any new aspects of your professional, international, academic or personal profile that would not have been included in your previous application. Please also explain your motivation for re-applying to INSEAD. (400 words maximum)

For your reapplication to INSEAD, you should outline the changes in your profile that support your renewed candidacy. The most successful applicants will provide tangible evidence of improvement. Aspects like GMAT score or new quantitative classes as especially tangible, but a promotion, increase in responsibility at work, a job change or even a change of goals and mission can apply.

A rejection or waitlist last year is a form of feedback, and may have led to soul searching for you. When you describe your changes make sure to reflect your ability to take feedback and improve. Describe how you approached the reapplication process after assessing your own strengths and weaknesses as a candidate and making the appropriate efforts to improve.

Struggling with your INSEAD application? You can still make the upcoming deadlines – contact us to start the process of partnering with Stacy Blackman Consulting.

This post originally appeared on Stacy’s “Strictly Business” MBA blog on U.S.News.com

You are articulate and well prepared. The interview portion of the application to your first-choice business school is moving along smoothly, and you have a well-thought-out answer for each question.

Finally, the interviewer states, “You have an impressive résumé, strong work experience, and interesting extracurricular activities. However, your résumé looks like countless others I’ve seen this year. What makes you different from other qualified applicants?”

Your answer may make the difference between acceptance and denial into the MBA program of your choice. Top b-schools accept only a small percentage of applicants drawn from a highly competitive pool. Candidates need more than great test scores and a solid résumé. Success ultimately lies in understanding how to market yourself effectively throughout the application process.

[Learn how to narrow your b-school application list.]

Understand your target market: Like any marketing project, understanding your target market is critical. As a first step in the application process, you must research the schools and get to know them well. You should read the websites and brochures, attend information sessions, speak with students and alumni, and, if possible, visit the school.

The knowledge you acquire will help you determine how best to sell yourself. It will also help you articulate why you have selected a particular school. Citing specific reasons from firsthand experience gives you an advantage over the other applicants.

Positioning is key: Every school has a need. It may be assembling alumni who will donate generously, or changing its reputation as a party school. Understanding a school’s needs and positioning yourself as part of the solution will make a difference.

For example, consider Columbia Business School, which you may want to attend because you plan to pursue a career in finance. Realize that Columbia hears this frequently. If you do your research, you’ll learn that the school embraces entrepreneurship as a major initiative and has just launched the Columbia Business Lab for recently graduated Columbia entrepreneurs. Speaking to this may be a way to align yourself with the school’s objectives.

Differentiate yourself: Even highly qualified applicants worry about finding a way to stand out. Fortunately, the personal essay portion of the application allows you to showcase what makes you unique. Examples that may seem less than extraordinary to you can provide the admissions committee with clear evidence of your talent.

One of my clients worked as a strategy consultant and couldn’t fit traditional volunteer work into his hectic travel schedule. He decided to contact his alma mater’s career center, offering himself as a resource to those interested in a consulting career. He ended up giving back on his own terms, in a very significant way. Excellence comes in many different packages, and sometime small examples can brilliantly illustrate your distinctive contributions.

Remember, a simple example is often the most effective. One b-school applicant needed a good story for a question on leadership. The example he used involved revamping a monthly report. Although this may not seem like an impressive task, once written, it showed initiative, a desire to challenge the status quo, and an ability to execute tasks and influence others. If you want to convey your worth, don’t just state it; prove it with examples.

Don’t be afraid of failure: In addition to highlighting strengths, an essential component of marketing is effectively managing weaknesses. Most applicants dread the “Tell us about a time you failed” question. The best approach is honesty.

One b-school applicant I worked with had been laid off three times during his four-year career—something he initially felt terrified to reveal to the admissions committees. However, by discussing the situation and circumstances with honesty, he demonstrated self-awareness, an ability to learn from mistakes, maturity, resilience, and determination.

Introspection allows the admissions committee to get to know you. Adopting a frank, yet thoughtful, attitude toward failure allows you to capitalize on a weakness and make it work for you.

Although negotiating your acceptance into a top MBA program seems daunting, by showcasing your individuality, you can do so with success. Research each institution and understand how your personal strengths and differences can benefit the programs of your choice.

Take advantage of the application’s essay portion to illustrate your unique qualities, and don’t shy away from discussing your weaknesses, as well as what you’ve learned from moments of failure. Effective marketing can take your application from good to great—and make all the difference in this highly competitive process.

Fit is a crucial aspect to demonstrate in your Kellogg MBA application. The close-knit community values leadership and teamwork. At the same time, diversity in experience, background and thought is valued among the developing leaders of Kellogg. Doing your research on the programs, activities, clubs, classes and professors at Kellogg will be important as you approach your essays. While you are reading and conversing with students and alumni, keep in mind how you envision your own background adding to the community.

The advice we give about every MBA application is also relevant to Kellogg: make sure to choose a range of experiences from your professional and community life for your essay topics. When approaching any MBA application essay, be as specific as possible in every example to authentically communicate your unique leadership and teamwork style.

1. Discuss moments or influences in your personal life that have defined who you are today. (500 word limit)

This essay gets more personal than the Kellogg application has asked for in the past. As the first essay of the set, it will also set the tone for the rest of your story. This question should definitely be personal, and ideally, focus on people and experiences that have influenced you rather than accomplishments or achievements.

To generate ideas, try brainstorming over a period of a few days. Ask friends and family what values they see you demonstrated in your life and choices. Keep a notebook by your bed so you can record your first thoughts upon waking up, and mine your personal history for ideas.

This essay will be most effective if you answer the question with vivid and specific examples that demonstrate who you are today and how your life choices have defined you.

2. What have been your most significant leadership experiences? What challenges did you face, and what impact did you have? This is your opportunity to explain how you Think Bravely (personally and/or professionally). (500 word limit)

The Kellogg MBA seeks to make “strong leaders stronger.” Therefore, you will want to demonstrate that you are a strong leader, and that a Kellogg MBA can make you stronger. This question focuses on leadership experiences you have had and seeks to understand how you think and behave in challenging situations that may have tested your ability to work with others.

This behavioral question requires a very specific example to work effectively. The intention for this question is to see an example of a past experience that indicates how you will behave in the future, potentially when you must lead at Kellogg and in your future career. Make sure you include details about exactly what you did and said in your leadership story.

3. Imagine yourself at your Kellogg graduation. What career will you be preparing to enter, and how have the MBA and Kellogg helped you get there? (Please answer in terms of your program choice: One-Year, Two-Year, MMM, JD-MBA) (500 word limit)

This question focuses mainly on your short-term goal- the career that you will pursue immediately after graduation from Kellogg. Doing your research on Kellogg MBA’s academics and resources will help you answer the question about how Kellogg helped you achieve your post-graduation career goal. Choose specific classes, professors and programs that fit into your career goals. Think about clubs and conferences that are unique to the Kellogg MBA and will advance your career. Your motivation to pursue an MBA at Kellogg should also show that you are interested in being an active part of the community if possible.

If you are applying to the MMM program, you’ll have to show how the MEM degree will prepare you more effectively for your career goals than the MBA alone. Be able to articulate what is different about the Kellogg MMM program as compared to the MBA and other joint degrees. Know the classes you want to take, the professors you hope to work for, and how the MMM experience will be an asset in your future career.

Similarly, the JD-MBA at Kellogg is a highly competitive admissions process and will require a very clear explanation of what you will do with both degrees after school. Consider the unique attributes of the Kellogg JD-MBA program as compared to others, and also why you specifically need both a JD and an MBA.

4. What one interesting or fun fact would you want your future Kellogg classmates to know about you? (25 words or less)

With just 25 words to work with, your fun fact needs to be concise and focused. At the same time, this is an opportunity to describe any differentiating factor. If you are a typical Indian IT applicant who actually grew up in France on a vineyard, this is the place to mention it! Think about what aspects of your background that might be interesting, unique, and surprising in the context of the information you have already shared in this set of essays. Whatever fun or interesting fact you choose, make it relevant to your story and don’t forget your overall application strategy.

Challenged by your Kellogg MBA application? Contact us to learn how a Stacy Blackman Consultant can help you.

The Chicago Booth School of Business has just announced the 2012-2013 MBA application deadlines and essay questions.

Deadlines

Round One: October 2, 2012

Round Two: January 8, 2013

Round Three: April 4, 2013

Essay Questions

Long-Form Essay:
What are your short- and long-term goals, and how will an MBA from Chicago Booth help you reach them? (500 words maximum)

Short Answer Essays:
a. What has been your biggest challenge, and what have you learned from it?  (200 words maximum)

b. Tell us about something that has fundamentally transformed the way you think. (200 words maximum)

Presentation/Essay:
The Chicago experience will take you deeper into issues, force you to challenge assumptions, and broaden your perspective.  In a four-slide presentation or an essay of no more than 600 words, broaden our perspective about who you are. Understanding what we currently know about you from the application, what else would you like us to know?

Re-applicant Essay:
Upon reflection, how has your thinking regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (300 words) Please note that only those applicants who applied for entrance in Fall 2011 or 2012 are required to complete this essay.

The full application will be available in early August. Stay tuned to this space for our Chicago Booth MBA essay tips, coming soon!

Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business has posted the essay questions for the upcoming full-time MBA application cycle. The school encourages applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 words for each essay.

1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you, and what will you uniquely contribute to the community? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)
2. Discuss your most meaningful leadership experience. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?
3. Describe a circumstance in your life in which you faced adversity, failure, or setback. What actions did you take as a result and what did you learn from this experience?
4. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.
5. (To be completed by all reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.

According to the admissions office, the application will go live in early August.