MIT Sloan introduces their essay questions with important advice:
“[T]he essays are a chance for you to discuss your passions, values, interests, and goals. Emphasize those experiences that were most important and meaningful for you — which may not necessarily be those that were most outwardly prestigious. Be sincere and be specific…We are interested in learning more about you and how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response.”

Essay 1: Please tell us about a time when you had an impact on a group or organization. Describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.
This is similar to the leadership and accomplishment questions of HBS and Ross. You don’t need to choose a professional example, so think expansively about your personal, extra-curricular and community service experiences. As with every school, be strategic about choosing your examples (ie, mix up professional with personal or extra-curricular). Also follow their instructions to set up the experience quickly and focus on the your actions, reflection, and results. Give concrete examples of the leadership skills you displayed and articulate measurable as well as more intangible results.

Essay 2: Please tell us about a challenging interaction you had with a person or group. Describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.
As with the previous question, consider examples from your personal as well as professional life. Further, with all questions that ask about a challenging time (or mistake/failure) explain why it was difficult but then focus on the positive lessons learned. Describe how your thought process evolved over the course of the interaction.

Essay 3: Please tell us about a time when you defended your idea. Describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.
Similar to the previous question, when describing why you needed to defend an idea avoid expressing solely negative thoughts on the opposition to your idea. Instead focus on your thoughts and actions. This is a great opportunity to reveal your passions and interests.

Essay 4: Please tell us about a time when you executed a plan. Describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.
This essay should have a beginning, middle, and end to show the inception, execution, and results of the plan. That said, remember the focus is on your thoughts and actions. Do not just describe the events around executing the plan.

At MBA Tour events you can:
*Meet one on one with Admission Directors
*Participate in interactive panels with alumni
*Attend individual B-School presentations and match your interests to program options
*Mingle with business school representatives and alumni
*Identify the advantages of pursuing your MBA and creating a global network

Participating schools include:
Columbia
Cornell
Dartmouth Tuck
Duke Fuqua
MIT Sloan
NYU Stern
UVA Darden
UC Berkeley Haas
UCLA Anderson
U Michigan Ross
UNC Kenan-Flagler
Wharton
Yale

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Los Angeles, Sept 8
San Francisco, Sept 9
Washington, DC, Sept 11
New York City, Sept 15
Boston, Sept 16
Atlanta, Sept 18

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Essay 1: Briefly describe your short-term and long-term career goals. Why is an MBA the best choice at this point in your career? What and/or who influenced your decision to apply to Ross?
As with other “why MBA” questions from Columbia, Tuck, and http://blog.stacyblackman.com/2007/07/15/wharton-essay-tips/, this question has three separate questions.

Briefly describe your short-term and long-term career goals.
As always, note that they are asking for your future goals, not your career history. Use this opportunity to articulate a concrete plan that reflects your values as well as why your goals are meaningful to you. The only reason to touch on your previous career (or volunteer or personal) experiences is to explain how you developed your goals, but do not dwell on past experiences.

Why is an MBA the best choice at this point in your career?
This is essentially “why now” as we’ve seen in Wharton’s essay. Explain what is motivating you to apply to school - move up in current career, change careers, etc. Or maybe you’ve gained the skills you wanted after college and now feel ready to reach for your dream. Just be sure to articulate your reasoning.

What and/or who influenced your decision to apply to Ross?
This is “why Ross” with a twist. As with every school, you must be specific about how Ross will help you achieve your goals - classes, clubs, etc. They want to see that you are ready to take advantage of Ross and make a difference in their community. Further you can elaborate to include people (alumni, students, professors, admissions representatives that you have met through personal connections or information sessions) who have given you a sense of the Ross community and offerings. Show that you understand the culture and explain why it’s the right fit for you.

Essay 2: Describe your most significant professional accomplishment. Elaborate on the leadership skills you displayed, the actions you took and the impact you had on your organization.
This a leadership question wrapped in an accomplishment question. Note that you must choose an example from your career. As with all questions of this nature, set up the experience quickly and focus on the your actions, reflection, and results. Give concrete examples of the leadership skills you displayed and articulate measurable as well as more intangible results.

Short Answers (300 word max)

Essay 3: If you were not pursuing the career goals you described in Question 1, what profession would you pursue instead? (for example, teacher, musician, athlete, architect, etc.) How will this alternate interest contribute to your effectiveness in solving multi-disciplinary problems?
This is a chance to show your more creative side. Reveal interests and passions that are not obvious when looking at your resume. Further give an example of how this side of your personality allows you to create innovative solutions to complex problems.

Essay 4: Describe your experience during a challenging time in your life. Explain how you grew personally, either despite this challenge or because of it.
Like the HBS mistake question, the point of this essay is to communicate your lessons learned from an experience. Set up the event quickly and dedicate most of your words to your reflection. Ideally, you can show how you have applied these lessons learned. Don’t be afraid to reveal personal events from your life.

Optional Question: Is there anything else you think the Admissions Committee should know about you to evaluate your candidacy?
This is an opportunity to address a low GPA, unconventional choice of recommender, gap in work history, etc. As with all essays of this nature, stick with the facts and explain the situation succinctly

About.com recently featured a posting on top MBA application mistakes citing representatives from Ross, McCombs, NYU Stern, and Chicago.

Here’s a quick list of top mistakes:
1. Submitting generic essays
While there are certainly opportunities to leverage essays from school to school (for example HBS’s mistake essay and Wharton’s failure essay), you need to careful to answer the specific question each school is asking.

2. Neglecting to research schools
Schools need to know why you want to get an MBA, and it is equally important to explain why each specific school is the right fit for you. See our essays tips for Chicago, Wharton, and Stanford for more tips on how to answer these types of essay questions.

3. Not thinking through career goals
You need to articulate how you have prepared through your career to seek an MBA at this time. See our essay tips on Wharton to address discussing your career path.

4. Trying to be someone else in order to impress the admissions committee
As we stressed in the Wharton essay tips, follow Wharton’s advice to “be yourself.”