Tuesday Tips: Cambridge Judge Fall 2019 MBA Essay Tips

Judge Business School essay tips

As part of a world class campus and a location that is a center for technology and business, the University of Cambridge Judge School of Business is an excellent program for students interested in studying in the UK.  In fact, our post Getting a European MBA: A Unique Experience explains the many benefits of studying across the pond.

To learn more about the school you can research life at Cambridge through visiting campus, reading student blogs, or attending admissions events. Cambridge Judge is seeking ambitious, innovative and confident students with strong interpersonal skills.

Another extremely important attribute is to have international experience through your work and a global outlook. None of the essays specifically ask about international experience, so you can work your global outlook into one or more of the essay responses.

ESSAY 1

Please provide a personal statement. It should not exceed 500 words and must address the following questions:
– What are your short and long term career objectives and what skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you achieve them?
– What actions will you take before and during the MBA to contribute to your career outcome?
– If you are unsure of your post-MBA career path, how will the MBA equip you for the future?

This personal statement essay asks you to explain why you are pursuing an MBA. If you have a specific long- and short-term career objective in mind that is one way to structure the essay. If not, you will want to explain why an MBA is the right next step for you in your life. Either way, you will want to explain what skills and characteristics you have developed in your career thus far.

This essay will give you the space to talk about the career accomplishments that make you most proud, and to show that you are motivated, ambitious and ready for the challenge of an MBA at Cambridge. You will want to use an equal amount of space to talk about how you are going to enhance your career before and during your MBA in order to accomplish your goals.

What can you learn from your current job before you enroll at Judge? And what classes, professors and projects will you pursue to prepare yourself for your next career step?

As you formulate your essay topics, keep in mind that Cambridge Judge is seeking candidates who “are highly motivated and ambitious, thrive under pressure, and have already exhibited clear progression within their career.”

You will want to show that you have performed well and moved up within your jobs since you began working. You will also want to demonstrate what you have learned, and how your developing skills can be further honed through an MBA and a future career.

ESSAY 2

What did you learn from your most spectacular failure? (200 words)

Failures are challenging to work through, but can lead to breakthroughs in development and self-awareness. When you can look past the embarrassment and shame of a failure, what did the experience teach you? Did you take on too much, prepare too little or fail to ask for help when you needed it?

This essay is primarily about what you learned. Take a few sentences to explain the situation and the failure, then dive into what you learned and ideally how you have moderated your approach, improved yourself, or learned to recognize a situation that will lead to a poor outcome. Any topic can work here as long as you can show that you are self-aware and creative.

ESSAY 3

Describe a situation where you had to work jointly with others to achieve a common goal. What did you learn from the experience? (up to 200 words)

Judge is seeking students who are collaborative and innovative with strong interpersonal skills. This essay can show the admissions committee that you know how to work within a team and accomplish a shared goal.

As with the previous essay, take a few sentences to explain the situation, then focus on what you learned. Ideally you can describe your style when you work with a team, how you collaborate, help others bring their best work to the team, and manage challenges.

If you have a particular role or skill within a team, whether building consensus or take a devil’s advocate position, this is an ideal place to explain that approach.

If you have an interview coming up, you will want to review SBC’s interview prep services. The key to interview success is practice and we provide you with all the tools you need to do just that.

  • Leverage our video platform to practice, view yourself and improve
  • Work with our experts for live rehearsal and feedback
  • Download a guide for lists of practice questions, tips on how to prep and overviews of interview formats
  • Experience a real group interview before your big day

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.
*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contact

(323) 934-3936
info@StacyBlackman.com

Latest Blog Post

Do This When You Visit the Campus of Your Target B-Schools

You wouldn’t buy a home you hadn’t seen in person first, would you? The average cost of an MBA education at the most elite business schools is over $200,000. Therefore, it makes good sense to ...