The Power of Positive Framing in Your MBA Essays
Applying to an MBA program can be an overwhelming process. Between GMAT prep, essays, and navigating school selection, there’s no shortage of challenges. One often overlooked but crucial aspect of this process is how you present your story—specifically, the importance of neutralizing negativity and using positive framing in your MBA essays and application materials.
Curious about your chances of getting into a top B-school? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
Why Neutralizing Negativity Matters
Everyone has experienced tough times, whether at work, school or beyond. While challenging, these experiences often provide compelling material for MBA essays. They can highlight personal growth, resilience, and character—essential attributes that business schools value.
However, the way you frame these challenges can make or break the impact of your story. Grit is essential for entrepreneurs, senior executives, and anyone striving to significantly impact their field. “Gritty” individuals persist toward a long-term goal despite inevitable hardships. Admissions committee members love to see this quality in applicants because it often predicts success.
Emphasizing this trait in your MBA essays can prove you have what it takes to thrive in their program and beyond.
Recounting those challenging situations isn’t enough—you must showcase your resilience, too. That’s where neutralizing negativity comes in. It’s not about sugar-coating your struggles but reframing them to underscore your perseverance and resourcefulness.
The Trap of Negativity: A Case Study
Understanding the importance of positive framing is one thing; mastering it is another. Many MBA applicants need help striking the right tone in their initial drafts. For example, we worked with a client aiming for the Kellogg School of Management who wasn’t confident about her professional achievements.
One of her essay drafts focused on a challenging work situation where she had to implement a new process in her company’s marketing department. Although the project showcased her problem-solving skills and leadership, her tone came across as disgruntled. She criticized her coworkers and expressed frustration with the project, which painted her as easily discouraged rather than resilient.
Turning Negativity into Strength
When we pointed out the tone issues, the applicant realized she wasn’t portraying her experience as intended. She took a step back and re-evaluated her approach, consciously adapting her narrative to be more positive and empathetic toward her colleagues. Rather than focusing on the resistance she faced, she emphasized the steps she took to gain buy-in, her strategic approach to problem-solving, and how the experience helped her grow as a leader.
The transformation in her essays was remarkable. These changes improved her application and helped her reconnect with her sense of purpose and impact.
The Power of Positive Framing in MBA Applications
The tone of your essays can significantly influence how admissions committees perceive you. The goal isn’t to hide adversities or pretend everything was smooth sailing. Instead, it’s about showing you can navigate difficult situations with poise. Not only that, but you can also learn something from every experience.
Use these tips to neutralize negativity and embrace positive framing in your MBA essays:
- Focus on Your Actions, Not Just Obstacles: When writing about challenges, shift the focus from the difficulty of the situation to what you did to address it. Highlight your problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and leadership.
- Show Empathy and Understanding: Instead of pointing fingers or expressing frustration with others, acknowledge the complexity of the situation. Demonstrating empathy and understanding toward your colleagues shows maturity and strong interpersonal skills.
- Celebrate the Wins, Big and Small: Even in challenging situations, there are often small victories. Celebrate these in your narrative—whether gaining support from a problematic stakeholder or finding an innovative solution that moved the project forward.
- Reflect on What You Learned: Business schools love applicants who are self-aware and willing to learn from their experiences. Reflecting on what you learned, even in failure, can turn a negative story into a powerful testament to your development.
Ultimately, neutralizing negativity and using positive framing in your MBA essays isn’t just about presenting yourself in the best light to admissions committees. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on your journey, reconnect with your strengths, and enter this next phase of your career with renewed confidence. Your story is uniquely yours; how you tell it can make all the difference.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership to hourly help reviewing your MBA essays, resume, and more. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
