MBA Admissions Essay - Diversity Questions

Business school admissions essay section will teach how to structure and write your essay. This section also contains a number of sample admissions essays to help guide you.

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Why M.B.A.? Questions | Diversity Questions | Accomplishment Questions | Leadership Questions | Other Activities Questions | Role Model Questions | Failure Questions | Very Personal Questions

Diversity Questions

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The Darden School seeks a diverse and unique entering class of future managers. How will your distinctiveness enrich our learning environment and enhance your prospects for success as a manager?

Describe how your skills, knowledge, and life experiences could benefit potential classmates. - Krannert

After evaluating the qualifications and talent of the applicant pool, admissions committees seek to build a class full of interesting people from varied backgrounds. The purpose of this question is to find out what you have to contribute to this potential class. Here are some general guidelines for identifying a strong topic:

1. Don't write an ode to diversity. Many people spend half the essay writing about how much they value diversity, or about how important diversity is to enriching one's learning experience. Your readers know this, and you are wasting words by stating the obvious.

2. If you fit into one of the obvious categories, make sure you have something substantive to say. You should not simply mention a factor such as your race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, age, disability, or international upbringing and expect that to be your distinguishing feature. Instead, focus on how your background has shaped your life or career; discuss its effect on the perspective you will bring to the program.

3. Diversity is not just about the obvious categories. Some people from privileged backgrounds will write about experiences in multicultural settings. This can be effective, especially if you have an extensive background within a particular setting. But your topic need not have anything to do with the obvious categories. You could also talk about a unique extracurricular activity, work experience, or hobby that has influenced your development. Don't look for prepackaged answers, but rather be sincere and reveal something meaningful.

4. Don't pick something that everyone else has. Make sure that the point you use to distinguish yourself is actually noteworthy. For example, don't say that what you have to contribute is your communication skills or leadership ability. Everyone will be emphasizing these skills in other questions, and you will lose an opportunity to stand out. Note: There are questions that simply ask about your most important qualities, rather than what you have to contribute to diversity. In those cases, you can talk about the important themes that everyone else will discuss also, though finding an original point in addition is always helpful.

5. Be sure to cite specific evidence. If you're discussing an experience that has shaped your perspective, focus on concrete details. If you're discussing more abstract qualities that you possess, offer examples to show how you cultivated those qualities or how they came into play in your life.

The other angle some schools may take on diversity is to ask about your experience in diverse situations. Again, this should not be an invitation to deliver a paean to diversity. If you're going to discuss the positive influence that diversity had on a situation, be sure to cite specific examples. Also, focus on your role even if the question just asks about your experience, since active contribution reveals more about your character than passive response. You might emphasize such qualities as your ability to communicate, to cooperate, to bridge differences, and so on, but always include specific examples to back them up.

SAMPLE ESSAY:

Fourteen years ago, I decided that I wanted to live in the United States, where I could succeed in any career path I might choose. For a high school student in the small Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, this was a lofty ambition. After five years of crusading against socialistic bureaucracy, I finally boarded a plane to New York in 1991. I had finally achieved the goal that I had set for myself: I was free, in America, to determine my life's path.

At first I was not certain about what I wanted to do with my future, but in the summer of 1993, my plans solidified. While I was visiting my parents in Kyrgyzstan, a friend of mine suggested that I call the American Embassy and ask for a list of organizations that might need a Russian/English interpreter. After calling a few such organizations, I began working for a group that was considering investing $10 million in the development of tourism in Kyrgyzstan. The group, though geographically diverse, all hailed from English-speaking nations: an ecologist from Australia, a lawyer from the US, and a specialist in handcrafts from England. They shared the common goal of helping the Kyrgyz economy to recover. (After the collapse of the USSR, Kyrgyzstan became an independent country, and a variety of international organizations have taken the opportunity to try to jumpstart the new economy.) After a month of working with this group, I knew that I wanted to enter the international business world and help to remodel the socialist economy in my homeland. I enrolled in Moscow State University and graduated in 1996, with a degree in International Trade.

The next crucial step in my career advancement is to earn a master's degree in international business. I am eager to learn the psychology of the American corporate world. In addition, I want to acquire a solid grasp of marketing, with a particular interest in the marketing development of the Eastern European and Central Asian regions. Based on the courses the Robinson College of Business offers, as well as its academic reputation, I believe that it will fulfill my needs perfectly. My short-term professional objectives, therefore, are to gain admission to Robinson and to receive excellent grades while enrolled. I am prepared to engage in a challenging curriculum, made particularly difficult by my situation as a single mother. I will strive to set an example for my seven-year-old son, so that he too will learn to persist in attaining his goals.

A few weeks ago, while reading a Russian newspaper on the Internet, I saw an advertisement for some American fat-burning pills. The English meant something like "Five minutes on your lips, all your life on your hips," but the Russian translation sounded extremely vulgar. As this amusing advertisement demonstrates, cross-cultural skills are critical to international business, but are often overlooked. My ability to speak Russian fluently and my understanding of Russian, Kyrgyz, and American cultures will help enable me to succeed in the global business economy. I think that my intercultural capabilities will be a major contribution to the Robinson student body, as well as an asset to my future career in international marketing.

Along with my cross-cultural savvy, I also hope to bring to Robinson my previous academic experience in international marketing. My final project in Moscow State University was titled "Marketing of Russian Products & Services Abroad Using Stock Company Volga-Dnepr." I spent six months researching and writing my thesis on Volga-Dnepr, a joint venture of the British company Heavy Lift and the Russian company Volga-Dnepr, and a leader in the Russian cargo transport market. I spent most of my time in the marketing department, observing the creation of a company's portfolio, its advertising strategies in the international market, and its relationships with Russian and foreign clients. The experience proved absolutely fascinating, and I hope to encounter similarly exciting academic endeavors at Robinson.

After studying international marketing in-depth and graduating from Robinson College of Business, I hope to secure a position with a company that operates in Eastern Europe, CIS, or an ex-Soviet republic. My long-term professional objective is to find a job that fully utilizes my unique educational and cultural background. My ideal job would be with a marketing departmentI would like to be involved in promoting new products and enhancing the image of current ones. Furthermore, I am interested in conducting marketing research, and building new relationships between American and Russian companies. I might also enjoy working for an international company here in the States, or perhaps in a company like USAID. Eventually, regardless of what career path I choose after earning my degree at Robinson, I would like to return to Russia and teach Russian and Kyrgyz companies the key principles of international marketing. I know that I may be aiming high with my career objectives right now, but I have learned from my life thus far that I am capable of achieving my dreams if I set my mind to it. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high."

COMMENTS:

This applicant moved from a small country formerly of the Soviet Union to the United States. Because his interest is in international business, he is able to tie his cross-cultural background to his past accomplishments and future plans in the global economy and to his involvement in the school's student body. Note that the demonstration of his cultural diversity far outweighs the one or two moments when he explicitly points to his unique perspective. This is one of the most important strategies to remember when writing a Diversity essay.