MBA Admissions Essay - Role Model 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

Role Model Questions

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If you could have dinner with one individual, past or present, who would it be? Why? - Haas

Explain in detail who in the business world you believe has had the greatest impact on how we do business today. - Washington University

You might be surprised at how much your answer to this question can say about you. The role model you choose is not nearly as important as your description of that person and the way you relate him or her back to yourself. Here are some principles to keep in mind when writing this essay.

1. Choose someone with whom you have had a meaningful relationship. Don't pick a more important but distant figure. No one will be impressed if you choose, for example, the CEO of your company, but have nothing to say about him beyond listing the credentials in his company profile.

Note: There are some questions that prompt you to identify a "hero" and others that ask you to describe an ideal manager. In those cases you should alter your choice accordingly, but the below principles still apply.

2. Express thoughtful admiration. Glorifying your role model makes you sound nave. Focus instead on describing the person in an insightful manner and explaining why you value what he or she represents. You might even have reason to differentiate yourself from your role model in specific ways, though the overall purpose should be to describe what you admire and want to emulate.

3. Describe and illustrate specific qualities. Avoid relying on vague language that merely depicts your role model as "brilliant" or "compassionate." Instead, aim for a more penetrating portrait that captures your role model's complexities. Moreover, even though you're not writing about yourself, it doesn't mean that you don't have to back up your claims. Show your role model in detailed action to convey the qualities that he or she embodies.

4. Tell stories. Using specific anecdotes is the best way to achieve depth in your description. By describing the details of a particular episode, you can convey much more about a person than you can by listing any number of characteristics.

5. Show the role model's visible influence on you. The best way to demonstrate the importance your role model has played in your life is to recount changes you've made based on that person's influence. Of course, you should not come across as a sycophant or a blind follower. But you can show how your role model provoked ideas that then initiated a course of action.

SAMPLE ESSAY:

I met Erika two years ago. She grew up in a provincial Mexican town called Leon. According to the region's conservative customs, women are expected to marry and serve their husbands. Practically all women there accept their fate; Erika is one notable exception. Rebelling against the constraints imposed on women, she risked social rejection by persuading her parents to let her study engineering in Mexico City. She hoped to influence people's lives and become a well-rounded individual.

At that time, there were only two women studying engineering at the university. Professors didn't expect a woman to become a good engineer and didn't dedicate much time to her, so she had to put in twice the effort to obtain the same grades as her male classmates. She graduated with honors and decided to join P&G, where I met her. Very soon, her strong business vision and leadership skills earned her a fast promotion to brand manager. However, she felt that P&G was not giving her all the skills needed to help people, so she enrolled in a London MBA program.

When she returned to P&G, she was promoted to director. She had been planning to start a non-profit organization to help illiterate women when her mother was struck with cancer. Without a moment's hesitation, she left her promising career to achieve her goal in life: helping others. She now spends half of each day taking care of her mom and the other half teaching illiterate women.

Erika has had a deep influence on me. What I most admire about her is her strong belief that we have the responsibility to help others become better persons. She lives according to this credo, which she has used as a guideline since she was very young. She has shown me the importance of a attaining a balanced life and contributing to society while accumulating practical skills. Most recently, she has encouraged me to obtain an MBA, because it gave her the skills needed to complete her development and help others.

COMMENTS:

This applicant writes a very effective portrayal of a woman who overcame gender constraints to become a successful professional. More importantly for the purposes of this lesson, he demonstrates that a role model need not be a direct professional superior. Indeed, though it can be done well, simply profiling your last boss will not showcase your uniqueness unless you include details particular to that relationship. It shows a bit more depth to describe your admiration for a person outside the office altogether, then establish a connection between that relationship and your professional life.

In this essay, note how the writer illustrates Erika's qualities by describing her specific actions. The applicant concludes by articulating exactly what she admires most about Erika and showing how her life has changed as a result of knowing her. These passages prevent the piece from becoming a straightforward biography of Erikaa person who is interesting to the admissions committee not as a person per se, but rather as a significant influence on you, the applicant.