WHY YOU SHOULDN’T SHOP YOUR MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS AROUND TOO EARLY
Shopping your MBA application essays around to your friends, family, and colleagues may seem like a good idea - but be careful. For several reasons. This blog post is mainly coming from an MBA admissions consultant perspective. You have every right to show your MBA application essay around. Most admissions consultants should want you to do that. However, here’s the thing - do it at the end.
You do not want to have too many cooks in the kitchen.
This will drive your consultant crazy, but ultimately it will drive you crazy. It will drive you crazy in the sense that you won’t know who to believe. Your best friend who's currently at that b-school? Your boss who is a graduate from that b-school? Or your consultant who has been doing this since 2006? And now your best friend who just graduated from Wharton has said that this part in your essay “off”. Don’t take that as gospel, go back to what you’ve learned and what you believe is true. And absolutely do not spin out willy nilly.
There will be things that you start inserting into essays that will be too long. Things that don’t make sense based on everything that you’ve worked with your consultant. Therefore, if you absolutely want to work with someone (and if you choose not to work with a consultant), pick one person early on in the process. That person may help you with the nuances of Harvard for example, and stick with that one person.
Then at the end, when your MBA application essay is 95% complete, shop it around to mom and dad, best friends - go get feedback.
However, keep in mind, you did ask them for criticism - so they will tear it apart. Also keep in mind anytime someone recommends you change something, adding something for instance, you must ask them what they recommend taking out. That will make them think critically about their advice as these essays are capped at 500 words. You can’t keep shoving 10 pounds of dirt into a five pound bag.
MBA application essays will all come down to priorities.
What is more important? To talk about the Glee Club or the Consulting Club? To talk about something very intangible such as the spirit of Wharton and knowledge of action, or to talk about what you are going to do tactically as a part of the so-and-so club. For this exact reason, save shopping around until the very end. Don’t introduce too much noise too early on. You’ll never get to the end with a good product if there are too many cooks in the kitchen.