Write in detail about your short term goal as school focus immensely on your immediate post MBA goal. You should begin answering by stating what your present position is, and follow this up by naming the position you envisage for yourself post MBA. Refer not only to your ambition for yourself, but also to what benefits you can bring to your company or client. In narrating your goal, please explain industry, sector, job titles, and job roles that you are looking for.
You should focus on the factors that inspire you to pursue this specific goal. What motivates you to achieve this goal instead of doing something else post your graduation? For instance, if you wish to launch a start-up in the Data Science space, can you explain what inspires you to take the risk of entrepreneurship instead of doing something more traditional such as joining a top notch management consulting firm? Show your passion for this career path and strengthen your justifications with suitable examples.
For your long term career goal, don't focus only to write big job titles such as CEO, COO or Partner of any consulting firm, but explain what impact you will have on the world at large. For instance, if you dream to be the CEO of an Impact Investment Fund, please write how you are going to invest in Africa, Asia or Latin America to eradicate illiteracy or poor sanitary conditions. Establish a clear link between your short and long-term goals.
Moreover, you need to give very specific reasons about why you want to pursue the program at this particular point in time. Has your career reached a plateau, and you need an MBA to reach the next level? Maybe you are planning to have your own family within the next few years, and once that happens, you will not have sufficient time in hand to combine MBA classes with a full-time job. Or perhaps you already do have a family, and the EMBA option is the only viable one for you to meet your financial obligations. There could be other reasons as well – you wish to expand your network, and/or you like the idea of being able to promptly apply what you learn in the classroom to your real-life situations in your workplace.
In addition to that, why do you think that McCombs would be the ideal choice to study management? Why not some other program such as Ohio Fisher or Georgetown McDonough? What are the specific aspects of the McCombs program that attract you? Is it location, industry connection, alumni network or cutting-edge research conducted by the faculty members? The McCombs program has numerous resources to equip you with latest ideas on leadership and management. You will have access to world class professors and a huge alumni group and networking opportunities with corporate leaders. Explore the program in detail and thereafter write your reasons.
Finally, you need to elaborate on your contribution to the schools and your peers. As a student, you will be contributing both inside (case study discussions) and outside the classroom (various professional, sports or music clubs). Explain to the admission team your key leadership skills and management stories that you will share with your classmates in order to broaden their horizon.
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