Hundreds of Chinese apply for coveted spots in the top U.S. business programs each year. What are those programs looking for in their applications?
• Demonstrate Your Experience in an International Business Environment
• Share Your Impact
• Show That You Are a Rising Star
• Show That You Are a Leader, Manager and Mentor to Others
• Show Your Passion and Direction
• Discuss Your Community Activism
• Show Why You Need an MBA From an American Institution
• Communicators Who Ace the Interview
Demonstrate Your Experience in a Western Business Environment
The top American and international business programs like Chinese applicants to demonstrate their ability to work in an international business environment. If you've worked overseas or with a multinational company in China, discuss that experience: Explain the kinds of cultural differences you observed and give examples of how you surmounted the cultural gaps with your foreign counterparts and team members.
But what if you haven't had the opportunity to work abroad or with a foreign multinational? You still need to prove your ability to work with foreigners and understand international business culture. If you haven’t had this kind of experience, you should get it. Perhaps you can discuss your interaction with foreign suppliers or buyers or with Western consultants or auditors. Or maybe you have volunteered with an international nonprofit organization such as the Red Cross, and can draw on that experience to testify to your cultural aptitude and comfortability working with foreigners.
Share Your Impact
Impact is best demonstrated with numbers. Your work experience section, resume, and essays need to give details such as the percent increase in sales that your initiatives have effected, the percent or amount in costs that your efforts have saved, or the number of offices or branches you have expanded. Use these numbers to complement your descriptions of how you revolutionized the systems, methods, and operations of your company.
Show That You Are a Rising Star
Rising stars are recognized by senior management through promotions and increased responsibilities. To demonstrate that you are a rising star, 1) report the promotions you have earned, 2) describe how your responsibilities surpass those of peers your age, 3) compare your age to those on your level in the hierarchy, and 4) detail how you are collaborating with and recognized by senior management.
Prove That You Are a Leader, Manager, and Mentor to Others
Use your essays to illustrate the strategic initiatives you have designed to steer the company in new directions and detail how these initiatives are contributing to growth. Describe the trends you have foreseen in your industry and how you are preparing your company for them. Detail the plans you have created to nurture your staff to help them grow. Tell anecdotes about how you have led your team through controversy and difficulty.
Show Your Passion and Direction
MBA programs seek Chinese applicants who are passionately pursuing career growth and impact. Don't just tell the reader about your grand plans for the future; overcome any reticence and convey your excitement and enthusiasm for your career and your goals. Give the reader some insight into the emotional reasons behind your decision to pursue your path.
Discuss Your Community Activism
American MBA programs are seeking students who are involved outside of work and school. You need to show the admissions committees that you are more than the sum of your education and career. You are a person committed to the community, who makes an active contribution to more than just your company. Tell stories about your volunteer activities and how you are recruiting others to become more involved.
Show Why You Need An MBA From an American Institution
As a Chinese applicant, you need to convince the admissions committees that you need an MBA from an American institution, specifically the program you are applying to. First, detail the international aspect of your future goals. Second, describe how your goals are linked to this institution's program. Third, explain the importance of interacting with the international student body.
Ace the Interview
What's the biggest interview obstacle for Chinese applicants? Spoken English. To improve your English, join a conversation group, befriend English speakers in China, and read voraciously in English. When the time comes for your interview, remember your profile and what has driven you throughout your career. Prepare examples to discuss how you have led teams, overcome conflicts, and made an impact in the community. Know everything you can about this business school: what programs, majors, and clubs it offers, which you plan to participate in, and what its student body is like. Be able to discuss exactly why this is the best program to help you achieve your goals. Finally, review Accepted.com's MBA Interview Feedback Database to prepare for each school's interview questions and format.
Putting It All Together
Each school is sifting through hundreds of applications to find the applicants who will benefit from its program and enhance the education and experience of its other students. But determining which stories best illustrate your impact, advancement, leadership, passion, activism and knowledge of the school is daunting. An Accepted.com editor can help you reflect on your experiences, select the anecdotes that best portray your exceptionality, and fit them into each school's individual questions to help your application become one that they don't let slip through their fingers!
Copyright Accepted.com 2003
