Essay Topic #1 

Describe your decision to pursue an MBA degree, highlighting the following (750) words: 

• Your motivation for pursuing an MBA degree at this point in your career;
• Your reason for choosing to apply to Boston University and the specific program that you have chosen
• Your plan to leverage your professional and academic experiences to achieve your post-MBA career goals

   “Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.”  I came across this quote by Warren G. Bennis a few months ago and it really made an impression on me.  I had been trying to figure out what it was that has made my current supervisor such a great leader.  I really admire his ability to motivate people and have observed that even during really difficult times in the company, he has been able to constantly inspire his employees.  Once I read this quote by Mr. Bennis I realized that the quality that has made my supervisor such a great leader is his ability to make people feel that they are truly contributing to the success of the company.  This is the type of leader I want to be.  I want to motivate people to not only work hard but to get satisfaction of what they are doing because they are making a contribution to the overall well being of the company.   

   I have been able to gain some valuable leadership experience thus far in my career by managing various projects and observing the skills of great leaders around me but I don’t feel that I’ve had the opportunity to develop the necessary managerial skills to continue to develop my career.  I have a solid foundation in finance but I’m lacking some important knowledge and management skills, especially in marketing and international business.  I realize that I want to become a Finance Manager and there is simply no reason to delay. I’d like to inspire others the way that my supervisor inspires his team. The experiences that I’ve had since graduating college have given me the perspective to realize that I need to get out of my comfort zone and invest in my long term future and Boston University’s MBA program is the perfect bridge from where I am now to where I want to be in my next job.   

   When I first decided to apply to business school I knew that I wanted to find a school has a great reputation, a one-year program, provides an international experience.   I was immediately drawn to Boston University’s International MBA program because it not only satisfies the three main requirements that I have for business school, but it also emphasizes the “art” of business which does not seem to be addressed at many other business schools.  I feel that businesses today, with all the scandals and fraud that have taken place in recent years, desperately need leaders who truly understand this other side of management and don’t focus solely on the measurable results but also on the ethics and cross functional impact of their decisions.   

   Although I have worked for multinational companies, I haven’t traveled abroad on business and had the direct interaction with others in the global market.  Gaining this experience will be critical to my success as a Finance Manager in a multinational company.  I feel that this lack of international experience is currently a weakness of mine that BU’s International MBA program will solve with the program in China and also with the diversity of its faculty and student body.   

   Immediately following my MBA degree I’d like to move into a position as a Finance Manager.  BU’s MBA Program will help me attain a deeper understanding of key management concepts and how to apply those concepts on the job.  I believe that will help me gain the necessary experience to achieve my long-term goal of taking on an upper level finance management position in a small to mid size company.  I hope to make an impact as a responsible finance executive by utilizing the tools I learn in my MBA program and leading by example.  I will strive to motivate employees by making them feel that their work is truly important as my supervisor has done.   

   My current professional experience has built a solid foundation to help me achieve my long-term goals.  I’ve developed a strong understanding of Finance through my experience analyzing financial statements, working with business partners to successfully manage budgets, and being involved with both acquisitions and new product introductions.   

   While in Business School, I plan on developing a deeper understanding of the art of business and gaining some of the necessary soft skills that all great leaders possess.  Since managing large groups of people and dealing with aspects of international business will be an integral part of my job as a finance executive at a multinational company, it is essential that I fill in these gaps to achieving my long-term goal.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Essay Topic #2 

Describe a formative or significant event in your life and then explain how this event has influenced your subsequent thoughts and actions. (500 words) 

      Many times there are events that stand out in our minds as influential.  The event might have happened in an instant or maybe over the course of a day.  For me, this significant event lasted for over a year.  I was only 11 years old but I remember very clearly the day my mom picked my brother and I up from day care with tears in her eyes and told us she had some terrible news.  The only other time I remember seeing my mom cry like that was when my Grandfather passed away about a year earlier so I knew that something really awful had happened.  She broke the news that my 4-year-old cousin Thomas had just been diagnosed with cancer.  The doctors had found the cancer very late and the outlook was not very promising. The cancer got so bad that at one point, Thomas’s Doctor told my Aunt and Uncle to take Thomas home and let him die in peace because there was nothing else they could do for him.   

      We have an extremely tight knit family and everyone pitched in as best they could.  While we were too young to contribute in the same way as the adults, my brother and I made every effort to try and help Thomas get through this in our own way.  When Thomas went through Chemotherapy and lost all his hair, my brother and I decided to completely shave our heads to let him know that we were all in this together.  When he would have to eat strange looking organic foods, we would eat them right alongside him.  We could see that little things like this really were helping to lift his spirits.  Thomas fought hard and with some miraculous help from a new Doctor, Thomas ended up beating cancer after his yearlong battle.  Watching Thomas battle and overcome cancer at just 4 years old, despite everything his doctors had said, significantly altered the way that I view challenges in my own life.  I was able to see what is truly important in life.  For most 11 year olds that was buying a new bike or video game but for me it was family, sacrifice, and perseverance.  I learned at a young age to never give up no matter what people say or how much the odds are stacked against me.  This is something that I’ve carried with me ever since and I believe has been a catalyst for the success that I’ve had thus far.  I truly believe that with hard work and perseverance I can overcome any of life’s challenges. I will bring this determination to business school and to accomplish my long-term goals.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Essay Topic #3 

Tell the Admission Committee about a time when it cost you to maintain your integrity and what you learned from the experience. (500 words)

• Who was affected besides yourself?
• Was there anything you might have done differently?
• Would you make the same decision again if given the chance?

      During my second quarter of college, I was enrolled in an Economics class that was extremely difficult.  I had always received straight A’s in high school and so I couldn’t figure out why I was having such a difficult time even getting a B in this class. We were quickly approaching our final exam which I knew would make or break my grade in the class.  Saying I was stressed out about this test would be an understatement.  I kept envisioning receiving a D or an F on the test and having to explain to my parents why I was on academic probation.  About two weeks before the final exam I was studying with another classmate who I had become friends with earlier in the year.  He knew that I was really stressed out about this exam and one day after class he mentioned that he was going to somehow get a copy of the test before the exam and was willing to share it with me.  He tried to convince me that it wasn’t really cheating because he was only going to have a copy of the questions, not the answers.  I immediately knew that what he was going to do was wrong but at the time it did not seem so cut and dry.  In fact, I thought maybe he was right and it wasn’t cheating because I still had to look up the answers to all the questions before the exam so in a way I was still studying.  After more deliberation than I care to remember, I decided not to cheat with him.  He could not understand and was really upset with me.  We were never friends again after that class.  I studied on my own and ended up getting a C+ in the class.  That was the first C I had ever gotten in a class and I was devastated.   

      At the time, I wasn’t sure if I had made the right decision because I knew that if I had cheated, I would at least have received a B in the class.  Now that I’ve had some time to reflect on the choice that I made, I’m positive that I not only made the right choice, but also that I would absolutely make the same decision again.  Integrity is something that should never be compromised and far too often is in today’s society.  The one thing that I would have done differently is tried harder to convince him not to cheat and let him know that if he went through will it, I would be compelled to let the administration know that he had cheated. The impact of his decision to cheat affected our entire class.  We were graded on a curve and he ended up scoring a 98% on the exam, by far the highest grade in the class.  He did not intend to affect anybody else’s grade but sometimes decisions we make have unintended consequences.  The impact of his decision on our other classmates was something that I didn’t realize at the time but is now clear to me that my inaction also had a negative impact on our classmates and this is something that I have been able to learn from to ensure I will not make this mistake again in the future. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Essay Topic #4 

Other than national identity, describe a uniqueness you will bring to the Boston University community that will impact your classmates - both inside and outside the classroom. (500 words) 
 

      Ever since I can remember, my mom has run the Pregnancy Resource Center in my hometown.  The PRC provides clothing, medical support, and counseling to young pregnant women who many times could not afford these things on their own.  My brother, sister, and I started helping out at the PRC when we were young and contributed in any way we could.  Helping others was always a priority in my family.  Just growing up in that environment of really instilled a strong sense of community in me.  I witnessed the joy that could be brought to others from helping them with even the smallest things.  I’ve come to the realization that many people have not had the chances to succeed that I’ve been given, I’m therefore determined not to squander the opportunities that I’ve received and to put for the effort to help others reach their goals. 

      Many people are willing to help others when it benefits them but I think I am unique in that I genuinely want other people to succeed and am willing to put forth the effort to see that they do so.  This desire to help others started when I was young helping my mom at the PRC and continued through college where I volunteered every Fall with the North American Food drive and also spent time tutoring local elementary school students after school.  I have worked hard to continue to help others in my career as a member of the Buddy Program at Apple, mentoring new hires and interns, and as a founding member of 2Wire’s Career Development Committee where I’ve helped design and implement programs contributing to employee’s personal and professional growth. I will bring this drive to help others to Boston University’s MBA program where I will have a positive impact on my classmates inside the classroom with some of the experiences that I have had while volunteering and also outside the classroom during group projects while utilizing the strong teamwork skills that I have developed.