Some Quick Notes on the MBA Goals Essay

Prioritize the Short Term

No one cares about your long-term goals. As recent world events have shown, no one knows what will happen next week, much less 10, 15, or 20 years in the future. Having a long-term guiding vision is important, but it’s your short-term goals (i.e., immediately upon graduating) that need to be airtight and locked down, ambitious while also being realistic, as if they were a business plan to be evaluated by MBA adcoms for a possible investment.

Another way of looking at it: one of the factors MBA programs are ranked by is their job placement statistics. That means upon graduation, not in 20 years. So if your short-term goals are not there, then your application will go nowhere.

Adcoms Expect More from the “Elite”

If you’re applying with a high-profile investment, consulting, or other “elite” or “privileged” background, your goals need to have something extra. After all, you already have a job that many MBA students aspire to, so why do you need the MBA degree?

In recent years, I’ve noticed a trend of “high-flying” applicants pursuing an MBA because it seemed like the next natural step in an achievement-oriented life. Then there are those who apply because “everyone around me is”. There’s nothing wrong with those motivations per se, but they are merely a starting point. You’ll be terribly disappointed if you think you’ll make it into a top program based on the “right background”.  You still need to put in the work — arguably more work — to build compelling goals. Often it comes down to introducing a social impact component to your MBA goals, but if you take this route, then you also need to have the background to support it.