Ross Michigan Essay 3
If you were not pursuing the career goals you described in Question 1, what profession would you pursue instead? (for example, teacher, musician, athlete, architect, etc.) How will this alternate interest contribute to your effectiveness in solving multi-disciplinary problems? (300 words)
Ross Michigan Essay 3 Tips
This is a curve ball!
If you feel like saying "You know .. I actually want to be designing buildings and giving shape to habitats, not shelling out management mumbo-jumbo to well-heeled clients. I wrote that in Essay 1 just because my dumbo essay consultant told me to", RESIST the temptation.
This is NOT the place where you unload all your doubts and worries about your future career choices. (Choose your counselor or mother for that.) Deviating widely from your career path and taking the first part of the question at face value might land you in troubled waters! Please ensure that Essay 1 has career goals that display your passion and commitment to your chosen field of work; if you do not really (I mean REALLY) enjoy what you hope to do post-mba what the hell are you going to all this trouble for??
A much more sober approach in Essay 3 is to choose an area of outside work interest (and activity) which preferably puts you in intensive leadership or teamwork situations.
And then detail how - since you have already demonstrated you skills in leadership or/and teamwork in that arena and have surely solved the problems that cropped up - that experience will "contribute to your effectiveness in solving multi-disciplinary problems" or solving issues that require inputs from people of varied professional backgrounds or uncovering creative solutions in one industry/function using knowledge from another ...
And you know why "teacher, musician, athlete, architect" sounds so good - though there will be very few applicants who would put that as their post-Ross goal; because ALL OF US teach, sing, run, build [DIY anyone?]. Your different interests and the varied roles you play when you trek, play team sports, lead volunteer community efforts, coach a school football team or organize an MBA essay writing camp (!?) can be used to show how you tackle and solve complex problems without a blinkered approach.
Read up on Ross' MAP or Multidisciplinary Action Project initiative to understand why this question has been asked.
Ross Michigan Essay 4
Describe your experience during a challenging time in your life. Explain how you grew personally, either despite this challenge or because of it. (300 words)
Ross Michigan Essay 4 Tips
If you never fell, you would never walk.
Find a period or situation in your life (personal or professional) which you found difficult to face. If during that period your success was in doubt (or you actually failed) and you learnt things about yourself and became a new improved version of your old self - you have made the right start. Once you decipher how the situation created a difference in your thought process, leadership style, behavior or value system, you can rush to Ross with your story!
Once again I stress that the learning from the situation is the key aspect to be covered in MBA "failure" essays. Write how you reacted to the challenge, and how you used your learning from the situation to make your life and yourself better.
Whether you choose a professional or a personal example, the learning and the development should have a personal touch. Ross has the courage to ask how "you grew PERSONALLY" - so don't give a wishy-washy professional advancement story. e.g. A soul-searching essay about how you built back your self-confidence after a traumatic period would be better appreciated than how you became a better salesman [though that too might have been a result].
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