MBA Essays

McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University Essay Analysis 2020-2021

McDonough

Welcome to this article in which I am going to talk about Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business. If you’re looking at applying to this school in 2020-2021, you have come to the right place.

 

First, let’s talk about the college itself.  McDonough is part of Georgetown University, which is one of the oldest universities, and is located in Washington DC; most politicians’ children have actually gone to this university. It has a very good alum network, and that is a huge plus point. Another plus point is that being in Washington DC, the university is part of a large city. Hence, its location is great!

 

Now, apart from the great alum network and the location, what differentiates this program is the international focus and global experience. For example, in the second year, they have the Global Experience program as part of the MBA curriculum where students are given practical consulting projects in numerous international locations. That is one example of the kind of international focus they have. In fact, if you look at the whole curriculum, it has a lot of focus on international business. This is because Georgetown University itself has the School of Foreign Services. This is definitely one top reason for you to apply.

 

 

2020-2021 Georgetown McDonough Deadlines

 

Round One

Application Deadline: October 9, 2020

Notification Date: December 19, 2020

Deposit Due: February 15, 2020

 

Round Two

Application Deadline: January 7, 2021

Notification Date: March 26, 2021

Deposit Due: April 26, 2021

 

Round Three

Application Deadline: April 1, 2021

Notification Date: May 15, 2021

Deposit Due: May 28, 2021

 

Round Four

Application Deadline: May 1, 2021

Notification Date: May 31, 2021

Deposit Due: June 6, 2021

 

 

2020-2021 Georgetown MBA Essay Questions

 

Essay 1:

 

Describe a defining moment when you were challenged and exceeded expectations. (The moment can be a professional or personal one. If personal, then please also include how it had an impact on your professional development) (500 words or fewer)

 

This is a classic essay where you’re talking about that one moment in your life, or that one thing that you did which possibly defines you. 500 words is a lot of space for you to craft out a good essay. Pick something where you felt that more than the impact it caused others you learned a lot from the experience.  You want to pick something through which you had an impact on others, but remember that the question says, “Describe a defining moment when you were challenged and exceeded expectations.”  Now think about it. Expectations can be very low, you may have overcome the expectations, you might have done well above them. Here, you have to tell them more than what you did; say what it did for you!

 

After you pick the story, you can use the standard START framework. You talk about the SITUATION – When did this happen? What was the background? What do you think would give gravity to the whole story?  Consider all this while describing the situation. The second thing to cover is the TASK. What were you supposed to do?  What was expected of you when you walked into the situation?. Third, the ACTION. What was the action that you did? What did you eventually do? Did you go and look at the scenario and think something can be done? What action did you take? Fourth, the RESULT. What was the result? Remember that you’re talking about the “Defining moment when you were challenged and exceeded expectations.” The last factor is the personal TAKEAWAYS. This is very important. What were the takeaways?  You have to cover the situation, task, action, result, and takeaways; I would probably spend a lot more on the takeaways. What did I learn about myself? Did it help me in other areas of my life? If it did, how did it help me? The B-School is trying to understand you as a person; that’s what the really want to know. Who are you? Is this the person they would like to see in their class?. You need to bring a personal aspect to the story. More than the occasion, I would say what you learned should be the larger, overarching thing.

 

Video Essay:

 

The required video essay is an opportunity for you to bring life to your application. Please introduce yourself to your future Georgetown MBA cohort in a one minute video. The Admission Commission would like you to appear in person during part of your video and we strongly encourage you to speak outside of the experiences we can read on your resume. Use this video as an opportunity to bring life into your application.

 

Don’t repeat the things on your resume. However, you need to introduce yourself to your cohort, which is your team. What is it that you’re going to say in one minute, which is not already in your resume? You should pick just two or three things you want to share about yourself because 60 seconds will be done very quickly. Share certain things that are personal to you. Maybe you want to say “My name is…”, followed by an adjective, then go on to describe what that adjective means in your context. Talk about your hobbies. Say how you would like to share that hobby with your classmates. You’re bringing your personality into this. What they really want to know is, “if I look at you, are you a paper tiger? Or are you a person that I would like to talk to? Are you a person that I would like to interact with? How good is your communication? Are you able to maintain eye contact? What is your body language?

 

You don’t need any fancy equipment. One thing people ask me is, “Do I need to get it professionally shot?” These days, with the kind of phones we have, all you need is to keep the phone at a particular place and shoot the video.

  • Make sure that the source of light is not behind you but is on your face or even above you.
  • You need to be confident, you need to use your hands. You need to be yourself.
  • You can take as many retakes as you want. Maybe you’re going to first get comfortable talking and then take the final version.
  • You can have it directed. Maybe your friend who holds the camera, who gives an unbiased opinion about the video, could also help you.

 

Optional Essay 1:

 

If you are not currently employed full-time, use this essay to provide information about your current activities. (250 words or fewer)

 

If you’re utilizing this essay, remember it is not about having a full-time job as long as you can show them that you are creatively engaged in any activity, and utilizing your time well. Maybe you are taking some online courses. You have 250 words and you can tell them anything else in your application that has not been covered. Ensure that you talk about something that is relevant. Don’t try to fit in some story because it did not find a place elsewhere. Talk about what you would probably do in your future, maybe there is some course that you are planning to do next year or any other passion that you would like to pursue. Maybe you want to learn to play guitar before you join the B-School.

 

Don’t just write another story, like, “At work, I was given an opportunity to do this and ….”. Don’t do this.

 

Optional Essay 2:

 

Please provide any information you would like to add to your application that you have not otherwise included. (500 words or fewer)

 

Re-Applicant Essay:

 

How have you strengthened your candidacy since your last application? We are particularly interested in hearing about how you have grown professionally and personally. (500 words or fewer)

 

So that’s pretty much what we have. If you’re applying to Georgetown McDonough, please go ahead and click the link below. We’ve had a lot of students who went there in the past, and we can share our experience of what it takes to really get in. So.