Carnegie Mellon University’s The Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh personifies the city's forward-thinking culture and spirit of innovation. From artificial intelligence to intelligent systems, the Tepper School is the birthplace of The Intelligent Future, a data-informed and emotionally intelligent approach to business. We will review Tepper’s MBA applications essays for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle in this blog post to assist you in developing your own competitive MBA package.
Required Essay
The Tepper community is dynamic and unique. Each community member’s individual journey has shaped them into classmates who are collaborative, supportive, and inclusive. Describe how you have overcome adversity during your journey. What did you learn about yourself and how has that shaped who you are? (Maximum 350-500 words.)
This essay is your opportunity to show the admissions committee who you are, where you are from, and what you are passionate about. It is also an excellent area to emphasize examples of resourcefulness and perseverance, as well as to provide insight into your personal and professional maturity and collaborative attitude across a narrative.
An excellent way may be to use a quick illustrative example to convey the original struggle and its broad ramifications, before finishing with a reflection on the lessons you've learned and how those lessons have formed who you are now.
The admissions committee also wants to know that you will be supportive, inclusive, and collaborative on Tepper's campus. They want to know that you will be a good student as well as a positive impact on the Tepper community. You should make an effort to connect your past with prospective future contributions to Tepper. It is critical to provide background before discussing how you would contribute to Tepper, whether you draw on your career, personal, or academic experiences.
Consider how you may transfer your experience and lessons into activity on the Tepper campus as you approach the contributions. Making a connection between your history and future at the program will allow you to provide a consistent and clear picture of your candidacy as well as your professional and personal interests. The more detail you can provide about how you would contribute - for example, having a specific role in organizing a specific annual event - the more reason the admissions committee will have to admit you.
Optional Essay
Is there anything else that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee as we evaluate your application? If you believe your credentials and essays represent you fairly, you should not feel obligated to answer this question. This essay is intended to provide a place for you to add information that you think is important but is not covered elsewhere in the application. This could include clarification of your employment or academic record, choice of recommenders or helpful context for the admissions committee in reviewing your application. If you are a re-applicant, explain how your candidacy has strengthened since your last application.
There is no word limit for this essay, although it would be smart to keep it around 350 words.
This optional essay should be allocated for addressing potential liabilities in your application for first-time candidates. Provide answers pointing to mitigating factors without getting defensive or making excuses. This essay is optional and should not be utilized if no issues need to be explained.
Re-applicants should explain how they have improved their application and learned more about the Tepper MBA program since their previous application. If you find yourself in this circumstance, you should reflect on how you spent the previous year, paying special attention to improved quantitative records, new professional abilities and responsibilities, progress toward your ultimate career goals, and greater community involvement.
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