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	B-School Success (Admitted to Wharton) Perhaps you remember helping me a few months back with my MBA application essays. I got accepted by Wharton today. I never told you, but my GMAT score is only 640, so my application essays had to be top-notch. Thanks to EssayEdge, they certainly were! More...

Sample Essay

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Why do you wish to earn an MBA degree, particularly at the Stanford Business School? How will this experience help you achieve your short-term and long-term goals?

I am proud of my career development so far, and I am excited about my future projects. My many achievements to date, combined with a Stanford GSB education, will form the foundation on which I will further build my career and attain my future goals. 

My professional career began when I was still an engineering student. I started working as a computer teacher at a school that drew its enrollment largely from low-income families, and in that capacity I was responsible for teaching a number of software applications and for publishing a book used by the school. Teaching gave me an important opportunity to improve my communication skills, as well as the self-confidence to speak in public -- two years later, these abilities helped me to be elected Class Orator of the Metallurgical Engineering Department. Most importantly, I acquired a life-long love of teaching. 

While I was still in university, I spent my vacations in two full-time internships -- first at the former in Belgo Mineira, a major Brazilian steelmaker, and then at Dillinger Hüttenwerke, an important German steel company. Those internships helped me to develop teamwork skills and a more practical approach to problem-solving. For example, at Dillinger Hutte I had to adapt a highly abstract mathematical model to the reality of the plant equipment. 

During the last year of my engineering program, I worked part-time at Samarco, the fourth largest iron ore mining company in Brazil. There I worked with the Commercial Director, who entrusted me with analyzing the iron and steel markets, as well as competitors and customers. This job played a defining role in my career, because until that moment I possessed only a technical -- and hence limited -- vision of business. Samarco showed me the "big picture" of the business world. 

Immediately after graduation, I joined the HSBC Executive Trainee Development Program, which broadened my horizons considerably. Before I started working there, I had never experienced the challenges of the financial services world; in addition, through the program I was able to develop projects that helped the organization to achieve important results. For example, I won an award for a contribution that reduced card frauds, and I conducted studies that defined household credit policies. Despite the incredibly dynamic atmosphere generated by the exceptional professionals there, after evaluating my perspectives at the bank I concluded that I could better refine my business acumen by working in management consulting. 

After succeeding in a highly selective admission process, I joined Bain & Company. I chose Bain because, besides being one of the best management consulting companies, its Brazil office was still rather young. This environment offered me the opportunity to interact with senior clients and consultants much more than it would have been possible in an established, structured office. At Bain, I quickly attained a recognized level of success: my latest performance review, used for bonuses and promotion, ranked within the top tier (please find the review attached; note that A is the worst mark and D, the best). Bain's standards are exceedingly high, and standing out in such a stellar environment is one of my greatest professional accomplishments so far. 

This past year, I have been involved in different projects for telecommunications and Internet companies. For example, I am currently working on developing strategies and analyses that will guide a major European telecom player in the auction process of new operating licenses in Brazil. This intense exposure to the industry has allowed me to refine my career goal of launching my own high-tech company in Brazil, which will create jobs and help a large number of people to become self-sufficient. I believe that the Stanford MBA program perfectly matches these objectives, since it will both develop my management capabilities and nurture my interpersonal relationships within the business world. 

I also have a personal reason for pursuing an MBA. Because of my strong interest in theoretical and practical knowledge of management and high-tech business, I have a long-term plan to write a book on strategy, economics, and M&A issues applied to the telecommunications/technology industry. An MBA from a top school such as Stanford, will give me not only theoretical content, but also the credentials to publish such a book with greater visibility. 

Now, I believe, is the perfect moment in my career to return to school. Through my diverse experiences -- from the hardhats and earplugs of the mining industries to the black suits and silk ties of the financial and management services -- I have acquired business acumen, managing skills, and strategic insight. Moreover, my engineering background has allowed me to complement my strong analytical training with team skills, leadership, and advanced business frameworks. Stanford's general management curriculum will allow me to maximize these skills within the context of my long-term goals. 

In addition, in 2003 the Brazilian telecommunications sector will be totally deregulated, and there will be a peak in demand for globalized professionals who understand the market beyond a technical perspective. Stanford's international focus, combined with its unique high-tech business concentration, will allow me to learn about the peers' and faculty members' experiences in the Telecom/Internet-related experiences. 

Apart from the creative approach to entrepreneurship, rigorous academics, cooperative environment, and dynamic faculty, I will take advantage of the multiple clubs to leverage my strengths and work on my weaknesses. I am particularly interested in using the concepts I learn within Brazil's unique context. Through the High Tech Club and Consulting Club, for instance, I will explore how the dynamics of the Internet industry apply to Brazil's specific conditions. Through lessons from renowned professors such as Saloner, Kreps, Beaver, and Grousbeck, as well as through access to some of the most cutting-edge, high-tech entrepreneurs in the world, I will acquire the necessary confidence to effectively analyze the situations I will face while running my business. Furthermore, I will contribute my unique experiences to a diverse student body that will challenge my views, foster collaboration, and enrich everyone's learning experience while building a lifelong network. 

After Stanford, I plan to work in strategic management consulting for another few years to develop business skills and expand my contact network. By aligning this type of experience with the skills I will have refined at Stanford, I will be best positioned to launch my own company in Brazil. 

Apart from my personal and professional adaptability, to reach these goals I will reply on the fluency I have acquired in four foreign languages besides my native Portuguese - English, Spanish, French, German (I am also learning Italian.). This knowledge is partly a product of my geographical mobility: I have lived in USA for six months, in Germany for two, and in France for one, and I have backpacked in over 15 countries. While my experiences in Brazil give me the sense of responsibility that comes with participating in a community, these experiences abroad have given me a broad international perspective. During the Stanford MBA program, I expect to improve my understanding of international business through classes such as Managing in the Global Economy, not to mention through my peers' experiences. 

Besides benefiting from Stanford's exciting learning environment, I will enhance the experience of fellow MBA students with my initiatives in other areas. At UFMG, I was the vice-president of the Metallurgical Engineering Graduation Committee and leader of the university's alumni group. I was awarded the "Outstanding Exchange High School Student" after my six-month stay in the US, I was the captain of the soccer team in the Bain World Cup in Amsterdam, the student speaker of my engineering class, a member of an ecological entity, the author of a computer educational book, and the coordinator of Bain recruiting in the state of Minas Gerais. My interests are many, and I am confident that they will allow me to make substantial contributions to the teamwork spirit of the class. 

Given this multitude of activities, Stanford's location is particularly attractive to me. The San Francisco region is a multicultural area with students from all around the globe. Moreover, my fiancée, Renata, is a doctor, and the city will offer her the opportunity to pursue her goal of further learning medicine in a state-of-the art environment. Although she has already studied in the USA and in Denmark, she is excited about yet another challenging international experience. 

I plan to visit Stanford at the end of the year. Not only will I recall how much time I have devoted to my goal of attending this school, I will also fulfill a longtime dream of seeing the campus first-hand. By that time, this application will have been already submitted. Nevertheless, after talking to current students and researching my options extensively, I am confident that Stanford GSB matches perfectly my expectations of a graduate education. Finally, conversations with several alumni have solidified my conviction that Stanford will provide me with exactly the business education and unparalleled personal life experience that I seek.

Note: This essay appears unedited for instructional purposes. Essays edited by EssayEdge are dramatically improved. For samples of EssayEdge editing, please click here.

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