Top MBA申請指南《做更好的自己》成功essay申請案例范文：Smartly Handling HBS’Setbacks Essay

Top MBA申請指南《做更好的自己》涵蓋了Top MBA申請的方方面面：選校，Resume編輯，推薦人選擇，Essay構思與寫作，Interview準備等，并針對申請的各個環節給出具有操作性的建議，這是一本你可以在申請的各個階段拿出來反復讀一讀的MBA申請指導書。

與第一、二版相比，第三版在保留原書的基礎上全新改版，更精簡，更深入，更實用：

精選和保留原作精華部分，讓閱讀充滿“干貨”；
超越僅有校友訪談的主觀、一手材料視角，提供M7商學院深度分析：從歷史了解現在，從歷年成功申請人背景推測錄取傾向，還有最新（2013年入學）申請文書解析，等等精彩內容；
首次分享申請制勝絕招：簡單的制勝原則，貫穿申請始終，以無招勝有招，讓申請過程更加有的放矢；
與第一、第二版內容互補，對照閱讀，獲得信息更全面。
特別公告：您的反饋讓第四版更精彩！

您的評價、您的感受是我們前進的動力，您關心的內容是我們努力的方向。根據申請形勢的不斷改變，我們將持續更新這本書，所以，您的意見對我們來說非常重要。熱切期待每一位讀者在論壇留下讀后感或者問題。因為有了您的關注，我們知道自己的工作是有價值的；因為有了您的推薦，更多的CDer將下載和看到這本書，并從中獲益；因為有了您的意見，我們將有的放矢的完善此書并于來年繼續推出第三版。哪怕只是一個錯別字，我們都希望您能不吝指出，讓我們有機會做到更好。歡迎大家跟帖評價！越具體，越歡迎！歡迎拍磚！

Top MBA申請指南《做更好的自己》第三版 - 目錄

第一章 解讀商學院的光環
　引子
　第一篇 從商學院的歷史說起
　第二篇 誰的商學院
　第三篇 為中華之崛起而讀書

第二章 近看頂級商學院
　引子
　第一篇 排名里的最佳商學院
　第二篇 選校研究樣本
　　Harvard University (HBS)
　　Stanford University (Stanford GSB)
　　University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
　　MIT (Sloan)
　　Northwestern University (Kellogg)
　　University of Chicago (Booth)
　　Columbia University (CBS)
　　中歐國際工商學院 (CEIBS)

第三章 做更好的自己
　引子
　第一篇 申請流程
　第二篇 申請制勝絕招
　第三篇 從目標出發
　第四篇 選校
　第五篇 考試
　第六篇 個人簡歷（RESUME）
　第七篇 申請dissertation（ESSAYS）
　第八篇 推薦信（RECOMMENDATION LETTER）
　第九篇 面試（INTERVIEW）#p#分頁標題#e#
　第十篇 擺脫WAIT LIST
　第十一篇 再次申請
　第十二篇 最后但并非最不重要

第四章 后來
　引子
　畢業時分
　畢業三年
　畢業十年
　那些年我們讀過商學院
　讀書或者不讀
　你當追尋你所愛

附錄
　附錄一：美國新聞與世界報道最近3年商學院排名
　附錄二：美國TOP MBA項目就業指標統計 2012
　附錄三：簡歷撰寫常用動詞
　附錄四：部分北美商學院歷史申請ESSAY題目
　附錄五：YOU'VE GOT TO FIND WHAT YOU LOVE
　附錄六：STANFORD DEAN’S CORNER

作者簡介：

Sonia Shi出生于二十世紀八十年代，在電信行業如日中天的那幾年考入北京郵電大學，獲得英語專業學士學位。畢業后曾在電信公司有過短暫的工作經歷，后轉行進入快速消費品行業。在為一家飲料公司工作將近四年后，赴美讀書，在弗吉尼亞大學達頓商學院（University of Virginia, Darden School of Business）獲得MBA學位。

作為一個80后，親身經歷了新中國改革開放的巨大變革，Sonia相信知識可以改變命運，也相信中國的未來屬于受過良好教育的年青一代。

成功essay申請案例范文：
Smartly Handling HBS’Setbacks Essay
Harvard Business School: Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)

This question is new for the 2011/2012 application year, and transforms the classic HBS mistake essay into a broader topic. When you think about three setbacks in your life thus far consider that a setback is anything that hinders or impedes your progress. Additionally, the choice of setback can be personal, professional, or extracurricular.

Some applicants face writer’s block when thinking about discussing imperfections in their overall story. The truth is that your challenges and setbacks have made you a more resilient person, and the admissions committee will learn the most about you and your personal qualities from these stories. Many talented, high-achieving individuals who show early promise in their academic and professional careers plateau after a few years in the workforce. There can be many possible explanations as to why, but quite often the failure to realize early potential is based on an inability to recognize, take accountability for, and learn from mistakes and difficulties.

Making mistakes and facing setbacks is an inevitable consequence of leading. By definition, the leader is blazing a new trail where guidebooks and guidelines simply don’t exist; so missteps are sure to occur. The admissions committee will be very leery of a candidate who claims a flawless string of successes and no blunders. All of the possibilities are red flags: the candidate is being dishonest; the candidate is incapable of recognizing a mistake and lacks self-awareness; the candidate is so cautious that he or she never makes a move unless success is assured. The opportunities for growth for this person are slim; the chances of admission to HBS are even slimmer.#p#分頁標題#e#

Mistakes or disappointment occur when one’s assumptions about how the world works are off base or unrealistic. The mistake is a reality check. Some people cling to faulty assumptions and continue to hit brick walls, while others learn something new, course-correct, and move forward. Moreover, a leader who is capable of admitting when he is wrong is showing his followers that making and admitting mistakes is okay. Facing disappointment and solving the problem that led to your feelings shows introspection and maturity. It’s easy to see why these leadership characteristics are paramount. Major corporations have been brought down by leaders who neglected their gut feelings or felt their missteps were best brushed under the carpet or fed through the paper shredder.

Essay Tips

Tip #1: Mistakes and setbacks are related but different.

Tip #2: Demonstrate self-awareness.

Tip #3: Lessons learned and evidence of growth are paramount.

Tip #4: Show initiative and resilience

Mistakes and setbacks are related but different.

The HBS question requires you to think of three setbacks in your life and explore them in this essay. In the past, other schools such as Wharton have asked applicants to write about a failure or setback. The admissions committee’s motivation for asking about mistakes, setbacks and failures is similar. They are attempting to gauge your self-awareness, resiliency, and ability to respond positively to adverse circumstances.

While a mistake is an incident that required you to act, a setback can be something that happened to you. For example, failing to consider all aspects of your business strategy before starting a business is a mistake, and being laid off when your business fails to gain VC funding is a setback. Often your own mistake can lead to a setback, so you are able to use much broader topics in this new version of the HBS essay than you could in past years.

Demonstrate self-awareness.

By its very nature the setback essay is a test of your maturity and self-awareness. In a situation where you are marketing yourself, it may feel awkward to highlight your challenges. It’s much more fun to share your accomplishments, and it’s natural to want to highlight strengths. What many applicants don’t understand is that the ability to recognize, accept responsibility for, react to, and learn from difficulty is a tremendous strength – one that not all early-career, high achievers possess.

In some ways, the setback essay exists to weed out that subset of future leaders who will rise to the top based on tremendous willpower and self-confidence but will ultimately be brought down because they don’t have the ability to recover when things don’t go according to plan. The setback essay then is the “yang” to the accomplishments essay’s “yin.” The admissions committee has offered you an opportunity to share your strengths and tout your achievements; now it is time to demonstrate a different kind of confidence: the confidence to admit that you are fallible and that you can learn from the inevitable missteps that will test even high achievers.#p#分頁標題#e#

Lessons learned and evidence of growth are paramount.

Especially in the early drafts, you may struggle to simply properly describe your setbacks and how you responded in less than 600 words. Often times, applicants spend the majority of the essay explaining, or worse – defending – their challenges and only a sentence or two sharing what they learned. Try to reserve enough space to share what you learned and how you grew both personally and professionally as a result of your setbacks. Try to extract the universal lessons from the experience, and when possible tell the reader how what you learned has changed the way you approach similar situations today.

Show initiative and resilience

Think about the times you have been faced setbacks at work or with an organization. Did your challenge lead to positive change? If so, you have found an excellent topic for the setback essay.

Problems with a team or a process can lead to positive change in many situations. If you have an example that fits into this construct, make sure you are never blaming others for the setback. Rather, you will acknowledge how you felt and then spend most of the essay talking about how your feelings led you to create positive change in your organization.

Facing difficulties like professional setbacks can often lead to growth and development, and demonstrate maturity to the admissions committee. The ability to recognize that something is not working for you, and taking the steps to create a better situation shows initiative and proactive leadership.

If you have faced a challenge in your career – whether a job you disliked or something more serious like a layoff – it was likely a period of soul searching and realizations. You can use this material to write an excellent introspective essay to demonstrate how you handle adversity. Resilience is a core personality trait of successful people, and demonstrating your own ability to rise above a challenge will serve you well in this set of essays.