IESE MBA Application Essays 2019-20
Application Essay 1: What do you want to be remembered for? (word limit 300 max)
Application Essay 2: Describe your short and medium term post-MBA goals? (word limit 300 max)
Optional Essay: I wish the admissions committee had asked me… (word limit 300 max)
IESE MBA Winning Sample Essay – 1
IESE MBA Essay 1: Please answer ONE (and only one) of the following two questions. (300 words)
If you look at yourself in the mirror, what do you see? Please give examples of both your strengths & weaknesses.
Describe a recent situation (1-2 years ago maximum) that demonstrates your fit with IESE’s mission and values.
“Education is the most powerful tool to change the world”, said Nelson Mandela. In my life, I endeavour to equip as many underprivileged children with this empowering tool and aspire to have a deep positive lasting impact on their lives.
2 years ago, I joined Literacy India, an NGO dedicated to educating and empowering underprivileged children. There, I observed that all classes had very irregular attendance and poor grades. I gathered a team of volunteers and reached out to these children’s families. We discovered that many of our students had pulled out of school and accompanied their parents to work due to financial constraints and sadder still, their hardships had made them lose interest in studies.
Seeing these children’s hardships strengthened my resolve to bring a positive change in their lives. My team and I decided to launch a fundraising drive to support their education and an experiential learning programs to ignite the learning desire among students.
Through our drive we raised €1.6K to sponsor 40 students. I personally took a pledge to sponsor and mentor 3 girls. With time, I developed a special bond with my 3 students and I could notice their growing confidence and interest in their studies because of my encouragement. Hence, I continued to support them and the proudest moment of my life came last year, when all 3 of them graduated high school and went to college in pursuit of their dreams.
I believe my ethos and commitment to educate underprivileged kids and create a long lasting impact in the community are in perfect sync with IESE’s mission and values. At IESE, I look forward to learning more and developing myself as a leader with a sense of humility, teamwork and commitment to common good of companies and society.
I wish that the application had asked me…
This essay can be submitted either written (200 words) or as a video (max 2:00 minutes total in length). We are aware that you are not a media professional.
I wish the application had asked me about my inspiration and love for writing poems.
I wrote my first poem on a beautiful flower at the age of 10, which was published in the national daily Hindustan Times. Since then, my mother always encouraged me to pursue and develop writing as a hobby.
As I grew up, writing became an integral part of my life because it liberated my thoughts and gave a constructive vent to my feelings and observations. My poems and stories occasionally got published in reputed magazines and national dailies. I have written for school and college magazines as chief editor and won multiple awards for my writing with a few notable publications in national newspapers. Last year, I finally managed to get my own book “Light in the Creek” published by a reputed publication in India. It is one of my life’s most satisfying achievements.
I try to use my writing as a medium to spread awareness on matters close to my heart such as child abuse and education for underprivileged. It is my silent activism to inspire action on these chronic issues. Books shaped my life and I wish to do the same for others.
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IESE MBA Winning Sample Essay – 2
IESE MBA Essay 1: Please answer ONE (and only one) of the following two questions. (300 words)
If you look at yourself in the mirror, what do you see? Please give examples of both your strengths & weaknesses.
Describe a recent situation (1-2 years ago maximum) that demonstrates your fit with IESE’s mission and values.
“If you cannot feed hundred people, then just feed one” said Mother Teresa. I am a great admirer of mother Teresa because most of my schooling has been in a Christian school. Our sisters at school focused on inculcating values and ethos which I now feel are perfectly aligned with IESE’s mission and values.
2 years ago, I visited a local orphanage where orphan children under the age of 14 were being taken care of by an NGO. I observed that most of them were malnourished but happily living their lives with whatever god bestowed upon them. Despite seeing these happy faces, I felt their unexpressed pain. Having been through the rigor of life filled with financial difficulties, where I had to quit my education to support my family, I can easily understand pain of hungry and malnourished children.
So, I decided to help the NGO to provide proper nourishment for the kids. I proposed my intentions to my office team and 25 of them pledged their support to my efforts and we decided to sponsor monthly ration of rice and wheat flour for the orphanage. From that month onwards, we started supplying monthly ration for the orphanage and till today we have donated more than 2 tons of ration to the NGO.
After 2 years, I can happily see the difference in their health and all other spheres of their lives. The most satisfying feeling of all is the respect we get and the happiness we see every month when we go there to donate. I strongly believe, that my commitment to have a positive and lasting impact on society is synchronized with IESE mission and Value. If admitted, I will look forward to developing myself into a business leader who can carry forward these values around the world.
IESE MBA Essay 2: I wish that the application had asked me…
This essay can be submitted either written (200 words) or as a video (max 2:00 minutes total in length). We are aware that you are not a media professional.
I wish that application had asked me how passionate and dedicated towards the cause of removing corruption, which has kept my nation behind for all these years.
Mr. Anna Hazare, the face of anti-corruption movement in India, is my Idol. In 2011, when he started the movement, my country was going through many corruption scandals. Seeing him fighting for the nation, I along with three other friends, decided to start a similar movement in our township. We four friends together marched in the township chanting anti-corruption slogans and encouraged people to join our movement against corruption. Within 12 hours, this movement became one of the biggest movements in our township and more than 500 people joined. We organised an awareness camp about corruption and the core issues in our township and at the end everyone took the pledge to not to indulge in any form of corruption. In this way, we our small act, we supported and offered our solidarity to forerunner of corruption movement Mr. Anna Hazare.
This movement gave me wide recognition within my organization and latter I was elected as the youngest ever elected Joint Secretary of our Officers’ Association, in the history of NALCO.
IESE MBA Essay 3: Briefly describe your career aspirations immediately after MBA. Please try to be as specific as possible by giving examples of position, Country and Company you would like to work in: (200 word limit) *
Post MBA, I plan to start my career as an operations consultant and work for a consulting firm such as A. T Kearney or Accenture that specializes in operations consulting in energy sector.
I have more than 6 years of experience in managing operations of a 1200 MW power plant. Over the years, I have learned all the nuances of plant operations. After promotion, I also got the opportunity to lead Electronics and Instrumentation section where I am currently leading a team of 7 people. I have been awarded twice the “SARJANA”, award for excellence in work. I believe, this hands-on operational experience at National Aluminium company (NALCO), has provided me a solid foundation to transition into consultant’s role in the energy sector.
This 6 years of management and leadership experience have also made me realise the critical knowledge gaps, which I believe can be best fulfilled via an MBA. An MBA education from IESE coupled with my prior technical experience would be a perfect stepping stone to towards my post MBA goal.
After my MBA, I would like to stay in Europe. I am open to consider any country within Europe where I can get my desired work profile.
