IVEY MBA Sample Essays and Tips

IVEY MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 1

IVEY MBA Essay 1: What are your short-term career plans immediately post-MBA, and why is an Ivey MBA essential to those plans? (250-word limit)

I have more than 5 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant. Shortly after my studies, I co-founded my own Audit and Tax consultancy firm with 2 other friends of mine. In 5 years, we grew to more than 80 employees, handling 300 clients and generating annual revenues of more than $2 million. Earlier this year, we merged our firm with a larger firm, which has given me a great exit opportunity from my entrepreneurial journey.

For the next professional chapter, I now aim to transition into a finance consulting role with one of the Big 4 firms (EY, PWC etc). While my auditing skills, and client management have driven my success, but to transition effectively into consulting, I need to expand my academic horizons outside of finance and auditing, and upskill leadership abilities for a corporate environment.

Given my qualifications and experience, I believe a one-year MBA is the ideal choice to achieve my career goals. Ivey’s focus on Leadership Essentials can help me refine my leadership capabilities, while experiential learning and faculty guidance will help me tackle complex business challenges. Electives like Advanced Financial Strategies, Negotiations, and Corporate Governance will give me the edge to complement my current knowledge.

During my conversation with Mr. Patrick Graham of the MBA Co’24, I was really impressed by the insights he shared about IVEY and that is why I believe, with its alumni network and industry connections, IVEY MBA would be a great stepping stone for my next professional chapter.

IVEY MBA Essay 2: What is the most important issue that you’ve ever changed your mind about? (250-word limit)

My parents divorced when I was 8, and this left indelible marks on my psyche and shaped a big part of my personality today.

In rural India, divorce is a social taboo. My mother worked two jobs to support me and my sister. At 15, I had to work part-time as a waiter to pay my tuition fee. Due to social taboo and the fact that I was doing a low-class waiter job resulted in the most psychological and brutal name-calling at school, which made attending school unbearable.

Stressful work and relentless bullying led to me being clinically diagnosed with social anxiety, leading to self-harm and anger issues.

I had to drop out of school for a year, which was the most challenging period of my life. I’m fortunate to have received help during that time. Jesuit priests of the Mangalore Diocese provided me with medication, counseling, and therapy.

Therapy helped me compartmentalize my mind and improve my confidence and social skills. I also focused on my music, which changed everything for me. I learned to be fully focused and present in situations and avoid overlapping thoughts, which helped reduce my anxiety and anger issues. After one year, I returned to school.

This made me appreciate the value of compartmentalizing and incremental progress. My greatest lesson was that any big problem can be broken down into smaller, manageable parts. I put effort into bringing structure, and the ability to fully focus on a moment has enabled me to become a successful entrepreneur today.

IVEY MBA Essay 3: The scholarship essay should be no longer than 500 words and should specifically address the questions outlined below. Please feel free to copy and paste from other parts of your Ivey MBA application as this portion is seen by the Financial Aid Office only.
Paragraph 1: Outline your intended career goal after completing the Ivey MBA program. Be as specific as possible indicating industry as well.
Paragraph 2: Please provide examples of demonstrated leadership within the community, either now or during your undergrad.
Paragraph 3: Please outline any additional community involvement you have had.
Paragraph 4: Please indicate how you plan to finance the Ivey MBA program.

After completing the Ivey MBA program, I intend to transition into a finance consulting role within the Big 4 firms, specifically in the finance/business consulting industry. I have more than 5 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant. Shortly after my studies, I co-founded my own Audit and Tax consultancy firm with 2 other friends of mine. In 5 years, we grew to more than 80 employees, handling 300 clients and generating annual revenues of more than $2 million.

Over the years I have gained excellent technical expertise, stakeholder management skills, and the capability to lead diverse teams. My goal is to leverage my background in audits, forensic accounting, and tax consultancy and join a team that focuses on financial strategy, risk management, and corporate governance.

However, I need to work on my leadership, Negotiation and conflict resolution skills to deliver on these objectives and I believe an MBA can help me in this direction.

Outside of work, I am a firm believer that every small contribution can make a difference. I am passionate about teaching. I regularly tutor students at the foundation level in Chartered Accountancy. In collaboration with one of India’s leading EdTech companies, Indigolearn, I teach economics. During the pandemic, when traditional education methods were disrupted, my classes gained popularity in the online education sector. To date, I am proud to have trained over 20,000 students across India, SriLanka and the United Arab Emirates. My Youtube videos collectively have over 500,000 views

In addition to teaching, I have authored two academic textbooks on economics for Chartered Accountancy students at the Foundation and Intermediate levels.

When I am not teaching, I commit my time to “CA Devicharan Memorial Charitable Trust”.

In 2020 was particularly challenging for me as my best friend, batchmate, and fellow chartered accountant, Devicharan, had an early demise due to cancer. He had a short yet impactful career as an educator and trainer, and his students loved him. To keep his memory and legacy alive, I, along with two friends and his father, founded “CA Devicharan Memorial Charitable Trust”, an NGO in his name.

We dedicated hours of our weekly schedules to this work. Our aim through this NGO was to enable needy students to access better education. We collected over $13,000 in 2020 and helped more than 50 students pay their tuition fees.

In an innovative drive, we collected over 300 used smartphones and tablets from willing donors and supplied them to students in villages without access to gadgets, ensuring they could attend online classes during the pandemic. Our efforts were recognized by local large corporations, resulting in significant donations for our upcoming programs.

Today, as the founder trustee and honorary treasurer of the trust, I feel proud that we have an office for the NGO and six permanent staff members working full-time.

Clients testimonials

IVEY MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients - 2

ISB MBA Essay 1: Peer Learning is a major building block of PGP at ISB. Help us in understanding how you will be able to add value to the PGP peer group through your personal and professional qualities/capabilities?

I have 6+ years of experience with MEC Intelligence, which is a strategy consulting firm specializing in Sustainable and Renewable Energy space. Post MBA, I wish to continue advancing my career in sustainability consulting as a consultant preferably with larger consulting firms such as MBB, Big 4 auditing firms, Dunsky Energy +, ERM etc.

To achieve my goals, I have identified two key skills gaps that I wish to fulfull via an MBA.

First, as I lead decarbonisation transformation of companies and grow into managerial roles, I wish to hone people management skills that will enable me to lead diverse teams on international client projects. Based on discussion with various Ivey alums, I have learned that courses such as “Leading People and Organisation” can prepare me academically, and undergoing the MBA with the diverse cohort will truly help me understand various perspectives that are crucial to leading global teams.

Second, I want to expand my business knowledge horizons outside of technical expertise. I want to learn all the strategic frameworks that will help me craft even better recommendations for my clients so that they can incorporate innovation and sustainable processes while growing profitably. Ivey with a specialization in “Corporate Strategy and Leadership, in combination with Ivey Field Project and case cracking at Consulting Club seems to be perfect fit for me to expand my academic horizons an dfurther my career in consulting domain.

Considering all the above, I am confident that the Ivey MBA can help transform me into a better consultant.

IVEY MBA Essay 2 : Tell us about a challenge you have faced in your life, and what lessons you learned from it. (250 word limit)

The biggest challenge that I have faced so far was committing to a relationship with my partner, who had a severe anxiety disorder

I met my partner about two years ago at a trek, and as we started dating, I noticed occasional intense emotional outbursts. Eventually, she disclosed that she had been diagnosed with anxiety disorder as a result of bullying. While sympathetic, I failed to grasp the severity of the condition and its implication on our relationship.

Post the initial rosy months, our fights increased and we halted our engagement to reconsider our decision.

Stranded at crossroads, I decided to understand how to manage conflict with someone suffering from severe anxiety by educating myself and speaking to her therapist. Once I understood her perspective, I could only think about how I could have been more considerate. Then began a journey of transforming myself which taught me two key lessons which can be extended to any relationship.

First, different people respond to different communication styles. I made a conscious effort to stop invalidating her feelings and using triggers, creating a non-judgemental space for her to express herself. Second, building a relationship with someone suffering from anxiety requires patience and often, prioritisation of a partner’s needs over yours. While this didn’t come naturally, realizing what she went through anytime she was overwhelmed, enabled me to empathise with her and prioritise her needs. With effort from both, we have successfully reduced conflicts, if not eliminated them and gotten engaged.

Scholarship Essay : The scholarship essay should be no longer than 500 words and should specifically address the questions outlined below. Please feel free to copy and paste from other parts of your Ivey MBA application as this portion is seen by the Financial Aid Office only . Paragraph 1: Outline your intended career goal after completing the Ivey MBA Program. Be as specific as possible indicating industry as well. Paragraph 2: Please provide examples of demonstrated leadership within the community, either now or during your undergrad. Paragraph 3: Please outline any additional community involvement you have had. Paragraph 4: Please outline how you plan to finance the Ivey MBA Program based on the figures you have submitted above.

I have 6+ years of experience with MEC Intelligence, which is a strategy consulting firm specializing in Sustainable and renewable energy space. Post MBA, I wish to continue advancing my career in sustainability consulting as a consultant preferably with larger consulting firms such as MBB, Big 4 auditing firms, etc.

Outside of work, I believe I have demonstrated team leadership and creative leadership within the community. I represented my school and college in swimming championships and football tournaments. I was selected as the captain of my college football team, where I led various teams in inter-college tournaments to win 5+ podium finishes. I further introduced a new 8-Vs-8 format for the football tournament which required me to set up new processes, and lead the organizing committee to market the tournament. The first season saw participation of nearly 25 teams. For my achievements, I was awarded the Institute Colour, an honor awarded to 40 exceptional performers in various fields from an undergraduate batch. Post college, while I have continued to participate and win in corporate football tournaments, I have also extended my enthusiasm for sports by setting up an yearly sports tournament at MEC (MEC Olympics) which I started.

These experiences have enabled me to understand how to work effectively with team mates, manage conflict and lead them in some of the most stressful situations. Organizing such tournaments and other events at corporate level further demonstrate my capability to lead a more diverse set of participants, requiring due consideration of interest and fitness levels of each

Further, I also created a community of regional music artists. My interest and passion for music drove me to pick up various instruments and learn how to create songs through software. While my own music didn’t pan out the way I wanted it to, but I channeled this passion and I led an initiative to create a platform for regional artists. Today I manage a few widely followed Spotify playlists which I created with the intention of promoting regional artists. Regional artists send me their music which I list on my playlist if it is aligned with the playlist genre, increasing their visibility. I also occasionally provide them feedback to improve their music and rankings on spotify chart which increases their earning potential.

Based on my research and alumnus discussion, I understand an MBA is an investment into my future. The IVEY MBA will cost me nearly CAD 170K, including living expenses, an amount which is quite economical when compared to a US B-school tuition fees. Nearly 40% of this fees, CAD 70k will be financed through personal savings, partner income and parental support. For the remaining 100k, I plan on taking a loan from a Indian public or private bank. I also hope to achieve some financial aid from IVEY and will further target scholarships provided by the Indian government, such as the National Overseas scholarship. These scholarships can significantly reduce my reliance on student loan and increase the ROI of my education investment.

IVEY MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 3

IVEY MBA Essay 1: What are your short-term career plans immediately post-MBA, and why is an Ivey MBA essential to those plans? (250-word limit)

I have 3.5 years of professional experience in the tech-consulting domain. Post-MBA, I would like to remain in the consulting domain but would like to broaden my horizons from tech to strategy consulting and aspire to work for the big 3 MBB consulting firms.

Now, in order to grow my career as a consultant, I believe, I should upskill myself via a formal business education. After discussions with current MBA students, I think Ivey’s MBA program would be one of the best-suited programs to fulfill my objectives.

At Ivey, I really liked the focus on the case study model, combined with hands-on learning programs like the Capstone module. I believe these can give me holistic exposure to problem-solving and pragmatic decision-making. Also as depicted in the employment report, 28% of the graduating class joined consulting industries, which is a testament in itself that IVEY’s MBA can provide me with the knowledge, network, and employment opportunities to fulfill my short-term goals.

IVEY MBA Essay 2: What is the most important issue that you’ve ever changed your mind about? (250-word limit)

I’ve always been a passionate musician, I was a part of the rock band ‘Incendium’ as the lead vocalist and the rhythm guitarist.

In Feb’17, I was invited to be a part of a unique 100 member band ‘The live 100 experience’. The band had 100 musicians from all over the country performing together in synchrony. We performed in front of Mr Amit Trivedi, a renowned Indian Music director. Our performance gathered 1.4 Million views on youtube and we became a youtube sensation.

Post that performance, the band wanted to take part in India’s Got Talent (IGT). IGT would have been a big commitment with lots of travelling and rehearsals. I had to choose music or a professional career. After long discussions with my family and friends, I decided to opt-out of the band.

The unique idea of the band was very well accepted, the band made it to the Grand Finale of India’s Got Talent Season 8 and became a national sensation overnight. Given the popularity and the fame received by the band I initially started to rethink my decision.

Quitting music and missing out on a lifetime opportunity was one of the biggest & hardest decisions of my life. But now, I have moved on and won multiple recognition for my work at Accenture. These recognitions have more than compensated for the missed opportunities and today I am more resolute and dedicated to my career and dream of becoming a successful consultant.

IVEY MBA Essay 3: The scholarship essay should be no longer than 500 words and should specifically address the questions outlined below. Please feel free to copy and paste from other parts of your Ivey MBA application as this portion is seen by the Financial Aid Office only.
Paragraph 1: Outline your intended career goal after completing the Ivey MBA program. Be as specific as possible indicating industry as well.
Paragraph 2: Please provide examples of demonstrated leadership within the community, either now or during your undergrad.
Paragraph 3: Please outline any additional community involvement you have had.
Paragraph 4: Please indicate how you plan to finance the Ivey MBA program.

I started my professional career with my own startup ‘Fixea360’ where we merged Layout Design & Planning with Virtual Reality. We scaled ‘Fixea360’ to 70+ customers and became profitable within the first 6 months. Later in the year, we received a great offer of acquisition from ‘Spectra VR’ and my partners and I decided to make a successful exit. With my experience at a startup and the fervor for technology, I joined Accenture. For the past 2 years, I’ve been fortunate to serve 2 of the biggest names in the respective industries, Volkswagen, and British Telecom which has helped me reinforce my cross-functional business understanding. Working at my start-up and later at MNC such as Accenture, one thing that’s been common is my affinity towards problem-solving. Analyzing a complex situation to come up with tangible solutions for the same has been something that has always intrigued me. In light of the above reasons, in the short-term, I intend to work as a strategy consultant at a firm like Mckinsey.

Having grown up wanting to contribute to society in some way or the other, I joined the Rotaract-club in the Year 2015. I initially volunteered for various blood donation camps and fund-raising campaigns for the underprivileged. As a recognition of my efforts, I was appointed as the Professional-Director of the Club. I focus on the cause of helping underprivileged youths and I look for ways to positively impact their lives. During this attempt, I found that a huge part of the underprivileged youth in India was unaware of the job prospects out there for them. I personally assessed their profiles and conducted sessions to equip them with the necessary skills, making them job-ready. As a result, I was able to help 91+ young diploma holders acquire a job within the next 6 months

I am also closely related to the Royal-Rose Foundation which is a small child age home in Pune for children affected with HIV. The home hosts around 15 children. I frequent the place to spend time with the kids and to occasionally teach them subjects like mathematics & history. Last year, I organized a fundraising campaign in collaboration with the Rotaract-club and helped raise more than 50,000 INR which was helpful to the foundation in terms of arranging medication for the children.

In terms of funding my MBA, after a brief discussion with current students at Ivey and the figures posted on the Ivey-website, I believe the total cost of the program including tuition, living expenses, supplies, etc would approximately be CAD 140000. My savings along with some financial support from my parents contribute up to CAD 60000. For the rest of the amount, I plan to apply for a loan from a nationalized bank in India or Prodigy-Finance. But the high loan amount along with the high-interest rates on loans in India put a lot of pressure on the student and so a scholarship would help me to a great extent to be focused on the course.

IVEY MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 4