McMaster Degroote MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 1
McMaster MBA Essay1 : Please list all other graduate schools of business to which you are applying for admission. This will not prejudice your chances of being selected for admission to McMaster.
Ivey MBA program & Queen’s Smith MBA program
McMaster MBA Essay2 : Please detail your experience with the following quantitative concepts (below) which are critical to success in the MBA program. You can provide the course number and title (from your transcript) of a specific course, as well as detail any experience from outside of your transcripted courses (e.g., work, volunteer extracurricular activities).
- Arithmetic (this could include: percentages, ratios, fractions and exponents)
- Algebra (this could include: Solving simultaneous equations two variables, generalizing the idea for more variables, Graphical visualization using two variables (Drawing a linear or straight line using two data points or Calculating the gradient/slope and Y-Intercept of linear curves)
- Probability and Statistics (this could include: Random events, Probability and odds, Central tendency measures, Dispersion measures, Descriptive and inferential statistics distinction
To build on my quantitative capabilities, I attended the Applied Data Analysis Training Workshop in NYU Shanghai (New York University Shanghai campus). The workshop covered STATA, Applied Regression Analysis, Categorical Data Analysis and Applied Business Data Analysis. I have attached the certificate with my documents for reference.
I also have a GMAT score of 680 with a 47 (57%) for Quantitative, which proves that I am capable of handling the quantitative subjects in an MBA program.
Lastly, As a major humanitarian student, I had limited exposure to Mathematics in my undergraduate program. But before that, I graduated from senior high school in China, I finished high school level arithmetic, geometry, algebra and probability under the Chinese Senior High School Mathematics Curriculum Standard.
McMaster MBA Essay 3: What are your reasons for choosing to do an MBA degree? Why have you selected the DeGroote MBA Program? Your answer will be used as part of the evaluation of your application. (550 words limit)
I have worked in Marketing & PR for about 3 years, with one year of experience in International Education and two years in Food & Beverage fine dining management.
While working for 2 years in Yunmi Group, a leading F&B management company in China, in multiple cross-cultural projects, I have developed exceptional skills in communication, decision-making and problem-solving. In these 2 years, I have been working closely alongside the project managers in the company, and now I aspire to become a project manager myself.
These experiences have motivated me to step up from marketing implementation to the strategy aspect of hospitality. However, as a major humanities graduate and a marketing professional, so far, my business exposure is limited to marketing research, event management and influencer management. To achieve my desired transitions, not only do I require a strong base in business fundamentals, but I also need to fill gaps in my soft skills for taking leadership roles.
To switch to a project management and strategy-making role, I need to gain systematic knowledge of management and business strategy via an MBA. After extensive research and conversation with alumni, I believe DeGroote’s MBA perfectly aligns with my targeted goals and desired learning from an MBA program. Four ways through which I see that DeGroote’s MBA will help me bridge the skill gaps and achieve my short-term goals of getting into management roles are:
Co-Op Terms – The best part I liked about this program is that it comprises courses in class and full-time co-op terms in an actual company setting. This unique frame of study plan focused on hands-on learning would help significantly for my desired career transition. The co-op program employers ranged from F&B service-related providers like PepsiCo and Sunset Grown to Marketing consulting companies like SDI Marketing. In my work terms, I would love to do a coop internship with such companies to strengthen my candidature in post-MBA jobs.
Bunge,Canadian Tire,Hershey’s,Nestle Canada,PepsiCo,Sofina Foods,Sunset Grown
Integrated Curriculum — The program not only builds a necessary business knowledge foundation but also allows for a customizable curriculum for specific paths. On one hand, I believe DeGroote’s core courses would be essential for me to close my knowledge gaps. But more importantly, the elective courses like Consumer Behaviour and Strategic Marketing Analysis from the Strategic Marketing specialization path would ensure more concrete growth in this field.
Global exposure – Global work experience and the ability to work in an international work setting are highly valued in today’s business world. I believe DeGroote’s international exchange program and diverse student background can provide me with the opportunity to gain hands-on international experience while studying. As someone looking for a further career in the Food & Beverage industry, I am especially looking forward to exchanging in Institutions like EDHEC in France. This opportunity can provide me with much-needed global exposure, which can help me learn the best practices of diverse industries across the world.
Thus, Overall I am confident that DeGroote’s unique approach to teaching via real-world experience and career-focused Co-Op program will help me achieve my professional objectives. I also believe that with my academic potential, team-working abilities, and leadership skills, I will add significant value to the DeGroote community and sustain the Degroote brand.
McMaster MBA Essay 4: Please provide us with any additional information that you believe would be helpful to us in better understanding your background, and in making the admission decision. Examples include explanation of any study gaps in your transcript, work gaps in your resume, low grade(s), lack of work experiences, any challenges or setbacks that had an impact on your academics etc.
I would like to use this opportunity to explain my low GPA in undergraduate studies.
During the first two years of my college, I was involved in an abusive relationship which turned into a case of stalking and other aggressive behaviours. While the matter was resolved with help from the school’s counselling service and local police involvement, it had a negative effect on my mental health at the time and, consequently, my academic performance suffered for the first two years. As shown on my transcript, my grades improved during the last two years of my studies.
I hope the admission committee can take into consideration these excruciating circumstances and appraise my current GMAT score of 680 as a more accurate representation of my academic potential.
McMaster MBA Essay5: Beyond what’s listed in your resume, please share with us any other accomplishments (e.g., academic, professional experience, volunteer) you would like the committee to know.(500-word limit).
Volunteering and community involvement are essential parts of my life. In addition to what’s mentioned on my resume, I would like to share a memorable research experience of my life.
From June 2021 to September 2021, I joined Masses’s research project on food delivery workers, commonly referred to as “riders” in China. Masses is an independent reporting group with a research focus on the labour situation in China.
Although a number of media reports and in-depth research have been done on riders in the gig economy of China. I believe there are still more issues to be explored and investigated, such as the gender dimension of this new workforce. Our goal was to better understand the operation of the delivery platforms and the impact of their expansion on the working conditions of the riders.
While we have other teams in other cities, my team and I focused on female riders in Shanghai. My responsibility includes designing research structures and conducting interviews. Apart from avoiding authority attention due to the sensitive nature of labour issues, the main challenge was how to gather adequate and effective information from the always-on-move gig workers. .
To maximize research efficiency, I broke down the research questions into 5-minute modules and conducted multiple interviews with one subject. I also leveraged my restaurant working network to approach riders in their rest stops to conduct more interviews together in a group setting. Furthermore, to understand the system, I took the initiative to register as a rider to have first-hand experience.
After two months into this project – Unfortunately, many researchers in this project, including myself, were “invited for tea” – a euphemism among activists for being questioned by police. The research project was stopped before its intended completion. However, with the information we have collected, we completed a 100,000 words report.
The research found that female delivery workers experience gender-based discrimination in all aspects of applying for and working as delivery workers. On the one hand, the speed-competitive mechanism of the algorithm has put physically weak female riders in a disadvantaged position. Furthermore, sexual harassment is also found common between exchanges with customers, and there is no response mechanism established by platforms to support female workers. On the other hand, in all research cases, there is no evidence that the labour regulations are applied to protect female workers’ rights for maternity leave and childcare rights.
Before being censored on Chinese social media, the report received over 200,000 views. This is one of my most proud accomplishments. Despite the forced closure, I have put into practice my vision of society through my writing and research. It has sparked an important public discussion and hopefully has led to the first step for positive social changes.
During my time in DeGroote and post MBA career, I hope to continue to bring ideas to spark discussions among my peers around me and together, we foster a culture of inclusivity where women feel valued, respected, and supported in their professional development.
McMaster Degroote MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 2
Essay 1: What are your reasons for choosing to do an MBA degree? Why have you selected the DeGroote MBA program? (Word Limit 500 words/4000characters)
I have over five years of experience working as an engineering consultant in the construction industry. I have led teams and supervised all phases of the project from conception to completion. I have also gained extensive client management experience in a broad range of sectors including airports, hospitals, and commercial buildings. These experiences have led me to collaborate with cross-functional teams which has equipped me with skills like leadership, effective communication, and problem-solving.
However, as an engineer, my solutions and their impact are limited to the technical side of the projects. Now I want to expand my horizons beyond technical challenges into the business domain as well. This is where I believe pursuing an MBA can provide the right platform to fill in the gaps in my business knowledge. Post-MBA, I would like to leverage my experience as an engineering consultant in the construction industry and the knowledge acquired at the DeGroote MBA program to grow my career into a project management role within the construction industry. In the long term, I aspire to grow into a senior leadership role and eventually a CEO leading a project management company.
The construction industry is not immune to changes in other sectors. In particular, it has been impacted by advances in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and even machine learning and robotics. These things have changed the way the industry works and to be a successful manager in a dynamic industry, I need to be equipped with strong business, analytical, strategy, and operational skills.
While searching for my ideal business school, what resonated the most with me was DeGroote’s holistic curriculum with a deep focus on organizational strategy and leadership development through a rich elective curriculum and experiential learning. I believe courses like ‘Managing Financial Resources’, ‘Managing Organizations’ and ‘Operations Management’ would be a perfect fit for me to fulfill my knowledge gaps and upskill myself. After building a strong foundation in the first two terms, I would like to pursue a General MBA which would prepare me for the varied challenges I will face as a Project Manager.
To complement the curriculum, the experiential learning opportunities would allow me to build on my skills and expose me to cross-cultural insights. Experiential programs like the summer internship and the integrated learning project will provide me with the opportunity to gain hands-on work experience in real-world projects. In addition to these, the case competitions and MBA games would help me add on to my problem-solving skills and build my network.
As a woman working in the construction industry, I have personally faced biases in my professional projects. I believe DeGroote Women in Business club would provide excellent avenues for me to access a wide range of resources, gain knowledge from the diverse experiences of my fellow women leaders and provide me the opportunity to upskill myself and continue rising through the ranks so that one day I can leave a significant impact in the industry so that other girls are not afraid to pursue their dreams and take up STEM careers.
Overall, after evaluating my prior experience and my goals, I am convinced that an MBA from DeGroote would be a perfect stepping-stone for me to progress in my career and achieve my goals.
Essay 2: Please provide any other information you feel would be helpful to us in making a decision on your application.
Throughout my life, I have been motivated to do my bit for the environment. Following my motivations, I have always been proactive in analyzing technology trends and seeking opportunities where I can create value by providing sustainable and energy-efficient building solutions.
A situation where I believe I created value for my organization and our environment was by leading and designing our company’s first net-positive and environmentally friendly commercial building. My team and I were working on a $40 Million project for a client. The client wanted to build a symbolic first environmentally net positive building, in fact, it would be the first such building in India.
The onus of delivering a net positive project lies primarily on the electrical engineering team by reducing the energy consumption of the building. Even though I have led design and modeling for green buildings before, we did not have a predetermined approach for building net positive buildings, which is a whole different engineering challenge.
I was leading a team of 5 engineers and to achieve our goal, my team and I performed extensive data analysis on the energy usage of the building. We used the data insights to identify the optimal areas for reducing energy consumption. We proposed using a radiant cooling system, daylight harvesting sensors, occupancy sensors, and motorized shades among other energy-efficient systems.
In addition to that, we also proposed to set up a 12.5 Megawatt Solar Power Plant which would cater to electricity requirements and make the building self-sufficient and result in saving $70,000 per year in electricity bills. Even though initially our vision seemed unrealistic to the client, we managed to convince the client and today the project is on the verge of successful completion. It gives me immense pride to see our vision come to life. This project was a flagship project for our company and based on the success of the project, we’ve gained two projects which will be designed on the same guidelines.
Although this experience was driven by a commitment to bring a meaningful change, it also showed me the importance of collaboration, leadership, and the importance of taking calculated risks in order to create value and achieve greater outcomes. I aspire to expand and augment these skills at DeGroote and continue to be an inspirational leader in my professional career as well as my personal life.
McMaster Degroote MBA Sample Essays from Past Clients: 3
Essay 1: What are your reasons for choosing to do an MBA degree? Why have you selected the DeGroote MBA Program? It is recommended that your response contain approximately 500 words or less. Your answer may be used as part of the evaluation of your application.
I have been working in the business operation (Procurement & Purchase) of Honda Motorcycles for approximately 2.5 years. While working in the procurement and purchase department for New Models, I have earned competency in vendor/supplier management, sourcing, and supporting strategic direction for process quality and process development plans.
Furthermore, the most crucial aspect of my stint at Honda remains the development & fine-tuning of my leadership skills and international exposure. The fundamental profile of my job requires me to coordinate among very diverse groups of colleagues and suppliers from Honda R&D in Thailand and Japan. I have learned how to lead negotiations with supplier companies and bring them into an agreement on important issues.
However, such a diverse challenging role has also enabled me to identify the limitations in my theoretical knowledge and business skillset. With my engineering background my understanding of business concepts is limited and I believe a business degree would be a perfect fit to help me gain the requisite knowledge to meet my short term goals.
After thorough research, and conversations with my fellow alumni of VIT currently enrolled at Degroote, I believe that Degroote MBA is perfectly synced with my desired learning from an MBA programme. The vital aspects that I found particularly enticing are:
Industrial Internships– This unique curriculum which allows students to do 3 internships not only give me the opportunity to test and implement my theoretical leanings but also can help me to gain real world experience of business. Nevertheless, this adds to my overall exposure to industries and the opportunity to develop a valuable network which I can use to convert into a fulltime opportunity.
Flexibility & Relevance of the Program- The most crucial aspect of this program is that it is tailor-made for people of my experience group. The General MBA specialization will permit me to study subjects in such a manner that can balance requirements for immediate and future goals. Subjects such as strategic management, international entrepreneurship, managing organizations and eBusiness Strategies are the ones I am looking forward to study.
Strong recommendation by current students- In an unequivocal tone, I have been suggested the merits with a recommendation to join this program by almost every student whom I contacted. Mr. Saransh Goyal (Current Student) was kind enough to share with me the details regarding experiential learning offered and its merits by providing very clear insight into the case-study method adopted in the classrooms.
Therefore, I am confident that Degroote’s MBA can pave the way for my career progression and enable me to make a transition towards business operation and development roles at global companies such as Dell, Amazon, or Walmart. In the long term, I would like contribute to my family’s product services business which is currently in its rudimentary phase.
I think based on my current experience, team-oriented approach, and leadership skills, I will be a good fit in this MBA program and can add value to Degroote’s community and reputation if selected for the class of 2020.
Essay 2. Please provide any other information you feel would be helpful to us in making a decision on your application.
I consider myself to be an individual of high level of integrity, emotional quotient and moral values and I would like to share a non-professional achievement at my workplace of which I am very proud. I believe this information should provide the admission insight into with my future conduct as a student and an alumni in a professional setup.
In 2016, I joined Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India, in the new model purchase department as a buyer. In 2016, the automobile sector in India was passing through an industrial slowdown, due to abrupt declaration of stringent emission standards by the government. These factors pushed the industry on the verge of recession and made many suppliers reluctant to invest in quality improvement initiatives recommended by Honda.
One of my department’s biggest supplier whom I was directly dealing with ‘Amtek Auto’ declared bankruptcy causing concerns to supply disruption. Other supplier used this as an opportunity and were quoting unreasonable costs for prospective emission regulation complaint parts. A few my colleague in the buying department at Honda resorted to unethical pressure tactics to meet their targets which wasn’t a fit with my moral code.
So instead to follow suit, I resolved to handle the situation in an ethical manner. I had ever learnt to deal with people based on my learnings from the book ‘How to Win Friends’. Not only did I devote ample time to mitigate concerns of the associated supplier companies but I also ensured to convey it to my senior associates, getting them on board to ensure the best possible settlement. Though this approach was not appreciated by many initially, who termed it as time
consuming and inefficient, but in the long term I developed healthy relations with my colleagues and the supplier associates, facilitating better workflow. Utilizing the relations that I had developed with supplier associates I instilled in them the motivation to look forward to bigger goals and suggested them to make improvements in their units to maximize efficiency and make the process more sustainable. Thus I was able to achieve my cost reduction targets and have helped in implementation of many other improvements with the support of supplier associates.
All this resulted in me wining a few ‘Kaizen’ awards and being adjudged as ‘Most Effective’, employee of the year. This inspired other buyers at my level to ensure that they give due respect to the associates from supplier companies. And to this day it remains a matter of pride for me that I did not lose my character under pressure and was able to pivot around behaviour of a few of my colleagues.
