Krannert has introduced a shorter, but more exciting essay. The seemingly cookie-cutter Statement of Purpose gains some stature and differentiation through the five lines-of-thought options. The question on Integrity is different and probably unique in its open honesty. One or two more essays in the same vein would have made this an excellent essay pack. Still, the two essays are a good platform for candidates with an aptitude for introspection.
Statement of Purpose: Please submit a statement introducing yourself to the admissions committee. Some topics you may wish to discuss include: (500 words max)
a. Brief academic and professional background
b. Reason for seeking an MBA or Master's degree at Purdue
c. Desired career path after graduation
d. Your thoughts on giving back as a student and as an alumnus
Krannert Tips: Statement of purpose is a rare format for a business school essay. But don't let the SOP style confuse you. At the end of the day, this is indeed a standard career goal-essay. Purdue adcom has made your job easier by giving you specific prompts about what they want to know.
The core of the essay is about: given your past experiences and future aspirations, why are you seeking a Purdue MBA? What is that you desire to do in long-term (and short-term) that can't be accomplished without an MBA.
One of the approaches could be to use your post-MBA goals/career path as an anchor to tie your past, your reason for seeking Purdue MBA and your desired immediate job after graduation.
You can construct your narrative in multiple ways. You could start by showing your past experiences and take the reader through your career progression and where you want to go in future tying in Purdue MBA intricately along the way. Alternatively you can paint your career vision to begin with and show why you want it and how you are capable and ready now to take the next step in your career.
Business-schools rely a lot on financial and non-financial contributions from students and alums to build and expand their offerings to future students. To describe in specifics in what all ways you can contribute, you will have to go beyond looking at the website. Speaking with current student, alums, adcom will help you better identify where all you can get involved and add value during your time on campus and years later as an alum.
Essay 2: Integrity: What does integrity mean to you? How does integrity relate to building communities of trust in academic, personal and professional settings? What expectations should Purdue have towards its students with regards to academic integrity? What consequences should students who do not uphold these standards face? (500 words max)
Essay 2 Tips: All the top business schools take their honor code very seriously. The reason being that each and every student's and alum's right or wrong behavior reflects directly on the school and the university. Therefore, when you get admitted to a top b-school, you are required to sign your school's honor code with regards to academic and professional integrity.
Before you start answering this question, it would help to review Purdue University's Code of Honor:
The purpose of the Purdue University academic community is to discover and disseminate truth. In order to achieve these goals, the university commits itself towards maintaining a culture of academic integrity and honesty. For this to be possible, self-discipline and a strong desire to benefit others must be present within each individual. Therefore, we students must follow the Regulations Governing Student Conduct of Purdue University out of a sense of mutual respect, rather than out of fear of the consequences of their violation.
Optional Essay: If you feel there are any parts of your application that require additional explanation, or if there is any additional information you wish to share with the admissions committee, please use this optional essay as an opportunity to do so. (250 words max)
Optional Essay Tips: For every optional essay, first you have to decide whether to write the essay or not.
Do not write this essay if you think the quality of the rest of your application is suboptimal. If that is the case, improve your other essays first.
You could write this essay if you need to detail certain impressive contributions or qualities that you could not capture in the other two essays. If this aspect of your personality, career or life adds to the value to your application, you can consider writing the optional essay.
Alternately, use this essay to explain shortfalls in your application that you feel are truly detrimental to your candidature. Absence of recommendation from current supervisor, areas of underperformance (academic or professional) or events which stick out (gaps in your resumes or second MBA) or application issues (reapplications) can be commented on if you have explanations that are intelligent and credible.
Whether you decide to showcase your strengths or address your weakness, it might be better to not do both of these in the same space. Pick one aspect that you think will truly enhance your application.
Statement of Purpose: Please submit a statement introducing yourself to the admissions committee. Some topics you may wish to discuss include: (500 words max)
a. Brief academic and professional background
b. Reason for seeking an MBA or Master's degree at Purdue
c. Desired career path after graduation
d. Your thoughts on giving back as a student and as an alumnus
Tips: Don't let the SOP style confuse you, this is a standard goal-essay with details about what the adcom wants to know.
Purdue wants to know given your past experiences and future aspirations, why are you seeking a Purdue MBA? What is that you want to do in long-term (and short-term) that can't be accomplished without an MBA.
The best approach would be to use your post-MBA goals/career path as an anchor to tie your past, your reason for seeking Purdue MBA and your desired immediate job after graduation.
You can construct your narrative in multiple ways. You could start by showing your past experiences and take the reader through your career progression and where you want to go in future tying in Purdue MBA intricately along the way. Or you can paint your career vision to begin with and show why you want it and how you are capable and ready now to take the next step in your career.
Business-schools rely a lot on financial and non-financial contributions from students and alums to build and expand their offerings to future students. To describe in specifics in what all ways you can can contribute, you will have to go beyond looking at the website. Speaking with current student, alums, adcom will help you better identify where all you can get involved and add value during your time on campus and years later as an alum.
Essay 2: Integrity: What does integrity mean to you? How does integrity relate to building communities of trust in academic, personal and professional settings? What expectations should Purdue have towards its students with regards to academic integrity? What consequences should students who do not uphold these standards face? (500 words max)
Essay 2 Tips: All the top business schools take their honor code very seriously. The reason being that each and every student's and alum's right or wrong behavior reflects directly on the school and the university. Therefore, when you get admitted to a top b-school, you are required to sign your school's honor code with regards to academic and professional integrity.
Before you start answering this question, it would help to review Purdue University's Code of Honor:
The purpose of the Purdue University academic community is to discover and disseminate truth. In order to achieve these goals, the university commits itself towards maintaining a culture of academic integrity and honesty. For this to be possible, self-discipline and a strong desire to benefit others must be present within each individual. Therefore, we students must follow the Regulations Governing Student Conduct of Purdue University out of a sense of mutual respect, rather than out of fear of the consequences of their violation.
Optional Essay: If you feel there are any parts of your application that require additional explanation, or if there is any additional information you wish to share with the admissions committee, please use this optional essay as an opportunity to do so. (250 words max)
Optional Essay Tips: For every optional essay, first you have to decide whether to write the essay or not.
Do not write this essay if you think the quality of the rest of your application is suboptimal. If that is the case, improve your other essays first.
You could write this essay if you need to detail certain impressive contributions or qualities that you could not capture in the other two essays. If this aspect of your personality, career or life adds to the value to your application, you can consider writing the optional essay.
Alternately, use this essay to explain shortfalls in your application that you feel are truly detrimental to your candidature. Absence of recommendation from current supervisor, areas of underperformance (academic or professional) or events which stick out (gaps in your resumes or second MBA) or application issues (reapplications) can be commented on if you have explanations that are intelligent and credible.
Whether you decide to showcase your strengths or address your weakness, it might be better to not do both of these in the same space. Pick one aspect that you think will truly enhance your application.
