Babson MBA 2017 (F.W. OLIN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS)

The following essay question was part of the Fellowship Opportunity offered by The Lewis Institute. The fellowship is linked to Babson’s mission to shape leaders with a strong business foundation and entrepreneurial mindset.

Essay

Why do you think it is important for Babson to graduate its student with a
basic literacy around the UN sustainable Development Goals? How are
these goals relevant to business? How are these goals relevant to your own
lives?

Sustainable Development is the development practice that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In simplicity, Sustainable Development revolves around the key concept of needs and wants. In today’s world and age where everything is easily accessible owing it to technology; us, humans have developed the ability to convert our needs into wants and further into desire and demand. But we are blindly overlooking how this will affect us and the environment in the long run. By providing Babson students with the basic literacy around the UN sustainable goals, we are educating them about the requirement of the present and the future. How their decisions now will affect the future generation. When educational institutes ensure such education accessible to everyone, a quiet revolution is set in motion as the education becomes the engine of sustainable development and a key to the better world. By educating students about UN sustainable goals we are directly contributing to Goal 4 i.e Quality education. 

Sustainable development is the amalgam of social progress, economic development and environment. From business point of view, everything we develop initiate from natural resources. As we are depleting very fast on these, the competition in the market is increasing. Understanding these progressively, organizations from all segments are confronting and adjusting to a scope of problematic powers counting globalization, expanded urbanization, extreme competitiveness for crude materials and normal assets and an upset in innovation that is testing the plans of action of numerous areas while constraining all organizations to be more responsible to, and straightforward with, every one of their partners.

Therefore, manageability is moving from the corporate sidelines into the standard. Confronted with a fate of indeterminate vitality costs, approaching control on carbon discharges, worries about access to crude materials and the accessibility of normal assets like water, organizations everywhere throughout the world are awakening to the truth that ecological manageability is a key thought. In the meantime those same organizations are going under more prominent investigation about their part in the public arena. Fueled by the blast in online person to person communication, buyers, NGOs, the media and their own representatives are considering organizations responsible about their treatment of specialists, the sourcing and nature of their items and their corporate culture. As organizations explore this questionable business scene, having a strong vision of ecological and social maintainability will enable them to grow new models for development and chances to be item, administration and market pioneers. So there is no better time for the Assembled Countries to dispatch its Feasible Advancement Objectives (SDGs) – a guide for good business development for the following 15 years.

Every small step contributes to achieve the bigger target. By understanding these goals myself, I am able to contribute by understanding what I buy, how it is produced and selecting the products that are recyclable. not limited to this only, we must also focus on paving the way for everyone in having equal opportunities  to education, safety, food and medicine. We, at Babson are the future workforce, we are the torchbearers of tomorrow and we need to understand what is needed to achieve the goals.

Kelley MBA 2017 (KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS- INDIANA UNIVERSITY)

What sets Kelley School of Business apart?

Kelley Admissions

ESSAY 2

1. Respond to one of the following short essay prompts. (300 words)
   a. My greatest memory is…
   b. I’m most afraid of…
   c. My greatest challenge has been…
   d. I’m most proud of…    

C. My greatest challenge has been…

My greatest challenge has been to deal with business uncertainties which have the power to make even the most thought after plan seem useless. Uncertainties not only highlight the hidden assumptions in the plan but they also highlight the importance of a time buffer while estimating how long say a project is going to take. The challenge however, has always been to calculate such buffers or at least to approach such a problem scientifically, that is why one of the knowledge gaps that I want to fill through the MBA is regarding managing uncertainties.
However, I believe managing uncertainties is an essential leadership exercise as it teaches how to stay calm and focused amidst commotion. Managing uncertainties has not only resulted in developing my intuition, but it has also made me not to seek perfection and to be prepared with contingencies.
As an example, I remember when during one drilling project we had missed a deadline because of a double whammy. On one hand two of our team members quit without notice and on the other the team which had to manufacture a rig as per our specifications simply could not understand English thereby drastically slowing down the manufacturing process. To manage the language problem and to compensate for the lost time, we decided to send a technical team to the rig manufacturer’s facility so that the technical modifications were made in real time during the manufacturing process. To manage the post attrition plan – my team had to put extra hours to achieve our goal.
Although, as a project manager for the entire project, I did manage to wrap up on time, the incident did highlight the need for better contingency planning and better scientific ways to predict the impacts of uncertainties.

Texas MBA 2017 (McCOMBS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS-UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN)

The McCombs Experience

McCombs Admissions

Essay-2

1. The University of Texas at Austin values unique perspectives and cultivates a collaborative environment of distinct individual contributions. It is the first day of orientation. You are meeting your study group, comprised of five of your classmates from various backgrounds. Please introduce yourself to your new team, highlighting what drives you in your personal and professional life.

Select only one communication method that you would like to use for your response:

• Write an essay (250 words).
• Share a video introduction (one minute). Please include a link in the text field below. If the video link is password protected, please also enter the login information in the essay text field below. Please do not upload a video file. The upload button is for PDF copies of written essays only.

 

Hi everyone. I am XYZ. I come from the interesting Drilling Industry. I am a graduate in Petroleum Engineering and was working as Deputy Manager for a major Indian private drilling contractor. Observing the cascading effects of the changes in international oil prices on my organization and on drilling industry at large has drawn me towards Energy Finance & led me to observe the past trends of volatile energy prices more closely. To further explore this burning interest in financial aspects of Oil and gas industry I want to transition within Energy Sector and pursue a career in Energy Finance. Although I can talk at length about the drilling industry, let me not bore you with details but in case you are interested in details, then we should catch up later over a cup of coffee.

Apart from work, I am an active sportsperson, so in case any of you like to play Basketball or Lawn Tennis feel free to give me a shout and we would catch up over a quick game. I also love to explore new places so if anyone is interested we can plan the next trip to the city together.

I’m very excited to be here with such incredible people like you all. I look forward for a fun and engaging experience. Feel free to let me know in case you need any help and I would do my best to help you out.

Kelley MBA 2017 (KELLEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS- INDIANA UNIVERSITY)

The Kelley Experience

Kelley Admissions

ESSAY 1

1. Discuss your immediate post-MBA professional goals. How will your professional experience, when combined with a Kelley MBA degree, allow you to achieve these goals? Should the short-term goals you have identified not materialize what alternate career paths might you consider? (500 words)

( Here I have used one of my previous essays as response to the above question. You can use your previous essays but make sure to modify the essays according to the need and include the vital information regarding the school you’re applying to so that the admissions officer can get to know that you’ve done your research on the school and you’re confident about it.)
Observing the cascading effects of the changes in international oil prices on my organization and on the drilling industry at large has drawn me towards Energy Finance & led me to observe the past trends of volatile energy prices more closely. To further explore this burning interest in financial aspects of Oil and Gas Industry I want to transition within Energy Sector and pursue a career in Energy Finance. But such a transition requires me to first acquire knowledge on Finance and then start as an equity analyst in a leading energy investment firm to gain further exposure. Alternatively, in case my short term goals don’t materialize, I would like to leverage my Oil & gas domain knowledge to return to the drilling industry and work my way up to chief operating officer of a leading drilling division at one of the Oil Majors. I could also look at transitioning to non-drilling divisions of leading energy companies.
The Kelley MBA, with its strong finance focus, is an ideal program for me since it would not only equip me with the knowledge required for a career change but it would also provide me with the desired career opportunities in the field of Finance. Electives such as Equity Markets and Modelling for Finance would help me learn some of the many new concepts I need to develop a holistic understanding about the Finance Sector. Participating in the brainstorming sessions in the diverse class would help me getting a new perspective on business problems. The unique cohort system at Kelley MBA would lay the foundation of building a robust network and going forward I would also get to tap the strong alumni network in both the equities research and private equity industries for getting career guidance or crucial connects.
Since Kelley is a Chartered Financial Analyst Program Partner, I would also get a head start on becoming a CFA Charter holder. Through such learning, I would learn how to analytically appraise the financial information and how to then articulate it into useful insights.
I would also love to join the Kelley’s Finance Club and Energy club and network with like minded classmates interested in Finance & Energy industry. The numerous events that group offers would allow me to listen to industry stalwarts as they come for speaker sessions or to go on workshops and interact with industry professionals. The entire immersive approach of the group would not only give me a peep into the industry but would also help me take an informed career decision as I take my first plunge into the Finance.
My experiences from the drilling industry would be insightful, especially for students trying to understand the business impact of the volatile energy prices on certain organizations and projects. My learning from my job and my background in Petroleum Engineering could also come in handy during classroom discussions on business case studies regarding Energy Firms.

Rice MBA 2017 (JONES GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS)

The Jones Experience

Jones Admissions

Essay 1

Describe your short-term and long-term career goals, and how the MBA will help you achieve those goals. Include in your discussion: Why is now the appropriate time to pursue an MBA, and why are you interested in obtaining a Rice MBA? (Maximum 750 words)

Although I began my career in the Operations Vertical of the Drilling Industry, I have always been interested in finance, especially energy finance. Supervising the setting up of Onshore & Offshore Oil Rigs has never been enough for me and I have always wanted to be part of the financial action behind the oil price changes which have far reaching consequences for the entire industry. Whenever we have faced changes in the volumes of drilling orders or abrupt stoppage of the on-going projects, I have tried to map it to the corresponding oil price fluctuations. Over the years, such observations have not only led me to understand the past trends of volatile energy prices more closely, but it has also helped me grow a lot of interest in the field of Energy Finance. Over time, I have become better at my ability to make some crude sense out of the basic financial numbers.
Having worked in Operations vertical for four years, I now want to explore my deep interest in financial aspects of Oil and Gas Industry by pursuing a career in Energy Finance. But such a transition from operations to finance requires me to first equip myself with knowledge on Energy Finance and then join the finance industry. Since I would be starting from scratch, as a short term goal, I would like to start as an Equity Analyst in an Energy Investment Firm and after gaining further exposure, work my way up to become an Energy Fund Manager in the long run. For the career transition, my experiences from the Drilling Industry would be insightful, especially in trying to understand the business impact of the volatile energy prices on certain organizations and projects. Such an operational understanding of energy industry would help me quickly learn skills related to Finance & Investments. In addition, my learning from my job and my background in Petroleum Engineering could also come in handy during discussions on business case studies related to petroleum field.
The Rice MBA is an ideal program for me to facilitate my transition from operations to energy finance, since it is one of the very few reputed programs that offer Energy and Finance concentration with a strong finance focus. Such a program would not only equip me with the knowledge required for a career change but it would also provide me with the desired career opportunities in the field of Energy Finance. Electives such as Equity Practicum and Energy Derivatives would help me learn some of the many new concepts I need to develop a holistic understanding about the Energy Finance Sector. Projects such as the Action Learning Project Week on Wall Street, will allow me to work on live projects, thereby allowing me to analytically appraise the information and articulate it into useful insights.
I would also love to join the Jones’s Energy club, Finance club and Rice Energy Finance Summit (REFS) to network with like-minded classmates interested in Finance & Energy industry. The numerous events that group offers would allow me to listen to industry stalwarts as they come for speaker sessions or to go on workshops and interact with industry professionals. The entire immersive approach of the group would not only give me a peep into the industry but would also help me take an informed career decision as I take my first plunge into the Energy Finance.
Overall, I am confident that the Rice MBA, with its Energy Finance concentrations would prove to be the best career investment, allowing me to benefit from its strong industry connect and quality education.

Texas MBA 2017 (McCOMBS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS)

The McCombs Experience

McCombs Admissions

Essay 1

Based on your post-MBA goals and what drives you in your personal and professional life, why is the Texas MBA the ideal program for you and how do you plan to engage in our community? (500 words)

Just when the Shale Revolution flooded the international markets with US becoming the top producer, oil prices started tumbling down, revealing the biggest flaw with the new trend. The hidden concept here with Shale is; unlike other reservoirs it is very expensive and has lower recoverability than the more conventional sandstone reservoirs, explaining the pressures on the domestic industry brought on by low commodity prices in past few years.

Although the situation currently is getting better, oil price dynamics have changed internationally. This visible change heavily intrigued me & led me to observe the effects throughout the last few years of volatile oil situation. I could understand the intricacies of the industry because of my petroleum background which I believe will be very beneficial to leverage in energy finance sector otherwise lacking such in depth understanding.

Even professionally, I could observe the cascading effects of international oil price changes on my current organization and our project. With some proper guidance from senior management, we were encouraged to work with a financially inclined approach to optimize operations during those tough times. This further boosted my existing interest towards the financial aspect of oil industry.

Hence in short term I wish to leverage my knowledge of the industry in the role of an equity research analyst, bringing to the table a very scarce and well sought after skill-set. I believe working in this capacity will give me enough exposure to make the long term transition into a buy side fund/asset management firm focused in the energy space. My ultimate goal is to be a fund manager in the energy space.

The unique feature of the Texas McCombs energy finance course is the well-tailored structure that accommodates everything essential in the two domains; Energy & Finance sector. This, I believe will give me the edge in my learning & growth towards the energy-finance niche field. Moreover, few electives that are being offered at McComb such as Energy Law and Oil & Gas Taxation are areas which are new to me & are required to make a unique mix of skill-set to sustain my long term growth.

The school also has a notable list of alumni in both the equities research and private equity industries and I intend to tap into this strong alumni network to leverage my career. Furthermore I intend to explore the McCombs community activities of the Energy-Finance group as it is a unique energy based platform that will help me hone my skills & knowledge acquired at the university.

Babson MBA 2017 (F.W. OLIN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS)

The Babson Experience

Babson Admissions

Essay 2

Define Your Difference
Help us learn more about the multifaceted and talented person you are by picking 3 of the 6 questions below and responding to each one in 150 words or less. If you prefer, you may answer any of these questions in a more creative format such as video, info graphic or presentation. (Please clearly identify which question(s) you are answering. If using a video format, the response to each question can be up to 1 minute in length.)

1. What is an innovative/creative idea or change that you are most proud of implementing personally or professionally?
2. Tell us about a time when something in your life felt particularly challenging and how you were able to respond to that challenge.
3. Tell us three random things about you beyond what is already apparent from your application.
4. Describe the most constructive feedback that you have received and how you implemented this into your personal and/or professional life.
5. Describe a past experience when you were trying to learn or master something new.
6. Which one of the Babson Learning Goals do you find most appealing and why?

1. What is an innovative/creative idea or change that you are most proud of implementing personally or professionally?
The company I work for had a set of Maintenance Procedures which were in printed format. For one particular maintenance operation, changing of valves, seats, etc of a mud pump, I personally volunteered to make a video and illustration and conducted video training classes for the crew of one rig initially which had helped the crew to understand the procedure without any doubts. This training yielded positive results. It was then noted and recorded that post the training classes, the crew used to consume comparatively lesser time for the above said maintenance time and hence improved operational efficiency. This was taken as a pilot project which was considered successful and this training was provided to the crew of other rigs of the company too. Considerable improvement was seen in all the projects and this project had improved the collective operational efficiency of rigs.

4. Describe the most constructive feedback that you have received and how you implemented this into your personal and/or professional life.
There was a time when I did not realize the importance and advantages of prioritizing jobs as per the importance. I used to prioritize as per the order of receiving the jobs. My senior at that time, advised me to change the priorities of the jobs I had. This strategy aided me to sort out the work in a much organized way without any havoc. This strategy helped me in a multiple crisis situation later on in my job when two operational issues popped up in two different locations where the company I work for was operating. I had prioritized the attention and focus on the issues considering the importance and lead time on delivery of spares and this helped in the rectification of both the issues on time. This has always been my strategy since then and has helped me multiple times later.

5.Describe a past experience when you were trying to learn or master something new.
There was once an electrical issue in one of our rig in a remote location. It took us 3 days to get equipment’s service engineer to the location. After the service engineer reached the location it was found that the problem was minor with one of the embedded systems of the Top Drive unit. This one issue gave me a personal craving to learn about the embedded systems so that I could know about the electrical side of the unit and assist in troubleshooting of any similar issues. It was not difficult as I could learn it online and from various other sources. Though it was not related to what I had learned back for my graduation nor was it demanded for my job, the interest to learn something new helped me to know more about equipment. This has helped me to train a few electrical supervisors so that we could reduce downtime due to similar issues. 

Babson MBA 2017 (F.W. OLIN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS)

The Babson Experience

Babson Admissions

ESSAY 1

Define Your Future
Please describe your short and long-term career goals and why they are important to you. How do you expect to leverage your experience at Babson to make progress towards these goals? (400 words or less).
Observing the cascading effects of the changes in international oil prices on my organization and on the drilling industry at large has drawn me towards Energy Finance & led me to observe the past trends of volatile energy prices more closely. To further explore this burning interest in financial aspects of Oil and gas industry I want to transition within Energy Sector and pursue a career in Energy Finance. But such a transition requires me to first acquire knowledge on Finance and then start as an equity analyst in a leading energy investment firm to gain further exposure.
The Babson MBA, with its strong finance focus, is an ideal program for me since it would not only equip me with the knowledge required for a career change but it would also provide me with the desired career opportunities in the field of Finance. Electives such as Equities and Capital Markets would help me learn some of the many new concepts I need to develop a holistic understanding about the Finance Sector. Participating in the brainstorming sessions in the diverse class would help me getting a new perspective on business problems. The unique Cohort system at Babson MBA would lay the foundation of building a robust network and going forward I would also get to tap the strong alumni network in both the equities research and private equity industries for getting career guidance or crucial connects.
I would also love to join the Babson’s Investment club and Energy & environment Club to network with like-minded classmates interested in Finance & Energy industry. The numerous events that group offers would allow me to listen to industry stalwarts as they come for speaker sessions or to go on workshops and interact with industry professionals. The entire immersive approach of the group would not only give me a peep into the industry but would also help me take an informed career decision as I take my first plunge into the Finance.
My experiences from the drilling industry would be insightful, especially for students trying to understand the business impact of the volatile energy prices on certain organizations and projects. My learning from my job and my background in Petroleum Engineering could also come in handy during classroom discussions on business case studies regarding Energy Firms.