Home Base to World Base

So you have been working for your family business and now you are thinking how you could give tough competition to other applicants who have experience of working in Fortune 500 companies?

Applicants who have worked in a family business sometimes worry that their professional profile won't measure up when compared with other MBA hopefuls with more traditional employment paths. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Working for your family business can help you stand out, as business schools try to diversify their classes. Most schools accept students who will go back to work for the family business. Business schools strive to constitute a cohort of diverse personalities and backgrounds to guarantee lively discussions. Every successful applicant’s experiences would likely add a unique perspective to the class.

Family business management has emerged as an important discipline at business and they have introduced courses and clubs on family business, founded centers dedicated to the subject or launched concentrations in this area.

How would you select a school? 

Your school selection research should partly focus on what types of resources and support for family businesses are offered by your target programs. For many applicants, a one-year MBA program is ideal since you won't need the internship and recruiting opportunities that job-switching students in two-year programs rely on.

Strategy to approach

As with any winning application, the strategy in this case is to show in detail how an MBA degree will help you further your professional goals. Explain with specifics what you need to learn in order to grow the family business.

Paint a clear picture of your vision for the company's future, and leave no doubt as to how an MBA will help you make an impact on the business after graduation. That way, the admissions committee understands why business school is the logical next step.

For your essays

Start brainstorming some of the challenges your business has faced, and come up with examples that show how you as a family worked to overcome those obstacles. Business schools place a high value on teamwork, and what better way to show commitment and follow-through than by demonstrating you know how to work well with others to achieve a common goal?

LOR from Mom/Dad/Uncle?

As many applicants know, the ideal recommender for an MBA application is the manager to whom you report directly. However, if your immediate supervisors are relatives, you'll need to get creative since you cannot have a family member write your recommendation letter.

Can you approach a supervisor or manager from a company you've previously worked for? Or have you worked closely with any clients or vendors that can speak to your managerial or leadership abilities?

Deepak had been working for the family business, a manufacturing company in Nanded, for three years after college.After brainstorming for recommenders he could approach outside the business, Deepak hit upon a retail vendor that had been supplied by his company for more than a decade with whom he'd built a strong relationship. Since this vendor was evaluating Deepak on many similar criteria as a direct supervisor and was an objective, outside source, he turned out to be the perfect choice.

In the end, Deepak’s family business-based application fared well next to candidates coming from a corporate background. 

If you're planning on pursuing an MBA to learn how to take your family business to the next level, take pride in your professional circumstances and know that business schools will value your accomplishments and responsibilities, whether acquired at a Fortune 500 company or under Mom and Dad's tutelage.

44 lines – 525 words- Undergraduate - Statement of Purpose

I, Mr.xxx aspire to create a niche for myself in the world of Finance. I am currently in my 12th Grade in DPS Ghaziabad, India and seek an opportunity to study Bachelors in Accounting and Finance at your esteemed University.

My Interests: My interests in Finance were discernible from the time I used to play games like Monopoly with my friends. I would insist on preparing the monthly budget for home expenses. Any school activities likes picnics, fairs and exhibitions I would be the person in charge of drawing up the cost estimation. Thus when the time came for me to choose a career, I believe it was a natural progression for me to choose Bachelors in Accounting and Finance.

Early Beginnings: I started reading “The Economic Times” at a very young age and started following the progress of financial institutes. To further my interests in accounting and finance field I have also taken part in various quizzes and competitions obtaining a second position in a commerce quiz and a third position in a ‘stock souk’.

My Personality Development: Due to my father’s transferable job, I have been fortunate enough to study at some of the best public schools in Delhi and Mumbai, which gave me an opportunity to learn to adapt to different environments and to make new friends. My participation in skits plays and various class discussions helped me shed stage fear and developed my oratory skills. This helped me in debates and presentations at school. Participating in these extra-curricular activities gave me an edge that led to my overall development. These boosted my confidence, gave me some insight into the great literary works, and prepared me to handle anxiety and face competition. As a part of my social responsibility, I indulged in activities like gathering support for the ‘Save Tiger’ foundation and helping underprivileged children by tutoring them in subjects like Maths and English whenever I could. I hope to contribute towards the programmes in your University by maintaining this high quality of performance and interactions.

Why UK: One of the main reasons I chose UK is that the degrees and qualifications from UK are known around the world as high quality and world class. UK allows me to pursue vocational courses along with my main course. With the multi-cultural diversity that an UK campus represents, students like me would benefit in terms of learning new cultures and traditions. No wonder International students have always been an important presence in the UK, and the numbers are growing steadily.

My Goals: I want to pursue this course to reach my goals. My main aim in the near future would be to have a complete and in depth knowledge of wealth creation and wealth multiplication. I plan to enhance my knowledge about the various organizational cogs and learn how they influence each other. I would like to contribute my might in the area of wealth creation by a financial powerhouse and develop such skills as may be required for decision making in a senior managerial capacity. I end my statement by looking forward to a positive response from you, which will help me reach my goals.

Under Graduate - Long Essay - University of Georgia

Long Essay - Part 2 - Long Essay (5,000 character limit, including punctuation and spaces)

1.    In the Georgia Tech spirit of innovation and improving the human condition, describe a societal problem that exists locally, regionally, nationally or globally and propose a feasible solution.

As a human being, I am affected by many unfortunate situations around me. Poverty, drought, famines, diseases, and many others leave a profound effect in my mind. Though we may not be able to eradicate those that are caused due to nature’s wrath there are many others which we can avoid. One of them is global warming.

Global warming has been occurring throughout the world and this has resulted in deteriorating the climatic conditions not only over a particular region, but the world over. Now it is difficult for us to say that in India we have primarily three seasons – summer, winter and rainy. No longer do these seasons last for the average three to four months as before.  The summers are harsh with rising temperatures, the winters are barely noticeable, and the rains cease to stick to it pre-determined timelines. All this has resulted in increasing poverty as farmers are not able to sow and reap their harvests in time. The repercussions are even felt by the consumer as the cost of necessary food supplies has gone beyond the common man’s reach.

Since global warming increases the current temperatures, the rate of evaporation would increase extensively and would result in an increased precipitation along with melting of ice packs and polar ice-bergs. This would result in lower annual temperatures. The greenhouse effect is one of the main and initial causes of global warming. The most common greenhouse gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. These gases absorb infrared radiation of light and trap the heat caused by it within the lower atmosphere causing the heating up of the entire atmosphere. These gases have increased in volume due to industrialization and use of fossil fuels. The air we breathe is turning more and more poisonous with each passing day. Deforestation also caused a lot of carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere as; forests remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. All carbon dioxide is now being released into the atmosphere. Scientists have come with strong evidence to suggest that these phenomena are having a major role in the increase of intensity of extreme storms worldwide.

When I read about the effects global warming, a sense of insecurity seeps into me. If this has already happened, what may happen to us in the future? It is a worrying sign for the future generations and our survival on this planet. I believe that all of this can still be reversed and our planet can still be stabilized in a manner where it can sustain mankind for infinite centuries to come.

Consumption of fossil fuels especially carbon-intensive coal should be reduced dramatically. Alternative sources of fuel should be developed and adopted for regular use. Solar energy should be harnessed. Solar energy is renewable and does not emit any harmful gases back into Mother Earth. Especially in a country like India which is sunny all through the year. Every home in India should be tempted to invest in these solar systems which in turn will become a source of revenue generator for the family in years to come. This would also help each individual in playing their part towards protecting the environment. Technology should be developed in a manner which would allow us to store carbon emissions underground and away from the atmosphere.

I myself contribute to cutting down on carbon emissions by regularly using public transport. I also am very particular about saving electricity and switch off lights every time I leave a room and also make limited use of air conditioners. In addition, I generally walk short distances rather than make use of an automobile. I love cycling too. Not only does it help cut down carbon-emissions but also helps keep us fit and healthy.

We recently had a very interesting seminar in our locality and almost every home in the locality has adopted measures to conserve energy and use appliances that are energy efficient. All light bulbs got replaced with fluorescent low watt bulbs. Living in a tropical country like India, we do not need a dryer to dry our clothes. Most women present pledged to avoid the use of dryers. Cutting down on garbage was another option everyone decided to follow. Planting trees is one activity that I am happy to note is happening all over the place. In the city I live in Mumbai, the municipal authorities have become very strict on the use of non-degradable plastic bags. So we can combat global warming in small ways too. All that it requires is commitment to do the right thing by every individual. I believe that every human being should personally contribute to reversing the effects of global warming first. If everybody contributes in their own small way, it will make a huge difference in global warming intensity and reduce atmospheric temperatures too. This is an issue of global importance and should be taken very seriously or else we might face severe consequences in the form of natural calamities and phenomena.

Under Graduate - Short Essay - University of Georgia

Short Essay

Why are you interested in attending Georgia Tech and what do you hope to contribute to our community?

I chose Georgia Tech as it is the third best university in the world for mechanical engineering. Your course programs combine career related experience with classroom studies. The alternating assignments between classroom and industries will definitely boost my interests and help me in achieving my career goals – which is to be a mechanical engineer with vast global experience in different aspects of mechanical engineering. My experiences in life have taught me to be resilient in all my endeavors and not be setback by failures. I believe positive attitudes are infectious and I will be able to pass on these progressive attributes to my classmates. With my expertise in sports such as Table-Tennis and Badminton I would be an active contributor in inter college competitions and try my best to win a few medals. I see myself contributing my 100% to community service activities such as Innovate Relief which will allow me to apply coursework to projects thus making a difference in people’s lives.

Under Graduate - Michigan Essay 4

4. Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (500 words maximum)

409 words

Before applying to Michigan University, I felt I should try and understand the university and its course curriculum as best as I could. Not only did I go through the website but I visited various forums that were talking about education in Michigan, more so in USA in general. What I came to understand is that I am completely in synch with the way Michigan handles its education, its extra-curricular activities, and manages its diversified student body.

Education at Michigan will develop my learning abilities, and learning as much as I could from a world-class faculty, will help me prove my abilities amongst my contemporaries. I also see myself getting ample opportunities to apply knowledge and new techniques and function on multi-disciplinary teams. I am looking forward to devoting myself to a long career in Mechanical Engineering and make the most out of the vast knowledge I will gain at your university.

As I browsed through the course curriculum at Michigan, I was deeply impressed with the subjects on offer. The Design and Manufacturing Course, Automotive Engineering Course and Multidisciplinary Design are some of the subjects that helped me decide to pursue my undergraduate study in Michigan. Also the different topics like Vehicle Ride Performance and Steering System Performance, Design Projects, and the ample practical opportunities that I would be getting at Michigan has helped me to finalise my choice of university.  What I have understood from other students who have completed their Bachelors at Michigan is that, it is one of the best universities in the world to offer world-class interning opportunities to its under-graduates.

As I see it today, all the above courses will guide me towards my interest which is to be working in the automotive industry in the design field. The Technical Elective course of Design and Manufacturing will really help deepen my knowledge in the area of my interest. Also, the Multidisciplinary Design minor would help me get a better understanding of classroom theories in a practical manner. So, it will develop my knowledge of automotives and mechanics holistically.

The course will be demanding but I am prepared to fulfil the rigorous demands of this course. I am even contemplating the dual degree option which is a good opportunity for students like me. I would take a call on this once I am in the university and understand that I will be in a position to satisfy the subject requirements of both the programs.