DEADLINES
Round 1: 7 September 2018
Round 2: 26 October 2018
Round 3: 11 January 2019
Round 4: 8 March 2019
Round 5: 3 May 2019
ESSAYS
University of Cambridge Judge Business School is a powerful international, one-year MBA. With close links to Silicon Fen in Cambridge, this programme offers a strong network to those interested in entrepreneurship and tech in Europe.
If you look through the essay topics, you’ll notice that judge focuses on questions that lend themselves more to professional rather than personal stories. Ultimately, whatever you choose to write about, make sure that the examples you use are engaging and colorful, as your style can make you stand out significantly in this application process.
Please provide a personal statement. It should not exceed 500 words and must address the following questions:
• What are your short and long-term career objectives and what skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you achieve them?
• What actions will you take before and during the MBA to contribute to your career outcome?
• If you are unsure of your post-MBA career path, how will the MBA equip you for the future?
This essay is concentrated on the topics of your future and its viability, so it’s best to at least try to identify what the most logical steps would be for you following your studies at Cambridge Judge. It’s possible that you will not arrive at a single post-MBA occupation, however, you’ll still need to present some feasible options. When it comes to long term objectives, you’re allowed more leeway with your choices, though it would still be of benefit to identify those goals that would take advantage of your past experiences and upcoming MBA in some fashion.
Once you’ve chosen your goals, list out all the skills and characteristics that would make someone successful in such enterprises. If you’re unsure of everything that might be relevant, try to get in touch with individuals in the field who can instruct you on what they’ve found most useful in their roles. Once you have your list, begin highlighting the skills and characteristics that you’ve displayed in the past, tying them in with examples illustrating these particular strengths.
For those areas in which you’re lacking or require refinement, consider what actions you can take before the MBA and, more importantly, what resources Judge may offer you to improve. Search for concrete professors, courses and tools that clearly provide you with the edge you need to better accomplish your short and long-term objectives.
What did you learn from your most spectacular failure? (200 words)
Failure is a perfectly acceptable part of one’s life. In fact, it’s one of the most effective methods by which we learn how to succeed. In this essay, Cambridge is specifically looking to understand how you recovered from, analyzed and utilized your failure. When choosing a failure, you can choose a personal or a professional one. However, it may be best to avoid selecting a too recent mistake, as not enough time might have passed since it occurred to show how you’ve learned and adapted from it.
Finally, while writing your response, try to develop a story that builds towards a triumphal climax. Of course, it’s important to illustrate what you’ve learned from your mistakes, but there’s no better way to highlight your new understanding than by showing how it led you to an impactful success.
Describe a situation where you had to work jointly with others to achieve a common goal. What did you learn from the experience? (up to 200 words)
Judge is looking to understand how you problem-solve in a team environment. Search for instances in your history where you’ve displayed a few unique traits that proved invaluable to the group, especially if this took place in an international setting.
It’s important to not neglect the heart of this question by focusing solely on group success. Cambridge is very interested in understanding how you’ve grown from the experience. Therefore, take the time to explain how your skills or viewpoint evolved following the achievement.
