Three Ways Writing About Obstacles Strengthens Your Application Essays
When crafting application essays – whether for graduate school, business school, or any other competitive program – applicants often focus on highlighting their accomplishments. And it’s easy to understand why. Most candidates are eager to share their significant achievements, such as leading a groundbreaking project, making a meaningful impact through research, or spearheading a successful community initiative.
While these accomplishments are no doubt important, many initial drafts of application essays are missing a critical component: obstacles. In this post, we’ll explore why addressing obstacles head on in your essays can significantly strengthen your application and provide valuable insights for the adcom into who you are as a candidate.
Here are three reasons discussing obstacles can elevate your application.
1. Showing that you have overcome obstacles demonstrates your problem-solving ability.
We all frequently encounter obstacles: the traffic detour, an incompetent customer service representative, a disagreement with your partner, the approval you expected on a project unexpectedly turning into a no. Every single person faces challenges, but people deal with them in wildly varying ways. Those who are more successful in life come out on top because they understand that obstacles are to be expected. They learn how to navigate them with patience, creativity, and a problem-solving attitude, and by – to borrow a phrase – “keeping calm and carrying on.”
But too often, when asked to discuss their accomplishments, applicants selectively and completely forget the things that got in their way en route to their achievement. When they experience this kind of amnesia, they are shortchanging themselves. Triumphing over the hurdles they encountered might have been just as difficult as executing all the anticipated elements of their plans – and is therefore worth sharing.
2. Discussing obstacles adds depth to your story and highlights your character.
Read the following examples and see if you don’t agree.
First we have the “stop-putting-me-to-sleep” example:
As the leader of my product research group, I came up with a plan for a new widget that would save us 10% in costs. After I communicated my vision to the team, we worked hard for four weeks on a prototype, completing it by the deadline, to the delight of management. Today, my widget is still the standard for my company, saving us over $300K annually.
Okay, this sounds like a solid accomplishment, but it’s hardly memorable. How did the candidate communicate her vision? What specific example does she offer of the hard work that was done over four weeks on the prototype? We have absolutely no idea.
Now let’s look at a “dazzle-is-in-the-details” example:
As the leader of my product research group, I came up with a plan for a new widget that would save us 10% in costs. But when I explained my vision to the team, two senior engineers immediately argued against it, saying that there were key flaws in the design. After revisiting my design and realizing that they were correct, I revised my plan and was able to eliminate the flaws. We worked on a prototype for two weeks before discovering that the cost of the material we had planned to use for it had increased by more than 30% in recent months. I worked many late nights that week, researching alternative materials before finding one that was both appropriate and cost-effective. By the skin of our teeth, we met our four-week deadline and presented the prototype to management, but the VP of Manufacturing argued that we would need to purchase major new equipment to produce the widget. I convinced the team to work overtime on a manufacturing proposal that proved we could craft the product with existing equipment. Today, my widget is still the standard for my company, saving us over $300K annually.
There’s no contest here, is there? The second example, loaded with specifics about what went wrong and what almost derailed the project, is mighty impressive. The details highlight the applicant’s creativity, thoroughness, tenacity, communication skills, and leadership potential. Spelling out the story of an obstacle this way can make your essays shine by conveying the drama of the situation and associating you with lively elements and images. For example, in the second example, it’s easy to visualize the two dissenting engineers, the surprise of discovering the price hike for the materials, and the VP’s frown. In the first, we get only the haziest impression of an employee smiling about a job well done.
3. Discussing obstacles makes you more relatable and shows your full potential.
Think through the examples we just offered and consider how including specific, key obstacles in your essays and explaining how you negotiated them can showcase your ability to overcome the unexpected. This will assure the adcoms that you can capably execute a well-defined plan, even when you encounter unexpected bumps in the road. Moreover, it shows the school how you spring into action when the chips are down. This facilitates a fuller understanding of who you are as an individual – and as someone the school would like to have in its next class.
Obstacles are an inevitable part of life and an essential part of your story. By sharing how you have overcome challenges, you not only enhance the depth of your application but also give the adcoms a clearer sense of your ability to thrive under pressure, adapt to change, and keep moving forward. And these qualities will serve you well in any graduate or professional program.
Kara Keenan Sweeney has more than 15 years of experience in MBA admissions, having worked for some of the world’s top business school programs, including Columbia Business School, INSEAD, and The Lauder Institute’s joint degree MA/MBA program with The Wharton School and the MA/JD program with Penn Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Kara has guided, coached, and counseled thousands of MBA and EMBA applicants, reviewed innumerable applications, sat on admissions committees, and interviewed countless applicants, including while running Wharton’s Team Based Discussions both virtually and in person. Want Kara to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
Related Resources:
