• Business School
    • Admissions Help
    • School-Specific MBA Essay Tips
    • Executive MBA Essay Tips
    • MBA Admissions Calendar
    • Free Guides
    • Video Tips
    • Podcast
    • Selectivity Index
    • EMBA: The Ultimate Guide for Applicants
  • Medical School
    • Admissions Help
    • Med School Admissions 101
    • Secondary Essay Tips (by School)
    • Student Interviews
    • Free Guides
    • Video Tips
    • Podcast
    • Selectivity Index
  • Law School
    • Admissions Help
    • Law School Admissions 101
    • Selectivity Index
    • Free Guides
    • Podcast
    • Video Tips
  • Graduate School
    • Admissions Help
    • Grad School Admissions 101
    • Free Guides
    • Video Tips
    • Podcast
  • College
    • Admissions Help
    • Free Guides
    • Supplemental Essay Tips
    • Video Tips
    • Podcast
Accepted

1 (310) 815-9553

Blog HomePodcastContact Us

Accepted Admissions Blog

Everything you need to know to get Accepted

September 21, 2009

Reading Time: 3 minutes

MBA Essay Tip: Responding to Criticism

2012 MBA Applicant posted recently that thanks to an upcoming employment review he will have material for the question, “What is the toughest criticism you have ever received and what did you learn?” While we’re glad that  2012 MBA Applicant has material, I thought you (and maybe even 2012 MBA Applicant) may want tips on how to answer that and similar questions.

Regards,

Jennifer Bloom

You spend innumerable hours preparing essays that highlight your strengths and achievements, why on earth would you want to then take up space in your application with examples of situations in which you didn’t measure up to your managers’ expectations and were the object of their criticism??

Unfortunately, this is exactly what many MBA programs ask applicants to do both in their essay questions and their letter of recommendation forms. In today’s post, I’ll explain why the schools ask this question, and I’ll detail methods for answering these types of questions to the benefit of your application.

In the past few years we have seen a significant increase in the number of programs that are asking for examples of situations in which the applicant doesn’t measure up to expectations. For example:

Tuck 3: Discuss the most difficult constructive criticism or feedback you have received. How did you address it? What have you learned from it?

Wharton 4b: Tell us about something significant that you have done to improve yourself, in either your professional and/or personal endeavors.

Chicago 2: Describe a time when you were surprised by feedback that you received. What was the feedback and why were you surprised?

Chicago LOR: Please provide a written letter of recommendation. Be sure to include…areas of development, including efforts the applicant has taken to show improvement.

Stanford LOR: Describe the most constructive feedback you have given the candidate. Please also detail the circumstances that caused you to give the feedback.

These questions are all seeking the same two attributes from the applicants: the ability to accept when their methodology or style just isn’t right, and to repair that shortfall. So why has this capability become such an important aspect in evaluating the applicant pool?

The people who will benefit most from an MBA program are those willing and able to change their approach when introduced to a better one. In other words, it does absolutely no good to show someone – at Tuck, Wharton, Chicago, or Stanford, for example – the best way to do business, manage people, and guide companies if he is unwilling and/or unable to integrate that method into his own working style.

So how do the admissions committees determine who has the potential to actually learn from their programs and become a better manager? They seek applicants who have proven in the past that they have the ability to learn about their shortcomings and then integrate new and better methods into their decision making. Prove to the top MBA programs that you possess the maturity to accept and grow from criticism, and you will be one step closer to the thick acceptance envelope.

The best way to demonstrate that an applicant possesses an attribute – in essays, interviews, and letters of recommendation – is to share specific examples of times in which you demonstrated those attributes in the past. First, the answer should explain what the circumstances were: what actions had you taken and what impact, or lack of impact, had they made? Second, what was the feedback you received? What had this person felt was missing from your approach or what did s/he say you did wrong? Third, discuss how you took this criticism. Frankly, if someone immediately accepts criticism without analyzing it, I suspect the person of being a doormat*; instead, I want to hear why the advice rang true for you. Finally, share what you changed about your own behavior or actions following that criticism and the impact that you had as a result.

Obviously, for the letters of recommendation you cannot write the answer to the “criticism” question for your recommender. However, your recommenders might find this post helpful in writing their responses. In addition, you may offer to discuss specific examples of advice that you benefited from to help them thresh out potential topics for their answers.

Using space in your application to show you possess the introspection and maturity to grow as a manager is essential to earning a place in a top MBA program, and my fellow editors and I are here to help you identify and write about the best examples of these attributes for your essays.

*doormat: (figurative) Someone who is overly submissive to others

Senior Editor Jennifer Bloom has been successfully helping applicants demonstrate their readiness for the top MBA programs for 10 years.

Article by Jennifer Bloom / MBA Admissions / Wharton

Get Accepted!

Choose your desired degree and then the service that best meets your needs.

Which program are you applying to?

What do you need help with?

Join the informed applicants who read Accepted's blog!

8 Popular Posts

1. Your Guide to Getting off the Waitlist in 2022

2. How to Write About Your Research Interests

3. 4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future

4. 7 Simple Steps to Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay

5. Top STEM MBA Programs: A Comprehensive List and Overview of STEM-OPT Eligible B-Schools

6. Sample Essays from Admitted HBS Students

7. The 9 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on a Med School Waitlist

8. M7 MBA Programs: Everything You Need to Know in 2022

Recent Posts

  • 4 Quality Control Tasks to Complete Before Submitting Your AMCAS Application
  • Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Med School Personal Statement
  • Transitioning from the Military to an MBA at Stanford GSB [Episode 471]
  • Activity Descriptions for Med School: 4 Questions That Will Make Yours Awesome
  • The Medical School Application “Deadline”

Sample Essays

MBA Personal Statement Examples

Medical School Personal Statement Examples

Graduate School Personal Statement Examples

Law School Personal Statement Examples

College Application Essay Examples

 

This Site is Featured on GMATClub

Home Page Services and Prices MBA Med School Law School Grad School College

About Us Press Room Contact Us Podcast Accepted Blog
Privacy Policy Website Terms of Use Disclaimer Client Terms of Service

Accepted 1171 S. Robertson Blvd. #140 Los Angeles CA 90035 +1 (310) 815-9553
© 2022 Accepted

BBB A+ RatingStamp of AIGAC Excellence

Copyright © 2022 · Education Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in