Free Georgetown Mcdonough MBA Essay Samples
The Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, commonly shorted to the McDonough School of Business and abbreviated as the MSB, is the business school of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
The following MBA essays were written by ARINGO MBA candidates who got accepted to Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business MBA program over the past few years. Read these free McDonough MBA Essay Examples to get a sense of what they are looking for at the McDonough School of Business MBA Program. Contact ARINGO MBA Admissions for help with your Georgetown MBA essays!
To read more about Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business visit the McDonough MBA page
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After graduating, and completing a summer internship as an Associate for the _____ MBA Leadership Program, I plan to work full time as a Development Associate at ____ or Related specializing in real estate acquisitions and ground-up developments. I plan to work for 3-5 years, gaining a great deal of exposure to as many different deals as possible, both domestically and internationally, before leaving to focus full-time on my company.
I plan on expanding my real estate portfolio and company, focusing on asset management, ground-up development, and acquisitions. I want to give back to my community by acquiring and improving residential assets and introducing sustainable building and living environments to the city in which my family and I ultimately chose to plant our roots after graduating from McDonough.
“The Brady 6,” a documentary about the six quarterbacks selected before Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft, explains how the coaches reviewed Tom’s scouting reports and college statistics, before passing him over. One coach said, “We didn’t open up his chest and look at his heart…. And what kind of spine he has. And resilience. And all the things that are making him really great right now.”
Yes, this is very on-brand of me, a Boston native glorifying Tom Brady in an MBA application. Nevertheless, since the age of ten, I have strived to emulate many of his characteristics.
Firstly, while Tom may have lacked innate athletic talent, his will and determination ultimately made him the most-awarded NFL player in history.
Entering xxx College in 2010, I tried desperately to earn my spot on the hockey team, formed mainly of players who had been recruited. After the coach told me on the last day of tryouts that I hadn’t made the team, I returned over the next 3 days for open skate. Again he rejected me. And again, and again, until one day, he gave up and actually gave me a place on the team. The day before our season opened, Coach told my story in front of the entire team, and the lesson was engraved on us all: you don’t have to be the best to succeed, but you do have to be hardworking and determined.
A large part of Tom’s personal brand is his “growth mindset” and refusal to become complacent with the status quo. The day after winning his 5th Superbowl title, he began aiming towards his 6th. Brady uses this same power to inspire those around him to push their boundaries as well.
I seek to embody this mindset everywhere I go, in everything I do. So when I joined _____ as a project manager and learned of the Senior Project Manager’s frustration with a team of subcontractors, hired to create a 3D model of the building, I sought to help. By teaching myself to use their Building-Information-Modeling (BIM) software, I won the team’s attention and respect and was able to successfully coordinate the project.
On April 24th, I visited Georgetown and sat in on the Real Estate Clinic course taught by Professor Cypher. The class was discussing a case study and I sat enthralled, listening to each student’s unique opinion and seeing how his or her background and industry had driven them to different conclusions. I left realizing how much I want to learn in the classroom and from my classmates and excited to apply my tireless work ethic to soak up the knowledge being transferred in and outside of class. I will also work hand-in-hand with my classmates to continue pushing the boundaries and to lead the Real Estate Club to the NAIOP Case Competition, bring home the title, and ensure McDonough and the Steers Center Global Real Estate’s position as the top program.
3 years ago, I delivered a welcome address to 700 people at a company event and I was so nervous I almost fainted. With limited leadership experience and a goal to improve my public speaking, I joined Toastmasters, a nonprofit focused on public speaking and leadership. The chapter consisted of members from different ages and backgrounds and provided a forgiving environment for me to develop my public speaking skills. On the leadership front, I gradually assumed positions from Treasurer to VP of Education, with the luxury of time to make decisions. In one conference, the regional club growth director saw me host a segment and was impressed. He recommended my name to lead the state’s first Speechcraft Program – aimed to develop public speaking skills for PWC employees. This was my first leadership experience outside the club, and I had to uphold the Toastmasters’ brand image of quality.
Forming a team of trainers to meet the client’s requirements was my biggest challenge. While the client needed trainers during work hours, that was also the hardest time because most of the trainers are also working professionals. With just 2 weeks left before the event, I was juggling my professional work, my personal life, and the program. I quickly researched our club’s demographic and persuaded the club’s trainers who were either retired professionals or whose schedule allowed flexibility. Because the club’s diversity allowed me to improve my public speaking skills, I felt bringing diversity among the trainers was paramount to enhancing the program’s quality. So, I formed groups of two trainers, which included a retired armed force officer, a teacher, a life coach, an engineer for each of the 6 weeks. I set up conference calls with the trainers to ensure everyone was briefed on how to exceed client expectations. The flexibility provided to the trainers and my upfront communication motivated them to deliver their best. After each training, I arranged debriefs to share the client’s feedback so we can tweak it for the next session.
The client appreciated the diversity of our trainers and program quality that far exceed their expectations. I was elated to hear the client’s HR testify that all 16 participants gained confidence and improved their public speaking skills. It was even more gratifying when the partners at PWC and the participants expressed interest in a second Speechcraft program. The trainers, on the other hand, volunteered for future events given proactive debriefs and instant client feedback allowed them to prepare better and deliver a quality program.
From this experience, I learned I can manage resources effectively, motivate a team to achieve ambitious goals, and make decisions within tight deadlines. 6 months later, I became the club’s President and applied the proactive communication and resource management principles to help the club achieve the prestigious Diamond Club Award – awarded to the best clubs across the states.
Attending the premiere of the film, which was played by Andy Garcia, on 8th Dec. 2017 took me back again to my endeavor earlier.
When _______, a co-partner producing firm, initially applied for a loan from our bank to participate in the production of the film in China, my supervisor suggested I reject it because of them having limited cash flow, which meant slim chances of getting approved.
Because of my passion for the media industry, as my childhood dream was to become an actress, I decided to try my best to get the funding for _______ despite the low chances.
I regarded the project not just as a business but also as personal motivation.
At first, I researched the company’s history and collected related data to prove the capital ability for a high future return to offset the financial shortcomings.
When the loan was challenged by the risk management department because of high credit risk, I flew to Beijing several times within two months and kept persuading its shareholders to be the guarantor, displaying my analysis about a promising market for _______.
After a period of 5 months, where I have found that all the problems had been resolved, reality hit me again. The project was pending the final approval of the branch manager, because of the high risk of lending to the media industry.
Fortunately, my persistence didn’t allow me to give up. I went to the filming site, studied the different filming expenses and revenue calculation, and designed a payment & revenue back streamline to supervise the cash flow thus, securing the credit.
Eventually, 7 months later, _______ received a $2.2 million loan to film the movie. The movie representative applauded my persistence and told me that he would have given up if it were not for me. Moreover, the shareholders were impressed by my resourcefulness and started to introduce other clients to our bank.
My supervisor was surprised about the final approval and more astonished about the $220,000 in interest revenue the case brought.
“I was going to negotiate with the Branch Manager, but only found you have done my responsibility. Good Job.” My instructor said to me when the project came across for the final approval.
By leading diverse teams throughout the negotiations phase with _______, I managed to develop strong analytical, data-driven decision-making skills and leadership abilities. Also, the continuous challenges without support pushed me to be an independent problem solver.
After succeeding in this hard and long business transaction, I feel that my passion in the future lies in consulting financial companies on areas like risk and profitability, and therefore would like to pursue this career after I graduate with my MBA.
I do believe the combination of my previous working experience with the MBA degree will develop my career and pave the way for me to contribute personally and professionally in the future.
Hello, my name is ________, a candidate of the 2018 Georgetown MBA program.
Just like My name in Chinese: ”Becoming a butterfly in the dream;” I wish to land on any corner in this world. Therefore, once I became independent, I began my journey traveling to different countries.
I found a real pleasure in talking with diverse people during my traveling: In France, I learned about the local travel industry when chatting with a German gentleman, who worked there at a Nice restaurant; in Japan, I learned the Hokkaido diet culture from the owner of a local homestay where I lived in. More impressively, I found there are still so many children who need help when I saw poor little children selling postcards along the streets in Cambodia.
There were several things that I learned through my traveling:
First, I learned that life isn’t always simple or clear. You see things from a different perspective when you travel to other countries. This can relate to politics, economics, immigration, and other burning issues around the world.
Secondly, I learned how to step outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself. This was true when I spoke with strangers, when I navigated through cities and suburbs, and when I was away from the family.
Lastly, I learned a very important thing about myself: that I want to use my passion to discover the world and combine it with business experience in the Financial field.
This is the main reason why I am applying for my MBA: to gain knowledge in international business and acquire networks and friends from around the world.
Growing up in the small town, I was inspired to see my parents bring to life their vision of social change and to experience the impact that community-led initiatives can have on people’s lives. It felt natural to follow in their footsteps and establish a social enterprise that provides innovative products and tools to support organizations in the development sector and thereby empower communities. Fast forward to March 2021; the exponential second wave of COVID-19 in my country posed both a national emergency and an existential challenge to my start-up’s future. We were scaling our operations with numerous client inquiries and a robust business development pipeline. However, our team and their families were reeling from the physical and emotional strain of the pandemic. As a leader, it was vital to prioritize their health and well-being before any business commitment. Hence, I knew I could not increase the staff’s workload.
In these unprecedented times, I sought to be resilient to bounce back from the initial setback and tried to adapt to the disruptive changes. Making a very tough business call, I respectfully declined a few projects. Additionally, I requested extensions from our clients to streamline our internal processes. This was a scary time as saying no to work and asking for extensions as a new business might send the wrong signal and lead to a work cancellation death spiral. Fortunately, our clients granted the requests, owing to our performance to date and reputation. Gradually, we pulled ourselves up to ensure the quality of outputs and deliver the projects in a sustainable manner.
The process of building my venture is growing and refining me as a leader. My father, an entrepreneur, would often say, “My major lessons haven’t been from easy successes but rather from my struggles.” His philosophy and work ethic in leading diverse teams helped me develop courage in my professional journey. Navigating these difficult times, I learned a valuable lesson first-hand- Letting go of projects is not always a sign of failure, but of foresight and courage: the courage to accept limitations and recalculate the next steps.
During my graduate studies, I was an active member of the ‘Women in Law and Policy’ club. Led by women and a strong network of allies, including male members, we were instrumental in building a sustained discourse around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I). Prior to this, I mentored a team of 25 women to strengthen the voice of women leaders in our college community. This team represented our college in various coding/robotics/hackathon events, debating events, cultural programmes, and national leadership conferences.
As a social impact entrepreneur, I have made constant efforts to nurture a collaborative community and create equal opportunities for our employees. We are a women-led social enterprise, with 60% of the workforce comprising exemplary women. I recruited a woman who faced rejections due to gap years, resulting from maternity leave, but her passion and sincerity made me believe in her potential.
Furthermore, we have formed support groups within our organization to normalize conversations around topics that matter, such as child care and pay equity. This has subsequently resulted in an empathetic culture and created a conducive environment for learning opportunities and growth potential. We encourage our team members to learn new skills through online courses and participate in international seminars to broaden their technical knowledge. In the past 6 months, 40% of our women team members have taken up coding courses and attained certification through company-sponsored initiatives.
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