IE MBA Essay Topic Analysis

The following essay topic analysis examines the IE Business School MBA admissions essays for the 2020-2021 admissions season. You can also review essay topic analyses for other leading MBA programs as well as general Essay Tips to further aid you in developing your admissions essays.

IE MBA Essay Topic Analysis 2020-2021

Let’s take a closer look at IE’s essay.

Essay 1

This section is important in understanding who you are, not just as a student but also as a person in order to grasp the value that you could add to our program. Take this as an opportunity to showcase your unique attributes and personality. There are three formats you can choose to express yourself: a video (max. 3 minutes), a PowerPoint presentation (max. 10 slides), or a written essay (between 250-650 words). Please pay special attention to punctuation, structure and content.

 What is the most important thing that you would like us to know that is not in your résumé or application?

All your compositions must be absolutely original and specifically intended for this admission application. The compositions must be composed, executed and completed by you alone. Before submitting the links, check that they work correctly. The links must be active and available for consultation for a minimum of 18 months after the date the application is submitted.
All of this “white space” might be daunting to some, but an easy way to approach this process is to ask oneself a few simple questions. What new and important information about yourself can you introduce to the adcom through this prompt? In terms of organization, are there separate topics to which you would like to devote a few slides each? Or would you prefer to create a sense of progression through a current activity, past experience, “day in the life,” etc.? We’re hesitant to provide too much guidance given the free-form nature of the task; the best advice we can offer is to think about who you are (and how this might be of interest to the IE adcom), consider how you could translate this into words and/or images, and then give it a try. Showing the initial result to someone who knows you well could be a great way to determine the effectiveness of a working draft.

As for medium, the video option and PowerPoint provide opportunities to make a vivid impression through visual communication. It also shows the admissions committee that one is willing to invest the time and effort to create something just for the IE application, underscoring one’s investment in gaining admission to the business school. Applicants whose leisure activities or workplace roles lend themselves well to film or design might do well to consider these options.

All of that said, while taking risks in the admissions process is often worthwhile, you don’t want to step so far out of your comfort zone that you ultimately don’t make a good impression (this seems especially possible for camera-shy applicants attempting the video option).  Candidates choosing to submit an essay will want to use their words wisely to give the reader a sense of who they are and how they would enhance the IE community.

Clear Admit Resources

Thanks for reading our analysis of this year’s IE MBA essay topics. As you work on your IE MBA essays and application, we encourage you to consider all of Clear Admit’s IE Business School offerings:

• IE Business School Profile on the Clear Admit website: up-to-date advice and admissions information
• Clear Admit LiveWire: admissions updates submitted in real time by applicants to IE
• Clear Admit DecisionWire: school selections in real-time by admits to IE