College Essays Too Directional - Good or Bad?

College Essays
1

I’m applying to a lot of business schools (around 90% of the schools I am applying to are business schools), and I am getting mixed advice from different teachers, students, and counselors. Since I really want to do business and have genuine passion and interest in it, a lot of my essays circle around business aspects.

For example, my Common App personal statement might talk about interest in DECA or the stock market or something of the sort. The “Expand on One Activity” essay might go into detail about something I created of my own, relating to business once again.

Some people say this shows my interest in business schools, while others say this shows I’m not a multifaceted student and is just 100% business. I’d like to know your feedback, especially considering a lot of my ECs circle around business, but not all of them are business-related.

What should I do?

2

I think that your “expand on one activity” statement will be good if you talk about the business activity you are most passionate about. However, I think writing ALL of your essays on business will be a little repetitive, and won’t show who you are as a person outside of business. For your common app main essay, which has to conform to one of the five essay prompts, I would say to diverge away from business- talk about something that shows who you are and your personality and attributes, rather than just your business side. It can be something simple or mundane, but something that tells the adcoms something about you they wouldn’t otherwise know just from looking at the rest of your application. Your main essay is one of the only chances you have to show your distinct personality, so you should take full advantage of it.

3

Okay, thank you very much!