The deadlines for Carlson SOM Full Time MBA Fall Intake 2020 are:
| Round # | Deadline Date | Decision Date |
| Round 1 | November 1, 2019 | December 15, 2019 |
| Round 2 | December 1, 2019 | February 1, 2020 |
| Round 3 | February 1, 2020 | March 15, 2020 |
| Round 4 | April 1, 2020 | May 15, 2020 |
Carlson SOM has the following requirement for its application:
- Personal Statement
- Video Essay
- Two Letter of Recommendations
Personal Statement Debrief
Your personal statement should be no more than 1200 words (3 pages), that address the following questions: Briefly describe your short-term and long-term career goals. Why are you choosing to pursue an MBA at this time in your career, and what are you hoping to accomplish by doing so? Why are you interested in pursuing an MBA at the Carlson School of Management? What do you feel makes you a strong candidate for the program? Do you have an enterprise program that you are currently interested in and why? What skills would you bring to this enterprise?
You have a lot of space to write your statement here, which is good and bad. Good because you can explain your motivations and stories properly and bad because the more you write the more prone to mistakes your statement is. There are several questions that are asked in Carlson’s personal statement prompt. Let us break it down.
Introduction
Start your personal statement with a specific event/story in history or current events that relate to your short-term or long-term goal. Some people also like to start with a quote or a childhood memory. I can’t say one is better than the other but it depends on your writing style. However, I do encourage you to loop in your short-term or long-term goal at the end of the para.
What is your short-term post-MBA goal?
Be specific. Which industry and function you wish to do a job in? Naming a company is even better. Check if that company recruits from Carlson.
Your background. Your academic and professional snippets.
Since this personal statement has a good word limit, you have the opportunity to mention your achievements and motivations with examples from your academic or professional career. You may choose to do a quick rundown of your resume or you may write them with each para and relate them to the questions asked by Carlson. For example, the introduction and short-term goal can be easily clubbed together. The same can be done with long-term goal and conclusion.
What are your long-term goals?
What do you see yourself doing in the long run? Long-term goals can be a little vague and audacious ones.
Why MBA?
Why an MBA is a right degree and not other Masters? What skill gaps will be filled by pursuing an MBA? How will an MBA help you achieve your goals?
Why now?
Why do you think the timing for pursuing an MBA is perfect right now?
Why Carlson?
What aspects of Carlson SOM are unique that made you apply here. Be specific. Electives, curriculum, any professor, program format, student clubs, location, etc. Loop in the current students and alumni you spoke to here.
Why you?
Why should Carlson offer you admission? How will you add diversity to the Carlson community? Mention your unique experiences that will elevate the discussions of classroom discussions.
Which Enterprise program and why?
Enterprise program offered at Carlson SOM is an experiential learning program. It is similar to capstone or consulting projects offered by other business schools. Study about the enterprise program on the website and write why you have chosen it.
Conclusion.
A strong conclusion to end your personal statement.
If you’d like to discuss your profile and know whether Carlson, Minnesota is the right school for you or not then fill out this form and we can have a FREE call. Check out our tool MBA Matrix, where you can search and compare more than 300 MBA programs. MBA Matrix contains deadlines, essay questions, all rankings, average GMAT scores and a lot more all in one place. You can say nice things to me on What’s App or comment below!
Happy Writing!