Cambridge Judge MBA Application Essay Analysis 2021

We are sure that you are looking to do an MBA. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be checking out our article on how to draft the Cambridge Judge MBA application essays for 2020-2021, right? If you are looking to apply to top business schools outside the US, you can definitely consider applying to Cambridge as it is consistently ranked as one of the top B-schools in the world.

So, if you have made up your mind to apply to Cambridge Judge Business School this year or if you wish to know how to crack the B-school’s essay questions for this year’s applicants, you have come to the right place.

But before we get into the Cambridge Judge MBA application essay analysis part, here are a few points that you need to know about the B-school.

Getting things straight

The Cambridge Judge Business School is a part of the 800-year-old Cambridge University and hence, it carries the legacy with it. So, when you apply to the B-school, you are in fact part of the larger Cambridge community giving you access to a larger pool of alumni and network.

Imparting knowledge the right way

The one-year MBA program at Cambridge Judge Business School, which by the way is one of the best one-year programs, goes on from September to September. And as it is just a year’s program, you get to grab the return on investment faster.

If you check out their curriculum you will realize that they give almost equal weightage to qualitative and quantitative factors. Unlike B-schools in the US that have a very quantitative rigour, Cambridge Judge expects its students to gain experience outside the classrooms. And for this reason, the MBA program is designed in such a way that the candidates will have to work on two consulting projects, attend seminars, conferences outside the B-school and even work on a final project before they graduate. 

With all this, the Cambridge Judge Business School follows a very unique curriculum and the MBA candidates benefit from all the different experiences and the kind of exposure they get once they join the course.

What Cambridge Judge Business School is looking for

The one-year MBA program offered by Cambridge will have just around 200 students. As they strongly emphasize diversity, there is no student as a typical Cambridge candidate. The faculty members and the admissions committee at Cambridge are on the lookout for candidates who have performed well in academics, can showcase a clear career progression, have had international experiences and have a global outlook.

Cambridge does a great job of getting to know their potential MBA candidates by inviting them for a two-day interview process on the campus. The shortlisted candidates will be given a campus tour, will have to attend college dinners in their ‘Hogwarts-like’ dining halls and give their interviews. This is a completely different interview process from other business schools.

And here’s another difference: The interviews at the Cambridge Judge business school are conducted by their faculty members and nobody else.

What’s in it for you

If you are an international student, here’s something that you need to know. The UK gives international students two years of post-study work VISa allowing the students enough time to find jobs and build careers. Isn’t that really great?

Also, as mentioned in the beginning, once you join Cambridge Judge, you are not just a part of one institution. You are a part of a larger community which is the Cambridge University itself. This will help you build a larger network and have connections among candidates who are not just doing an MBA but other courses as well.

Moreover, you will be able to and will definitely have a lot to learn from your peers. They all come from different backgrounds and cultures. They all will have different experiences and learnings to share with you as well.

Cambridge Judge Business School MBA Essay Analysis 2020-21 

There are four essay questions that you need to submit if you need to complete your Cambridge Judge application. Through these four essays, they try to analyze your different aspects. You will get to know more about it as you actually go through the essay questions below.

If you look at the question, you will understand that they are trying to get details about your career path. They want to know how you have planned out your career path and understand how you think Cambridge will fit into that.

Just like how we have mentioned in our other B-school essay analysis articles, we would suggest that you have good clarity on your career path before you start drafting this essay. 

It is not just about putting together 500 wors, right? It is about convincing them that they will not be making a mistake if they give you the admit.

Before you start answering the three questions, you need to give them a context. And by context, you should tell them about what you have learnt so far and about your career progress. You should be able to mention the transferable skills that you have acquired over the course of your career. It could be leadership skills or with some people, it can even be about understanding technology at the grassroots level and being able to implement it in any company! Your transferable skill will definitely be different from others’.

When you are stating your short-term goal, you need to be very specific. You cannot make a vague statement and expect them to be convinced. They need to know your goal exactly as it is to understand you better. So, be very specific when it comes to stating your short-term goal. But it is okay even if you are not that clear about your long-term goal. Let us say that your long-term goal is to become an entrepreneur. Don’t just state that and stop there. Mention what problem you wish to solve. Even though you don’t have to be really specific, there are certain points that you will have to mention to get clarity.

However, whatever you say, it has to be aligned with what you have done. Which is why the second part asks “What skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you achieve them?” This tells them that you’re the best equipped to reach those goals. So it’s very important for you to make that connection.

Let us look at the second part of the question. They want to know what actions you will take before and during the MBA to contribute to your career outcome.

When you answer this question, make sure that you just don’t talk just about Cambridge’s legacy. They know that already. You don’t have to tell them that. You need to tell them how you are going to utilize your time at Cambridge. How is the MBA going to impact you? That is what you need to answer.

Coming to the third part of the question, you need to give them even more specifics on how a Cambridge MBA is going to equip you for when you graduate. Here, you could talk about how the diversity that Cambridge offers will help you build a network. Or you can talk about how the unique curriculum followed by Cambridge is going to give you hands-on experience.

Given that you will be applying this year, during the time of COVID-19, see if there is anything specific that you can mention. They are always looking for answers that are sensible, different and unique.

Now, how do you split the words between each question in the essay: Utilize around 100-150 words to explain your transferable skills. You can use sound 150 words to write about your short-term and long-term career goals as well. Utilize the next 200 words to write about Cambridge and how it is going to help you.

You can divide this essay into five parts:

• Context

• The options you had

• The decision you took

• The learning

• The change

You need to craft a story to write this essay. You need to give the context as to why you were in a situation in which you had to make a difficult decision. And then you need to tell them the options you had. The choices you had based on which you made the decision.

And then you tell them the decision you made. All this will make it clear to them as to why you took the decision. It could be even about having to let go of someone for a particular reason. That could be a difficult decision. And then what did you learn from it and how did you change? What is the change that this decision brought in your life?

This question is given by Cambridge to understand if you are self-aware and accommodative. They want people who can join them and make the best of their course. So, give them a good story from your life.

You can utilize 40 words for each part. But if you feel that there are certain parts that you need to use 50 words, feel free to use them and adjust them in the other parts.

A lot of your experience at Cambridge is going to be team-based. You will have to contribute to projects while working in teams with your peers. Through this essay, they are probably trying to see how much of a team player you are and how you function when you are in a team.

Here’s how you can go about this essay. This is a format you can possibly follow:

• Situation

• Task

• Action

• Result

• Takeaways

First, you need to tell them when you had to work in a team. What was the project or situation that made you work in a team? And then you need to mention your task as a team member. What did you do particularly? This will give them more clarity on your role.

After this, you can write about any communication issues that came up or any other issues that came up that resulted in you learning something new. And in the part where you need to mention the takeaways, you can speak about how you would do it differently next time.

As you can see, this is a 200-word essay. You can probably make use of 30-40 words per section to clearly describe them.

When you are 18 years old, you are a little naive. And there are definitely a lot of things you would wish that you had known back then. So, you could write about one such thing with an example. That will be your essay.

Let us give you an example: Probably when you were in school, you thought that you won’t have to learn once you finish college. But now, you have realized that you will keep learning all your life. This could be something that you want to tell your 18-year-old self.

So, keep the essay personal and simple. GIve a good example and utilize the 200 words that you have here well.

Cambridge Judge MBA Application Deadlines

If you really want to get into Cambridge Juge Business School, you might want to keep these deadlines in mind. Moreover, with these deadlines, you can now plan your MBA application process better.

So, here we leave you with the most important points and dates that will help you get into the Cambridge Judge Business School.

You can also watch this video to know what CrackVerbal GMAT Expert, Arun Jagannathan, has to say about drafting the Cambridge Judge MBA application essays.

And, if you feel that you need more help in drafting your essays or reviewing your application or let’s say, even brainstorming your ideas, you can always reach out to us.

You can click on the image below and get in touch with our expert.