challenging situation and how you dealt with it

[batista_123]

hi guys
yes, I have done a search on this site and on google, but i am not finding anything. this is weird since this is such a famous essay question.
I am stuck on this question because I dont know what these people are looking for. do they want to see how i react to stressful situations? do they want to see that I am ethical? do they want to see if I am a leader?
i just dont know what these people expect in this essay???
can you show me an example or something?

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[EBTrailRunner]

You're overanalyzing it. Think of a challenging situation you were in (and no, it doesn't have to be a dramatic one) and let your description of how you dealt with it speak to an aspect of your personality you'd like to bring to light. That's it.

 

[gmcguitar4]

well for me.I lost immediate family members while in school. It was really hard to go back to school and I had to work also. So overcoming that was pretty difficult.

there has to have been something in your life that was challenging. maybe past relationship? tragedy in family/friends? Achieved something others said you couldn't? They want to see how you handled a difficult situation, how well you handle stress, and know more about you overall.

 

[LizzyM]

How to you cope with a stressful situation? Do you do something physical or meditative? Do you reach out to a friend, or a professional or a religious advisor? Do you seek more information/knowledge about the issue? Do you write? Do you analyze the issue dispassionately or do you emotionally reach out to others who are hurting?

You might have different coping strategies for different disappointments or stresses. The adcom may be interested in knowing how you cope.

 

[batista_123]

well when I ask a question and LizzyM has responded, I get excited. I am glad to hear from "the man" (or the woman in this case)

does the essay have to be brilliant? I was looking at some essays that someone wrote for MBA program and it was about how he was writing a paper and his computer crashed and he had to write it all over. to me, this is really stupid.
this other guy was writing how he got bullied in elementary school so he had to change schools.

can the essay be this stupid?

 

[Drogo]

hi guys
yes, I have done a search on this site and on google, but i am not finding anything. this is weird since this is such a famous essay question.
I am stuck on this question because I dont know what these people are looking for. do they want to see how i react to stressful situations? do they want to see that I am ethical? do they want to see if I am a leader?
i just dont know what these people expect in this essay???
can you show me an example or something?

I interpret it as you needing to describe a difficult situation that impacted you in a major way whether emotionally, physically or some other significant way and how you ultimately reacted to it; and what positive things were learned while enduring the challenge and how it made you a better person or strengthened a certain part of you.

In the end I feel your answer should display a situation where some sort of strong forititude was needed to overcome and achieve a goal, when others might have succumbed to the easier route or would have given up entirely. 'There is no progress with out struggle'

well when I ask a question and LizzyM has responded, I get excited. I am glad to hear from "the man" (or the woman in this case)

does the essay have to be brilliant? I was looking at some essays that someone wrote for MBA program and it was about how he was writing a paper and his computer crashed and he had to write it all over. to me, this is really stupid.
this other guy was writing how he got bullied in elementary school so he had to change schools.

can the essay be this stupid?

You can do much better than that. Dig deep and ponder something that inflicted wounds that eventually healed and made you stronger and also brought forth everlasting wisdom and insight.

 

[LizzyM]

Let me repeat that it is not what you've been through but your coping skills that are the point. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the applicant with the saddest story gets the interview.