Cambridge MBA Personal Statements That Worked

Cambridge MBA Personal Statement Essay Prompt #1

Please provide details of your post-MBA career plans. The statement should not exceed 500 words and must address the following:

• What are your short- and long-term career objectives? How will the Cambridge MBA equip you to achieve these?
• Looking at your short-term career goal, describe the research you have done to understand how this industry/role/location recruits MBA talent and what they are looking for in a candidate?
• How do you meet the requirements of your short-term career goal? What preparation are you doing now?

Cambridge MBA Personal Statement Sample for Prompt #1

My short-term vision is to bridge the gap between the gaming industry and healthcare, leveraging the advancements in VR, AR, and gaming technologies to develop innovative solutions that positively impact cognitive health and overall well-being. My fascination with this issue stems from a deeply personal experience. Witnessing my grandfather's battle with dementia and the profound impact it had on his cognitive health sparked my passion for exploring the potential of gaming beyond entertainment.

In the long-term, I hope to expand my role as a software engineer at Razer, which, currently, revolves around developing and optimizing gaming software and applications. But my true objective is to start my own business that merges gaming and healthcare, creating software and games with direct applications in healthcare settings.

Throughout my time at Razer, I’ve had the privilege of working on projects that exposed me to the vast potential of gaming in various industries, particularly in healthcare. The experience and contacts I gained in my role as a software engineer have been invaluable in shaping my vision of starting my own business.

Aside from my role at Razer, I have sought to understand the links between gaming and cognitive health on my own by delving into the into extensive research conducted by renowned scholars and experts in the field. Studies such as the one led by Adam Gazzaley, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, showcased the positive effects of gaming on cognitive functions. Gazzaley's work highlighted how specific gaming experiences, designed with cognitive training principles, could enhance cognitive abilities and potentially mitigate cognitive decline.

The rise of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies further sparked my curiosity, as they have the potential to create immersive experiences that can transform industries such as healthcare. By leveraging the popularity of VR and AR, gaming can be harnessed as a tool to enhance patient care, rehabilitation, and cognitive training.

I want to bring together interdisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals, psychologists, and game developers to create immersive experiences that not only entertain but also enhance cognitive abilities, promote mental health, and facilitate cognitive rehabilitation. Additionally, I envision the application of gaming principles in other industries such as education and workplace training.

Gamification techniques have proven to be effective in enhancing learning outcomes and engagement, making education more interactive and enjoyable. By integrating gaming elements into traditional learning environments, we can unlock new levels of knowledge acquisition and skills development.

Through the Cambridge MBA program, I aim to further explore the possibilities of applying gaming principles and technologies to address pressing societal challenges. The program's emphasis on innovation, entrepreneurship, and cross-industry collaboration aligns perfectly with my ambitions. The diverse cohort and strong network of professionals and experts will provide me with invaluable perspectives and opportunities to cultivate partnerships that drive meaningful change.

Cambridge MBA Personal Statement Essay Prompt #2

Describe a difficult decision that you had to make. What did you learn from this and how have you changed as a result? (up to 200 words)

I encountered a critical bug in the Oracle Database software during my time as a Quality Assurance Analyst. The bug caused unexpected crashes and data corruption in certain scenarios, leading to significant disruptions for our clients. The bug was rooted in a complex interaction between different database components, resulting in a cascade of errors and system instability.

The dilemma I faced was whether to escalate the problem immediately, which meant taking the server offline, or to attempt a quick workaround that might address the immediate symptoms but risk compromising the long-term stability and performance of the software. I made the difficult choice to prioritize the long-term integrity of the product and escalate the issue to the development team, which took the server offline.

This decision did lead to a lengthy service interruption and additional efforts to address the problem, but it ensured that we maintained the high standards of quality and reliability that our customers expect. As a result of this experience, I have become more confident in making difficult decisions and embracing accountability for their outcomes. I have developed a heightened awareness of the long-term consequences of choices and the importance of considering broader perspectives beyond immediate gains.

Cambridge MBA Personal Statement Essay Prompt #3

3. Describe a time where you worked with a team on a project. What did you learn from the experience and how might you approach it differently today? (up to 200 words)

I had the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse team on a complex project aimed at developing a new networking solution during my time as a frontend engineer at Cisco. I remember that I was the newest member of the team but it seemed like no one on the team had rapport with anyone else. This was one of the things that I would change now, if I was ever to be part of a team project at any level or organization, since that lack of cohesiveness caused problems.

We all came from different departments and were strangers to each other essentially. This became apparent when we faced delays in completing a critical task. Upon further investigation, we realized that two team members had different understandings of the task's scope, leading to misalignment in their efforts. This miscommunication resulted in wasted time and duplicated work, affecting the overall project timeline.

Today, I would foster a collaborative and supportive working environment by prioritizing relationship building, active listening, recognition, and creating a supportive environment. I would take the initiative to get to know my team members on a personal level, which could involve anything from team-building activities to organizing social events.

Still working on your MBA resume?

Cambridge MBA Personal Statement Essay Prompt #4

If you could give one piece of advice to your 18-year-old self, what would it be? (up to 200 words)

If I could give one piece of advice to my 18-year-old self, it would be to listen to my father's wisdom and embrace humility. Growing up in Nanjing, I always dreamed of going to Beijing to study at Tsinghua University. However, my father, being aware of our limited financial resources, expressed concerns about my ability to support myself while studying.

I dismissed his concerns and insisted that I would find a job to cover my expenses. Unfortunately, reality didn't align with my expectations. Finding suitable employment proved to be more challenging than anticipated, and the financial burden soon became overwhelming. I dropped out and returned home. It was a humbling experience that taught me the value of heeding the advice of those who care about our well-being.

I now understand that my father's concern was not out of a desire to hold me back, but rather to protect me from the hardships I eventually faced. His advice was rooted in practicality and a deep understanding of our family's financial limitations. This experience taught me the importance of carefully considering the advice and wisdom of loved ones, especially when they have more experience and knowledge in certain areas.

How to Write a Cambridge MBA Personal Statement

Fortunately, writing a Cambridge MBA personal statement is easier than writing a typical personal statement, as the school provides MBA essay prompts and bullet points of what to include in your MBA personal statement. In fact, the prompts given by the school are similar to what any good personal statement or MBA motivation letter should include, such as describing your short-and-long-term goals, what you have done to reach those goals and what you envision the school (Cambridge, in this case) can contribute.

However, even though the school provides a roadmap, you need to organize your statement in a way that makes narrative and chronological sense. There are many ways to do this, and you can play around with the chronology of your statement, but one important point to remember is that you need to focus on the recent past, and not go too far into your past, especially when it comes to personal details. Except, the prompts are not always related to your studies, so that may give you some freedom to talk about non-academic or non-professional experiences within the context provided by the question.

To give you a better sense of how you could organize your Cambridge MBA personal statement, we can examine the qualities you should include in depth so you have a step-by-step guide to how to format your Cambridge MBA personal statement.

Breaking Down the Cambridge MBA Personal Statement Prompt

What are your short- and long-term career objectives? How will the Cambridge MBA equip you to achieve these?

This question is another common MBA interview question akin to the oft-asked “why do you want to pursue an MBA?” and should be approached with the aim of tying your goals to Cambridge’s program and offerings. Here you can talk about specific examples from your employment history or undergraduate that inspired your goals, or mention personal motivations, if any. If not, you can skip over personal details and go straight to what you have done to attain those goals (professional development, research, work experience, etc.)

If you have researched the Cambridge MBA, this is where you also want to talk about something specific about the program that interests you. Maybe mention someone on the faculty, or talk about a specific program, seminar or class within the degree that you find interesting and relevant to your ultimate goals. You can also mention the Cambridge community and its reputation as a magnet for the best and brightest from all over the world, as close to 50 countries are represented in the latest class.

Describe a difficult decision that you had to make. What did you learn from this and how have you changed as a result?

With only 200 words to answer, you’ll have to tell a long story briefly, as you would in a MBA letter of intent, meaning you will have to establish everything in only a few paragraphs, and then describe what the experience taught you. The best option here would be to write out a story longer than 200 words and then carve out the irrelevant parts until you have only the bare necessities. This gives you the freedom to say whatever you want and then use your analytical and editing skills to remove anything you don’t need.

As for the content, here you can perhaps talk about something personal or unrelated to your studies, as the question does not restrict you to talking only about your professional career. If your answer combines the personal with the professional, as in a good MBA diversity essay, it would be more illustrative and impactful, since it shows you as a whole person and not simply an executive.

Describe a time where you worked with a team on a project. What did you learn from the experience and how might you approach it differently today?

The word limit is not your enemy here, especially since this question is almost three questions-in-one. You can take the same approach as with the previous prompt or with writing an MBA statement of purpose and write out a long answer ignoring the word count. Afterward, you can edit your answer to include only the most relevant details and arrange them in a way that address every aspect of the question. You should try to establish or cover each aspect with as few sentences and words as possible, perhaps even using only a few words or a single sentence to establish the first part, as in the sample above.

Content-wise, here it might be more appropriate to talk about professional occurrences, unless you have an amazing (but, appropriate) story from your extracurricular life that tops them all. But whatever story you decide to tell, you should devote most of the word count to setting up or establishing the device by which you learned the lesson or how you would approach things differently today. Use the last paragraph to summarize the story and explain clearly what you learned.

If you could give one piece of advice to your 18-year-old self, what would it be?

The exception to our “no-talking-about-the-past" rule, this prompt gives you the freedom to remember a lesson learned in your youth, right around the time you were entering university. You should look at old photos on Facebook or Instagram and get yourself in that mindset you had when you first arrived at school. Were you scared? Excited? Hopeful? Afraid? What did you want to hear most from someone?

Then use the knowledge or achievements you are most proud of now to tell yourself that you’ll be okay and that your 18-year-old-self is doing things right. However, even though it is not always recommended to talk about negative stories, you should not be afraid to talk about regret, or loss, as long as you can connect it to something positive related to your studies. For example, how a loss or obstacle inspired bravery, leadership or resilience in you.

Conclusion

The Cambridge MBA personal statement has clear content guidelines so the difficult part is not choosing your subject matter but organizing and writing it clearly. You need to write multiple drafts, as you would with any MBA admission essay to bring your statement down to size and write without worrying about the word count. That will free you to write as much as you want only to edit after.

The other MBA essay topics and prompts are designed to gauge your communication and writing skills, as you only have 200 words to describe something from your past that reveals a lot about you, such as your experiences and the knowledge gained from them. The fact that you only have 200 words should be the basis for your outline.

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