Sample of College Admission Essay

Prompt: Explain through an essay why Columbia University should select you for its Marketing Program.

I still remember the day when I picked the morning newspaper from my doorstep and found it quite heavier than usual. To my surprise, there was a toilet soap sample stuck on its last page with a message that read, “now that you have read the whole newspaper, time to take a bath.” The creative way to promote the soap inspired me to undertake something that makes a lasting impression on the mind of the people. I was in my seventh grade at that time, and since then I made my mind to pursue a career in the domain of marketing.

I still remember the day when I picked the morning newspaper from my doorstep and found it quite heavier than usual. To my surprise, there was a toilet soap sample stuck on its last page with a message that read, “now that you have read the whole newspaper, time to take a bath.” The creative way to promote the soap inspired me to undertake something that makes a lasting impression on the mind of the people. I was in my seventh grade at that time, and since then I made my mind to pursue a career in the domain of marketing.

Later, as I grew older, I made this discipline my passion and the ideas to promote already existing products and services of the eminent brands made my mind their home. My merriment knew no bound when the branding department of a renowned USA-based baby food brand appreciated my promotional campaign and executed it to achieve their objective of sales. To bond with the subject by learning new concepts, theories, case studies, and other real-life examples made me apply at the Columbia University.

My career goal is to become a marketer with excellent creative and analytical skills, and I know that I could achieve the same here at this university. Since a very young age, I have been following every news and update from your esteemed educational institution related to its marketing course. The addition of any new discipline or methodology in the program has always fascinated me and made me eager to be a part of the course.

I am aware of the fact that the Columbia University is renowned and well known for its excellent learning environment. The like-minded people are made to undertake a plenty of innovative and intriguing activities together. These group tasks and assignments with the fellow students boost their knowledge and take their know-how about the domain to a new height. The University is also popular for its diversity. One gets to work with and learn from the students of different countries as well as regions.

Case study methodology of teaching has further raised my interest to join this place and become a professional. I believe when you have a real-life case along with its statistics opened in front of you, you get to make various possible decisions. You are then told about the actual decision that was made by the brand, thus, informing you how close or far you were from the real decision. This way, you are allowed to find the deviation and optimize your decision in your next case study.

In my past two summers, I served as an intern at two eminent FMCG corporations in the US. Being a part of their marketing unit, I got to explore their price setting thought process, distribution process, and promotional tactics. In one of these companies, I was then moved to its branding department, which taught me oodles of things over branding. Right from brand identity to brand equity, the branding unit furnished me lots of learning opportunities. I am confident that given a chance, I’d bring on board all the learning that I have done in my last two years.

To learn from the eminent marketing faculties of CU is another reason why I wish to join this place. Be it Twitter or Facebook; I have been following every single marketing faculty of CU with the whole and sole purpose of learning new advancements and concepts of marketing. Among all, Prof. John Martin of principles of Marketing and Prof. Emilia Galler of Marketing Science are my favorite. They give insights, interact with their followers and keep the audience abreast of the latest marketing know-how.

My passion for marketing has been growing since my elementary school, and I believe the infrastructure, as well as, the facilities will hike my inclination towards the discipline by leaps and bounds. The library brimming with hundreds and thousands of books, the well-equipped IT lab for research & development, the online database brimming with research papers and case studies for undergraduate and post-graduate students are some of the factors that attracted me towards CU.

It is one such place, which is prominent for conducting extra-curricular and cultural activities from time to time. Be it a competition on dancing, debate or a quiz; the University conducts it very often. It is mostly undertaken to relieve the students from pressure and make them more focused towards their learning and growth.

With its excellent quality education, engaging classes & sessions, amazing rejuvenating activities and brilliant infrastructure, I can say that the Columbia University is the perfect place to pursue my academic career in the marketing stream. I have a very quick grasping power, and I can absorb every piece of knowledge quickly. I believe the same will help me learn and understand the advanced insights of marketing from your university.

At the marketing department and with the experienced faculties, I can very well turn my dream of becoming a marketer into a hardcore reality. With a plenty of creative ideas flowing in my mind and eagerness to explore this niche, I am pretty confident that I would be given a chance. I sincerely think that with its numerous opportunities, this place would make me pro of the “art of promoting.”

References

• The Marketing Division | gsb.columbia.edu
  https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty-research/divisions/marketing
• 9 essay writing tips to ‘wow’ college admissions officers | College.usatoday.com
  http://college.usatoday.com/2014/10/23/9-essay-writing-tips-to-wow-college-admissions-officers/