AGSM-Australian School of Business

Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) is run by Australian School of Business,Sydney. It is ranked no. 1 in Australia by the Financial Times (UK). This program incorporates new methods in the traditional classroom teaching using case study method. The school emphasises on team building skills, critical thinking and sharpening decision making abilities.

The duration of the AGSM is 16 months. It is divided into two stages - core and electives. The AGSM also has the International Exchange Program with world's leading 28 business schools including London Business School, Wharton, NYU Stern and ESADE.

There are two main criteria for AGSM admission. By fulfilling either of them, you are eligible to apply for AGSM MBA. The criterias are-

1) An undergraduate degree (with good academics) with minimum of 2 years of professional work experience. The minimum GMAT score required is 550.

2) Minimum of 6 years of work experience with minimum of 550 GMAT score.

1) Completed online application

2) Transcripts - original or certified transcripts of undergraduate degree

3) GMAT score

4) Work experience- minimum of 2 years of professional work experience

5) Personal statement essays - 4 essays

6) Detailed latest resume

7) Recommendations - 2 recommendations are required

8) Identity proof

Essay 1
What are your professional goals? How will an MBA from AGSM MBA Program help you? (approx. 250 words)

This is a standard goal essay and very important part of your application. You do not have too many words to play with so be as concise as possible. Think clearly about the message that you want to convey then make the effort to make it concise. Start with briefly describing your career evolution so far and then talk about your goals (short and long term). Relate your goals to your interests, skills, and experience. Strike the right balance between being ambitious and being realistic. While addressing the ‘Why AGSM’ part, it is important to demonstrate that you have done thorough research to find out the unique attributes of the program and how they support achieving your expressed goals.

Essay 2
What are your most significant personal and professional achievements and why do you view them as such? (approx. 250 words)

Think of achievements where you created most significant impact on your organization, a team, or an individual in a professional or personal setting. Set up the context, mention your accomplishment, detail what exact impact your created, and finally – perhaps most importantly – the lessons your learned providing a insight that helps the reader know more about you as person. Elements of leadership and vision will add strength to your analysis.

Essay 3
Describe a situation where leadership and teamwork were critical to the outcome. (approx. 250 words)

Leadership is the quintessential quality, which AGSM is looking for in response to this question. Try to remember a scenario in which you took charge of a team/ situation, yet remained a part of the team and had an impact. Try to quantify the impact or the effect in terms of monetary benefit or other key indicators. One effective way to structure your response is the START framework. S- Situation, T- Tasks at hand, A- Actions taken, R- Results of your actions, and T-Takeaway. Remember, what matters most in the response is how deep AGSM can look into your perspectives, your beliefs, and your values via this story. Note that it’s not mandatory to pick up professional stories. Extracurricular / community stories, if handled well, can be very powerful since there are no formal obligations in such situations.

Essay 4
Becoming an AGSM MBA student implies membership of a distinguished community. Describe how you will contribute to the community during your time as a student and beyond. Describe what community spirit means to you. (approx. 250 words)

Talk about extracurricular / community involvement accomplishments, unique background, and any other standout experiences. While you may think of multiple examples, it is important to apply an overall theme to this response and also explain how exactly your accomplishments will turn out to be beneficial for the student body at AGSM. AGSM gives a lot of importance to diversity when they select their students so if you can demonstrate by means of examples your ability to work well within multi-cultural/ diverse teams; it gives your application the extra strength.