Your essays are probably the most important part of your business school application. After reading your essays, MBA admissions officers should feel as though they really know you. This means that you must go beyond listing your accomplishments and describe your motivations, your interests, and even your weaknesses and fears. And you need to do it with language that truly represents how you communicate. The best way for you to see what we mean is to read examples of good MBA admissions essays.

Below are samples of business school application essays sent to us by real people, along with our editorial comments. We've changed some key details to protect each person's identity, but beyond that, what you see here are their own words. Use these business school essay examples to help avoid some of the most common mistakes that applicants tend to make.