Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University

The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University recently released its 2024-2025 application deadlines. The required essay prompts are unique in nature, and prospective students will benefit from getting started with brainstorming and drafting early. 

Round Application Deadline   Decision Notification

Early Action 04 September 2024       18 October 2024

Round 1         01 October 2024       12 December 2024

Round 2         09 January 2025         14 March 2025             

Round 3         20 February 2025   04 April 2025 

Round 4 03 April 2025               08 May 2025

The essay prompts at Duke showcase the value the school places on creating a diverse and cohesive class. They emphasize the importance of admitting students who are a good fit for the program, with the website calling out that “Finding the right fit is important—for you, and for Fuqua—so the admissions process for each of our programs is designed to ensure we learn about each other.” A significant portion of the essay word counts are in service to learning about the applicant as a full person and to understanding how the applicant would fit into and contribute to the student body at Fuqua. 

Required Short-answer Essay: What are your post-MBA career goals? Share with us your first-choice career plan and your alternate plan. (100 words)

Don’t overthink this question. State a clear post-MBA goal using straight-forward terminology that a fellow MBA would understand. A common mistake we see in MBA admissions is applicants who, unknowingly, position themselves as an employment risk by articulating a goal set that is too vague or unrelated to any of their past experiences.

Required Essay 1: 25 random things about yourself.

The 'Team Fuqua' spirit and community is one of the things that sets the MBA experience apart, and it is a concept that extends beyond the student body to include faculty, staff, and administration. Please share with us “25 Random Things” about you. The Admissions Committee wants to get to know YOU - beyond the professional and academic achievements listed in your resume and transcript. Share with us important life experiences, your hobbies, achievements, fun facts, or anything that helps us understand what makes you who you are. (750 words maximum. Please present your response in list form, numbered 1 to 25. Some points may be brief, while others may be longer.)

Duke believes that their program is best-served by putting together a diverse community from each applicant class and that “different types of people, points of view, and experiences bring out the best in everyone.” 

For this one, you will be sharing your outside-of-work self, and you can get quirky. You don’t have to relate everything to MBA-ready qualities that you have—though it’s great for some entries to speak to your values and skills. 

When it comes to this prompt, nearly everyone ends up writing something about a travel experience, a story about childhood ends up in the mix, as does a mention of time spent on an extracurricular team or in a club. That’s all fantastic. But after this, some folks hit a wall and don’t know what else to include to strike the right balance and tone. Twenty-five is a large number, so really do a wide search of yourself: Have you written a poem you’re proud of? Were you an Eagle Scout dropout? 

You also want these entries to be illustrative. So, not just, "I love dumplings." But, "I'm on the hunt for the best dumplings in NYC. So far, my favorite spot is White Bear in Flushing." Instead of writing, "I love non-fiction.", you might write, "I love non-fiction. I'm currently reading The Black Count, about Alexandre Dumas's father." You have 750 words to work with, so you have room to share more info in your favorite entries. So, does making Italian food bring back fond childhood memories of your grandmother’s kitchen? Details like this not only show admissions counselors your love of chicken piccata but also of family and your heritage.

Required Essay 2: The Fuqua community and you.

Fuqua prides itself on cultivating a culture of engagement. Our students enjoy a wide range of student-led organizations that provide opportunities for leadership development and personal fulfillment, as well as an outlet for contributing to society. Our student-led government, clubs, centers, and events are an integral part of the student culture and to the development of leaders. Based on your understanding of the Fuqua culture, what are 3 ways you expect to contribute at Fuqua? (500 words maximum).

Show Fuqua’s admissions officers how you will be a valued member of their community by anchoring your response in experiences from your past that will inform and invigorate your plan. 

Are you a passionate environmentalist who has spent your career in corporate social responsibility and hopes to spearhead a new student-led sustainability case competition for full-time MBA students? Did you start a pro-bono consulting group at your current employer, and you’d like to partner with a local organization to offer similar services alongside a group of your Fuqua colleagues? Consider also some of the clubs and activities that already exist at Fuqua. How will you get involved and contribute? In linking your passions and expertise to your proposed contributions, you will demonstrate to the admissions directors that you are the kind of collaborative, community-minded, and determined student they are looking for. 

Optional essay: Tell us more.

If you feel there are circumstances of which the admissions committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g. unexplained gaps in work, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance). Note that you should NOT upload additional essays nor additional recommendations in this area. The Optional Information section is intended to provide the admissions committee with insight into your circumstances only. (500 words maximum)

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster GMAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities?

If you are going to address a low grade in an analytical course or a low GMAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or professional environments by using specific examples. Provide information on similar classes in which you achieved excellent grades or give details about a professional pursuit that resulted in success.

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or legal issue that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Do not make excuses, simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Remember, everyone makes mistakes, taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Related:

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School 2024-2025 Round One application deadline is among the earliest. Let’s get started!

Round Application Deadline   Decision Notification

Round 1         04 September 2024       10 December 2024

Round 2         03 January 2025         21 April 2025             

Round 3         02 April 2025   13 May 2025 

*Deferred        23 April 2025               01 July 2025

*Deferred applicants apply during their final year of study at an undergraduate or graduate institution. They are expected to pursue quality work experiences for two to four years and then enter into the Wharton MBA program.  

The founding vision of the Wharton School was “using analytical expertise to produce well-rounded leaders to drive societal progress,” and Dean Erika James states that this remains the school’s ethos. A review of Wharton’s strategic plan, The Wharton Way, also identifies three strategic areas of focus for the school. These include: Elevation of its research; Pedagogical innovation; and Collaboration across divides. Understanding the school’s strategic direction will assist you in making a strong case that you belong there.  

Wharton receives a large number of applicants each year, most of whom have excellent undergraduate transcripts, post-baccalaureate work experience, and standardized test scores. Because of this, key points of differentiation for the Admissions Committee are applicants’ essay responses and their performance in the team-based interview. 

The 2024-2025 Wharton essay prompts are the same as last year. 

Essay 1: How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

This prompt asks you to explain how a Wharton MBA will bridge your past accomplishments and your future goals. To do this, you will want to anchor this essay in the past. Because what you’ve already done, learned, and achieved is far more important than what you haven’t—what you say you want to do in the future. In order to fully satisfy the objective of this prompt, go into your backstory and detail the key moments that influenced you and the formation of your goals. Then transition into what you have yet to learn, and why a Wharton MBA is your next step. Prove to them that their program is the perfect intersection between where you’ve been and where you want to go. Which courses, professors, experiential learning opportunities, etc. are most interesting to you? Choose three or four that differentiate Wharton from other business schools you’re considering and explain why you’re so eager to engage and participate. This essay is about connecting the dots; once the reader has taken the trip to your past, your proposed path forward will make much more sense.

Essay 2: Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

Show Wharton’s admissions officers how you will be a valued member of their community by anchoring your response in experiences from your past that will inform and invigorate your plan. Are you a passionate environmentalist who has spent your career in corporate social responsibility and hopes to spearhead a new sustainability case competition for full-time MBA students? Were you part of a years-long organizational behavior research study in undergrad and hope to find a research mentor in that department at Wharton? Did you start a pro-bono consulting group at your current employer, and you’d like to partner with a local organization to offer similar services alongside a group of your Wharton colleagues? In linking your passions and expertise to your proposed contributions, you will demonstrate to the admissions directors that you are the kind of collaborative, community-minded, and determined student they are looking for. 

Required Essay for all Reapplicants: Please use this space to share with the Admissions Committee how you have reflected and grown since your previous application and discuss any relevant updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, and extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)

Use this essay prompt to show Wharton’s admissions officers how you have grown over the past year. Describe the experiences you have engaged in, since your last application, and how they have driven professional and/or personal growth. You will also want to explain the reasons behind your re-application and reiterate why Wharton is the MBA program for you. Ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and polished. 

Optional Essay: Please use this space to share any additional information about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application and that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee. This space can also be used to address any extenuating circumstances (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, areas of weakness, etc.) that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider. (500 words)

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster GMAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities?

If you are going to address a low grade in an analytical course or a low GMAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or professional environments by using specific examples. Provide information on similar classes in which you achieved excellent grades or give details about a professional pursuit that resulted in success.

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or legal issue that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Do not make excuses, simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Remember, everyone makes mistakes, taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Related:

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Harvard Business School

HBS has released its updated application requirements and deadlines for their full-time MBA. 

Round       Application Deadline           Decision Notification

Round 1       04 September 2024             10 December 2024

Round 2       06 January 2025                26 March 2025

This year’s application features significant updates from previous years, asking applicants to respond to three short essay prompts on business, leadership, and growth rather than submitting one open-ended personal essay.

At HBS the essays are a critical component of your application and provide an opportunity for you to show those character traits that Harvard values. HBS puts a strong emphasis on character and service, with a longstanding mission “to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.” The program also expressly calls out community values including, “trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning.” Dean Srikant Datar describes one of his aspirations for the school as “...stretching HBS and its learners beyond notions of merely personal success toward becoming, collectively and individually, driving forces in redefining the role of business in society around the world—addressing inequality, exclusion, climate change, and other intractable problems.” 

Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)

You will want to anchor this essay in the past to show the admissions committee what you’ve already done, learned, and achieved and how those experiences have prepared you to do what you say you want to do in the future. To fully satisfy the objective of this prompt, go into your backstory and detail the key moments that influenced you and the formation of your goals. Your resume will provide a general overview of your professional path to date, but this is your chance to provide a deep dive into your most pivotal experiences. Once the reader has taken this trip to your past, your proposed path forward, which will include your career goals and the impact you plan to make, will make much more sense.  

Take a look at our writing process to help you craft a strong narrative.

See also: Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Meaningful Professional Experience

Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)

This essay asks you to share how experiences from your past have influenced your current views on leadership, but you only have 250 words, so it will be more impactful to focus on just one. Which experience prompted the most significant evolution in your perspective on leadership? How did your views change as a result? What have you determined matters most when empowering and inspiring others? 

Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)

Don’t be afraid to show a little personality as you respond to this prompt. While you can focus on an aspect of your professional life, this is also an opportunity to discuss a topic you feel passionately about outside of work. 

To get started, think about instances when you have entered a flow state or gone very deeply into a subject matter. Keep in mind that the topic or activity itself matters less than the personal growth that has resulted from your experiences. So choose something you feel authentically passionate about rather than what you believe the Admissions Committee wants to see.

Once you feel confident with what you want to write about, take a deep dive into one specific instance in the topic or activity. Then explain its role in your life. What has it taught you about yourself, about others, about the world? How does your ongoing curiosity and exploration in this area continue to inspire your growth? 

Related:

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Guide 2024-2025: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

And, we’re off! The 2024-2025 MBA Admissions Season has begun! 

Berkeley Haas has released updated application requirements and deadlines for their full-time MBA. It’s never too early to start thinking about your essay responses. 

Round       Application Deadline           Decision Notification

Round 1       12 September 2024             12 December 2024

Round 2       09 January 2025                27 March 2025

Round 3       03 April 2025                     08 May 2025

The Admissions Committee at Berkeley Haas seeks a holistic understanding of applicants, including “all aspects of a candidate’s character, qualifications, and experiences.” The school places a high value on putting together a diverse class that represents a wide array of industries and backgrounds. 

All MBA programs look for applicants to demonstrate their abilities in innovation (critical, creative thinking and problem solving), leadership, and teamwork. In addition, Berkeley Haas defines four leadership principles you should pay particular attention to while brainstorming and writing. These include “Challenge the Status Quo,” “Confidence without Attitude,” “Students Always”, and “Beyond Yourself.” 

Required Essay 1: What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? (300 words maximum)

The Haas Admissions Committee asks this question to get a sense of who you are and what makes you tick. They want to better understand your passion(s) and what qualities and interest(s) you will bring to the program. 

To get started, consider what “feeling most alive” means to you. Is it working towards something meaningful? Overcoming an obstacle? Entering a flow state? What experiences in your past have made time disappear? Then consider your interests, hobbies, work, and volunteer experiences. Keep in mind that the activity itself matters less than the joy and personal growth that has resulted from your experiences. So choose something you feel authentically passionate about rather than what you believe the Admissions Committee wants to hear.

Once you feel confident with what you want to write about, take a deep dive into one specific instance in the activity. Then explain the role of the activity in your life. What has it taught you about yourself, about others? How does your participation in the activity continue to inspire your growth? 

Take a look at our writing process to help you craft a strong narrative.

Required Essay 2 (Updated): What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from Haas help you achieve those goals? (300 words max)

Short-term career goals should be achievable within 3-5 years post-MBA, whereas long-term goals may span a decade or more and encompass broader professional aspirations.

Although this question asks about your short- and long-term goals and how a Haas MBA will help you achieve them, you will want to anchor this essay in the past. Because what you’ve already done, learned, and achieved is far more important than what you haven’t—what you say you want to do in the future. To fully satisfy the objective of this prompt, go into your backstory and detail the key moments that influenced you and the formation of your goals. Your resume will provide an overview of your professional path to date, but this is your chance to provide a deep dive into your most pivotal experiences. Once the reader has taken this trip to your past, your proposed path forward and why Haas will be the perfect fit, will make much more sense.

See also: Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Meaningful Professional Experience

Required Essay 3 (Updated): One of our goals at Berkeley Haas is to develop leaders who value diversity and to create an inclusive environment in which people from different ethnicities, genders, lived experiences, and national origins feel welcomed and supported. Describe any experience or exposure you have in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging whether through community organizations, personal, or in the workplace?

Candidates seeking consideration for mission-aligned fellowships may use this space to reflect on their commitment to the mission of those fellowships. (300 words max)

Berkeley has updated this question from a short-answer response, last year, to a full essay this year.

This question prompts you to explore how you have and will continue to thrive in diverse environments. What have been your most meaningful experiences connecting with those unlike yourself? What have you learned? You should choose one or two anecdotes to anchor your response and explore how these instances impacted your perspective and reinforced your desire to promote a sense of community at Berkeley Haas and throughout your career.  

See also: Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Compatibility in Close Knit and Collaborative Communities

Required Video Essay: The Berkeley MBA program develops leaders who embody our four Defining Leadership Principles. Briefly introduce yourself to the admissions committee, explain which leadership principle resonates most with you, and tell us how you have exemplified the principle in your personal or professional life. (Not to exceed 2 minutes.) 

To start, familiarize yourself with the Haas Four Defining Leadership Principles. Which one resonates most with you? Why? Which of your personal and/or professional experiences will most compellingly show how you live one of these values in your daily life? 

Create an outline of ideas and practice delivering your content aloud. You’ll want to include a brief introduction (~20 seconds), an explanation of why your chosen principle resonates with you (~45 seconds), a deep dive into a specific experience that shows how you live that principle (~45 seconds), and a brief conclusion (~10 seconds). 

In addition to gauging your understanding of the Berkeley Haas’s culture, the Admissions Committee will also look to evaluate your communication skills and poise. 

Tips for filming your video include:

• Set the lights. Place a light in front of you so that your face is clearly visible on the screen (backlighting will result in shadows). You will be able to test your audio-visual connection before recording. 

• Dress professionally. Put your best foot forward by dressing professionally, similar to how you would dress for an in-person interview. 

• Prepare, but don’t script yourself. You’ll want the admissions committee to see the real you. Think strategically about the points you want to highlight in each video, but don’t memorize a script. 

• Note your pace. When nerves hit, people tend to speak too quickly. Practice delivering your response out loud, and ensure you can get through all of your points at a steady pace within two minutes. 

Optional Information #1: We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achievements.

The Haas Admissions Committee calls out its understanding that not all applicants have had the same opportunities and that they consider the context of an applicant’s environment when evaluating their experiences. They value those who display “maturity, perseverance, and thoughtfulness” in periods of hardship or difficult circumstances.

Use this space to provide any additional context that you would like the admissions committee to keep in mind while reviewing your application. Did you have responsibilities at home that required you to choose an undergraduate institution in your home town over a more prestigious choice farther away? Did you have caregiving responsibilities throughout your junior and senior years that made it difficult to maintain your GPA? Or an extenuating circumstance that impacted your ability to earn a promotion? 

Do not exaggerate your circumstances, but do share any challenges that you’ve had to overcome in your academic and professional pursuits. 

Optional Information #2: This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate.

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster GMAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities? Were you laid off? 

If you are going to address a low grade in an analytical course or a low GMAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or professional environments by using specific examples. Provide information on similar classes in which you achieved excellent grades or give details about a professional pursuit that resulted in success. Similarly, to address an employment gap resulting from a layoff, explain the situation and then share the productive ways in which you filled your time during the gap. 

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or legal issue that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Again, do not make excuses. Simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Everyone makes mistakes. Taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Writing Process

Below is a writing process that we recommend. We encourage you to start early so that you have time to work through this iterative process and create your most compelling work. 

Begin with a brainstorm. Do not underestimate the importance of this step. Document your experiences, positive and negative, that prompted an evolution in your perspective—you know, those “ah-ha!” moments without which you would be a different student, professional, and/or person today. Then, record those experiences that will show the reader your abilities in innovation (critical/creative thinking and problem solving), leadership, and teamwork, as well as those experiences that reinforced your interest in business school. Capture as many details as possible, paying particular attention to what you thought, felt, said, and did in each situation. Your focus should be on adult experiences (from the start of college and later), though stories from your youth could comprise up to 20 percent of this brainstorm.

During your brainstorm, don’t limit yourself by worrying about a cohesive narrative, the quality of your writing, and/or the number/length of your stories. Simply focus on collecting those situations that helped to guide your path to this point and impacted your decision to apply to the MBA program.

Craft an outline. Select the key stories you will use to anchor your narratives. Remember that you’ll use your essays to go deep into experiences that demonstrate the traits you want to emphasize. 

Write. Keep in mind that you must be showing, not telling the reader who you are. In contrast to your resume, which provides a general overview of your experiences, your essay responses should go deep into a story that allows the reader to come to their own conclusions about some of your character traits and abilities. Highlight how you’ve struggled, triumphed, learned, and how these experiences have developed you into the person you are now.

Review. Revise. Repeat. Confirm your word count and read your essay aloud noting where you stumble. Make revisions as necessary. Once it reads smoothly, set it down and walk away for at least 24 hours. Then re-read it. Is it you? Is it personal and authentic? You want the reader to see the real person behind the applicant number. While we caution against “oversharing,” being appropriately vulnerable will create connection.