Top Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your MBA Application Essays

Writing your MBA application essays is a massive undertaking. You must show the admissions committee who you are and what you value, while simultaneously building a case for why you will succeed in business school and beyond. It’s a lot. But we can help.

Below are the top five most common mistakes we see applicants make as they approach their essays. Try your best to avoid them.

1. Trying to include everything: You cannot fit every relevant experience you've ever had into your essays—and hey, that's why you submit a resume. Stick to one or two key experiences will show your abilities in leadership and critical thinking, prompted growth, and reinforced your interest in obtaining an MBA. The essays are about showing depth.

2. Telling instead of showing: The admissions committee is looking for more than a list of your strengths and traits. Not only is that boring, it is unreliable. A good rule of writing is: “Show, don't tell." Listing off your qualities is meaningless if you're not backing them up with real-life examples. Instead of telling the reader, “I am good at solving complex problems,” provide an anecdote that will show them your critical and/or creative thinking in action.

Similarly, don’t tell the school what you will do in the future without showing them why you are capable of achieving such things. We've said it before: Sharing goals works when what comes before it exemplifies your strengths and abilities. More than what you want to do, what you have done tells us who you are.

3. Staying linear: Imagine your intro paragraph as the opening sequence of a movie—the most thrilling ones start mid-scene. You want to see an action star in action, not waking up to a buzzing alarm clock. Don't save the excitement for many scenes later. Show yourself there, then explain how you got there.

4. Being uptight: A personal essay is more like journalism than an academic paper. You're telling a story, and this one is about you. You want to sound intelligent and respectful but being a bit colloquial makes you appear confident and relaxed. As if to say, "This is who I am. This is who I plan to become." Boom.

5. Overusing passive voice: Keep most of your sentences active. Passive voice can minimize your contributions and slow down your essay's momentum. Active sentences move the statement forward.

There is flexibility, of course. Some passive sentences aren't slow-going or unnatural, and there are also times when you'll use passive voice for effect, accuracy, clarity, or flow. Just be mindful of how often you're doing it.

Finally, beware of having too many readers review your writing. If you're an Apply Point client, consider asking two people besides your two Apply Point advisors (who work as a team) to read your essays. If you're not working with a consultant, you could ask up to four people to read your work but make that the maximum just so you won't be overwhelmed by input.

This is not us saying that you shouldn't have any readers at all. You want eyes or ears on this, especially if they're attached to someone you respect who knows you well. In fact, the top question you should ask them is: "Does this sound like me?" Friends, family members, or a mentor can confirm if your essay gets your personality and best qualities across. That said, send them the edited, polished draft rather than your raw first draft. This way their suggestions and questions won't psych you out because you already have a good idea of what you want to present in your response.

Essay Tips: The SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University

Cornell Johnson has published submission deadlines for their MBA application. If you’re applying to the full-time program, it’s time to get started on your short-answer and essay responses.

Round Application Deadline Initial Notification Final Notification          

Round 1 20 September 2023 03 November 2023 08 December 2023

Round 2 10 January 2024    15 March 2024 05 April 2024

Round 3 10 April 2024         17 May 2024 31 May 2024

“You’ll combine your own strengths with the strengths of those around you. You’ll learn how to create solutions to business challenges—and to other challenges facing the world at large. The reality is that success is never a solo act.”

This statement from Johnson’s website encapsulates their focus on collaboration. Keep this in mind as you approach their application. Of course, you’ll want to show the strengths, experiences, and unique perspectives you can bring to their community, but they are also looking for you to demonstrate humility and discuss your desire to learn from your fellow classmates.

Goals Statement Prompt:

A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout the admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short- and long-term goals by completing the following sentences and answering the enclosed short answer question (350 words maximum):

Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] within [Industry].

Targeted Job Role:

Target Job Company:

Industry:

In 5–10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] within [Industry].

Targeted Job Role:

Target Job Company:

Industry:

How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals?
State your post-MBA goals in precise language that includes your desired role, company, and industry. Ensure that your short-term goal makes sense as an interim step to your longer-term goal. Then make it clear that, given the specific post-baccalaureate full-time work experiences you’ve had, you will be qualified and able to achieve these goals with an MBA from Johnson.

Impact Essay Prompt:

At Cornell, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. Taking into consideration your background, how do you intend to make a meaningful impact on an elite MBA community? (350 words maximum)

Show Cornell Johnson’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 Cornell? 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 Cornell 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.

Optional statement: You may use this essay to call attention to items needing clarification and to add additional details to any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson. (350 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. 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.

The Writing Process

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 Cornell Johnson 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. 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.

Related:

Essay Tips: Harvard Business School

Essay Tips: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Tips: The Stanford Graduate School of Business

Essay Tips: The Yale School of Management

Essay Tips: Columbia Business School

Essay Tips: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Tips: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Essay Tips: NYU Stern School of Business

Essay Tips: The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Essay Tips: The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Michigan Ross has published deadlines for their MBA application. With a mid-September deadline, it’s time to start planning your submission.

Round Application Deadline Decision Notification

Round 1 14 September 2023 08 December 2023

Round 2 11 January 2024    15 March 2024

Round 3 04 April 2024         03 May 2024

Michigan Ross is looking to build a diverse community of collaborative learners. In reading your essay responses, the admissions committee wants to get to know you as a whole person. They want to learn more about your motivations, meaningful experiences, and abilities, as well as how you hope to contribute to the Ross community both inside and outside of the classroom. While your career goals and resume are important, the admissions committee specifically notes that they hope applicants use their essays to complement, rather than reiterate, other application materials. 

Part 1: Short-answer questions

Select one prompt from each group of the two groups below. Respond to each selected prompt in 100 words or less (<100 words each; 200 words total). 

Group 1 

• I want people to know that I: 

• I made a difference when I: 

• I was aware that I was different when:

Group 2 

• I was out of my comfort zone when: 

• I was humbled when: 

• I was challenged when: 

We encourage you to start this answer with a brainstorm, not by selecting the prompts you will respond to.  Write down stories from your past. A lot of them. (And, bonus! This will serve as an excellent starting point for essay responses for other school applications and/or when preparing for various interview questions.) In particular, think about your most meaningful experiences that changed or impacted your worldview. This may involve key decisions, beautiful and/or catastrophic moments, feelings of pride or shame, times of success or struggle, unexpected discovery, and notable relationships. 

Now that you’ve refreshed your memory and reviewed some of your most pivotal moments, consider each of the prompts. These responses are your chance to show some personality and demonstrate your personal traits and values to the admissions committee. Despite having a limited word count, you’ll want to anchor each response in an anecdote from your past to show the reader your periods of growth and discovery. What did the experience teach you about yourself and others? 

When pondering how to respond to the Group One prompts, keep in mind that Michigan Ross is looking to build a close-knit and cohesive class (and alumni base). Use these questions as an opportunity to show the admissions committee your strength of character, abilities in collaborative leadership and teamwork, as well as your past experiences thriving alongside people unlike yourself.  

For the Group Two prompts, it is important to note that the Ross MBA incorporates a lot of “action-based learning,” which may take you out of your comfort zone. When discussing a particularly challenging or humbling time, remember to spend about 20 percent of the response on the challenge, but the majority (80 percent) on the actions you took, and what you learned and how you grew as a result. 

​Part 2: Career Goal

What is your short-term career goal and why is this the right goal for you? (150 words)

State a specific post-MBA goal, and make it clear that, given various post-baccalaureate full-time work experiences you’ve had, as well as plans to obtain a general management education, that you will be qualified and able to achieve this goal.   

Optional Statement: Is there something in your resume or application that could use some explanation? You might want to discuss the completion of supplemental coursework, employment gaps, academic issues, etc.  Feel free 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?

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. 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.

The Writing Process

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 Michigan Ross 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. 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. 

Related:

Essay Tips: Harvard Business School

Essay Tips: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Tips: The Stanford Graduate School of Business

Essay Tips: The Yale School of Management

Essay Tips: Columbia Business School

Essay Tips: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Tips: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Essay Tips: NYU Stern School of Business

Essay Tips: The Yale School of Management

Yale’s SOM has published deadlines for their MBA application. Let’s get started!

Round Application Deadline Decision Notification

Round 1 12 September 2023 05 December 2023

Round 2 04 January 2024 26 March 2024

Round 3 09 April 2024 16 May 2024

The Yale School of Management has a mission to “educate leaders for business and society,” leaders with varied interests, skills, and ways of thinking and approaching the world. Yale’s admissions committee believes that students learn and grow more from working within diverse groups. So, as you craft your application, think about your unique approach to leadership, demonstrate your ability to work with and learn from others who are different from you, and don’t be afraid to highlight your differences, quirks, and passions.

Written Essay: Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made.

We developed this question in collaboration with Amy Wrzesniewski, a professor of organizational behavior at Yale SOM. Your time in business school, and the choices you make thereafter, represent significant commitments. In asking this question, the Admissions Committee is seeking to learn about how you have approached a commitment of importance in your life.

You have just one essay to provide the admissions committee with insight into who you are, so use this opportunity to get deeply personal and share key moments from your life that demonstrate your ability to work towards a commitment. Share moments where you had to overcome doubt and struggle and dig deep to find grit as your motivation waned.

Perhaps you can’t immediately name your biggest commitment or you don’t know how to approach describing it. So, start with a brainstorm. Write down stories from your past. A lot of them. (And, bonus! This will serve as an excellent starting point for essay responses for other school applications and/or when preparing for various interview questions.) Think about the experiences you’ve had that prompted a significant evolution in your perspective. This may involve beautiful and/or catastrophic moments, feelings of pride or shame, times of success or struggle, unexpected discovery, and notable relationships. Did an aha moment bring to light a commitment that you wanted to make or did it solidify a commitment that you already made?

Think also about how you choose to spend your time (or other limited resources). Have you volunteered with environmental organizations since high school, and have recently taken on a significant leadership role, in addition to your full-time job? Did you take an intense investment banking job out of college and give up your social life or key relationships? Alternatively, did you quit a lucrative career to join a political campaign or spend more time with your family? Activities or people who you spend a great deal of time with requires making sacrifices in other areas of your life, and can be useful for pinpointing who or what you are most deeply committed to.

While you’ll want the majority of your essay to reflect your adult life, the origins of your biggest commitment may have occurred at a younger age, so keep your brainstorming broad. After writing these pivotal moments down, see what themes emerge. Remember that while your commitment may be broad in scope, you’ll want your supporting stories to be detailed and specific.

Video Essay Questions

You will receive access to the video questions after you submit your application and pay your application fee. The video questions are not a substitute for the interview. Instead, they provide a unique way for us to assess your communication skills and your ability to think on your feet, and enable us to create a more dynamic, multi-dimensional profile of each candidate.

Yale asks applicants to respond to several short video essay questions, in order to exhibit their personality, communication skills, and ability to think under pressure. The questions are provided after the application is submitted.

Prior to participating in the video essay, review your submitted application and prepare to speak on how your goals and interests align with Yale’s MBA program. You should also review standard interview questions, and think through anecdotes from your academic and professional experiences that can be used to respond to different question types. Pay particular attention to examples that will show your abilities in the areas of critical and creative thinking, problem solving, leadership, teamwork, and collaboration with people different from you. Your brainstorm document from your essay work will be a useful resource for this. Keep in mind that in each and every interview response that you give, you’ll want to share a story from your past that backs up the claim you make.

Yale also provides practice questions that will help you get comfortable with the format and technology. Take advantage of this. And take note of the time restrictions. Practice your responses aloud and confirm that your answers are between 60 to 90 seconds in length.

The Writing Process

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 Yale SOM 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. 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. 

Related:
Essay Tips: Harvard Business School

Essay Tips: The Stanford Graduate School of Business

Essay Tips: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Tips: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Tips: Columbia Business School

Essay Tips: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Essay Tips: NYU Stern School of Business

Essay Tips: The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Essay Tips: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has published its 2023-2024 application deadlines for their full-time MBA program. As we always say, It’s never too early to start thinking about your application. 

Round     Application Deadline     Interview Invitation     Decision Notification

Round 1 06 September 2023     24 October 2023       14 December 2023

Round 2 04 January 2024   16 February 2024    26 March 2024             

Round 3 02 April 2024     19 April 2024     13 May 2024 

*Deferred 24 April 2024         28 May 2024     27 June 2024 

*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.  

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. 

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. 

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.

The Writing Process

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 Wharton 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. 

Related:

Essay Tips: The Harvard Business School

Essay Tips: The Stanford Graduate School of Business

Essay Tips: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Tips: Columbia Business School

Essay Tips: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Essay Tips: NYU Stern School of Business

Essay Tips: The Yale School of Management

Essay Tips: The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Essay Tips: The Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stanford GSB has published deadlines for their MBA application submissions and it is never too early to think about your approach. 

Round Application Deadline Decision Notification

Round 1 12 September 2023 07 December 2023

Round 2 04 January 2024 28 March 2024

Round 3 09 April 2024 23 May 2024

*Materials must be submitted by 4:00 pm Pacific Time on the designated date.

Stanford’s Admissions Committee is looking for you to demonstrate intellectual curiosity and vitality (show them how you might contribute in a classroom), leadership skills (show them how you approach guiding others towards a common goal), and how you see the world (show them your values, beliefs, ambitions, and identity in action). They want to see a polished, but genuine, version of you (not what you think an ideal MBA candidate looks like).

Essay A: What matters most to you, and why?

For this essay, we would like you to reflect deeply and write from the heart. Once you’ve identified what matters most to you, help us understand why. You might consider, for example, what makes this so important to you? What people, insights, or experiences have shaped your perspectives?

In this essay, you will need to get deeply personal. If you’ve written this response correctly, it will make you a bit uncomfortable because it will touch on some of your toughest decisions, scariest learning moments, and/or most tender relationships. Stanford’s Admissions Committee asks the question to gain an understanding of how you view the world and how you make decisions and execute against the goals and priorities that you set. What you name as mattering most matters less than your ability to effectively show how you have lived in its pursuit.  

If you’re unsure of what matters most, you’re not alone. Start by brainstorming and writing down stories from your past. A lot of them. (And, bonus! This will serve as an excellent starting point for essay responses for other school applications and/or interview responses). In particular, think about your most meaningful experiences that changed or impacted your worldview. This may involve key decisions, moments of pride or shame, times when you’ve excelled or struggled, and notably strong or difficult relationships. Keep in mind that tough decisions, particularly when you feel torn between the options, are useful for pinpointing what matters most to you. Similarly, painful failures and mistakes can also bring to light what you care about. Consider why the situation was painful and what you learned from it.

While you’ll want the majority of your essay to reflect your adult life, the origins of what matters most to you may have occurred at a younger age, so keep your brainstorming broad. After writing these pivotal moments down, see what themes emerge. Did you turn down an undergraduate admissions offer to Harvard and later an appealing job to stay close to family? Did you move across the country (where you knew no one) to attend the best engineering school you were admitted to, and while there, worked around the clock? Did you quit a lucrative finance career to join a political campaign? 

If you read the question and immediately know your answer, what matters most to you, take a look at our writing process below to craft a strong narrative. 

Essay B: Why Stanford?

Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs.

In Essay A, you’ve given Stanford insight into who you are. In Essay B, you’ll explain to the Admissions Committee the specific components of the Stanford GSB MBA that you need to execute on your future goals. What courses, professors, experiential learning opportunities, and/or case competitions are you particularly intrigued by and why? What previous experiences reinforced your interest in these offerings? How will these opportunities help you achieve your post-MBA goals? We know the overwhelming popularity of courses like Stanford’s “touchy-feely,” but your response should feel personalized to your career path. Make the case that the Stanford MBA (not just an MBA) is the perfect bridge between your past and your future.

The Writing Process

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 Stanford GSB 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. Think about your application as a whole and use your responses to strategically cover any qualities that may not be adequately addressed in other aspects of your application. 

Write. Keep in mind that you must be showing, not telling the reader who you are. Invite the reader into your life by highlighting sensory details, such as smells and sounds, and don’t hesitate to engage your readers emotionally. Sprinkle in humor (if you feel comfortable doing so) or hit a poignant note. 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. 

Related:

Essay Tips: Harvard Business School

Essay Tips: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Tips: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Tips: Columbia Business School

Essay Tips: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Essay Tips: NYU Stern School of Business

Essay Tips: The Yale School of Management

Essay Tips: The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Essay Tips: Harvard Business School

The Harvard Business School just posted the submission deadlines for applicants to the MBA Class of 2026, and confirmed the required essay.

Round Application Deadline Decision Notification

Round 1 September 6 2023* December 6 2023

Round 2 January 3 2024* March 27 2024

*Submitted by 12PM ET

The essay prompt, which remains unchanged from last year, asks: “As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?” It’s never too early to start planning your narrative response.

At HBS, as with other elite programs, the essay is a critical component of your application. Not only does it allow you to differentiate yourself among a large pool of highly-qualified applicants, but it provides an opportunity to show the 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.”

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 an MBA program. 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 time spent brainstorming, don’t limit yourself by worrying about a cohesive narrative, the quality of your writing, 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 Harvard MBA program.

Once you have these thoughts on paper, look again at all of your experiences. Start to think about the story you want to tell, and also how you can use your experiences to best position yourself with the admissions committee.

The Outline. As you start to consider how you will anchor and organize your essay, you’ll want to think about your application as a whole—MBA Admissions committees are looking for you to demonstrate MBA-readiness with high potential in the areas of innovation, leadership, and teamwork—so you can use your essay strategically to show those qualities that may not be covered in your other materials. For example, if you have a perfect score on the analytical section of your GMAT and fantastic work experience in an analytical career on your resume, you may wish to use your essay to take the reader on a deep dive into your most meaningful leadership and/or community engagement experience.

Create a draft. Now it is time to start writing. Keep in mind that your essay is memoir, not autobiography. A memoir requires more than a recounting of events from your life. Rather, you must show the reader that you’ve experienced transcendence. Marion Roach Smith calls it the “golden rule” of memoir. She writes, “Memoir is not about what you did. Memoir is about what you did with it.” The experience is not the focus or the reason for the writing, just the vessel for sharing a more universal learning with your audience.

As you write, keep the lessons that you garnered from your experiences as the primary focus. Highlight how you’ve struggled and triumphed and how these experiences have developed you into the person you are now.

And don’t neglect to make it clear why a Harvard MBA is your next step. The question is asking about you (rather than “Why Harvard?”), but you’ll want to write it so that the reader finishes with a clear understanding of why a Harvard MBA is your next logical step.

Review. Revise. Repeat. While there is no limitation on length, we recommend that you target about 1300 to 1500 words. 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.

Related:

Essay Tips: The Stanford Graduate School of Business

Essay Tips: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Essay Tips: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Essay Tips: Columbia Business School

Essay Tips: The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Essay Tips: NYU Stern School of Business

Essay Tips: The Yale School of Management

Essay Tips: The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

How to Approach the MIT Sloan Essays

Like most leading business schools, MIT Sloan looks for applicants who demonstrate intellectual curiosity and a collaborative spirit, and who continue to refine their abilities in leadership and innovation. Sloan also places an emphasis on action. The admissions office wants “do-ers,” particularly those who eschew the status quo, welcome challenges, and approach obstacles with an inventive mindset. 

The Sloan application allows you the opportunity to demonstrate these qualities through your resume, a video essay, an optional short answer response, and a cover letter. While your resume will provide an overview of your life from the start of college, your video, short answer response, and cover letter will be your most meaningful opportunities to give the reader a view into the person and professional behind your most meaningful experiences and accomplishments. 

Optional Short Answer Question: Applicants are invited to expand on their background by responding to the following optional 250-word short answer question: How has the world you come from shaped who you are today? For example, your family, culture, community, all help to shape aspects of your identity. Please use this opportunity if you would like to share more about your background.

While this question is optional, we recommend that you respond because it gives you the chance to add personal context to your application. Begin your brainstorm by thinking through the many influences in your life—your family, culture(s) including those resulting from your heritage, religion, city where you grew up, etc., and/or important relationships from within or outside your community. Within this context, consider meaningful experiences that prompted significant evolutions in your perspective—you know, those “ah-ha!” moments without which you would be a different student, professional, and/or person today. For some, these are treasured memories. For others they are moments of growth spurred by discomfort, resilience, or trauma. 

Because your space is limited, it is best to choose one experience you believe will show the reader who you are. What did you feel…say… think… do? Use tactical descriptors to pull the reader in. After you engage the reader in a compelling anecdote, spend the remainder of your word count on self-reflection. How did this experience influence your path? What did you learn and how have you incorporated this perspective into your life? 

Cover Letter: MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.

Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation).

Anchor this cover letter in experiences from your full-time post-baccalaureate professional life, 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. Select a max of two experiences that you can discuss in depth. These experiences should each demonstrate more than one of the qualifications listed in the prompt (e.g., creativity, leadership, innovation, teamwork, and/or ability to grow and learn from failure). Show the reader how specific projects, interactions, and/or challenges influenced you and the formation of your goals. 

Then, transition into what you have yet to learn, and why a Sloan 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 two or three that differentiate Sloan from other business schools you’re considering and explain why you’re so eager to engage and participate. Once the reader has taken the trip to your past and better understands you as a professional, your proposed path forward as part of the Sloan community will resonate more deeply. 

Related:

Your MBA Application. Acing the Video Essay

How to Approach the Harvard Business School Essay

How to Approach Wharton’s Essays

How to Approach Columbia’s Essays

How to Approach Columbia’s Essays: Part II

Read: How to approach Columbia’s Essays Part I

Columbia Business School’s Essay Two—Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you academically, culturally, and professionally? (300 words)

The most important word in this prompt is WHY. Admissions directors already know what CBS offers to students; they want to know why their offerings resonate with you. 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 Columbia from other business schools you’re considering and explain why you’re so eager to engage and participate. Have you spent your career in operations, and are particularly keen to meet Professor X, take his course, and speak to him about his latest research on the control and management of manufacturing systems? Would you like to do a consulting project for Company Y, a firm whose mission is aligned with your goals, and you know has collaborated with CBS students in the past? Would you like to continue your community service work with a specific student organization at Columbia because you’re familiar with the work they’ve done on initiatives you’re passionate about? By digging into the why, you will convince CBS admissions directors of your excitement for their offerings, but also that you will be the kind of collaborative, community-minded, and determined student they are looking for. 

Columbia Business School’s Essay Three—Tell us about your favorite book, movie, or song and why it resonates with you. (250 words)

Just as in CBS’s Essay Two, the most important word in this prompt is WHY. It’s time to showcase some personality! Columbia Business School is looking for students who will be collaborative and form lasting personal and professional relationships, so exposing a bit of vulnerability to show a quirky or sentimental side is ok, especially because your other essays delved deeply into your professional and academic interests and abilities. Do you have a passion for glass blowing, and enjoy listening to a certain artist when you’re in studio? Did you just finish a memoir that inspired you? Is there a movie you watch over and over because it reminds you of life before you emigrated to this country or a relative you admire?

Columbia Business School’s Optional Essay—If you wish to provide further information or additional context around your application to the Admissions Committee, please upload a brief explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or personal history. This does not need to be a formal essay. You may submit bullet points. (Maximum 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 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 Blog: How to Approach the Harvard Business School Essay

How to Approach Columbia’s Essays: Part I

Columbia Business School is clear about the kind of student they admit into their full-time MBA program: collaborative, community-minded, and determined. They are looking for students who are both ambitious and ready to make an impact on their field (and the world), and prepared to develop meaningful personal and professional relationships. 

As with other elite MBA programs, the essay questions are a critical component of the application because they provide you, the applicant, with the opportunity to show your abilities—in the areas of critical thinking and problem solving, leadership, and teamwork—through stories from your life. You will also be able to make the case for why you will be able to do what you say you want to do post-MBA. Unlike your resume, which will provide an overview of your life from the start of college, your essays should take a deep dive that will give the reader a view into the person (and personality) behind some of your most meaningful experiences and accomplishments. 

Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Although the question asks about your future goals, 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. As they note in the prompt, they already have an overview of your professional path to date, but they haven’t yet gotten a deep dive into your most pivotal experiences. Once the reader has taken this trip to your past, your proposed path forward will make much more sense. 

The Writing Process

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 an MBA program. 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, 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 Columbia 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. Think about your application as a whole and use your responses to strategically cover any qualities that may not be adequately addressed in other aspects of your application. 

Write. Keep in mind that you must be showing, not telling the reader who you are. Invite the reader into your life by highlighting sensory details, such as smells and sounds, and don’t hesitate to engage your readers emotionally. Sprinkle in humor (if you feel comfortable doing so) or hit a poignant note. 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.  

Read: How to approach Columbia’s Essays Part II

Related:

• How to Approach the Harvard Business School Essay

• How to Approach Wharton’s Essays

• How to Approach the MIT Sloan Essays

• How to Approach University of Chicago Booth’s Essays

• Your MBA Application. Acing the Video Essay

The 2022-2023 MBA Application Season has Kicked-off!

The MBA application season is officially underway as schools start to confirm 2022-2023 submission deadlines and essay prompts. We’ve compiled a list of the available deadlines and prompts, and we will continue to make updates as additional information becomes available.

US News Ranking	School Name	Early Action	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Essay Prompt
1	University of Chicago (Booth)		Sep 22, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Apr 11, 2023	Available
1	University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)*		Sep 7, 2022	Jan 4, 2023	Mar 29, 2023	Available
3	Northwestern University (Kellogg)		Sep 14, 2022	Jan 10, 2023	Apr 5, 2023	Available
3	Stanford University		Sep 13, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Apr 11, 202	Available
5	Harvard University		Sep 7, 2022	Jan 4, 2023		Available
5	MIT (Sloan)		Sep 29, 2022	Jan 18, 2023	Apr 11, 2023	Available
7	Yale University		Sep 13, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Apr 11, 2023	Available
8	Columbia University*	Sep 28, 2022	*See note	Jan 11, 2023	Apr 5, 2023	Available
8	UC--Berkeley (Haas)		Sept 22, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Apr 6, 2023	Available
10	University of Michigan (Ross)		Sep 19, 2022	Jan 9, 2023	Apr 3, 2023	Available
11	Dartmouth University (Tuck)		Sep 26, 2022	Jan 4, 2023	Mar 27, 2023	Available
12	Duke University (Fuqua)*	Sep 7, 2022	Sep 26, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Mar 28, 2023	Available
12	New York University (Stern)*	Sep 15, 2022	Oct 15, 2022	Jan 15, 2023	Mar 15, 2023	Available
14	University of Virginia (Darden)*	Sep 8, 2022	Oct 5, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Apr 5, 2023	Available
15	Cornell University (Johnson)		Sep 22, 2022	Jan 10, 2023	Apr 11, 2023	Available
16	Carnegie Mellon (Tepper)		Oct 2, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Mar 12, 2023	Available
17	UCLA (Anderson)		Oct 5, 2022	Jan 4, 2023	Apr 12, 2023	Available
18	University of Texas--Austin (McCombs)		Oct 11, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Mar 28, 2023	Available
19	UNC--Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)*		Oct 10, 2022	Jan 9, 2023	Feb 27, 2023	Available
19	USC (Marshall)*		Oct 15, 2022	Jan 5, 2023	Mar 1, 2023	Available

University of Pennsylvania (Wharton): All submissions due by 5 PM, ET

Columbia University:

• Early Decision submissions are binding, accepted applicants are asked to withdraw other applications.

• Submitted Regular Decision applications will be reviewed after Early Decision applicants; this typically starts in Late November

Duke University (Fuqua): Early Action submissions are binding, accepted applicants are asked to withdraw other applications.

New York University (Stern): The first application deadline, Sept 15, is the earliest submission date rather than an Early Action / binding submission.

University of Virginia (Darden): Early Action applicants may opt for binding or non-binding consideration.

UNC--Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler): Round 4 submission deadline is Apr 17, 2023.

USC (Marshall): Round 4 submission deadline is Apr 15, 2023, Applications submitted after April 15 will be considered on a space-available basis.

Related Blogs:

• How to Approach the Harvard Business School Essay

• How to Approach Columbia’s Essays: Part I

• How to Approach Columbia’s Essays: Part II

• How to Approach Wharton’s Essays

MBA Application Essays: Prompts Designed to Get Beyond Applicants’ Professional Experiences to Gauge Creativity and Assess Values

Throughout the MBA admissions process, schools’ admissions committees are looking to get to know applicants as fully as possible so they can put together a diverse but cohesive group of students. Thus, many schools will require you to respond to “out of the box” essay prompts designed to explore your creativity, communication skills, and values. We examine some such prompts below, as well as some strategies you could consider when responding to them.

Booth Moments Presentation/Essay

University of Chicago Booth

 Exercise:  Booth asks applicants to choose a photograph or “moment” from a small collection that resonates with them, then explain why in an essay or slideshow.

Strategy: While this essay is an invitation for you to showcase your personality and interests to the admissions committee, it is also the only essay requested, which means you must convey a lot of information. We recommend that you organize your essay content prior to selecting a photograph. You’ll want to consider your past experiences and future goals, how the Booth MBA will help you to achieve your goals, and what you will offer the Booth community. Then, look through the photographs and determine the one that will allow you to transition smoothly from the “moment” to the rest of your content. While you do not want the photograph to seem like an afterthought, you do want to make sure that it serves as a means to an end.

Tactics: As a rule of thumb, your essay should be approximately 750 to 1,000 words in length. We recommend the slideshow option only for applicants who are exceptionally well versed in creating this type of visual.

From the Admissions Committee: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/blog/ftadmissions/2017/201718-essay

Video Questions

Kellogg School of Management and Yale School of Management

 Exercise: Kellogg and Yale ask applicants to respond to several short video essay questions, in order to exhibit their personality, grasp of the English language, and what they could bring to the MBA community.

Rationale: Kellogg states that the video essay questions are “designed to bring to life the person we have learned about on paper.” Student culture is a key focus in Kellogg’s admissions efforts, and they want to get to know applicants as fully as possible to ensure they construct a close-knit and collaborative class. Similarly, Yale is looking to gauge your communication skills and your ability to think on your feet. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your values, interests, creative thinking ability, and goals rather than worrying too much about the “correct” or expected response. 

Your Strategy: While the video essay may feel uncomfortable at first, it is an excellent opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you better. Prior to participating in the video essay, review your submitted application and think through your personal goals and interests and how those align with the MBA program. While you do not want to look scripted in your responses, you do want to be prepared, which will help you to relax and show your personality and communication skills.

Tactics: Both Kellogg and Yale provide practice questions that will help you to get comfortable with the format and technology, and we recommend taking advantage of this. You can also practice with a friend using Skype to get a feel for the interview format.

From the Admissions Committees:

http://som.yale.edu/apptips-video-questions

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140823/ISSUE02/308239995/how-to-ace-the-new-trend-in-mba-admissions-online-video-essays

Video Statement

MIT Sloan

Exercise: Sloan requests applicants to provide a 60 second video statement introducing themselves to their future classmates. It is important to note that the video will only be used during the admissions process and will not be shown more widely.

Strategy: Familiarize yourself with the Sloan values and culture and then take time to clearly link your own values, passions and goals with those of the greater Sloan community. The Admissions Committee should gain a clear understanding of why you want to attend the school and what you will bring to your class.

Tactics: Create an outline of ideas that you want to express in your video and practice saying the content aloud. While we do not recommend memorizing a script, as you will want to sound natural in the video, we do want you to feel confident with your talking points prior to making the recording. Finally, take advantage of the fact that you can record the video as many times as you want.

From the Admissions Committee: https://mitsloanadmissions.com/2017/09/06/advice-for-mba-applicants-how-to-master-the-video-statement/

25 Facts

Duke Fuqua

Exercise: Fuqua asks applicants to create a list of 25 (numbered) facts about themselves, not to exceed two pages.

Rationale: Duke believes that their program is 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”. To get to know you better, beyond your professional and academic background, they are looking for 25 facts that will provide them insight into your likes/dislikes, passions, and hobbies.

Strategy: You will want to use this space to differentiate yourself from other applicants and to provide the admissions committee insight into how you can bring a unique perspective, skill set, or passion to the incoming class. Spend some time thinking through potential facts and talk to your friends, family, and others to brainstorm ideas. While your facts may involve inspirational figures in your life, be sure to keep the focus on yourself. And, while it is perfectly acceptable to use facts spanning your entire life, it is important to note that most should be inspired by experiences you’ve had as an adult (18+).

Tactics: While this is an atypical essay type, remain conscientious about your use of grammar in the facts. They may take on a more conversational writing style, but each one should be technically correct.

From the Admissions Committee: https://blogs.fuqua.duke.edu/duke-mba/2012/07/19/megan-lynam-overbay/application-essays-change-to-gain-greater-insights?category=admissions#.WjKlE7pFyuU

Pick Six

NYU Stern  

Exercise: Stern asks applicants to describe themselves to the admissions committee and future classmates using six images, a brief introduction, and image captions.

Rationale: This format is reflective of current social media trends, and is becoming a more common form of expression for individuals and brands; the admissions committee is looking for your competency in putting together such a deliverable.  

Strategy: Think of your response to this prompt as you would an advertising campaign or curated art exhibition. Individual pieces should be able to stand on their own, but they must also meaningfully connect and contribute to a larger story. Prior to looking through images, consider first what you could convey overall. Keep in mind the themes of the business school application: innovation, leadership, and teamwork. But also explore other possibilities: a unique passion, a personal mantra, your life’s unique path to this point, future aspirations, and/or how you will contribute to the Stern Community. Additionally, consider a cohesive theme that could bind your images together. To choose your theme, consider your interests and passions, and how you could incorporate them into your image selections. If you are an artist, you may want to select images of your own work, while a movie buff may choose to incorporate screenshots of famous scenes, to represent their strengths and future goals. If you’re an analytical type, don’t let this exercise overwhelm you. Your images don’t have to be pictures, but can also be graphs, maps, or word clouds. Try to find a mix that feels true to you, while ensuring that each image gives the admissions committee insight into your personality.

Tactics:  Do not let the captions become an afterthought. While it is easy to get attached to an image, remember that the words and images must work together to tell your story.

From the Admissions Committee: https://poetsandquants.com/2017/06/12/nyu-stern-unveils-big-changes-mba-app/2/