Essay Approach

Essay Guide 2024-2025: The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia

UVA’s Darden School of Business has released its 2024-2025 application deadlines and required essays. 

Round Application Deadline   Decision Notification

Early Action 05 September 2024       16 October 2024

Round 1         02 October 2024       11 December 2024

Round 2         07 January 2025         12 March 2025             

Round 3         02 April 2025               30 April 2025

The essay prompts at UVA’s Darden showcase the value the school places on understanding the student as a full person. Rather than just focusing on career goals, the required essay prompts seek out insights into an applicant’s personality and ability to contribute to an inclusive and cohesive class. Darden calls out the importance of responding to the prompts with writing that is “authentic and genuine,” cautioning students not to attempt to write to please the admissions officers. “We want to get to know you,” they write, “not us.” 

Community of Belonging: What would you want your classmates to know about you that is not on your resume? (100 words)

It’s time to show some personality! Darden 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 a good idea. You could also write about how you will contribute to the diversity of the class and what you will offer your classmates. Are you a passionate environmentalist who spends weekends leading group hikes? Do you organize food drives with a local non-profit? Do you spend all of your vacation time traveling to a specific region of the world? Are you an avid guitar player? Show the admissions committee and your future classmates who you are and what you are most passionate about.

Inclusive Impact: Please describe a tangible example that illuminates your experience promoting an inclusive environment and what you would bring to creating a welcoming, global community at Darden. (300 words)

Show Darden’s admissions officers how you will contribute to building an inclusive community by anchoring your response in an experience from your past that will inform and invigorate your plan. It may be something on a large-scale: Did you start a pro-bono consulting group at your current employer, bringing together representatives from various practice areas, and you’d like to partner with a local organization to offer similar services alongside a group of your Darden colleagues? Or what about steps you take on a weekly basis to include others? Do you regularly invite new coworkers to lunch with you to welcome them to the team? Or serve as a mentor for team-members as they get up to speed on new projects? Once at Darden, perhaps you could serve as a tutor to classmates struggling in finance or technology courses. In linking your past actions 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 2: Careers With Purpose. 

At this time how would you describe your short-term, post-MBA goal in terms of industry, function, geography, company size and/or mission and how does it align with the long-term vision you have for your career? (200 words)

You’ll want to state a clear post-MBA goal that makes sense given your previous professional post-baccalaureate experiences. 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 what they’ve done before. You will also want to clearly show how your short-term goals will set you on a path to achieving your long-term vision. 

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 Fuqua School of Business at Duke University

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. 

Five Writing Tips to Ensure Your MBA Application Essays are Memorable

We see it all the time. You have compiled excellent professional and extracurricular experiences and great personal anecdotes. But, for some reason, when you write your essays they are still coming across as …flat.  We’ve gathered up our top five writing tips below to help you incorporate personality and bring your essays to life. 

  • Update your language. In your academic and/or professional life you likely use formal language in your written communications. However, we would caution you against being overly formal in your application writing. 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." 

A great test is to read your writing aloud and see how easily it flows. Does your language feel natural or stilted? Does it sound like you? Make sure your writing style and language choices promote a connection between you and your reader.

  • Structure your writing to grab the reader’s attention. One of the goals of your writing is to inform, but it is equally important to engage your reader and get them personally invested in your journey. You might even take a cue from an action movie. When the lights go down and the curtain goes up, you see the star in a sports car going full throttle. What you don’t know, immediately, is who or where they are. Narrative writing does not have to be linear. After leading with an attention-grabbing scene, the writer can go back and provide additional context and information on what’s missing. 

  • Embrace emotion. Take a lesson from advertising. What do the best commercials have in common? They make you feel something—humor, pride, sorrow. As you write your essay responses, ensure that you use emotion to connect with your reader. And, this doesn’t necessarily mean recounting only sad or difficult times. Rather, it means bringing your reader along on the full spectrum of your experience as you share a story from your life. We rarely feel just one emotion at a time, embrace the complexity.

  • Make it universal. Let the reader share in your learning by making it about more than yourself and your own experience. Look for the transcendence and let the admissions committee in on it. You didn’t just overcome a fear of public speaking, you learned to challenge yourself and break past self-constructed barriers. You didn’t just overcome cultural differences while working in a diverse group, you learned about seeking out commonalities with others. Whatever it is you learned, dig deep for that universal finding that will help to ensure your reader finishes your essay feeling they are better off for the experience. 

  • Don’t forget the basics. One of our mottos is: "Clarity above all things." When you write an essay for your application, leave no room for misinterpretation. The reader needs to see the story how you do. Crisp and untangled writing is also best given character count limitations and how much you need to share.

Essay Tips: NYU Stern School of Business

The full-time MBA program at NYU Stern has released its 2023-2024 application deadlines and requirements. It’s never too early to plan for your best submission!

Round       Submission Deadline    Decision Notification

Round 1 18 September 2023 01 December 2023

Round 2 18 October 2023 01 January 2024

Round 3 18 January 2024 01 April 2024

Round 4 18 April 2024 Ongoing

Prepare to get creative for NYU Stern’s essays. And allow yourself plenty of time to think through how your previous meaningful personal and professional experiences have inspired your post-MBA goals, influenced how you view change, and helped shape who you are and what you will bring to the Stern community.  

Short Answer: Professional Aspirations

What are your short-term career goals? (150 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

State a clear post-MBA goal using straight-forward terminology. And make it clear how obtaining the Stern MBA will position you, given your previous work and educational experiences, to achieve this goal.

Essay 1: Change: _________ it
In today’s global business environment, the only constant is change. Using NYU Stern’s brand call to action, we want to know how you view change. Change: _____ it. Fill in the blank with a word of your choice. Why does this word resonate with you? How will you embrace your own personal tagline while at Stern? Examples: Change: Dare it. Change: Dream it. Change: Drive it. Change: Empower it. Change: Manifest it. Change: [Any word of your choice] it. (350 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

So, how do you perceive change? The word you select to fill in the blank is far less important than how you back up that claim with experiences from your life. As we always say, the best evidence that you’ll do something in the future is having already done it in the past. Show the reader that you’ve lived your tagline and will continue to do so at Stern.  

To get started, brainstorm anecdotes about transitional times in your life. What prompted these periods of change? How did you respond? What key learnings about yourself and others came about as a result of experiencing this change? Then, reading through your stories, look for a common theme that will help lead you to a word for your tagline. When you’ve decided on one, choose the most substantial anecdote that supports your claim and take the reader on a deep dive into that experience. Explore how the experience prompted an evolution in your perspective and reinforced your desire and ability to continue to live your tagline at Stern and beyond. 

Essay 2: Personal Expression (a.k.a. "Pick Six")
Describe yourself to the Admissions Committee and to your future classmates using six images and corresponding captions. Your uploaded PDF should contain all of the following elements:

  • A brief introduction or overview of your "Pick Six" (no more than 3 sentences).

  • Six images that help illustrate who you are.

  • A one-sentence caption for each of the six images that helps explain why they were selected and are significant to you.

Note: Your visuals may include photos, infographics, drawings, or any other images that best describe you. Your document must be uploaded as a single PDF. The essay cannot be sent in physical form or be linked to a website.

The Pick Six is an opportunity to show some personality and demonstrate your unique interests, abilities, passions, and goals in a visual and cohesive way.

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 want to convey overall. Keep in mind the themes of a successful business school application: innovation, leadership, and teamwork. But also explore aspects unique to you and your story. This might include a passion or hobby, personal mantra, life experiences that have brought you to this point, future goals, and/or how you will contribute to the Stern Community.

After you have an idea of the story you want to tell, consider a cohesive theme that can bind your images together. Could you incorporate stills from films you love to help articulate your passion for collaborative leadership? Are you a glassblower and wish to show your creative side through photographs of your original work? Do you have an interest in modern art and hope to communicate your propensity for strategic thinking through some of your favorite pieces?  If you’re an analytical type, don’t let this exercise overwhelm you. You are not restricted to photographs, so you can consider 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 and what you will offer the Stern community. And don’t 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.

Essay 3: Additional Information (optional)

Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include important aspects of yourself not otherwise apparent in your application, current or past gaps in employment, further explanation of your undergraduate record or self-reported academic transcript(s), plans to retake the GMAT, GRE, Executive Assessment, IELTS or TOEFL, or any other relevant information. (250 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

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 Stern 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: 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: The Yale School of Management

Essay Tips: The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Essay Tips: Columbia Business School

Columbia’s deadlines have been released along with this year’s short answer and essay questions. If you know you’ll be applying Round I, it’s time to get started.  

Round Application Deadline Interview Decisions Final Decisions

Round 1 13 September 2023 Mid-October Mid-December

Round 2 05 January 2024 Early-mid February Late March

Round 3 03 April 3 2024 Mid-to-late April Early May

The CBS short answer and essay questions give you the opportunity to articulate your short- and long-term goals, explore how specific experiences from your past have reinforced your interest in pursuing this path, as well as how the CBS MBA will help you to be successful. This year, there is also an essay question that asks you to share one of your experiences in Inclusive Leadership. Here, you’ll be able to showcase a meaningful leadership anecdote from your past, explain how it prompted an evolution in your perspective, and elaborate on how it will help you add value to both the CBS community and your future workplace. 

Short Answer Question: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum) Examples of possible responses: “Work in business development for a media company.” “Join a strategy consulting firm.” “Launch a data-management start-up.”

Don’t overthink this question. State a clear post-MBA goal using straight-forward terminology that a fellow MBA would understand. Of course, you’ll want your response to be consistent with the goals you describe in Essay 1. 

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. 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: The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a co-curricular program designed to provide students with the skills and strategies needed to develop as inclusive leaders.  Through various resources and programming, the goal is for students to explore and reflect during their educational journey on the following five inclusive leadership skills:  Mitigating Bias and Prejudice; Managing Intercultural Dialogue; Addressing Systemic Inequity; Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking; and Creating an Inclusive Environment. 

Describe a time or situation when you had the need to utilize one or more of these five skills, and tell us the actions you took and the outcome. (250 words)

To start, consider the five inclusive leadership skills: Mitigating Bias and Prejudice; Managing Intercultural Dialogue; Addressing Systemic Inequity; Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking; and Creating an Inclusive Environment. For context, review the Columbia Video Library’s offerings on Inclusive Leadership and Diversity. Now, what do each of these skills mean to you? 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 skills in your daily life? With such a limited word count, you should choose one anecdote and explore how it impacted your perspective as well as reinforced your desire and ability to lead with inclusivity at CBS, in your community, and within the workplace. 

Essay 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place. CBS proudly fosters a collaborative learning environment through curricular experiences like our clusters and learning teams, an extremely active co-curricular and student life environment, and career mentorship opportunities like our Executives-in-Residence program.

Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you academically, culturally, and professionally? Please be specific. (250 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. Make the case that the CBS MBA (not just an MBA) 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. 

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 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. Keep in mind also the CBS Five Inclusive Leadership Skills.. 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 CBS 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: 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: 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: Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley Haas has published application deadlines for their full-time MBA, and it’s never too early to start thinking about your essay responses. 

Round Application Deadline Decision Notification

Round 1 14 September 2023 07 December 2023

Round 2 04 January 2024    21 March 2024

Round 3 28 March 2024         02 May 2024

The Admissions Committee at Berkeley Haas wants a holistic understanding of applicants, including “all aspects of a candidate’s character, qualifications, and experiences.” And they care deeply about putting together a diverse class.

All MBA programs look for applicants to demonstrate their abilities in innovation (critical, creative thinking and problem solving), leadership, and teamwork, but Berkeley Haas specifically 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 see.

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, about the world? How does your participation in the activity continue to inspire your growth? 

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

Required Essay 2: How will an MBA help you achieve your short-term and long-term career goals? (300 words max)

Although this question asks about your future 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. 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. 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.

Required (Video) Essay 3: 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 (20-30 seconds), an explanation of why your chosen principle resonates with you (40-50 seconds), a deep dive into a specific experience that shows how you live that principle (40-50 seconds), and a brief conclusion (10 seconds). 

Consider also how you can best incorporate your personality into your submission. If you have a location or background that will help you tell your story, go for it. And take advantage of the fact that you can record the video as many times as you want.

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). 

  • 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. 

Required (Short Answer) Essay 3: Can you please 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? (150 words max)

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? With such a limited word count, you should choose one anecdote and explore how it impacted your perspective as well as reinforced your desire to promote a sense of community at Berkeley Haas.  

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. Keep in mind also the Haas Defining Leadership Principles. 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 Berkeley Haas 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: Harvard Business School

Essay Tips: The Stanford Graduate School of Business

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