While the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, has made it very clear that applicants need outstanding academics to get accepted to its MBA program, it will not compromise its values to maintain its high stats. Haas’s four Defining Leadership Principles are taken very seriously by the school’s administration and admissions team. You will need to show that you share and live by those principles if you are to receive serious consideration as a candidate. The four principles are as follows:

1. Question the Status Quo
2. Confidence Without Attitude
3. Students Always
4. Beyond Yourself

Keep those principles very much at the forefront of your mind as you prepare your Haas application.

Ready to get to work on your Haas application? Read on. 

Berkeley Haas has tweaked its video essay this year to better understand you. The adcom has added the directive “Briefly introduce yourself” to the prompt, which is otherwise the same as last year’s and tasks applicants with sharing something that makes them feel alive when they are doing it, and to explain why this is the case. 

Required Essay #1 – Video Essay

Briefly introduce yourself, then tell us what makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why?

Please share something about yourself that may not be evident in other parts of your application. We are looking for an authentic and introspective response that demonstrates how you will contribute to the MBA class and culture at UC Berkeley Haas. 

You will be able to test your audio-visual connection before recording. Video essays should last 1-2 minutes and may not exceed 2 minutes. You have two (2) attempts to record your video essay.

This isn’t a trick question; the adcom wants insight into who you are and what motivates you. This straightforward question requires you to consider the full story that your application otherwise conveys and then add to that information. The introduction sets the stage for the example of what the adcom wants to learn – that is, something else about you that they won’t find in other parts of your application. The context of your response should be related to how you will contribute to your MBA class and the school’s culture.

There are no limitations on the areas of your life you can explore for your answer. However, considering the broader application, there are specific areas that serve to highlight your professional experience and academic achievements. This essay is your chance to showcase a side of yourself that is not immediately apparent in your application, providing a more comprehensive view of how your presence in the MBA community will make a difference in your classmates’ experiences. 

Because this is a video essay, you can convey your enthusiasm verbally. Describe how and why the activity has had an immense impact on you. You might, for example, explain how you feel when you save a life as a volunteer emergency medical technician – from the adrenaline rush of immediately arriving on the scene to the elation and relief you feel when you know your quick thinking and actions have preserved someone’s life, your gratitude for the training that provided you with the necessary tools, and the humility that renews your commitment to making a difference in this way. Alternatively, you could share your experience of leading a community effort to save stray dogs from certain death. For a dog lover, this activity is emotionally rich and deeply fulfilling. Driven by empathy, it might be sad, considering the extreme challenges a stray dog faces, but your act of kindness and commitment to help such animals provides you with optimism for the life they have yet ahead. This fulfillment drives the cycle of advocating for stray animals and your continued participation in these activities.

Aim to reveal important aspects of your character and values, and highlight the unique contribution you can make to the Haas community and its culture. The admissions reader will understand the difference you will make as a member of the next MBA class, bringing your unique perspective, experiences, and skills to enrich the community. 

Required Essay #2

What are your post-MBA career goals, and how will the resources at UC Berkeley Haas help you achieve them? How do you plan to remain adaptable as your career evolves? (300 words max)

Haas has adjusted the prompt for its goals essay to focus on your desired post-MBA professional goal and how you will adapt as you navigate your career. To write this essay well, you must first understand and share Haas’s four Defining Leadership Principles (as presented on the Haas website): 

• Question the Status Quo: We thrive at the epicenter of innovation. We make progress by speaking our minds even when it challenges convention. We lead by championing bold ideas and taking intelligent risks.
• Confidence Without Attitude: We make decisions based on evidence and analysis, giving us the confidence to act with humility. We foster collaboration by building a foundation of empathy, inclusion, and trust.
• Students Always: We are a community designed to support curiosity. We actively seek out diverse perspectives as part of our lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. There is always more to learn.
• Beyond Yourself: We shape our world by leading ethically and responsibly. As stewards of our enterprises, we take the longer view in our decisions and actions. This often means putting the collective good above our own interests.

For the initial part of the prompt, it is important that your goal is plausible, even if it is a bit of a reach. Be specific about the industry, function, and geography (especially if you are an international applicant), and be sure to identify skills that you will further develop during the MBA program, as well as critical skills you need to gain for this position. By doing this, you’ll convey an understanding of what the role entails and show that you are aware about the gaps in your abilities. Then you will explain how the Haas MBA will help you address these gaps, referencing the resources you’ll use as you work to achieve your goal. 

Regardless of how you start your essay, be sure to address how Haas’s four principles align with your goals. Because the school gives you room for only 300 words and you need to discuss how Haas’s resources will enable you to become a better leader, you can focus on just one or two principles. For example, you could explain how the program’s strong focus on entrepreneurship could help you launch your own business, or how its commitment to social impact could help your future company solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.

Also, explain how Berkeley Haas’s unique culture could help you develop into a better leader. For example, you might discuss how Haas’s emphasis on collaboration and teamwork could help you build stronger relationships with your colleagues, or how its commitment to diversity and inclusion could help you become a more inclusive leader.

The second part of the prompt signals that the adcom understands that long-term goals aren’t set in stone; they serve as more of a guidepost for your career. In this essay, you have the opportunity to discuss alternatives that will allow you to move from your post-MBA goal to a certain career point in the future. You might also have a more traditional path as you think about your future career. You can finish this essay by summarizing why Haas excites you and how you will grow personally and professionally by earning an MBA from its program.

Supplemental Information – Distance Traveled 

At Berkeley Haas, we consider “distance traveled” as the contextual information that helps us understand the unique circumstances, challenges, or influences that have shaped your personal and professional journey.

We invite you to share aspects of your background, personal circumstances, or significant experiences that have meaningfully impacted who you are today and how you’ve reached this point. Please tell us how these experiences have influenced your perspectives, decisions, and aspirations, and how they contribute to the person you are becoming. (300 words max)

This essay response will benefit from your taking time to reflect on your life and identifying key experiences that have influenced your values and character. Each of us has a unique set of life experiences, and when we face challenges, we learn about ourselves and respond to situations differently. 

Haas would like to learn more about how your life circumstances, challenges you have faced, and obstacles you have overcome have shaped who you are and influenced your approach to life. What motivates you? How did a particular situation influence how you see yourself and the actions you take? 

For example, were you raised in a single-parent household? If so, how did that influence your decisions later in life? Are you an immigrant or an international student whose parents arranged your marriage when you were just 2 years old? Have you had to work to help your family thrive since you were 10 years old? Are you a first-generation college student, and if so, what does it mean for your family to see you graduate from school? While these situations might have affected your grades or test scores, the key to this essay is demonstrating that, despite your circumstances, you have beaten the odds.

If you have not faced obstacles in your life, describe your commitment to how you have made an impact within your community to benefit others. What was your motivation? How did your actions benefit others? Have you volunteered to help an organization install a playground for children in your local community? Do you support legislation that would benefit the elderly or those with disabilities? Are you active in an organization that educates children who can’t afford a formal education? As you answer this question, consider how your involvement has benefited others who may have experienced different life circumstances.

Optional Statement 

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. (300 words max)

Haas’s optional statement allows you to ensure that the adcom does not have to guess the reasons behind any of the following situations (or something similar):

• You had terrible grades in your first year at university. (Perhaps your parent became ill, and you flew back and forth to care for them, or you worked 30 hours a week to make ends meet.)
• You received a subpar GMAT or GRE score. (Maybe you are not a great test taker and can prove it with your inadequate ACT or SAT score alongside your 4.0 GPA. Or perhaps you were initially premed and realized after volunteering at a hospital that medicine is not your thing.)

One word of caution is to make sure your explanation doesn’t sound like an excuse. Own the situation, and discuss how you have rebounded from poor grades or can demonstrate how you will perform well in grad school courses, because you have taken additional coursework and received As.

Haas application deadlines

	Application Deadline	Decision Notification
Round 1	September 10, 2026	December 10, 2026
Round 2	January 7, 2027	March 25, 2027
Round 3	April 1, 2027	May 6, 2027

Source: Berkeley Haas website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with Berkeley Haas directly to verify its essay questions, instructions, and deadlines.***

Haas class profile

Here is a look at the UC Berkeley Haas MBA Class of 2027 (data taken from the Berkeley Haas website).

Class size: 273

U.S. minority: 52%

Underrepresented minority: 26%

Female: 43%

LGBTQ+: 15%

Veterans: 6%

Average years of work experience: 5.6

Middle 80% range of years of work experience: 3.2-8.2 

International: 44%

Countries represented: 42

Average undergraduate GPA: 3.67

Middle 80% range undergraduate GPA: 3.4-3.91

First-generation college: 18%

Undergraduate majors:

• Economics: 17%
• Engineering: 17%
• Business/Commerce: 15%
• Social Sciences: 13%
• Other: 14%
• Computer Science 7%
• Finance: 6%
• Arts/Humanities: 4%
• Math/Physical Sciences: 4%
• Natural Sciences: 3%

Median GMAT score: 730

Middle 80% range GMAT score: 669-767

Median GMAT Focus score: 675

Middle 80% range GMAT Focus score: 637-725

Median GRE Verbal score: 161

Middle 80% range GRE Verbal score: 155-167

Median GRE Quant score: 162

Middle 80% range GRE Quant score: 155-169

Pre-MBA industries:

• Consulting: 24%
• High Technology/Electronics: 21%
• Financial Services: 20%
• Other: 10%
• Health/Pharma/Biotech: 5%
• Not-for-Profit: 5%
• Consumer Products/Retail: 4%
• Military: 4%
• Entertainment: 2%
• Government 2%
• Real Estate: 2%
• Energy: 1%

Related Resources:

• Showcasing Leadership in Admissions, a free guide
• Four Tips for Displaying Teamwork in Your Application Essays
• Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for MBA Applicants