Taken together, these essay questions cover a lot of ground: your professional path and plans, your alignment with the program’s core values, and your interpersonal and communication responsiveness. Moreover, this vast ground is covered in few words – the written essays are short, requiring tough decisions about what key points and anecdotes to include and…
MIT Sloan Fellows Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022-2023]
In my two-decades plus of assisting MIT Sloan Fellows applicants (successes every year!), I have seen that the adcom values applicants who, among other things, demonstrate consistent, outstanding impact; are on track to become leaders in their company and even in their industry; and bring to the table a point of view and bold yet…
Indiana Kelley MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022 – 2023]
These questions are a straightforward mix of professional and personal. The adcom wants assurance that you have a clear professional focus and a solid plan for making productive use of the Kelley MBA resources. Beyond that, they’re looking for engaging applicants who are willing to share their life experiences and understand what they can contribute….
INSEAD MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022 – 2023]
Communication is key for INSEAD – in part because it is a key factor that their recruiters look for. Hence the INSEAD application elicits your communication effectiveness. First, INSEAD asks you to write reflective essays – and to do so succinctly. Balancing this emphasis on written communication is a video component – the adcom wants to…
University of Texas McCombs MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023]
McCombs combines its rigor with a passionate community, including passion for the program. The single required question below reflects this value; it invites you to demonstrate deep familiarity with the program connected to your unique vision for the future. It has a practical slant; convey concrete goals and make a case for how this program…
Short and Sweet: Tips for Writing “Mini” MBA Essays
What is an admissions committee’s message or intent in limiting an “essay” answer to 100, 200, or 300 characters? Just the facts, please. Actually, just the key facts. No adornment, no backstory, no extended rationale. In working with clients on such questions, for example the CBS short answer goals question, I’ve been struck by how hard providing “just the…
HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023]
The HEC Paris MBA application essays – and there are many compared to most MBA applications these days –give the adcom a well-rounded view of you. They go beyond what you’ve done to capture how you think and respond, even how you imagine. Moreover, they require you to communicate complex thoughts and experiences succinctly. For…
Why MBA? The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay
MBA goals need to be practical, not just theoretical In the good old days when Wharton still offered feedback to rejected applicants, I talked with a potential client who was reapplying to Wharton. He had received feedback on his application and had, in fact, really liked his application. “They said I was well qualified, and…
Do MBA Rankings Matter?
You’ve defined your goals and assessed your qualifications. Now it’s time to move on to the program research stage of the MBA admissions process. There is a sea of information out there: rankings, books, MBA program websites, MBA fairs, Poets & Quants, student and adcom blogs, school open houses, your neighbor’s sister’s boyfriend’s dad –…
EMBA: The Ultimate Guide for Applicants
So, you’re considering an EMBA? Congratulations on considering this next step in your educational and professional journey! Yes, the road to an EMBA acceptance can be complicated and unwieldy – especially if you’ve been out of the school-loop for a long time. But on the positive side, I’ve worked with so many clients who have…
IMD Executive MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2021 – 2022]
IMD Executive MBA application essays IMD EMBA essay #1 Please briefly state your career objectives. (160 words) This length equates to one long or two short paragraphs. Be specific: note intended roles/positions, industry, possibly geography. Give an example of companies that interest you. State not just what you want to do, but, most important, WHY….
UC Berkeley Haas EMBA Application Essay Tips and Deadlines [2021 – 2022]
The Haas EMBA essay questions reflect the importance of fit with the program. This fit includes being a mature, self-aware person who is open and will engage productively and meaningfully with the Haas EMBA cohort. Keep on the radar screen as you conceive and draft your essays Haas’s Defining Leadership Principles: “Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without…
Harvard Kennedy School MPP and MPA2 Application Essay Tips [2021 – 2022]
The essays discussed below are for the MPP and the two-year MPA applications. (The MPA/ID and the MC/MPA and Mason’s program have different prompts.) HKS seeks accomplished, well-rounded master’s students – people with proven academic success, strong leadership and career potential, and “commitment to advancing the public interest.” The school also wants the student body to be…
London Business School Executive MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022 – 2023]
The 2 application essay questions, although quite different, both ask you to discuss how you’ll connect with the LBS EMBA program, classmates, and community. And this emphasis in turn underscores LBS’s values of collaboration, contribution, and engagement. I suggest keeping these values on the radar screen as you conceive and draft these two essays. And…
Understanding Stanford GSB’s Core Value of Intellectual Vitality
Do you have the smarts that Stanford GSB is looking for? What are the qualities that Stanford GSB is looking for as they build their class? How do successful applicants stand out from the crowd? At a school as competitive as Stanford, it’s a fact that many smart, accomplished applicants won’t get in—so how can…
Understanding Stanford GSB’s Take on Demonstrated Leadership Potential
What are the qualities that Stanford GSB is looking for as they build their class? How do successful applicants stand out from the crowd? At a school as competitive as Stanford, it’s a fact that many smart, accomplished applicants won’t get in—so how can you demonstrate that you have that “it” factor? Let us walk…
Understanding Stanford GSB’s Interest in Personal Qualities and Contributions
What are the qualities that Stanford GSB is looking for as they build their class? How do successful applicants stand out from the crowd? At a school as competitive as Stanford, it’s a fact that many smart, accomplished applicants won’t get in—so how can you demonstrate that you have that “it” factor? Let us walk…
What Harvard Business School Is Looking For: Engaged Community Citizenship
This is the third post in our series, What HBS is Looking For. This is not about “community service” — it’s not about doing halo-worthy things in your free time. (Though neither Harvard Business School nor I will discourage that, and “engaged community citizenship” and “community service” certainly can overlap.) Community service is an activity…
What Harvard Business School Is Looking For: Analytical Aptitude and Appetite
This is the second post in our series, What HBS is Looking For. So, HBS wants “analytical aptitude and appetite.” Hardly a surprise. You might be tempted to simply skim that section of the website message without giving it much thought. Maybe it’s not as obvious as it sounds. Let’s break it down. Understanding the…
What Harvard Business School Is Looking For: The Habit of Leadership
Thank you, Harvard Business School. That’s what applicants should think when they visit the program’s website and find “habit of leadership” on its “Who are we looking for?” admissions page. It’s common knowledge that HBS values leadership, but with this phrase, the adcom succinctly expresses how they view leadership – dynamic, deep, intrinsic, long-term. It’s…
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