The Cambridge Judge MBA program is a one-year program with a small class of around 200 students from approximately 40 countries. The Judge MBA is a very experiential program, with three required team projects and another optional one, engaging students with external companies or organizations.
Judge is seeking applicants with proven academic abilities, ambition, the ability to thrive under pressure, international experience, and strong interpersonal skills. Use your essays to demonstrate that you have these qualities. Keep in mind that Judge is one of the few programs that is extremely strict about its word limits: not one additional word can be entered into the text boxes beyond their word limits.
Judge’s application requires a CV that adheres to their template, then offers 3 areas to elaborate on your current role: your primary responsibilities (250 words), your most significant professional challenge in this role (200 words), and your most significant professional achievement (200 words). When choosing among the experiences to highlight in these short-answer sections, I typically look for challenges that are atypical and demonstrate leadership.
Cambridge Judge offers 5 essay spaces for you to show your fit with the program.
Cambridge Judge 2021 MBA application essays
Cambridge Judge MBA essay question #1
Please provide a personal statement. It should not exceed 500 words and must address the following questions:
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- What are your short and long term career objectives and what skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you achieve them?
- What actions will you take before and during the MBA to contribute to your career outcome?
- If you are unsure of your post-MBA career path, how will the MBA equip you for the future?
- What are your short and long term career objectives and what skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you achieve them?
This is a straightforward goals essay. Strong essays will demonstrate clear goals, insight into what skills you need to gain to succeed in those roles, and an understanding of the Judge curriculum and other campus activities that will help you acquire those skills.
I personally love the phrasing of this question because for some applicants this is the first notification that they need to take an active role in their post-MBA job search. The admissions office cannot accept students who expect the school’s name and career services office to open every door for them, so applicants need to demonstrate in this essay that they are comfortable with that reality.
Cambridge Judge MBA essay question #2
Describe a difficult decision that you had to make. What did you learn from this and how have you changed as a result? (up to 200 words)
Leaders must make difficult decisions. Here is your opportunity to show one example of you displaying the analytical abilities required to do so. When selecting an example, I recommend choosing a time you said yes to a risk rather than one in which you were risk-averse: big growth and impact require saying yes sometimes, so these stories do a better job of illustrating your potential as a future leader.
Cambridge Judge MBA essay question #3
Describe a time where you worked with a team on a project. What did you learn from the experience and how might you approach it differently today? (up to 200 words)
Much of Cambridge Judge’s curriculum is executed in teams, so the admissions committee needs to know that you work well in that kind of environment. To show what you learned, share some detail about the challenges the group faced – for example, cultural differences, personality clashes, execution conflicts – and how you led the team to resolve them, increase understanding of each other and of the scope of the project. Ideally, readers will hear about the impact of or value added to the project in addition to the lessons you learned about team leadership.
Cambridge Judge MBA essay question #4
If you could give one piece of advice to your 18-year-old self, what would it be? (up to 200 words)
This is a tricky question. The adcom does not want to read 200 words of advice to your 18-year-old self; they do want to hear about a lesson you learned later that you wish 18-year-old you had known. One way to answer this question is to start with the advice and then share the experience in which you learned the lesson.
Cambridge Judge MBA essay question #5 (for reapplicants only)
Describe any relevant developments since you last applied to the Cambridge MBA? (up to 200 words)
In order to answer this question, you need to recognize the weaknesses in your previous application:
- Were your goals unclear?
- Did you not demonstrate why you wanted an MBA?
- Did you fail to share leadership examples that impressed the adcom with your potential?
- Did you have low scores that needed to be boosted?
Be sure to share new information here – not something that was already described in your role description or another essay – to give the adcom even more reasons to be impressed by your growth since you last applied.
Cambridge Judge MBA optional additional question
Please provide information on any aspect of your candidacy that requires further explanation, or information that you would like the Admissions Committee to know (300 word limit).
I personally always recommend taking advantage of optional essay space when offered it. This would be a great opportunity to share more about your international experiences, your interpersonal skills, or your activities outside of work, whatever has not been adequately covered elsewhere in your application.
Cambridge Judge remaining MBA application deadlines for 2021
| Round | Application deadline |
| 4 | March 8, 2021 |
| 5 | April 26, 2021 |
Source: Cambridge Judge website
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***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***
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By Jennifer Bloom, admissions consultant at Accepted for 20 years and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW). She is an expert at guiding you to produce application materials that truly differentiate you from the rest of the driven applicant pool. If you would like help with your application, Jennifer can suggest a number of options that work with any budget. Want Jennifer to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!
Related Resources:
- Why MBA, a free guide to show you how to determine your MBA goals and weave them into compelling essays
- What to Expect From the MBA Experience at Cambridge Judge Business School, a podcast episode
- How Do You Deal with Criticism? MBA Admissions Committees Want to Know
