Are you a team leader? Are you committed to sustainable enterprise? Are you seeking resources and intellectual capital needed to shape both business and government? Are you a motivated, goal-oriented, innovative individual? UNC Kenan-Flagler adcoms are interested in seeing your multidimensional personality and capabilities. Your challenge: Prove that your goals mesh with the school’s goals and that your talents will contribute to the program’s collaborative nature.
UNC Kenan-Flagler 2022-2023 MBA application essays
The Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina has two required essays and one optional essay.
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA essay #1
Please respond to the questions below that will assist us in learning more about you: (500 words)
- What are your immediate career goals and how will you benefit from earning an MBA at Kenan-Flagler Business School.
- As the business world continues to evolve, circumstances can change and guide you in a different direction. Should your goals that you provided above not transpire, what other opportunities would you explore?
What do you see yourself doing immediately upon graduation and why? Perhaps include the most influential experience that convinced you to go down this path? And then the critical: Why do you need an MBA from UNC with its approach to business education to realize your dream?
UNC also wants to know your Plan B. If you are aiming for Goldman Sachs and a career in investment banking, would your backup plan be a similar position with, let’s say, Bank of America or would it be a position in corporate finance or with a startup? If you are aiming for McKinsey, Bain, or BCG, what would your Plan B be? Perhaps a position in a leadership rotation program? Or would it be working for a company like Deloitte or A. T. Kearney?
Your Plan B needs to be at least as achievable as Plan A – if not more so. It should also be related to A so that the education you receive can also help you attain it.
Check out our free guide, Why MBA? for more tips on writing about post-MBA goals.
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA essay #2
We all belong to different communities representing various aspects of who we are, including groups we belong to, where we come from, how we think, what we believe, and how we see and experience the world. The process of discovery is strengthened when people with diverse perspectives and life experiences come together to share and learn from one another, negotiate differences, and engage in diplomacy.
How do you envision furthering your growth as an inclusive leader as a MBA student and future business leader? (500 words)
This is a big question with limited room for your answer. You can succinctly – perhaps illustrating with a brief example or anecdote – discuss an aspect of your identity and how in the past you included someone of a different identity or belief system. Illustrate with a brief example or anecdote. Then bring this story and value forward to your hoped-for experience at UNC and as a future business leader. How will you use that previous experience to continue down the inclusive path you establish at UNC and beyond?
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA essay #3 (Optional)
We encourage you to tell us more about who you are so we can get to know you as a person and potential member of the Carolina community. Use this essay to convey information that you may not have otherwise been able to in the application. (200 words)
Optional topics:
- Personal or professional accomplishments
- Interests and passions
- Gaps in work experience or inconsistent academic performance
- Context for recommender selection
- A fun fact about yourself
Key elements in the instructions for this optional essay:
- “Tell us more about who you are so we can get to know you as a person.” This is not about the widgets or apps you’ve created or the 3-letter acronyms that define your work. It’s about you as a human being and potential member of their community. Why should they want to hang out with you?
- “Convey information that you may not have otherwise been able to in the application.” Don’t repeat material found elsewhere in the app. No grand finales.
While you could use it to provide context for an application weakness, you can also use this essay for “interests and passions” or a “fun fact about yourself.” Let them see this side of you, which may not come through in the required portions of the application.
Again, they are genuinely trying to meet you and assess whether you will add to their community. Give them reasons to conclude that you will.
Watch: UNC Kenan-Flagler alum, Al Dea, discusses the most valuable aspects of his UNC MBA experience
UNC Kenan-Flagler 2022-23 MBA application deadlines
| Submission Deadline | Decision Release | |
| Round 1 | October 10, 2022 | December 12, 2022 |
| Round 2 | January 9, 2023 | March 13, 2023 |
| Round 3* | February 27, 2023 | April 24, 2023 |
| Round 4 | April 17, 2023 | May 22, 2023 |
*Final deadline for international applicants.
Source: UNC Kenan-Flagler website
For expert guidance with your UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to top MBA programs and look forward to helping you too!
Related Resources: