Georgetown’s MBA application essay questions and video component remain the same as last year, with the exception of Essay Option #3. My advice below each of Georgetown’s prompts.
Georgetown McDonough 2020–2021 MBA application essays
We want to hear your story. When responding to our required essays, be authentic and take time to reflect on your goals and past experiences. Craft a response that explains how these experiences led you to pursue an MBA.
Our goal at Georgetown McDonough is to assemble a diverse class with people who have had varying personal and professional life experiences. As such, we want to give our applicants the opportunity to select one essay (from a list of three) that enables them to best highlight the experiences, characteristics, and values that showcase the value proposition that they can bring to the McDonough community. Please select one of the following three essays to complete in 500 words or less; include the essay prompt and your first and last name at the top of your submission.
The first issue you need to address is which question to answer. All three prompts below ask you to use examples of either a specific challenging experience or a particular individual whom you view as a leader. The goal of your response is to allow the readers to see you as a distinctive contributor to the Georgetown McDonough community by showcasing how you have addressed one of these three experiences.
So which should you choose? Respond to the question that you can answer most enthusiastically and easily while providing insight that complements material presented elsewhere in your MBA application.
As you’re choosing, review Georgetown’s mission and the influence of Jesuit values on the school. Then think about which of your experiences shows that you identify with those values and will contribute to Georgetown’s community.
Also realize that regardless of the option you choose, Georgetown is asking for one example and your reflection on that example. It is not asking for a general, lofty treatise on a topic with no example, and it’s not asking for multiple examples without analysis. It wants one example and a thoughtful response to its question(s) about that incident or individual.
Georgetown MBA essay #1
Essay Option One – Principled Leadership: Georgetown McDonough places a strong emphasis on principled leadership, providing both curricular and co-curricular opportunities to strengthen your leadership skills. Describe a time when you’ve led a team in a professional environment to implement a new idea or process. What leadership characteristics did you utilize? What could you have done to be more effective? And most importantly, what skills will you be able to bring to the teams you lead at McDonough?
To address the prompt, discuss when you have led in a professional setting and done, implemented, or created something new.. What character traits and leadership skills did you use? Analyze their effectiveness, good and bad, and identify the most successful as those you will bring to Georgetown McDonough.
Georgetown MBA essay #2
Essay Option Two – Hoyas Helping Hoyas: Georgetown McDonough embodies the ethos that people and organizations can and should contribute to the greater good. The admissions committee would like to better understand how you’ve demonstrated these values during uniquely challenging times. Describe a time where you’ve put the needs of others ahead of your own or ahead of the bottom line. We look forward to learning more about the challenge you faced, what unique characteristics you brought to that scenario, and what you learned from it.
This essay is asking for an anecdote. Tell the story of a time when you contributed “for the greater good,” a cause that you believed in, or a value that is important to you. Alternatively, describe how you created some societal benefit even if there was no benefit for you individually.
You can follow the structure that Georgetown McDonough provides. Start with the challenge you faced. Then describe how you addressed those challenges, and the results you achieved. Finally, what did you learn from this experience about responding to challenge, about putting principle above principal, and about yourself?
Georgetown MBA essay #3
Essay Option Three – Role Models: Think of the business leader or role model you admire or aspire to be. What are the defining characteristics of his or her personal brand that you see in yourself? Give an example of how you have been able to emulate these characteristics in your professional career and how your personal brand will enrich the McDonough community.
I think this is the hardest of the three prompts to answer, but if you know your personal brand and are comfortable responding to this one, go for it! Clearly, Georgetown values self-aware, thoughtful, purposeful individuals.
Take note that personal brand (AKA reputation) is not just ideals; it has to be reflected in your behavior. To take an extreme example, if someone espouses kindness but is cruel, their personal brand is one of cruelty. If one espouses activism and initiative, but is passive, their personal brand is one of passivity.
So if you want to present yourself with specific values, the behavior must match, or you don’t have the brand you claim. The essay readers will see the hollowness of your claims very quickly.
On the other hand, if you have a leader you admire and have lived up to their qualities and ideals, this is the leader you should write about, focusing on their most positive attributes and how they are reflected in your own personal brand. You will still need to discuss why those qualities are important and how you intend to use them to benefit the Georgetown community.
Georgetown MBA essay #4 (video essay)
Video Essay: What makes you unique? In a one-minute video, describe the most compelling aspects of yourself that you believe make you stand out from other MBA candidates. (Hint: one minute goes fast! We already have your resume and goals – share something new!) Use this video as an opportunity to bring life to your application. For more instructions, view our Video Essay Guide.
- You may use your phone, computer, or other means to record the video, but please ensure all audio and visual components are clear. We recommend a well-lit room and minimal noise distraction.
- Upload your video to an accessible website (such as YouTube, Vimeo, Youku, or Tudou), and submit the direct video URL into your online application.
- Please note that all videos must remain active and accessible to the admissions committee online for a minimum of five years for record retention purposes.
- For your privacy: Do not include your name in the title of your video. You may submit “unlisted” videos via YouTube or password protected videos through Vimeo. If using a password, please include immediately after your link in the text box below (e.g.: www.youtube.com/123, password: Hoyas).
This is one of those questions when it is best not to think about the fact that your video is being watched by admissions people. Instead, address your peers, your professional colleagues, and your future friends (i.e., your classmates). Assume that your peers have already seen your resume; you certainly don’t want to bore them by rehashing what they just read.
What would you want them to know about you?
Your future friends (and the adcom) are looking for more than just spreadsheet skills or professional mojo here, although those might creep in. Balance personal and professional. As Georgetown says, “bring life to your application” with this video. If you used the essay to discuss a professional experience, use the video essay to reveal something that is not work-related. If you used the essay for a personal example of resilience, then I still wouldn’t focus exclusively on work, because you are addressing your peers and classmates here.
Take the time to sketch out what you want to say in these sixty seconds. I don’t recommend that you write it out and memorize it, but definitely have a plan. And then practice, practice, practice.
It can be strange to speak to a camera. Since by its very nature the camera gives no feedback and has no reaction, you need to either practice by yourself and view the videos of your practices so that you improve, or ask an encouraging friend to film you so that at least you have your friend’s reactions to respond to. Another idea: ask a friend to have a video call with you, but with their camera turned off so that your friend can see you, but you don’t see your friend. Then ask for feedback.
What is the Georgetown admissions committee looking for in this video? They are trying to imagine you as a member of their community. They also want to see how you present yourself without going to the trouble and expense of an interview. They want to assess your presence: how will you appear to a potential employer?
Georgetown MBA essay #5 (optional)
Please provide any information you would like to add to your application that you have not otherwise included (500 words or fewer).
Please see Optional Essays: When and How to Write Them.
Georgetown MBA essay #6 (required for reapplicants)
How have you strengthened your candidacy since your last application? We are particularly interested in hearing about how you have grown professionally and personally (500 words or fewer).
This is a key question (whether asked explicitly or not) for all reapplicants to any MBA program. What have you changed? How are you “new and improved” since your previous application when you were rejected? Georgetown does you the favor of providing this explicit prompt so you can address this question while retaining the ability to address the main essays.
For expert guidance with your Georgetown McDonough 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 Georgetown’s MBA program and look forward to helping you too!
Georgetown McDonough 2020 – 2021 application deadlines
| Application Deadline | |
| Round 1 | September 28, 2020 |
| Round 2 | January 6, 2021 |
| Round 3 | March 29, 2021 |
| Round 4 | April 26, 2021 |
Source: Georgetown McDonough website
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***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***
By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted. Linda earned her bachelors and MBA at UCLA, and has been advising applicants since 1994 when she founded Accepted. Linda is the co-founder and first president of AIGAC. She has written or co-authored 13 e-books on the admissions process, and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News, Poets & Quants, Bloomberg Businessweek, CBS News, and others. Linda is the host of Admissions Straight Talk, a podcast for graduate school applicants. Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!
Related Resources:
- Fitting In and Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions, a free guide
- From Rio to Georgetown: Trekking through the MBA Experience, a student interview
- An Overview of MBA Video Essays
This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.
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