{"id":55945,"date":"2022-09-13T13:39:22","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T20:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=55945"},"modified":"2022-09-13T13:39:22","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T20:39:22","slug":"optional-and-open-ended-essay-questions-whats-the-best-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/optional-and-open-ended-essay-questions-whats-the-best-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Optional and Open-Ended Essay Questions: What\u2019s the Best Strategy?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Optional<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many business schools ask open-ended questions, many of which are variations of, \u201cI wish the admissions committee had asked me\u2026\u201d or, \u201cWhat is a question that you wish we had asked?\u201d The most common among these open-ended questions is the optional essay, where you really have free rein to discuss anything you feel is important and that you have not had an opportunity to address anywhere else in your application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clients are often uncertain about how best to use these spaces, which are excellent opportunities to round out your profile. In this post we will offer advice on dealing with different types of open-ended questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many open-ended essay questions do you have? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To figure out how to maximize these spaces, see if the application offers both an optional essay space as well<\/em> as another open-ended question? Or do you only have one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say you only<\/em> have the optional essay to write about a topic of your choice. And let\u2019s say that the school has not asked you to explain any weakness or inconsistency in any other area of the application. If you do have a noticeable weakness, such as that your grades plummeted during your sophomore year in college, your GMAT is low for the average accepted applicant at this school, or you had an employment gap of six months or longer, there are ways to deal with them effectively<\/a> using this space. Explain the circumstances simply and directly: perhaps you underwent surgery, had a death in the family, or had taken on too many extracurricular activities or work responsibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t want to leave the admissions committee guessing or assuming the worst, but you also need to keep perspective. There is no need to explain away a single C+ grade from your freshman year. You don\u2019t have to justify the fact that you hadn\u2019t started your own nonprofit organization by the age of 19. You don\u2019t have to apologize for the fact that you didn\u2019t spend your undergrad years at an Ivy League school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When using this essay to address a weakness<\/a>, keep it short. Present the relevant background surrounding the facts, and what you learned or did subsequently to improve or change the outcome to the extent possible. Whether there were circumstances beyond your control, or you hadn\u2019t used the best judgment, your goal is to provide context for events that may not reflect well on you. Do not make excuses. Show that the circumstances that had impeded your performance no longer exist, or that you have learned how to handle those circumstances should a similar situation arise in the future. Remember, this question almost always comes right at the end of the essay portion of the application \u2014 it will probably be the last thing the adcom reads, so if at all possible, use it to give them something positive to remember you by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the optional essay helps you highlight your well-rounded personality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since MBA application essays often focus exclusively on work examples, your career goals, and\/or why you are interested in attending a particular school, the optional is a great place to add dimensionality and present yourself as a whole, well-rounded individual. You may drift out of the adcom\u2019s minds pretty quickly if you simply come across as \u201cthe project manager with the 740 GMAT,\u201d and since the adcom has already gained a sense of your leadership chops, don\u2019t use the optional to write about a secondary leadership role\u2013even if you\u2019re very proud of it. Instead, use the optional essay to really stand out<\/a> as \u201cthe project manager who used skydiving as a team-building exercise,\u201d \u201cthe investment banker who teaches salsa dancing to senior citizens,\u201d or \u201cthe marketing manager who taught herself five languages in her spare time.\u201d Now that is an application to remember! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about the question, \u201cI wish the admissions committee had asked me\u2026\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with how not<\/em> to answer this question. Do not use it to discuss bland \u201ccatch-all\u201d topics such as, \u201cI wish the admissions committee had asked me how I achieve excellence in everything I do.\u201d Believe it or not, some applicants will want to use this approach, but it\u2019s a big mistake. Not only will those types of answers usually end up being way too generic, but they will make you sound self-absorbed<\/a> and even arrogant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assuming that you\u2019ve presented your professional\/leadership experiences compellingly in your other essays, you can definitely take a more lighthearted (though not frivolous) approach here. Choose to write about an aspect of yourself that is uniquely, distinctively, memorably, YOU. This picture will round out the adcom\u2019s perception of you. It will promote your \u201chuman interest\u201d factor, your potential to contribute something to the incoming class and the teams you will work with, beyond your work experience and academic abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harvard Business School<\/a>\u00a0has a single, entirely open-ended question. They ask, \u201cAs we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?\u201d\u00a0We work with clients<\/a>\u00a0all the time who are very intimidated by this question, but by the end of the process we have convinced them that this question is really a gift, though it is one you must use wisely. By providing 900 words (a\/o the 2022-23 application cycle) to answer this question, Harvard is hoping to learn a few things about their successful admits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n