|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
07 Oct 2025, 23:12
Kudos
Bookmarks
Haas Evening-Weekend MBA #EWMBA
REQUIRED ESSAYS
1 - Personal Story: To help admissions get to know you, please share something about yourself that may not be evident in other parts of your application. Examples might include information about your family, culture, hobbies, and lived experiences. Please avoid professional topics. (Ideally 300 words, up to 400)
Question behind the question: are you a work robot or do you have more depth to offer the class? Will you be a social value-add to your cohort?
Also, do you have a background or interests that would expand the perspective of your fellow participants?
One way to start brainstorming for this essay is to think about non-work peak experiences:
When you have a clear, vivid memory about something you’re passionate about – that’s fertile ground for a good essay.
Another idea is to discuss a transformational experience. They care about the essay content but also, they are looking for those who are open to transformation, the higher goal of an MBA. This harks back to their “Students Always” ethos – they want students who are coachable and transformable, able to question their assumptions and perceptions.
Checking out the Haas 4 Principles might bring ideas to mind but make sure the examples are personal. Professional examples are good to include in the recommendation.
Interestingly, a resume is optional for Haas EWMBA but they give you 500 words per job to articulate your responsibilities and accomplishments. Reflect how you embody the 4 Principles there as well.
Keep in mind you have ample space for community and professional organizations in the application boxes, so if you pick one of those, this will need to be a more personal, deeper dive.
It’s a tender balance; you want to focus on something that differentiates you from others, but do not present it in a salesy way. They really want to feel they got to know you as a person from this essay. For that reason, I would recommend you stick to one story – depth is better than breadth.
2 - Professional Statement: Please summarize your primary area of professional expertise or knowledge. What do you do, and what are you known for? (Up to 150 words)
They want a diverse class, and this essay should make it easy for them to figure out what professional perspective you will be sharing.
This is your elevator pitch – resist the temptation to unload all your technical skills and instead, give a cogent, jargon-free statement of what you do.
Then state what problems you are known for solving. Why would someone give you a particular project or initiative? Does it require curiosity, patience, determination, blue-sky thinking, etc.? This would be your claim.
Substantiate it with a quick example in challenge/action/result format (CAR).
3 - Career Goals: Briefly describe your career goals. (100 words maximum)
They want to make sure they can help you - that your goal is realistic for Haas EWMBA.
For most part-time MBA programs I might discourage putting down “starting a venture” as your primary ambition but Haas is the exception, this is what they are known for. You're more likely to accept their offer if that is your aim, and therefore more likely to get an admit. That said, if your venture is a far-off passion project, it’s a safer bet to focus on how you would benefit from the program where you are now.
Other options are the usual part-time MBA suspects: getting promoted, poising yourself for getting into senior leadership, and switching industries (but make sure they have deep alumni in the new industry.) I work with people in entrepreneurship & VC roles who feel the brand/cachet would help them, but I would recommend approaching this from another angle in the application.
It’s best to give them role/industry/geography – because a clear goal is more actionable and likely to be achieved (I groan when I see X “at the intersection” of Y.) If you have room, tell them why this excites you, and what skills you are missing to get there.
If you are applying from outside the Bay Area, please explain your plans to attend classes on campus. Please include your employment plans and whether you intend to relocate or commute. (up to 150 words)
If you are outside the Bay Area, they want to know you have a plan in place for being in class at 9am on Saturday PT (probably flying in on Friday), able to fully engage.
Ceteris paribus, you might have better odds of an admit if you are local or plan to be. Their yield for Bay Area applicants is so much higher. That said, 43% of the class is from outside the Bay Area. There are no hard statistical breakouts but usually the Saturday class has more geographic diversity.
If you don’t plan to relocate, make sure the goal shows why Haas is a good fit. Is Berkeley a signal school in your industry? Do you need credibility in tech or innovation? Sustainability? Do you need access to West Coast capital markets? I would expand on this in the optional essay if you need more room to articulate the USP of Haas for you.
Normally I emphasize showing common values, and Haas is very values-driven, but here the plan has to be practical as well.
OPTIONAL ESSAYS
At Orientation, we like to share fun facts about our students (without identifying your names). If you are willing, please share a fun fact (big or small) about yourself that you wouldn't mind sharing with your future classmates. (1-2 sentences suggested, 250-word max).
My advice for this is similar to essay 1, the personal essay. I would go with funny, quirky or unexpected more than an attempt to impress, given the audience is your fellow classmates.
This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include an explanation of academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate. (250-word limit)
It’s important to take an objective look at everything submitted as a whole - and consider what they might wonder about. Don’t allow for any unsupervised thinking. Proactively address things that might be perceived as aberrant, but also, don’t call unnecessary attention to minute issues.
For example, I have a client who took a 2-year break from his professional career to work as a substitute teacher. The explanation actually adds value to his candidacy.
Here are some typical things to address:
· If you had poor grades in quant subjects in college (that said, ideally aim for a decent test score or do the free quantitative readiness course (QRC) if you submit a waiver)
· If your test score is sub-optimal and you have evidence of quant abilities not covered in other parts of the application.
· There are 150 words in the application for work gaps/unemployment but if you need more space to expand.
· If you haven’t engaged in any extracurricular activities.
If your recommender isn’t a current or past line manager, you can articulate the relevance of their insights in the “how do you know this person” section.
As you might be aware, Haas EWMBA requires a direct-to-camera 2-question "interview" as part of the application. You will receive that link within 48 hours of submission and the videos are due within 7 days of receiving that link.
Expect the first question will be around Why Haas and what your goals are for the MBA. The 2nd question is usually around leadership, but can also be on what you have read or watched recently.
On a recent webinar, they asked participants what business leader they most admire so I am curious to see if that comes up. Please post a comment on what questions they asked you!
REQUIRED ESSAYS
1 - Personal Story: To help admissions get to know you, please share something about yourself that may not be evident in other parts of your application. Examples might include information about your family, culture, hobbies, and lived experiences. Please avoid professional topics. (Ideally 300 words, up to 400)
Question behind the question: are you a work robot or do you have more depth to offer the class? Will you be a social value-add to your cohort?
Also, do you have a background or interests that would expand the perspective of your fellow participants?
One way to start brainstorming for this essay is to think about non-work peak experiences:
- When did you feel happiest?
- When did you feel most proud?
- When did you feel most fulfilled?
When you have a clear, vivid memory about something you’re passionate about – that’s fertile ground for a good essay.
Another idea is to discuss a transformational experience. They care about the essay content but also, they are looking for those who are open to transformation, the higher goal of an MBA. This harks back to their “Students Always” ethos – they want students who are coachable and transformable, able to question their assumptions and perceptions.
Checking out the Haas 4 Principles might bring ideas to mind but make sure the examples are personal. Professional examples are good to include in the recommendation.
Interestingly, a resume is optional for Haas EWMBA but they give you 500 words per job to articulate your responsibilities and accomplishments. Reflect how you embody the 4 Principles there as well.
Keep in mind you have ample space for community and professional organizations in the application boxes, so if you pick one of those, this will need to be a more personal, deeper dive.
It’s a tender balance; you want to focus on something that differentiates you from others, but do not present it in a salesy way. They really want to feel they got to know you as a person from this essay. For that reason, I would recommend you stick to one story – depth is better than breadth.
2 - Professional Statement: Please summarize your primary area of professional expertise or knowledge. What do you do, and what are you known for? (Up to 150 words)
They want a diverse class, and this essay should make it easy for them to figure out what professional perspective you will be sharing.
This is your elevator pitch – resist the temptation to unload all your technical skills and instead, give a cogent, jargon-free statement of what you do.
Then state what problems you are known for solving. Why would someone give you a particular project or initiative? Does it require curiosity, patience, determination, blue-sky thinking, etc.? This would be your claim.
Substantiate it with a quick example in challenge/action/result format (CAR).
3 - Career Goals: Briefly describe your career goals. (100 words maximum)
They want to make sure they can help you - that your goal is realistic for Haas EWMBA.
For most part-time MBA programs I might discourage putting down “starting a venture” as your primary ambition but Haas is the exception, this is what they are known for. You're more likely to accept their offer if that is your aim, and therefore more likely to get an admit. That said, if your venture is a far-off passion project, it’s a safer bet to focus on how you would benefit from the program where you are now.
Other options are the usual part-time MBA suspects: getting promoted, poising yourself for getting into senior leadership, and switching industries (but make sure they have deep alumni in the new industry.) I work with people in entrepreneurship & VC roles who feel the brand/cachet would help them, but I would recommend approaching this from another angle in the application.
It’s best to give them role/industry/geography – because a clear goal is more actionable and likely to be achieved (I groan when I see X “at the intersection” of Y.) If you have room, tell them why this excites you, and what skills you are missing to get there.
If you are applying from outside the Bay Area, please explain your plans to attend classes on campus. Please include your employment plans and whether you intend to relocate or commute. (up to 150 words)
If you are outside the Bay Area, they want to know you have a plan in place for being in class at 9am on Saturday PT (probably flying in on Friday), able to fully engage.
Ceteris paribus, you might have better odds of an admit if you are local or plan to be. Their yield for Bay Area applicants is so much higher. That said, 43% of the class is from outside the Bay Area. There are no hard statistical breakouts but usually the Saturday class has more geographic diversity.
If you don’t plan to relocate, make sure the goal shows why Haas is a good fit. Is Berkeley a signal school in your industry? Do you need credibility in tech or innovation? Sustainability? Do you need access to West Coast capital markets? I would expand on this in the optional essay if you need more room to articulate the USP of Haas for you.
Normally I emphasize showing common values, and Haas is very values-driven, but here the plan has to be practical as well.
OPTIONAL ESSAYS
At Orientation, we like to share fun facts about our students (without identifying your names). If you are willing, please share a fun fact (big or small) about yourself that you wouldn't mind sharing with your future classmates. (1-2 sentences suggested, 250-word max).
My advice for this is similar to essay 1, the personal essay. I would go with funny, quirky or unexpected more than an attempt to impress, given the audience is your fellow classmates.
This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include an explanation of academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate. (250-word limit)
It’s important to take an objective look at everything submitted as a whole - and consider what they might wonder about. Don’t allow for any unsupervised thinking. Proactively address things that might be perceived as aberrant, but also, don’t call unnecessary attention to minute issues.
For example, I have a client who took a 2-year break from his professional career to work as a substitute teacher. The explanation actually adds value to his candidacy.
Here are some typical things to address:
· If you had poor grades in quant subjects in college (that said, ideally aim for a decent test score or do the free quantitative readiness course (QRC) if you submit a waiver)
· If your test score is sub-optimal and you have evidence of quant abilities not covered in other parts of the application.
· There are 150 words in the application for work gaps/unemployment but if you need more space to expand.
· If you haven’t engaged in any extracurricular activities.
If your recommender isn’t a current or past line manager, you can articulate the relevance of their insights in the “how do you know this person” section.
As you might be aware, Haas EWMBA requires a direct-to-camera 2-question "interview" as part of the application. You will receive that link within 48 hours of submission and the videos are due within 7 days of receiving that link.
Expect the first question will be around Why Haas and what your goals are for the MBA. The 2nd question is usually around leadership, but can also be on what you have read or watched recently.
On a recent webinar, they asked participants what business leader they most admire so I am curious to see if that comes up. Please post a comment on what questions they asked you!
