SBCErikaOlson
Very common -- and it's a good thing to continue honing and rewriting your message. If someone submits the first draft they ever write, that's not going to be a good thing.
The main thing is to just make sure you're telling them something they don't already know. They are looking for INSIGHT not found elsewhere in your app, and they really don't want just a laundry list of accomplishments that they can already see on your resume. Tell them WHY you have made the various personal and career decisions you've made, tell them what motivates you, why you're passionate about a particular cause you're involved with, defining moments in your life that are behind decisions you've made or your future career goals, etc.
Best of luck to all!
This is superb advice. Sounds obvious enough, but whilst other school essays actually want to hear you elaborate on your biggest achievements and "why mba / professional goals". HBS does NOT. Some of the best essays I've read (please do yourself a favor & purchase Harbus's essay collection if you have'nt already) never once mentioned MBA / case method / prior achievements. Write about YOU, what drives you, what shaped the decisions you took, how does that connect to what your ambitions are.
Example:
Don't write I was fast-tracked and promoted in 2 years from analyst to associate because I'm so damn good at doing financial analysis.
Maybe write: I've been lucky to have found great mentors in my professional life, who accelerated my learning process and made me love what I did. When I was accelerated up the ranks, I started an analyst-associate buddy system for others to get a similar boost.
(I totally made that up, but feel like the 2nd one at least tells me something about your personality, the first one does NOT get admitted to hbs contrary to popular stereotype: A-type overachiever )
My essay is so far away from an "overachiever" essay that it hurts. I'm actually worried I went too far in the other direction explaining flaws and failures that I may be shooting myself in the foot. I certainly touch on "defining moments" in life that shaped future decisions, and more broadly the person I grew into. I think I may need to add more on deeper passion and ambitions. My essay didn't really dive into career goals or future pursuits, just aspects of my life so far that were meaningful.