Chicago essay 2

Post the questions sure. They aint secret!

Here's my take. B is a great question to answer if you can tie it back to something you have a long standing extracurricular or work related activity with. For example, its pretty weak to write about "the environment" when you don't volunteer for greenpeace (which is a crap organization but thats another argument).

To pick B you need to

A. Have a solid subject about which you are passionate
B. Tie it to your experiences
C. Make it believable.

B, to me, is the more "dangerous" option because unless you really have several years in a leadership oriented role with a non-profit or otherwise "altruistic" activity, I suspect your answer will sound contrived and canned.

A is by far the better question. For a couple of reasons:

1. The other GSB essays don't ask you much about your leadership or teamwork ability - Question 3C lets you hit on it, but oh so slightly in 100 words. Question 1 is all about why an mba, why now, why gsb. Its got little to do to highlight your personality (there are ways but its harder).
2. It's a freebie question. You could write about anything here. Your personality, your leadership your teamwork your hair color, whatever.
3. The GSB adcoms have said again and again that they are looking for people who are introspective and self-reflective (to use their words). Essay option A lets you get this across far better than essay B.

In short, I'd use essay A 98% of the time. I'd consider essay B if you have some truly impressive altruistic extracurricular involvement or if you work for a non-profit that saves dolphins. Otherwise, it's a very difficult essay to write.