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07 Dec 2021, 03:22
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Let’s talk about Harvard’s MBA application
HBS clearly likes the responses it has received to the last several years’ excellent essay question because this year’s question is identical. The essay is again required, and there is NO word limit.
The Round 2 deadline is January 4, 2021, one day earlier than last year.
There is one question for the HBS Class of 2024:
- As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?
Last year the following was also added, and I’m sure this advice still holds.
There is no word limit for this question. We think you know what guidance we’re going to give here. Don’t overthink, overcraft, or overwrite. Just answer the question clearly, using language that those of us who don’t know your world can understand.
Before you begin to write I have two suggestions for you:
1. Review Harvard’s criteria for admission, and its MBA Application Tips: Essay video.
2. Watch this video on the case method at HBS.
This is a great essay question. It allows you to choose what you want the school to know about you without having to fit that information into a framework required by a question that doesn’t really align with your story. It also allows you to demonstrate judgment and communication skills, which are critical given Harvard’s residential culture, study groups, and case method. Finally, this essay is a chance for HBS to get to know you beyond your resume and the limited (and limiting) boxes. In fact, as Chad Losee says in his essay tip video, they want to get to know you through your essay. That’s the essay’s purpose.
Now THINK. What else – really and truly – do you want Harvard Business School to know about you? The HBS admissions committee has told you what they want to know in the other sections of the application. “What more” do you want the HBS readers to know?
Please note that your essay has to be additive. “What more” are the key words in the prompt. It shouldn’t be a resume in prose. And it shouldn’t be a series of vague generalities and assertions that would apply to many others. Finally, it can’t be a series of anecdotes with no meaning or significance associated with the experiences. It should reflect at least part of your unique story, the part that you want HBS to know. Finally, your essay should reflect your motivations, values, and dreams.
The answer to HBS’ question is not something I can give or even suggest to you in a blog post aimed at the many (for individual guidance, please see Accepted’s MBA Admissions Consulting). It must be different for each of you. Again, refer to the HBS criteria, as you contemplate possible topics, but the options are infinite. A few possibilities:
- - Provide context for events described in the required elements.
- - Delve into your motivations for the decisions or commitments you have made.
- - Discuss experiences that shaped your dreams for the future, which may just benefit enormously from an HBS education (caveat: HBS doesn’t ask why you want to attend Harvard).
- - Examine challenges you have faced. These could be personal challenges, or perhaps interpersonal challenges.
- - Envision something you would like to accomplish at HBS.
- - Provide more depth on an activity or commitment that is particularly important to you.
Please don’t limit yourself to these suggestions. I am offering them to stimulate your creativity, not to shut it down.
[Free Webinar: Get Accepted to Harvard Business School]
Since I’ve been in MBA admissions consulting (over 25 years now), HBS has valued concision. And, in today’s tweet- and sound-bite-driven world, it is requiring short responses in the other portions of the application. Don’t take the absence of a word limit on this essay as a license for verbosity. Make every word count, no pun intended. If you must pull a number out of me, keep it under 1200 words, preferably under 1000 words. And if you can say what you need to say in less than 800 words, do so. A few cautions and warnings regarding this essay – it is NOT:
- - Stanford’s “what matters most to you and why?”
- - The kitchen sink in which you throw everything.
- - An autobiography.
- - A resume in prose or a rehash of your transcript and honors.
- - An ode to the awesomeness of Harvard. They don’t need you to tell them they have a great institution that you would be honored to attend. They’ve heard it before.
For expert guidance on your Harvard Business School application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages that include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the HBS application. Looking to score some scholarship money while you’re at it? Accepted’s clients received over $1 million dollars in scholarship offers in the last application cycle. Explore our services for more information on how Accepted can help you get into Harvard.
Stay on top of MBA deadlines with the MBA Admissions Calendar!
[Click here to add the calendar to your Google calendar; or here to add the calendar to another app.]
***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***
For expert guidance on your Harvard Business School application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages that include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the HBS application. Explore our services for more information on how Accepted can help you get into Harvard.
This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.
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