Expert advice for Haas from Admissions Consultant blogs

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Business schools play a critical role in helping workers, companies, and leaders adapt to meet the needs of the 21st-century workforce.  Earlier this month, the  UC Berkeley Haas School of Business  launched its new Center for Gender, Equity & Leadership (CGEL), which will address numerous issues related to diversity in business.

“The economic case for supporting workplace diversity and women in business has never been stronger,” says  Kellie McElhaney  (pictured), an associate adjunct professor at Haas, who will serve as founding director of the new center.

For years, McElhaney has argued that businesses risk their bottom line when they fail to diversify their leadership, or don’t treat men and women equally. “Women, underrepresented minorities, and the LGBTQ community face systemic structural, cultural, and individual barriers to opportunities and advancement. We will work to identify and tackle these problems and develop an evidence-based playbook.”

The CGEL’s stated goals include:
 
  bringing leaders from diverse political and corporate backgrounds together to discuss advancing gender and diversity in policy and business; 
  engaging male and female allies and uniting people at the intersection of all ethnicities, races, and classes around a shared goal of gender and diversity equity; 
  and developing leaders who understand that gender is a spectrum, not a binary construct. 
 
McElhaney notes that she came up with the idea for the center four years ago, and raised $1.6 million in donations, including a founding corporate gift from the Gap Foundation, with the encouragement of  Dean Rich Lyons . “I started doing research on what other schools were doing, and what we could do to truly move the needle and be disruptive,” she said. “While other schools are focusing more on diversity or counting the heads, we are focused comprehensively on inclusion in our classrooms—through our cases, our choice of course speakers, our faculty teaching methodology, and our student culture.”

Jamie Breen , assistant dean of the MBA program for working professionals at Haas and a CGEL founding advisory council member, says she’d like to know why the drop-off rate for women on the path to upper leadership tracks increases significantly at the VP to SVP level.

“We used to think that getting women into very senior leadership positions was a pipeline issue—if we got women into the pipeline, it would take care of itself,” she says. “We now know that is not the case. We have systemic issues, and we need to understand the unwritten rules and practices that drive these outcomes and, more importantly, how to make them explicit and change them.”

To learn more about the key initiatives and faculty research at this new Center, please visit the  Berkeley Haas newsroom. 
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If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with  hourly  and  comprehensive  consulting services.  Contact us  to learn more. Visit the website for  Stacy Blackman Reviews , and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

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The UC Berkeley  Haas School of Business  has posted the following  MBA application deadlines  for the 2018-19 admissions cycle.
 Round 1 
Application due: September 27, 2018
Decision released: December 13, 2018
 Round 2 
Application due: January 10, 2019
Decision released: March 14, 2019
 Round 3 
Application due: April 4, 2019
Decision released: May 9, 2019

All applications must be submitted on or before the application deadline at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. For more information, please visit the  Berkeley MBA admissions  website.

***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with  hourly  and  comprehensive  consulting services.  Contact us  to learn more. Visit the website for  Stacy Blackman Reviews , and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

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The  Haas School of Business  at UC Berkeley has announced the updated  essay questions  for the 2018-19 admissions season.
 Required Essays 
 Essay #1:  Tell us a six-word story that reflects a memorable experience in your life-to-date. Elaborate on why it is meaningful to you. (300 words maximum)

Tip:  A successful six-word story will pique the reader’s interest in the forthcoming explanation. Together, the story and explanation will share a specific and personal experience that helps the reader get to know you better, giving insight into your character, values, or how you would uniquely contribute to the Berkeley-Haas community. View  sample six-word stories  and  video tips  from the admissions committee.

Essay #2:  Briefly describe your immediate post-MBA career goal, and discuss how it will put you on a path to a meaningful and rewarding career. (300 words maximum)
 Optional Information 
 Optional Information #1:  We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achievements.
 
  What is the highest level of education completed by your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

Did not complete high school 
  High school diploma or equivalency (GED) 
  Associate’s degree (junior college) or vocational degree/license 
  Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS) 
  Master’s degree (MA, MS) 
  Doctorate or professional degree (MD, JD, DDS)

2. What is the most recent occupation of your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

Unemployed 
  Homemaker 
  Laborer 
  Skilled worker 
  Professional

3. If you were raised in one of the following household types, please indicate.

Raised by a single parent 
  Raised by an extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin) 
  Raised in a multi-generational home 
  Raised in foster care

4. What was the primary language spoken in your childhood home?

5. If you have you ever been responsible for providing significant and continuing financial or supervisory support for someone else, please indicate.

Child 
  Spouse 
  Sibling 
  Parent 
  Extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin) 
  Other

6. Please elaborate on any of your above responses. Alternatively, you may use this opportunity to expand on other hardships or unusual life circumstances that may help us understand the context of your opportunities, achievements, and impact.
(300 words maximum)
Optional Information #2
This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate.
****
For more information, please visit the  Berkeley MBA admissions  website.
If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with  hourly  and  comprehensive  consulting services.  Contact us  to learn more. Visit the website for  Stacy Blackman Reviews , and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

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The MBA application process can feel like it touches every corner of your life and career. Applicants need to take the GMAT (or GRE), conduct school research, develop their story and and career goals, write and revise essays and resumes, request recommendations, and attend interviews, to name a key steps – enough to warrant the creation of  600-page MBA application guides  for goodness' sake!

In  working with clients , doing  ding reviews  for non-clients, holding  Free Consultations  with prospective applicants, and  chatting with curious folks  on GMAT Club,  several elements of the MBA application process consistently stand out to me as overlooked or underappreciated . These are essentially the "Oh wow, I had no idea I needed to..." parts of the MBA application journey.

With that in mind, I decided to put together a summary that highlights these key themes, and I've included a series of steps and prompts to consider within category. Many will feel obvious if you're deep into the application game – but even then, perhaps one or two will help refine your focus. If you're new to application land, I hope this helps you think through your strategy. A lot of these are really cornerstones of the MBA application process more than they are surprises or hidden gems.

1. Career Goal Specificity

The most basic "under-articulation" of career goals comes in the form of simply citing an industry of interest or offering too vague a notion of one's short-term and long-term career goals. I often encourage applicants to develop their goals to the point that they can answer not only "question one" about them (the most basic), but also "questions two through 12" (the why and the details).

Twelve is something of a made-up number – the point is that you need to be able to articulate a clear, coherent, connected, and specific career vision. What company or companies do you want to work for? Where? Why? What type of projects do you hope to work on and impact do you hope to have? Within your industry, what specializations will you aim to develop or areas will you focus on?

Where do you hope to intern? Where will your first post-MBA job lead? Consider the medium-term "bridge" between your short- and long-term goals. What are your long-term goals? What is your dream job? Why is that your dream job? What exactly do you hope to accomplish if you achieve it?

How does who you are and what you've done to this point – plus the MBA – lead to your short-term goals? How does all of that together enable your medium- and long-term goals? What knowledge, skills, and experience do you already have that are relevant to these goals? What knowledge, skills, and experience do you lack and therefore need to acquire via the MBA? Why is now the right time?

2. School Specificity

That last piece begins to address why you believe you need an MBA. And it segues nicely into "school specificity" – another critical area that is all too commonly under-articulated in MBA essays. You have certain knowledge, skills, and experience that are relevant. But there's also a whole lot more you need to achieve your goals. How exactly are you going to fill those gaps at XYZ program?

Through what courses, clubs, extracurriculars, and special programs? Which case competitions, conferences, and community initiatives? What about each program's culture, community, and career opportunities make it a good fit? And remember – while you hope to grow toward your goals, it's also critical to articulate how exactly you'll contribute to the MBA program and your classmates.

Be specific but not self-aggrandizing or individualistic. What (unique) contributions can you make to study groups, classes, clubs, and social initiatives? Beyond mere "participation," consider what leadership positions you would want to pursue (and why), and what you and your classmates could together accomplish in those positions for the benefit of the MBA community and beyond.

3. School Research and Engagement

How does one build such a deep understanding of each program? The short answer is school research and engagement. Get to know the programs and their people. MBA program websites are loaded with details on every element on the MBA experience. But that's just a start. To make a compelling and school-specific case, you'll need to do more than just click around on the Internet.

Attend single- or multi-school admissions events. Go to school-sponsored coffee chats. Reach out to alumni who work at your company. Speak with friends or acquaintances who went to the programs you're interested in. Visit if you can. If you live in a remote location, participate in online events. And if you don't really know any alumni, reach out to each program's  Student Ambassadors .

Deep school research and engagement helps you get to know and understand the programs and decide whether you want to apply. It significantly enriches your essays (and doesn't leave you awkwardly scratching your head when an application asks whom you've spoken with and what events you've attend). And it shows a credible pattern of interest. Adcoms will know you're serious.

4. Passion, Purpose, and Personal Story

Another subset of applicants might have the "brick and mortar" of career goals and school fit well covered, but in crafting their essays and applications, they don't adequately or authentically reveal what drives them, what's shaped them, who they are, and what makes them unique. This can feel a lot more abstract than articulating a career or school narrative – but it's of extreme importance.

Admissions directors shared their own insight into this topic (and many others) at  Poets & Quants' MBA Summit  back in May. At a most fundamental level, Michigan Ross's Soojin Kwon noted that Ross wants "to know   as a whole person," while Yale SOM's Bruce DelMonico pointed out that "one of the biggest mistakes applicants make is to tell us what they think we want to hear."

Berkeley-Haas's Morgan Bernstein  added further nuance : "As I reflect back on some of the applications that really stand out, it's the candidates who are willing to take a risk in their application, in the sense that they have the courage to show their authentic self. There's a little bit of vulnerability that comes through, and that's different to every candidate."  And later : "We're really interested in what your passion is, what your purpose is... what is the fuel that's igniting that fire?"

5. Recommendation Quality

Whereas articulating your career goals, engaging with programs, and telling your story very clearly fall under your purview as an MBA applicant, recommendations can sometimes feel like they don't. With so much to think through and do yourself, it can be very tempting to simply tap your current and former supervisors on the shoulder, ask them for recommendations, and forget about the rest.

If it only it were that easy. The two main "categories" of problems I see with MBA recommendations are (1) many recommenders do not understand how thoughtful and specific their recommendations need to be, and (2) even if they think they do understand, the content they deliver and examples they cite often make candidates sound nice / solid / good – but they don't make candidates stand out.

Choose your recommenders wisely. Meet with them to explain the process, go over the questions, and discuss why you're pursuing an MBA. Imbue upon them how (again) thoughtful and specific they need to be. Prepare a document that details what you've worked on and accomplished, along with key qualities and themes you hope they might consider. Examples and evidence are critical.

Mediocre and overly general (or generic) recommendations can keep you out of the schools you want to get into. Bad recommendations can undo strong candidacies. And superb recommendations can be the difference in getting in. So own the process as much as you can. Recommender selection, recommender prep, and recommendation feedback are often major parts of  my work with clients .

6. Interview Prep

If you handled the previous bullet points properly and applied in a reasonable round, you've got a decent shot at getting an interview invite to schools that are solidly within your profile range (and maybe even a reach or two!). As soon as that invitation is in hand, your goal is turn it into an admit.

That requires work, prep, and practice. Everything you submitted to this point now needs to come to life, and you need to be able to articulate all of it smoothly, specifically, and succinctly. Those last two words are not contradictory, either. Balancing specificity and conciseness is key. It's also hard.

I view Interview Prep as "overlooked" and "underappreciated" because every year after decisions are in, I speak with candidates who received a bunch of interview invites, felt (a little too) good about themselves, didn't adequately prepare for the interviews, didn't end up getting in anywhere (or only got into their last choice), and want to know what they can do differently in the future.

The most effective Interview Prep is school-specific and super-methodical – we're talking a mock interview (in the style of a given program) followed by question-by-question feedback that leaves no point or nuance related to content, style, or delivery unaddressed. You can read more about Avanti Prep's  Interview Prep offering  from the perspective of former clients  by clicking here .

There's a lot to digest in this post, so hopefully you've skipped around to the parts that are most interesting or relevant to you. (Or maybe you wanted to dive into the whole thing!) Either way, I'm always happy to discuss the particulars of your situation. So sign up for a  Free Consultation today !
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This post originally appeared on  AvantiPrep.com

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Last year, we noted that the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, seemed to have begun embracing the less-is-more movement with regard to its application essays, having cut back its required submissions slightly, and this year, the program seems to have adopted that mind-set a little more (with the exception of its optional essays). It has gone from three mandatory essays down to two and changed the bulk of its career-focused question from an explanation of the past to a projection into the future. As for that aforementioned optional essay, Berkeley-Haas has broken unique ground with an elaborate questionnaire prompt that appears complicated at first but is actually rather straightforward. Overall, candidates still have a good opportunity to present a well-rounded impression of themselves to the school, from who they are today to the professional they expect to be in their projected career. Our full analysis of Berkeley-Haas’s updated essay questions follows…

Essay #1: Tell us a six-word story that reflects a memorable experience in your life-to-date. Elaborate on why it is meaningful to you. (300 words maximum)

Before you start hyperventilating, let us reassure you that you absolutely can convey a meaningful and compelling story in just six words. Perhaps the most famous example of this is Ernest Hemingway’s famous “six-word novel,” which reads, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” In fact, entire Reddit, Pinterest, and Tumblr pages are dedicated to these succinct narratives, and several publications and Web sites have regular contests to see who can craft the best six-word tales. So, Berkeley-Haas may not be the first to come up with the idea, but it does appear to be the first business school to make it a part of its application!

In addition to presenting several examples for applicants on its team Web page, the Berkeley Haas admissions committee offers two key pieces of advice for this essay in a video application tip: using contractions (e.g., it’s, can’t, won’t, didn’t) is totally acceptable, and perfect grammar is not necessary. These are both important space savers. Thankfully, the school also gives you a 300-word essay in which to further elaborate on your mini story (up from 250 words last season), so you can expound on some elements of the narrative that may not be immediately understood, but take care to not use that portion of this essay response to simply retell your story in more detail.

Start by thinking carefully about how you want to present yourself as an applicant and an individual, and consider what you might say in your other essays for the program, to ensure that each piece you submit is complementary of the others and offers something different about you. You might consider this first essay the “colorful” essay and the other one  the more “serious” submission. In this one, you have a special opportunity to provide a window into your life experience and personality. Your six-word story should captivate and intrigue the admissions reader, leaving him or her wanting to learn more. (Almost by definition, the reader will be enveloped in mystery!) Then, the second, 300-word portion of the essay should unravel any mystery, illuminate your character, and clarify the significance of the core narrative in who you are today, thereby giving the admissions committee a critical sense of understanding.

Essay #2: Briefly describe your immediate post-MBA career goal, and discuss how it will put you on a path to a meaningful and rewarding career. (300 words maximum)

Yet again, Berkeley-Haas has reframed its career-focused essay prompt. This year, rather than asking about candidates’ “prior experiences” and the foundation/impetus those have provided, the admissions committee asks applicants to discuss how their first post-MBA position will be the initial chapter of an ultimately fulfilling professional story. The school knows only too well that many candidates change their career goals during the course of the MBA program, given their exposure to new people, ideas, and options, so focusing on an applicant’s immediate post-graduate aspiration allows the admissions committee to assess where that individual is right now in his/her thinking and development. The concept of motivation is key, so you want to demonstrate that you are a forward-thinking person who sees business school as a vital step on your professional and personal journey and truly understands how the experience fits into your vision of your future. Also, take special note of the words “meaningful and rewarding” in the school’s prompt. Berkeley-Haas wants to know that you are pursuing an MBA because you are passionate and enthusiastic about the career you envision will follow, that it appeals to you in a personal and significant way—not just as a potential path to a bigger paycheck or fancy title (or worse, that you simply feel you are supposed to get an MBA for some reason). So be sure to have that excitement and drive show in your response by being authentic and demonstrating that you have truly thought about your path and are eager to get started.

The elements this essay question demands are ones typically included in a standard personal statement essay, so we encourage you to download your free copy of the   mbaMission Personal Statement Guide   ,  which we created to help applicants write this style of essay for any school. It explains in further detail how to consider and present your career goals in essay form, with examples, so be sure to claim your complimentary copy today.

Optional Information #1: We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achievements. 
 
   What is the highest level of education completed by your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

Did not complete high school  
   High school diploma or equivalency (GED)  
   Associate’s degree (junior college) or vocational degree/license  
   Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS)  
   Master’s degree (MA, MS)  
   Doctorate or professional degree (MD, JD, DDS)

What is the most recent occupation of your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

Unemployed  
   Homemaker  
   Laborer  
   Skilled worker  
   Professional

If you were raised in one of the following household types, please indicate.

Raised by a single parent  
   Raised by an extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)  
   Raised in a multi-generational home  
   Raised in foster care  
 
 4.What was the primary language spoken in your childhood home?

If you have you ever been responsible for providing significant and continuing financial or supervisory support for someone else, please indicate.

Child  
   Spouse  
   Sibling  
   Parent  
   Extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)  
   Other

Please elaborate on any of your above responses. Alternatively, you may use this opportunity to expand on other hardships or unusual life circumstances that may help us understand the context of your opportunities, achievements, and impact. (300 words maximum)  
 
 Optional Information #2: This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate.

Although the school’s first optional essay prompt is somewhat elaborate, it is not necessarily all that complicated, and we imagine it will offer certain applicants an easy way of highlighting particular elements of their background without having to try to fit them into a different essay. The school clearly wants direct information and basic explanation(s) from this option, so simply answer the questions and succinctly provide any necessary clarifications using the allocated word count. The second optional essay prompt asks applicants to focus specifically on information they deem most “relevant,” and the lack of a word limit means candidates can fully explain whatever they feel the admissions committee truly must know to be able to evaluate them fully and fairly.  This is not, however, a blank-slate invitation to dump every bit of remaining information about yourself that you feel the school is lacking. And however difficult, avoid the temptation to simply reuse a strong essay you wrote for another program here or to offer a few anecdotes you were unable to incorporate into your other Berkeley-Haas essays. Be judicious in your use of this opportunity, and submit an optional essay only if you truly believe a key element of your story or profile is needed for the school to have a complete and accurate understanding of you as a candidate. Consider downloading your free copy of our  mbaMission Optional Essays Guide , in which we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay (including multiple sample essays) to help you mitigate any problem areas in your profile.

And for a thorough exploration of Berkeley-Haas’s academic program, unique offerings, social life, and other key characteristics, check out the  mbaMission Insider’s Guide to UC Berkeley Haas School of Business , which is also available for free.

The Next Step—Mastering Your Berkeley-Haas Interview:  Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and intimidating, but mastering this important element of the application process is definitely possible—the key is informed preparation. To help you on your way to this high level of preparation, we offer our   free Interview Primers  . Download your free copy of the   Berkeley-Haas Interview Primer   today!

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Haas School of Business at University of California Berkeley  is both highly selective and a small class. With a much larger admissions pool than the school can admit, it’s important to stand out from the crowd and demonstrate fit with the culture and program. This year Berkeley has reduced the number of required essays but added a new optional question that delves into your background more deeply.

Stacy Blackman Consulting has successfully coached applicants to the Haas MBA each admissions year.  Contact us  to learn more about how we can help you set a winning application strategy.

ESSAY #1 
 Essay #1: Tell us a six-word story that reflects a memorable experience in your life-to-date. Elaborate on why it is meaningful to you. (300 words maximum)

The Haas admissions committee has their own  six word stories  in each profile, check them out for great examples.

Think of your six-word story as a compelling headline for the memorable experience you will describe. Just as journalists write the headline after the story, it will be easier to start with the elaboration and then encapsulate it in a pithy and captivating six-word story.

Haas has asked creative and open-ended questions for many years, and this is another version of that kind of essay. Brainstorm the most compelling story you can, preferably one that shows your diversity of experience. Ideally your experience also reveals something about you.

For example, we worked with a client who had a dramatic story about surviving a plane crash. The first time we read the draft it was a highly exciting story, but it lacked any description of his actions and what it meant to him. We worked on the meaning of the story and ended up with both a compelling and memorable narrative, and a story about leading through uncertainty, as he worked to help his fellow passengers through language barriers and lack of medical training.

Once you have written your own story, think about that six-word headline. You should reveal some of the plot while leaving enough to the imagination to grab your readers interest.

ESSAY #2 
 Briefly describe your immediate post-MBA career goal, and discuss how it will put you on a path to a meaningful and rewarding career. (300 words maximum)

This is a short career goals essay and asks you to describe your immediate goals succinctly and then how your immediate post-MBA career choice will impact your long term career goals. This essay requires you to think clearly about how you will move from Point A (immediate post-MBA job) to Point B. It will demonstrate that you can plan for an uncertain future, and set clear and achievable goals for yourself.

One of the best ways to determine how you will fulfill your desired path is to talk to professionals who have the career you want. If you want to be an entrepreneur, read profiles of successful people who have started their own businesses and ask anyone you know personally how they achieved their own business.

You will likely find that while paths to the long term goal may differ, most people have formative early career experiences that led to the their long term career.

This essay also frames your long term career as something that will be meaningful and rewarding to you. Haas values people who have a passion for their pursuits. What drives you to pursue your long term career? What is meaningful to you about the choice? Perhaps you will be able to impact the lives of others, lead change, or drive innovation. Whatever motivates you is important to explore and describe to the admissions committee.

OPTIONAL INFORMATION 
 Optional Information #1: We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achievements.
1. What is the highest level of education completed by your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

• Did not complete high school
• High school diploma or equivalency (GED)
• Associate’s degree (junior college) or vocational degree/license
• Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS)
• Master’s degree (MA, MS)
• Doctorate or professional degree (MD, JD, DDS)

2. What is the most recent occupation of your parent(s) or guardian(s)?

• Unemployed
• Homemaker
• Laborer
• Skilled worker
• Professional

3. If you were raised in one of the following household types, please indicate.

• Raised by a single parent
• Raised by an extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)
• Raised in a multi-generational home
• Raised in foster care

4. What was the primary language spoken in your childhood home?
5. If you have you ever been responsible for providing significant and continuing financial or supervisory support for someone else, please indicate.

• Child
• Spouse
• Sibling
• Parent
• Extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)
• Other

6. Please elaborate on any of your above responses. Alternatively, you may use this opportunity to expand on other hardships or unusual life circumstances that may help us understand the context of your opportunities, achievements, and impact.
(300 words maximum)

Berkeley Haas is committed to understanding applicants and putting together a diverse class. By seeking deeper background into your family and your life circumstances your accomplishments can be contextualized. Questions 1-5 are self-explanatory and should be answered honestly.

For Question 6 you have the choice to either elaborate on your life circumstances as described in Questions 1-5, or to discuss a new piece of information about hardships or life circumstances that may help the admissions committee understand your background more completely.

For example, perhaps you are from a highly educated family and your parents are professionals, but you moved to another country for college or a job and were expected to achieve while speaking a second language and trying to acclimate to a new culture. Or maybe your parents are fully employed now, but there was a period of unemployment in your family that led you to learn how to thrive in a different way than you had expected.

It’s possible you were not expected to care for a family member, but that a family illness impacted your life. Think about the areas of your life that asked the most of your resilience and ability to overcome. How have you used those experiences to continue to achieve and impact those around you?

OPTIONAL INFORMATION #2 
 This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate.

Note that there is a specific place to indicate that you won’t have a recommendation from your current supervisor in the supplemental information section, so you do not need to explain that here in the optional essay.

Haas recommends using this space to address any information that was not adequately covered elsewhere, specifically suggesting that any employment gaps or academic issues should be covered here.

If you have a strong quantitative background like an engineering or hard sciences degree, or you work in a quantitative field like finance, it is likely unnecessary to further explain your quantitative skills.

Otherwise, you may want to take one or two examples to demonstrate that you have an analytical mind and can take a quantitative approach to problem solving and evaluating data. If you have taken any supplemental coursework to improve your quantitative profile, this is the place to describe and explain that coursework.

A short gap between school and a secured job is not necessary to explain, but an unexplained gap of several months between two jobs should be addressed. If your resume has significant employment gaps you should describe what you did between jobs in this space. Ideally you can point to additional education, training, volunteering or traveling that you engaged in while unemployed.

Reapplicants can describe hard improvements to your candidacy such as an improved GMAT score, new grades from quantitative classes, or a promotion. Other improvements might include refined career goals and additional leadership responsibilities at work or within a volunteer activity.

One final note: The Haas admissions committee has a series of  videos and tips posted on the website that are worth reviewing for their key insights.
***

If you are looking for guidance on your MBA application, Stacy Blackman Consulting can help with  hourly  and  comprehensive  consulting services.  Contact us  to learn more. Visit the website for  Stacy Blackman Reviews , and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school-by-school guidance.

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