Applicants to the University of Washington (UW) Foster School of Business must provide two average-length essays but have the option of submitting two more, allowing candidates to cover more of what they feel are the most compelling parts of their candidacy. The school’s first required essay focuses on applicants’ desire to attend business school with respect to their career plans and professional needs, and the second tasks candidates with illustrating how their attitude and actions resonate with the program’s mission statement. The first optional essay provides a rather open-ended opportunity to discuss anything significant, whether positive or problematic, while the second optional essay deals exclusively with the importance of encouraging inclusion. Read on for our full analysis of UW Foster’s 2025-2026 application essay questions.
University of Washington Foster School of Business Essay Analysis, 2025–2026
Essay 1: Post-MBA Plans (750 words maximum) – Tell us your ideas about what lies ahead in your career. What are the gaps or deficiencies currently preventing you from pursuing these potential career paths? How do you plan to use your time in the Foster MBA program to fill these gaps and advance your career?
The overall essay the school is essentially requesting here covers many of the primary topics included in a traditional personal statement—what your goals are, why you need an MBA to attain them, and why you need the degree from the school you are applying to—though the wording is obviously different in Foster’s prompt. While this type of question is common across many business school applications, Foster’s higher word count provides you even more space than usual to delve into convincing the admissions committee that the Foster program specifically is ideal for helping you achieve your goals. Therefore, be sure to learn about Foster’s courses, clubs, and events, and then describe how they relate to your career objectives. While you can (and should) gain knowledge from attending the school’s online offerings, speaking directly with students and alumni might provide you with even deeper insight into how the program will enable you to succeed in business school and after graduation. Showing that you have genuinely engaged with the school will help you stand out from other applicants who did not put in such time and effort.
To access our extensive guidance on how to craft a traditional MBA personal statement essay, download a free copy of the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which explains ways to effectively approach the topics in this question and offers several illustrative sample essays.
Essay 2: Foster Mission Statement (500 words maximum)
TOGETHER – WE FOSTER LEADERS, WE FOSTER INSIGHTS, WE FOSTER PROGRESS – TO BETTER HUMANITY. This is the Foster School’s mission statement, and it serves as the north star for how we do business here. Please select one part of our mission statement and describe how it resonates with you in your personal or professional life.
Business schools truly care about the type of person they are admitting. They want individuals who will do more than contribute their knowledge in the classroom. They seek people who will benefit the school outside of the classroom as well, students who will make a positive impact on the community. Whether that is by coaching incoming students in their target industry as a second year or being a leader with a nonprofit organization that mentors underprivileged local children, Foster wants students who will add value to the people and world around them. The school’s hope, of course, is that its graduates will continue their quest to do good after completing the MBA program, and because of this, Foster wants to understand how you feel about making the effort “to better humanity.” However, simply stating your passion for this goal is not sufficient to answer the school’s essay question. You will need to provide evidence that substantiates your claims. Offer at least one example from your past that illustrates that you have proactively had a positive impact on those around you. To specifically answer this question, you also need to clarify which part of Foster’s mission statement your story exemplifies most, but given this essay’s substantial word count, you should have ample space to do so.
Foster does not stipulate that your example(s) for this essay must be either personal or professional, thus giving you more freedom to select one or more experiences that align well with your chosen element of the mission statement. Therefore, explore all your career, family, and community life experiences for such instances. No matter which selection you choose, what is most important is illustrating how you have made—and will continue to make—a positive difference for those around you.
Essay 3: Optional essay (500 words maximum) – Include this essay if you have additional information you believe would be helpful to the admissions committee in considering your application.
Here is your opportunity—if needed—to address any lingering questions that an admissions officer might have about your candidacy, such as a low GRE or GMAT score, an unexplained gap in your work history, an unusual recommender choice, poor areas of academic performance, or a legal or disciplinary incident. Because Foster does not stipulate that this essay is strictly for explaining potentially problematic aspects of your profile, the door is open for you to share other types of stories and information, but do not simply try to fill this space because you fear that not doing so would somehow count against you. And however tempted you might be, this is not the place to reuse a strong essay you wrote for another school or to offer some anecdotes you were unable to include in your required essays.
If you truly feel that you must emphasize or share a key aspect of your profile that would render your application incomplete if omitted, write a very brief piece about it. Keep in mind that by submitting an optional essay, you are requiring the already overtaxed admissions readers to do additional work on your application, so avoid being overly verbose or sharing more information than is truly necessary. You must ensure that the admissions committee’s extra time and effort are truly warranted. If you feel you might have a reason to submit this additional essay, consider downloading a free copy of our mbaMission Optional Essays Guide, in which we offer detailed advice on when and how best to take advantage of the optional essay (along with multiple sample essays).
Essay 4: Optional Nurturing Our Community Essay* (500 words maximum)
At the Foster School of Business, we embrace inclusion and belonging as two of the foundations of both successful business strategy and a world-class educational experience. We share the University’s dedication to promoting the understanding and appreciation of human differences, and the constructive expression of ideas. We welcome you to share some of the ways you have practiced inclusion and promoted belonging.
*No separate scholarship application is required to be considered for Full-time MBA merit scholarships. However, we recommend that if you would like to be considered for the ROMBA Fellowship or Forté Fellowship, you may indicate your qualifications and interest in these scholarships through the Optional Nurturing Our Community essay question.
Business schools are committed to creating a diverse student body in which everyone’s ideas and viewpoint are not just heard but also considered. Thus, we are not surprised to see that Foster asks its candidates to describe their firsthand experience with collaboration and inclusivity, though we are a bit surprised that the query is presented as an optional essay (and the second optional essay, at that). If you have something meaningful or impressive to offer in response to this prompt, we definitely encourage you to share it with the admissions committee, but on the flip side, do not feel obligated to write this optional essay for fear that not doing so will make you look insensitive or apathetic. You are far better off skipping this essay entirely than trying to force or embellish a weak story that will not ultimately contribute anything positive or compelling to your application.
The past few years have certainly offered a multitude of opportunities for people to “show up” for others who are different from them, such as by participating in or even organizing a protest or march, or by speaking up or stepping in when an individual was being harassed or marginalized in some way. Foster wants to know how you act on your values and ideals within this context, so you need to go beyond just sharing why you believe practicing inclusion and promoting belonging is important. Therefore, be sure to describe your actual behaviors and actions. Fully illustrating and exemplifying the “how” element is crucial for this essay to be its most effective. Because the school places no restrictions on the environment in which your experience(s) occurred, be sure to consider all the areas of your life (personal, community, professional) to uncover your strongest examples.
To learn more about the essays for other top business schools, visit our MBA Essay Tips and Examples page.
