For its first required application essay, the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, wants candidates to succinctly introduce themselves and then dig deep on a personal level and discuss something about which they are passionate. For the second year in a row, the school is asking for this information via video. For Haas’s second required essay, applicants are asked to explain where they hope to go professionally after earning their degree and how they anticipate the Haas MBA program will help them get there. The Haas application also includes two supplemental essays. The first one invites candidates to share how their background or experiences have influenced who they are. The second is a traditional optional essay that invites applicants, if needed, to address any unclear or problem areas in their profile. Together, the essays should allow you to offer insight into who you are as an individual and who you hope to be as a future business leader, to complement the information presented in your resume, recommendations, and basic stats. Read on for our more detailed analysis of all the school’s 2026–2027 prompts.
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Required Essay #1 – Video Essay
Briefly introduce yourself, then tell us what makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why?
Please share something about yourself that may not be evident in other parts of your application. We are looking for an authentic and introspective response that demonstrates how you will contribute to the MBA class and culture at UC Berkeley Haas.
You will be able to test your audio-visual connection before recording. Video essays should last 1-2 minutes and may not exceed 2 minutes. You have two (2) attempts to record your video essay.
We understand that video essays can make you feel like you are being put on the spot, but this is really not Haas’s intention. The admissions committee simply wants a more dynamic representation of your personality than a written essay can provide. So—after introducing yourself (in no more than two sentences)—just deliver your response honestly, as smoothly as you can, and be yourself. Your video should also provide you the opportunity to visibly demonstrate your passion for your chosen topic.
As you brainstorm for ideas, consider times when you are completely immersed in and focused on something that you enjoy. With this question, Berkeley Haas is basically asking you to discuss what puts you “in the zone.” If you are truly excited about something—and, we would assume, therefore engage in it on a regular basis—writing about it should not prove too challenging. Like all other application questions, this one has no “right” answer, so do not try to guess what you think the school wants to hear. Authenticity is key to your success here. Note that the prompt includes the words “when you are doing it,” so even though you might feel strongly about certain causes or values, such as animal rights or environmental matters, for this essay, you will need to discuss an activity rather than an ideology.
The school does not stipulate that your topic needs to come from a specific area of your life (e.g., professional life, community service, personal life). We appreciate that you are likely passionate about your career, but this is not automatically your best choice for a topic here, especially given that the school’s second required essay offers a better opportunity to discuss your professional side. What Berkeley Haas wants to learn from your response is what gets your heart pumping and mind revving. Enthusiasm and intensity can be very inspiring and energizing and can lead to big ideas and actions. Sharing what incites such feelings in you gives the admissions committee an idea of where you might someday make an impression on the world, how you might leave your mark—especially once you are equipped with all you will gain and learn during your MBA experience.
That said, do not worry if the thing you feel so fervently about might initially seem commonplace to someone else. For example, perhaps you feel passionate about basketball. Because this is an interest anyone could share and enjoy, you might have concerns that it could sound pedestrian or unremarkable—and for many, this is a completely unremarkable pastime and one they should not write about. If, however, you can show that you have engaged with basketball in a way that takes the activity well beyond being a commonplace hobby and that it is something you connect with on a deep level and in various ways (perhaps having played for many years, you now coach youth teams from underprivileged neighborhoods in your community), then it most definitely becomes an acceptable discussion topic. In such a case, basketball could be used to reveal intensity, dedication, commitment to yourself and others, growth, longevity, and/or resilience. Of course, we are offering basketball here just for illustration purposes. We imagine you likely feel “in the zone” when engaging in a completely different activity or even in disparate activities that are unified by a single behavior, such as when you are creating something or perhaps motivating others. The options are very much endless.
Once you have identified the passion you wish to discuss, avoid simply telling the admissions committee about it and instead illustrate how it manifests in your life. For example, rather than starting your video by stating, “I have been watching and playing basketball since I was a child,” you need to create a more vivid impression of your dedication and involvement, such as “From playing with my brothers after school to varsity ball in college to now coaching a youth league in my community, I can hardly remember a time when basketball wasn’t an integral part of my life.” Once you have set the scene and presented the object of your fervor, you must then explain why you connect with it so strongly or so well. Perhaps it gives you a sense of peace or purpose, or it makes you feel connected with others in a meaningful way, or it allows you to challenge yourself mentally or physically. Even though your topic is technically basketball, you will be demonstrating valuable qualities that you could bring to the Haas community to add value for your classmates.
Lastly, remember to bring energy and enthusiasm to your submission! After watching the video, the admissions committee should have no doubt that you are genuine about your chosen topic.
Required Essay #2
What are your post-MBA career goals, and how will the resources at UC Berkeley Haas help you achieve them? How do you plan to remain adaptable as your career evolves? (300 words max)
With this rather no-nonsense query about your motivation to earn an MBA and expectations as to where you will go with it professionally after graduation, Haas simply wants you to spell out what you have in mind as you approach this phase of your life and career. With just 300 words, focus on presenting your answer as directly and thoroughly as possible. Keep in mind that the rest of your application needs to provide evidence that your stated goals align with your existing skills and interests, especially once they have been augmented by an MBA education. This will show that your professed objectives are achievable and thereby lend credibility to your statement.
In this question, Haas does not specifically ask for short-term and long-term goals, which gives you some freedom in describing the extent of your career vision. You should certainly define your immediate goals and be as detailed as possible, perhaps even discussing your target roles and companies. If you have space to also discuss your longer-term goals—and if they logically connect to your short-term goals—then you should include those as well. They do not need to be as defined as your stated goal upon graduation, but they should illustrate a compelling vision that will result from a blend of your background, your MBA, and your initial post-graduation work experience.
The Haas admissions committee also asks how the resources at Haas are especially key to reaching your professional objectives. This means you must identify Haas-specific opportunities and offerings and tie them to your particular needs and interests. Your goal is to convince the admissions committee that you do not simply need an MBA to bridge the gap from where you are in your career to where you want to be, you need an MBA from Haas. So, research the school thoroughly (though we hope you have already done so at this point) and identify the courses, clubs, events, centers, faculty members, and possibly even extracurriculars that will position you for success in your post-MBA career. For a comprehensive exploration of Haas’s academic offerings, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, community/environment, and other key facets of the program, please download your free copy of the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Berkeley Haas School of Business.
Lastly, note the final question in this essay, which asks you to explain how you “plan to remain adaptable as your career evolves.” This new addition to this question could be in response to how the job market is expected to change with the ongoing advancements in technology and AI. Therefore, you should clearly show that you have reflected on how you will continue to learn and stay ahead of the curve in your chosen field. To address this part of the question, you might also consider demonstrating that—if circumstances require—you already have an alternate longer-term career path in mind.
In general, this essay covers many of the core topics in a typical personal statement essay. And because personal statements are similar from one application to the next, we created our mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. This publication is available free of charge and provides both detailed guidance and illustrative sample essays. Be sure to download your free copy today.
Supplemental Information
Distance Traveled – At Berkeley Haas, we consider “distance traveled” as the contextual information that helps us understand the unique circumstances, challenges, or influences that have shaped your personal and professional journey.
We invite you to share aspects of your background, personal circumstances, or significant experiences that have meaningfully impacted who you are today and how you’ve reached this point. Please tell us how these experiences have influenced your perspectives, decisions, and aspirations, and how they contribute to the person you are becoming. (300 words max)
This section is optional.
With this supplemental question, Haas is providing you the chance to write about a topic that would not be relevant to either of the school’s first two essay questions. Here, the admissions committee wants to get a sense of your background and potentially the challenges you have faced. In essence, this is the school’s “diversity” question. However, you do not have to be a member of an underrepresented group to answer it. You might still have faced obstacles or had significant experiences that have influenced who you are. If so, Haas wants to hear about them. And of course, if your personal background led to challenges that you have had to overcome, Haas wants to learn about that as well. The key to responding effectively to this prompt is illustrating that you have learned from these experiences and that they have influenced your ideas and decisions in a positive way. What will impress the admissions committee is not simply that you were forced to face challenges but that you ultimately used them to guide you on a positive trajectory. Lastly, to close out your essay, pay attention to the final phrase of the question, which asks how your past experiences “contribute to the person you are becoming.” You need to provide clear evidence of your actions that illustrate your perspectives.
Optional Statement
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. (300 words max)
Perhaps because this is Haas’s second supplemental essay, this “optional statement” is narrower in scope than that of some other schools. The first supplemental essay on “distance traveled” already provides you with an opportunity to discuss challenges you have faced because of your background. This essay is therefore not the place to simply offer another story. It is also not the place to pander to the school. The fact that the question encourages you to use bullet points when appropriate clearly conveys that the admissions committee wants you to focus strictly on key information that does not appear elsewhere in your application—and to convey it in a concise manner. If you do not need to explain an issue or potentially confusing element of your candidacy, we recommend that you not submit this optional essay. However, if you do have issues to clarify, consider downloading our free mbaMission Optional Essays Guide, in which we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay and provide multiple examples.
