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.
MBA candidates considering pursuing a real estate career often wonder whether they will be taken seriously if they come from a different industry, whether the MBA curriculum will properly prepare them to succeed, and whether the location of the program they choose might limit their options. While an MBA can absolutely pave the way for a candidate to enter real estate, the on-ramp is less obvious than it is for more conventional paths, such as consulting, banking, and tech, and students must commit to doing some intentional work outside the classroom.
In an admissions blog post, Allison Jamison, the assistant dean of admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, noted the importance of keeping things straightforward in the application process. Reflecting this mindset, Fuqua’s demands with respect to application essays are on the minimal side, which most candidates likely appreciate. Applicants must respond to one short-answer essay question in a mere 100 words, and the maximum length for the program’s traditional essay is just 500 words. Although Fuqua’s distinctive “25 random things” prompt might give some candidates pause at first, we love it for the freedom it gives applicants to get creative and paint a well-rounded picture of themselves. It should therefore be approached with more enthusiasm than fear. (Plus, Jamison has previously noted that the admissions committee enjoys reading these essays the most.) Our detailed analysis of all Fuqua’s prompts for 2026–2027 follows.
Applicants to the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University must submit just one written essay, though the essay prompt has two distinct parts. For the first, candidates are asked to explain their rationale for pursuing an MBA, while providing context to explain what led to this decision. The second part of the prompt deals with how applicants will contribute to their fellow students during their time in the Kellogg program. In addition, the admissions committee requires that candidates respond to five brief questions via video. Kellogg’s written and video submissions cover a lot of territory, so together, they should allow you to share a good deal of information about your past, your personality, and your strengths. For more advice on interpreting and approaching the school’s prompts for 2026–2027, read on.
Although admissions officers want to know that you are interested in their school, they do not want to read your repeated professions of love for it. Some candidates mistakenly believe that in their essays, they must constantly repeat enthusiastic statements about how they will improve their skills at their target school, regardless of whether the school asks for such information.
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