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Michigan Ross has overhauled its essay this year. Gone is a question about an alternative career path that perplexed many applicants in the past. Still, essay one will no doubt bedevil many others. Michigan Ross’s essays are open ended, which allows you to decide what you want to offer of yourself. You should feel that you have ample opportunity to present your best.

1. Introduce yourself in 100 words or less.

How many words is 100? This sentence alone accounts for ten percent of that allowance. Because this essay’s word count is so tight, many candidates will struggle with it. Still, in 100 words, you could write a brief vignette/story that broadly represents you—that stands for who you are. Or, you can offer several short/clever sentences that capture your personality. You might even present a theme or two with supporting anecdotes. In short, you still have plenty of room to be creative and reveal what makes you interesting. (We strongly recommend not offering a historical statement that summarizes your biography/resume.)

By the way, the paragraph above is exactly 100 words.

2. Describe your career goals. How will the Ross MBA help you to achieve your goals? (500-word maximum)

Because Personal Statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store. Please feel free to download your copy today.

For a thorough exploration of Ross’s academic program/merits, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, academic environment and more, please check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to Michigan Ross.

3. Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What did you learn from that experience? (500-word maximum)

In its essay questions, Ross tends to throw a lot of softballs your way—they allow you broad opportunities to write whatever you would like. This essay question, however, is far more narrow than any of the others, requiring you to explain a time when you faced an oppositional force and how you dealt with a minor or major setback. In this essay, you need not be culpable—they are not asking you to admit to or explain a mistake—but you nevertheless need to be honest, and this may require that you explain your responsibility for a frustrating situation. Regardless of the challenge that you choose to discuss in your essay, showing how you navigated the personalities and circumstances is important in optimizing your results. Even if you did not “turn lemons into lemonade,” as the saying goes, your story can still present you in a positive light, revealing your strengths in the areas of diplomacy, persuasion, maturity, ethics, creativity and more. As we noted in our analysis of Kellogg’s essay questions (Kellogg asks a similar question of applicants), the key to writing an effective essay is revealing a certain thoughtfulness and problem-solving ability as you overcame and did your best to advance.

4. Select one of the following questions:

What are you most passionate about and why? (300-word maximum)

We are guessing that because essay one has, to a large degree, already focused on the topic of the applicant’s personality, many will opt not to answer this question, but will defer to the next. Still, in either this “passionate” essay question or the “contribution” essay question that follows, candidates will have an open-ended opportunity to differentiate themselves from the rest of the Ross candidate pool. So, if you choose to answer this question, think carefully about what the admissions committee already knows about you from the other portions of your application package, and be sure to consider a new theme/skill/experience to highlight here.

Once you have determined what it is that you are indeed most passionate about, you should take some time to consider the manifestation of that passion. Simply stating that you are passionate about something will not be sufficient; you need to demonstrate evidence of this passion and truly illustrate how it plays a role in your life. Consider the following examples:

Example 1 (Bad): I love cooking and cook frequently for friends and family, often experimenting with new ingredients.

Example 2 (Good): After intensely searching throughout Chinatown for three hours, I finally found fresh Daikon and could not wait to get home to add it to my soup and be able to taste my newest recipe for the first time.

Although cooking may not be the most ideal/serious passion (unless it becomes a metaphor for a broader theme of spontaneity, creativity, etc.), our point is that your actions need to truly convey and reveal your passion. The reader cannot finish this essay and simply conclude, “nice hobby,” but must get a sense that you are in a comparatively inordinate pursuit and are thus quite purposeful.

We expect that Ross MBAs will not only be effective leaders, but also effective teachers. How will you contribute to the learning experience of your peers at Ross? (300-word maximum)

Candidates need not worry that they must possess proven teaching skills, but should focus on the second part of the essay question: “How will you contribute to the learning experience of your peers at Ross?” Ross is not expecting you to literally teach your fellow students (though if you can, that is great) but instead expects that you will have experiences from which others can learn via your contributions in class and possibly even in the broader community. As you write this essay, you can—and should—simultaneously exhibit your knowledge of the Ross environment by linking what you have to offer to specific aspects of the Ross MBA experience. For example, merely revealing that you possess nuanced knowledge of a particular region of the world would not be as compelling as explaining how you will apply this unique knowledge to contribute to a particular class, MAP Project or club. This essay allows you to distinguish yourself from other candidates and demonstrate connections between you and the school.

Candidates often struggle with the demands of the Haas application. Our advice to you? Do not just start writing. Instead, brainstorm extensively and map out your strategy for each essay and for your entire application as a whole, so that you avoid redundancies and give a complete picture of who you are as candidate.

Short Answer:

1. What are you most passionate about?  Why?  (250-word maximum)

This essay is your opportunity to grab your reader’s attention and interest, so think very carefully about how you want to introduce yourself. Most likely, you will want to reveal a side of you that is separate/different from your professional life and can serve as a metaphor for a broader theme. For example (albeit a clichéd one), mountain climbing can be a metaphor for facing challenges. Once you have determined what it is that you are indeed most passionate about, you should take some time to consider the manifestation of that passion. Simply stating that you are passionate about something will not be sufficient; you need to demonstrate evidence of this passion and truly illustrate how it plays a role in your life. Consider the following examples:

Example 1 (Bad): I love cooking and cook frequently for friends and family, often experimenting with new ingredients.

Example 2 (Good): After intensely searching throughout Chinatown for three hours, I finally found fresh Daikon and could not wait to get home to add it to my soup and be able to taste my newest recipe for the first time.

Although cooking may not be the most ideal/serious passion (unless it becomes a metaphor for a broader theme of spontaneity, creativity, etc.), our point is that your actions need to truly convey and reveal your passion. The reader cannot finish this essay and simply conclude, “nice hobby,” but must get a sense that you are in a comparatively inordinate pursuit and are thus quite purposeful.

2. Tell us about your most significant accomplishment. (250-word maximum)

Your most significant accomplishment can be from any sphere—professional, community, academic, personal—but be sure to maintain a balance and represent as many dimensions of your candidacy as possible as you respond to these short-answer questions. In other words, whichever aspect of your profile you choose to highlight here, it should be one that is not represented elsewhere in your application. This means that you will have to exercise judgment. The key to this essay is to choose an experience that is simple but powerful—one that speaks for itself and draws the reader in, allowing him/her to draw a clear conclusion about your capabilities. Even with just 250 words, you can sufficiently recount a story that accomplishes this goal.

3. At Haas, our distinctive culture is defined by four key principles—question the status quo; confidence without attitude; students always; and beyond yourself. Give an example of when you have demonstrated one of these principles. (250 words maximum, Review Berkeley-Haas’ Defining Principles)

This question offers you incredible flexibility and is essentially an open opportunity for you to share a strong story from your past. However, take care to not get distracted. Remember that the experience you discuss must relate directly to one of the four key principles, though we strongly suggest avoiding an introductory sentence like, “The key principle that I displayed in X circumstance was ‘confidence without attitude.’” Instead, you should launch right into your story and let your actions reveal themselves—and their connection to one of the tenets of Haas’s culture. In 250 words, you can still write a clear narrative with a distinct beginning, middle and end that shows the admissions committee your strengths, rather than simply stating that you possess certain characteristics.

4. There are many ways to learn about our program; what steps have you taken to learn about the Berkeley MBA? (250-word maximum)

Quite simply, Haas wants to know that you are applying for the right reasons—for the program’s “brains” (academics, environment, etc.), rather than its “beauty” (rankings). You need to explain your connection with/interest in the program and show that you have engaged in a thorough process of discovery and self-evaluation that has lead you to the conclusion that Haas is the right school for you. The more personal and detailed you are, the more compelling your answer will be.

A good way to test whether your sincerity is evident in your essay is by deleting any reference to Haas and inserting the name of another school in its place. If your essay still makes sense with another school’s name inserted, it is too generic and does not include enough Haas-specific detail. If, on the other hand, your essay becomes nonsensical because you have another school’s name relating to Haas-specific resources, then you have successfully done your job (and should take care to reinsert Haas before submitting!).

Required Essays:

1. Give us an example of a situation in which you displayed leadership. (500-word maximum)

You might feel relieved to encounter a 500-word maximum at this point, though by now, your depth of experience might be challenged; some candidates have difficulty offering a strong answer to this question, because they have already discussed their most significant accomplishment in their essay for short-answer question two. You should therefore reserve a more complicated experience for this essay, one in which your actions were methodical and thus may require slightly more explanation. Whereas short-answer question two demands an impressive “blast” of experience, in this essay, the admissions committee is more interested in understanding your leadership style and process orientation. The results of your selected leadership experience are quite important, but the characteristics that you display on the path to these results are equally significant.

2. What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How do your professional experiences relate to these goals? How will an MBA from Berkeley help you achieve these specific career goals? (1,000 word maximum)

Because Personal Statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store. Please feel free to download your copy today.

For a thorough exploration of Berkeley-Haas’s academic program/merits, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, academic environment and more, please check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Haas School of Business.

1. Describe your greatest professional achievement and how you added value to your organization. (400-word limit)

This question is very straightforward, with only the most minor wrinkle: be sure that you discuss an accomplishment that shows that you added value to your organization. Virtually all accomplishments can be said to have added value in some capacity, but for this essay, you must be sure to specifically address the second half of Cornell’s question and explain how your achievement benefitted others. As you consider your response, you should work to create a narrative structure that will engage your reader. Many candidates rush to end the mystery quickly and state their accomplishment in the very first sentence of their essay. After that, what point is there to the rest of the essay? Readers of our Monday Morning Essay Tips will already know that this is a very easy way to lose your reader’s interest. So, take care to really tell the story of how you achieved what you did in fact achieve, rather than just offering that you accomplished something special. There is indeed a difference.

2. What career do you plan to pursue upon completion of an MBA degree and why? How will the Johnson School help you achieve this goal? (400-word limit)

Because Personal Statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide,which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store.  Please feel free to download your copy today.

3. You are the author for the book of Your Life Story. Please write the table of contents for the book. (400-word limit) Note: Approach this essay with your unique style. We value creativity and authenticity.

This essay question follows the unique and creative model of NYU Stern’s essay three, UCLA Anderson’s audio/video file and Chicago Booth’s blank pages presentation, but for some reason, candidates are often confounded by what they perceive to be the essay’s rigid structure. We recommend that before you even put your hands on the keyboard or pick up a pen, you head to your local bookstore and leaf through various fiction and nonfiction texts, as well as magazines. There, you may just find some inspiration that will lead you to your own unique approach and help you break free of the confines of the rigid table of contents format—allowing you to add crucial information that will set you apart from other candidates.

We would like to stress to candidates that they need not order their chapters chronologically, nor must they cover their entire lives to date. Applicants may have interesting family histories or strong visions for the future, and incorporating these kinds of elements into their table of contents can give an even greater sense of their personality. Other possible options include organizing the table of contents thematically and breaking down the hypothetical book into parts/sections. As the cliché goes, the only limit is your imagination.

1. Professional Aspirations
(750-word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Answer the following:

(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?

Because Personal Statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store. Please feel free to download your copy today.

For a thorough exploration of NYU Stern’s academic program/merits, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, academic environment and more, please check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

2. Your Stern Experience
(500-word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

We take great care to shape the Stern community with individuals who possess both intellectual and interpersonal strengths. We seek individuals who are highly intelligent, collaborative and committed to flourishing as Stern leaders. Please answer the following questions:

(a) What is your personal experience with the Stern community? Tell us what actions you have taken to learn about us.
(b) Describe what most excites you about Stern from both an academic and extracurricular perspective.
(c) How do you anticipate making your mark on the Stern community? Be specific about the roles you will take on and the impact you hope to achieve.

New York City is an incredible asset for an MBA program, because it keeps students close to professional opportunities and attracts many great business school candidates who simply love the city. However, from NYU’s perspective, New York City can also be a liability, because many students who were working and/or living in the city before joining the MBA program can tend to focus on maintaining their pre-business school lives, rather than immersing themselves in the Stern community as the school would like. Thus, the school is determined to select candidates who are truly ready to contribute to and participate in the Stern community, and this essay is a first step in weeding out those who have not done their homework, who may not be ready to commit fully or who simply do not understand the nature of the experience.

To make your impression on the admissions committee, you will need to discuss your firsthand experience(s) with the school, gained via personal interactions with alumni, students and/or admissions officers, and especially via a campus visit. Applicants who live abroad can learn a great deal about the school and its community by speaking with students or alumni by phone or by attending Stern outreach events held outside the United States. Discussing repeated visits to the school’s Web site and only referencing information found there will show that you have achieved—and invested—no more than the bare minimum. Demonstrating evidence that you have thoroughly researched the program and identified true connections between yourself and Stern’s offerings is vital.

In addition, as you explore the topic of “what most excites you about Stern from an academic and extracurricular perspective” in your essay, take care to not just offer a long list of various classes, professors and clubs. Instead, focus on the ones that are most applicable to your interests and goals, and illustrate direct connections between these resources and your aspirations. (Please consult the aforementioned free mbaMission Personal Statement Guide for examples.) Similarly, when discussing your anticipated “mark on the community,” you must do more than enumerate the clubs you plan to join. Remember, the school wants to see “impact” and specificity, so the more detail you can provide about how you will participate in the school’s community and how your participation will benefit the whole, the better.

3. Personal Expression
Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.

If you will submit Essay 3 via mail or by providing an online link, please provide a brief description of your submission and its relevance to your MBA application.

Please note the following guidelines and restrictions:

Your submission becomes the property of NYU Stern and cannot be returned for any reason.

If you submit a written essay, it should be 500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font.

If you have a multimedia submission, you may:

• Mail a CD, DVD or USB flash drive.
• Include an online link in your submission description.

The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request an alternate Essay 3 if we are unable to view your submission.

In NYU Stern’s famed essay three, you are offered a phenomenal opportunity to differentiate yourself from the rest of the applicant pool in two distinct ways. First, you can do so via the vehicle by which you choose to reveal your persona. By using a creative and captivating format, you can grab the admissions committee’s interest and compel your reader to pay closer attention to your content. However, be sure to consider the possible limitations of certain clever options in conjunction with their uniqueness. For example, although a baseball card may be aesthetically pleasing, this format severely limits the amount of information you can convey because of its size and anticipated style. Instead, if you were to submit a eulogy theoretically written by your best friend (do not use this idea; it is now public), the format would be sufficiently broad to allow you to touch on all that is unique about your profile. The second way in which this essay question allows you to differentiate yourself is through your content. Ideally, you will use this opportunity to showcase a diversity of professional, personal, academic and community accomplishments that you were not able to share in essays one and two. Essay three allows you to reveal your true personality and “likeability” beyond your professional/academic competencies.

One important note: NYU Stern is now accepting multimedia presentations, but you should not feel compelled to use this option and should not worry about your Web design or video production skills relative to others’ if you do choose this method. Content trumps style. In fact, at a recent mbaMission event, we interviewed various admissions officers, students and alumni from NYU Stern who spoke of some incredibly simple essay threes that captivated the admissions committee—many of which were straightforward essays!

Tuck has tweaked its essay questions ever so slightly this season, no longer asking candidates to define leadership but still asking about a leadership experience in essay question two, and no longer asking for constructive feedback on a difficult experience but asking applicants to discuss a “hurdle” in essay question three. This small change—removing the need for a definition of leadership and for others’ perspectives on your performance—shifts the focus of the essays so it is entirely on you, the candidate.

Applicants should note that although no restriction is put on the length of the essays, on average, most Tuck applicants use 500 words for each response.

1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)

Because Personal Statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store. Please feel free to download your copy today.

For a thorough exploration of Tuck’s academic program/merits, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, academic environment and more, please check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Tuck School of Business.

2. Discuss your most meaningful leadership experience. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?

As you consider your options for this essay, you should keep in mind that your “most meaningful” leadership experience may not—and need not—be the one in which you produced the greatest end results. Note that Tuck is asking here for “meaning,” not impact. So, the experience you choose to discuss can be one in which you challenged yourself and put forth your greatest effort, leaving your comfort zone and diversifying your skills, even if the results were negligible. What you learned from this experience is what is crucial—particularly with regard to your “strengths and weaknesses”—and thus you will need to show that you have given a significant amount of thought to the experience and uncovered some personal and revealing takeaways.

3. What is the greatest challenge or hurdle you have overcome, either personally or professionally, and how did you manage to do so?

The choice of the words “challenge” and “hurdle,” rather than “mistake,” in this question means that in the experience you choose to present in this essay, you do not need to have been the cause of the problem that you faced. In other words, Tuck is not asking how you overcame an error of your own design, so you could theoretically discuss an instance when others left obstacles for you or when you were the victim of a happenstance occurrence (for example, you broke your leg during practice the day before you were going to start your final season as captain of your collegiate athletics team).

Ideally, regardless of your level of culpability (full culpability is fine, and honesty is mandatory), you will need to discuss a situation in which a specific result was not only desired but also seemed very likely. You need to raise your reader’s hopes and win him/her over, only to let him/her down emotionally when you present the unexpected obstacle that ultimately derailed your ambition. Finally, you must show that you made the best of a difficult situation, taking care to explain in detail how you were able to do so.

4. Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?

Tuck’s essay question four is quite broad; within “personal history, values, and/or life experiences,” you have a great deal of range. So, you can develop one or two significant themes, drawing from your life experiences, and then relate them back to the Tuck experience. This is an opportunity for you not only to highlight your most exceptional attributes but also to convey just how well you know the school by clearly illustrating connections between these unique aspects of your profile and specific elements of the Tuck experience. By thus showing a true understanding of your personal connection with the school and communicating how your strengths can be used to benefit the entire Tuck community, you will complete the essay portion of your application on a very compelling note.