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Essay 1: Complete all parts below. (1500 word maximum)

Explain the path that has led you to pursue an MBA as the next step in your professional and personal development. Describe your short and long term post-MBA career goals. What or who influenced your choice of schools, and how specifically will Chicago GSB help you succeed?

Many candidates regard writing this 1500 word essay as a “monster” of a task. While it is true that this essay is 500 words longer than similar essays from Wharton or Columbia, this should be seen as an opportunity to allow the Admissions Committee to get to know you, your goals, your sense of purpose and need to attend Chicago in greater depth.

Last year, when this question first appeared, many candidates saw an opportunity to present their career histories in their entirety. You should notice that the question does not ask for your entire career history, but asks for the “path that led you to pursue an MBA…” You need to exercise judgment in discussing your path and develop “cause and effect” relationships between your experiences, showing the reader how your MBA is the culmination of your experiences, not merely stating that it is the next in a line of fruitful experiences. To some, this may be a nuanced point, but it is certainly important that you understand it (and if you do not, please email: [email protected]).

Other than the word count, the other significant differentiator between Chicago’s essay one and other “typical” personal statements is that Chicago specifically asks, “What or who influenced your choice of schools…” Chicago wants to be sure that you have made an effort to get to know the GSB and that you have truly done your homework; you are best off explaining a priori experiences that you have had with alumni, students, professors, administrators, admissions officer, etc. in order to explain how you have learned about the school. Then, you will need to explain what it was about these encounters that made you want to learn more and apply – whether you were learning about academic resources or were simply attracted to the environment/personalities or both.

With Chicago’s “extra” words, you have a wonderful opportunity to develop your compelling connection to the school’s unique offerings. You can develop in depth arguments along thematic lines, but need to show how you will use their resources to advance your goals. Again, it is not enough to merely explain what programs they offer – they already know! Considering that Chicago has this added element – “what or who influenced…” – this is essay is not as daunting as it may initially seem. If you properly utilize this section and add to the section on how Chicago will specifically advance your career goals, your extra 500 words should be easily manageable.

Essay 2: Choose one of the following questions. (500 word maximum)

If the admissions committee were to interview one of your closest colleagues, what aspect of your personal development would this person say is especially important for the admissions committee to know?

You have been asked to write an editorial about the most pressing issue facing humanity. Please identify the issue and justify why you have selected it.

Last year Chicago asked candidates to choose between two options, one which approached a challenging team environment, the other a challenging leadership experience. This year, the options are completely unrelated. In the first sub-question, you can discuss a personal triumph or offer insight into your personal growth which will require candor, honesty and introspection. The more honest and personal – without your “aspect” being inconsistent with values espoused by Chicago — the better your essay will be. In the second, you will need to offer a very educated opinion, as “the most pressing issue facing humanity” can leave you with few options, many of which will be difficult to truly differentiate (i.e. terrorism). When choosing the latter option, be sure that you have truly tested your ideas and have insight into the matter that you are bringing to light. While a well-written “pressing issue” can be remarkably valuable as it can show a certain worldliness, compassion, solution-orientation, etc, it can also result in a clichéd or, even worse, dogmatic piece. Caution: be very careful when expressing personal political opinions.

Essay 3: Complete each of the following questions. (100 word maximum for each question below)

One hundred words can be three or four sentences for some, so, clearly, your space is very limited in this section. These bullet essays are designed so that the admissions committee can rapidly understand the individual behind the resume – these are basically personality questions.

What is the one thing that most people do not know about you?

In this brief space, the idea is to offer the AdCom something new or unusual, possibly something that shows that you have taken a personal or professional risk or tried to accomplish something daring. Essentially, the AdCom is saying, “We have come to understand who you are through your application – now show us something different or exciting”.

What book, play, or movie would you recommend to the admissions committee? Why?

Because artistic mediums such as books, plays and movies are so intensely personal, the AdCom has created an opportunity to get to know more about your world view via these avenues. You should keep in mind that your choice is meant to be reflective and illuminating, so, you need to do more than rave about a novel that you love; you need to show within the novel there is something that is consistent with your personality or philosophy. This is not to suggest that you answer need be a rumination; this simply to suggest that the reader needs to learn about you, not your book/play/movie via your choice. There is true flexibility in this answer so this question should be a tremendous opportunity to think creatively and differentiate.

It is your first day of business school and people are selecting study groups. How would you describe the value you will bring to a study group?

This question is worded in such a way that you do not need to focus on one specific area, but could select from personal and professional strengths (keeping in mind the word limits). We recommend a bias toward the personal side, with very brief examples to reinforce the attributes that you have selected, but if you have unique knowledge of a certain professional area and can differentiate along these lines, then you can seize the opportunity as well.

Update: Click here for the 2015-2016 Columbia Business School Essay Analysis 

1. What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals? (Recommended 750 word limit)

Essay one is essentially a personal statement and the operative word is “personal”. In this essay, you need to tell your story in a clear and compelling, but most importantly, intimate way. Therefore, you cannot afford to be generic or vague; you need to discuss your past, present and future with insight and focus.

Interestingly, in Columbia’s case, there is no explicit request for information about your career history. Still, you need to offer brief context in order to make your future goals relevant. By offering context into your past experience, you can turn what might have seemed naïve into an entirely reasonable statement.

Your short term goals need to flow from this context and show very clear direction and purpose. It is not enough to write, “When I graduate I want to go into marketing” or “With my MBA, I will enter the field of consulting”. What kind of marketing – consumer products, business to business? What knowledge do you have of this business and why will you excel in it?

Remember, this is not a statement of dreams, but a statement of purpose. So, it is important that as you develop your short term goals you consider the specific role you will play, the reasons why you will excel in that role and hopefully show insight into why there may be an identifiable need for your skills in this position. You can take any direction that you so choose from your short term goals as long as there is a causal connection with your long term goals. Your long term goals can be less specific than short term goals; they essentially represent an ideal aspiration if short term goals are reached.

Columbia explicitly asks: “How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals?” A common mistake among applicants is simply to compliment the school. The spirit of the latter half of your personal statement should not be “CBS is great”, but “I will utilize specific CBS resources to achieve ambitious goals.” And, the idea is not to generate a list of “specific CBS resources”, but to develop a well thought out themes or arguments – almost like stating your case to the jury – where you prove that by taking advantage of specific programs within a few disciplines that directly relate to your career, you will achieve your goals.

It is important to not only show your academic and career fit, but also your personality fit. If you have visited Columbia and/or spoken with alumni, students, professors or admissions staff, it can be helpful to show your connection, so that your knowledge of the school does not seem superficial and your interest is sincere. Also, while schools do not explicitly ask you what you can offer, word count permitting, it is generally a good idea to discuss ways in which you can contribute in class and beyond, if this has not been accomplished implicitly throughout the essay.

(Note: Columbia’s application does not list the latter question as an option. However, Columbia released this question earlier in the summer and, since then, has confirmed that they will accept the latter essay, if candidates choose to answer this question.)

2. Leading in the global economy requires enabling high performance from a diverse set of employees, colleagues and partners. Tell us about a manager you’ve observed who enabled or inspired others to do their best work and analyze how this manager did it (Recommended 500 world limit)

This is a unique question in that it is one of the very few that are not directly about you, but is about another individual. Still, your observations are your own and reflect your perception of how a manager can be effective and motivate others. Clearly, this essay does not exist in a vacuum and your observations will make a strong statement about your preferred management style or what you perceive to be effective/creative.

Your answer need not be exclusive to your manager, but can be expanded to include any manager that you have observed closely and of who you possess intimate knowledge. For example, you could write about the manner in which a local restaurateur at a restaurant that you frequent creatively motivates his staff and maintains loyalty or you could write about the manager who sits across from you and runs a very tight and aggressive ship. The manager and his position is not as relevant as your insight.

2. What has been the greatest challenge to your value system that you’ve faced and how did you handle it? (Recommended 500 word limit)

Sometimes it is easier to explain what you should do in an essay by first explaining what you should not do. Inevitably, a candidate always asks if a story like the following would work: “My boss told me to trade on inside information and I said ‘no.’” In such an instance, there is no challenge to your value system; no one should be trading on inside information; no one should be breaking the law.

In essay two, you need to start by offering an example in which there were two reasonable options which stand in stark opposition to each other — both with positive and negative aspects — and explore how you made your choice. In such circumstances, the outcome is less important than your reasoning. The committee is seeking to understand your thought process and trying to recognize the reasonable, logical and ethical applicant within.

3. In discussing Columbia Business School, Dean R. Glenn Hubbard remarked, “We have established the mind-set that entrepreneurship is about everything you do.” Please discuss a time in your own life when you have identified and captured an opportunity. (Recommended 500 word limit)

The key to understanding this question is to recognize that entrepreneurship is not narrowly defined to mean “creating a business” but is more broadly defined as “capturing an opportunity”. Your example certainly could come from within the confines of the typical definition, but it could also come from innovating within your existing company, expanding the role of a community organization or from your personal sphere (if you seized a remarkable growth experience), etc. The bottom line is that there are many “right” answers for this question and you need not be intimidated if you have not started a company from scratch.

In this essay, your choice of language will be key to emphasizing that you did something creative in order to identify the opportunity. (Even if the idea was near or at the surface, you still possessed vision that others did not). After telling the story of how you identified the opportunity, you should explain the process of capturing the opportunity, focusing on the tangible impact that you had on this process and on how you helped bring the idea to life. Finally, you should briefly reflect on your accomplishment and key learnings. While CBS does not explicitly as for such analysis, it is most often helpful, as it shows a humility and appreciation for the experience, not just the results.

4. Please select and answer one of the following essay questions. (Recommended 250 word limit)

a. Please tell us what you feel most passionate about in life.

b. If you were given a free day and could spend it anywhere, in any way you choose, what would you do?

Many candidates will use the first two essays to showcase their professional and community experiences. Essay three is often an opportunity to showcase personal aspects of your profile. In both options A and B, the topic is not as important as your ability to truly express an inordinate love of the hobby/ethereal experience/activity/event. The reader is interested in learning something unique about you via your experiences and his/her attention will not be captured by experiences that are typical or lack intensity or emotion. Only by showing how your relationship to this experience is unique will you truly stand-out.

1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience? (400-word limit)

This question is quite open-ended, so you are not constrained to discussing all of your experience; you can be selective and showcase the aspects that put you in the most positive light. This is an opportunity to explain your choices (school/major) and show intellectual vitality, not review all of your coursework (the AdCom has your transcript) or explain bad grades (there is still the additional information section).

While “academic” is the operative word in this essay question, it can be interpreted broadly. Your academic experience can extend beyond the classroom to vigorous discussions with professors during office hours, for example. The idea is to show that while you were an undergraduate, you were seizing opportunities to explore ideas and then develop your own interests, thoughts and worldview. You should try to create momentum and show that your time was generally a period in which you discovered your passions and committed yourself to a course of study (regardless of whether your major was electrical engineering, history, management, etc.). Still, this does not mean that you can only discuss your major; that quirky “surrealist cinema” or fascinating “modern architecture” course that was well outside of your major might be the perfect fodder to prove your intellectual growth. Even if your time was not academically fulfilling, it is important that you show that such experience gave you a clear direction.

Finally, it is almost a cliché, but HBS is looking for leadership in everything that you do. So, if you can illustrate that you aided others in learning or expanding their horizons (peer tutoring, facilitating a conference, etc.) then this part of your academic experience could be a clear implication of future contributions at HBS which could be quite appealing.

2. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)

This is a mainstay of the Harvard application, an essay which challenges the reader to display depth of experience. Generally, the candidate should be showcasing different dimensions within this essay; a selection of professional, community and personal accomplishments (not all need to be represented) is important.

While this is the longest essay in terms of word limit, it is the most challenging for many, because one can only dedicate 200 words or so to each experience. It is important that you not forget that there are two elements that need to be tackled, the story of your accomplishment itself and then a reflective element (“why do you view them as such?”). The second half of this question should not be ignored; your personal thoughts are no one else’s and can differentiate you from the pack.

3. Discuss a defining experience in your leadership development. How did this experience highlight your strengths and weaknesses as a leader? (400-word limit)

This new essay is a hybrid of two essays from last year. The key here is to show that your experience was powerful in that it shaped you and your outlook on leadership. Clearly, there needs to be a climactic moment in your story in which your philosophy changed or was revolutionized. Thus, your momentum is crucial and this transitional event needs to standout and show its force. It is important to note that this essay does not need to come from your work experience; the magnitude of the event is more important than the “locale”.

Again, the second aspect of this essay demands introspection. You cannot merely trot out clichés about strengths and weaknesses, but should reflect and try to get to the core of your leadership style. You might find it difficult to be forthright about your weaknesses, but by identifying those that are not damning (meaning those that are not critical to your success at HBS) and explaining what you learned from them, you will get the credit that disingenuous statements (i.e. “My weakness is that I am too passionate about my work…”) will only undermine.

4. In your career, you will have to deal with many ethical issues. What are likely to be the most challenging and what is your plan for developing the competencies you will need to handle these issues effectively? (400-word limit)

This essay made applicants apoplectic last year. It is very important that you first discuss the challenges you expect to encounter and not attempt to solve an ethical dilemma. The committee is seeking to understand that you are already challenging yourself to think about the issues that you will face and that you understand that all situations will not be clear cut. (Essentially, the spirit is such that if you are constantly developing your thoughts, you will be enlightened and less susceptible to involving yourself in an Enron debacle).

To simplify the latter part on “developing the competencies,” the committee wants to understand that you have an agenda for continuing to grow and evolve as an ethical thinker in the future. (Again, they don’t want the solution to a problem; they want to know about the tools that you will surround yourself with to ensure that you will be capable of considering possible solutions to problems). While you can identify specific aspects of your HBS experience as potentially seminal in your development, this is an avenue that is available to all. You should attempt to think creatively and identify other resources that will force you to stay grounded and consider a variety of ideas and opinions.

5. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you? (400-word limit)

This is a new spin on the previous “what are you short and long term goals” question. This question offers you greater flexibility to discuss your career path, but should not be whimsical. You still need to be focused in your ambitions and ensure that your path flows from an existing foundation to ensure credibility. HBS wants to be sure that they restrict the illustrious HBS experience to those with clear vision, potential and purpose.

The latter aspect of the question (“why is this choice meaningful to you?”) places the onus on you to explore your own motivations. The structure of this question prevents superficial answers and forces you to truly understand your choices. The fact that essay five does not explicitly ask, “How will HBS help you achieve your goals,” means that many applicants will seize essay six to explain some form of this question. It is possible to integrate aspects of “Why HBS?” into your answer, although this is not mandatory, as the question simply does not ask for it.

6. What other information do you believe would be helpful to the Board in understanding you better and in considering your application? (400-word limit)

This question allows you to creatively highlight an experience that may have required more depth than was available in your three accomplishments, explore an interest/passion, explain your potential academic/personal/professional contribution to HBS or reasons for applying to HBS (to identify a few possible avenues). The challenge in this essay — after five essays – is to offer a new dimension of your personality and enable the committee to get to know something unique about you, which connects with your application as a whole.

Because Harvard no longer offers an additional information section, this is now also the place to discuss a bad grades, low GMAT etc. Still, this can be tactfully mentioned as an addendum and need not take over the entire 400 word essay.

Throughout this series, I have focused on freeing candidates from all other constraints so that they can pay careful attention to their essays come January. Short answers – the small sections within the actual application forms themselves which pertain to your work history, community accomplishments, scholarships and criteria, etc. – do not change much from year to year. While many choose to put-off these “details” you can rid yourself of a headache now by taking the time to complete these sections. Furthermore, similar in benefit to your resume, by completing this step early on, you may contemplate and discover stories that will be quite useful in writing your essays.

An abbreviated version of HBS’s short answer on work history (which actually did change slightly last year) follows:

Job Description:

Job Title:

Your Responsibilities: (200 characters only)

Key Accomplishments: (200 characters only)

Most Significant Challenge: (200 characters only)

Reason for Leaving: (200 characters only)

Again, if you need to complete these forms thoughtfully for several positions and then complete several other similar sections for your volunteer and extra-curricular experiences, this can be time consuming as you approach the deadlines. By completing them now, for all of your applications, you will have a brainstorming tool in hand and a small obstacle out of the way.

We offer specific pre-application services for those interested in charting a clear course to their MBA.