MBA applicants—those from traditional industries (e.g., consulting, banking, finance) and less-conventional backgrounds alike—all have the same career-related question in mind when considering which programs to target: Will this school help me reach my professional goals? In Episode 119 of The mbaMission Podcast, Shari Hubert, associate dean of admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, joins mbaMission Senior Consultant Harold Simansky and Founder Jeremy Shinewald to discuss what Fuqua offers that can help candidates answer that important question.
The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is an alliance of some of the world’s leading graduate business schools and business organizations, and its aim is to enhance inclusion in global business education and leadership. The organization strives to accomplish that aim by recruiting MBA prospects who share a “demonstrated commitment” to that mission.
The Consortium offers a streamlined MBA application process that allows candidates who have demonstrated their support of its mission to apply to multiple member schools at once while also being evaluated for membership to The Consortium. Applicants who are accepted to The Consortium are granted access to exclusive events and the entire Consortium network. In addition, they are considered for a merit scholarship to one or more of the member schools to which they have applied.
You should consider submitting your business school application(s) via The Consortium if any of the following apply to you:
You have a proven record of promoting inclusion at school, in your job(s), and/or in your personal life by advancing the interests of people who have been underrepresented, underresourced, and/or underestimated.
You are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or DACA recipient.
To maximize your chances of being selected for Consortium membership and fellowship, you need to craft a submission that shows your commitment to The Consortium’s mission of enhancing inclusion in global business education and leadership. Please read our essay tips for The Consortium for guidance on how to approach and write the required core and mission essays.
Attending admissions events, revising your resume, writing essays, responding to short-answer questions, securing strong recommendations, interviewing, and then, of course, waiting to see whether you got accepted—given everything that is involved in the MBA application process, you will understandably feel stressed, or even overwhelmed, sometimes. However, by keeping things in perspective and giving yourself sufficient time away from your application work, you can ensure that you stay as grounded as possible while applying to business school.
The Villanova School of Business takes a rather traditional approach with the essay portion of its application, posing just one question that covers several main elements of a standard personal statement. The school wants to understand why you feel you need an MBA to progress professionally, how you intend to apply what you learn at Villanova to your career, and what steps you have taken to learn more about the school’s MBA experience. We offer Villanova-specific essay-writing advice in our analysis, which follows.
Although some top business schools have been gradually reducing the number of written elements they require, the University of Cambridge Judge Business School still demands four separate submissions from its candidates. First, applicants must complete what the program calls a “career objectives statement,” covering their professional goals and related preparation for achieving them. Then, they are required to write three fairly brief essays: one about a “professional mistake” and their analysis of it, another about a meaningful past team experience, and one about a time when someone made a difference in their life. Read on for our full analysis of all four prompts, with tips on how to approach each one for your 2026–2027 Judge application.
A first-of-its-kind, on-demand MBA application experience that delivers a personalized curriculum for you and leverages interactive tools to guide you through the entire MBA application process.
