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Applicants to the HEC Paris’s MBA program have their work cut out for them as far as writing application essays goes. Candidates must submit a total of five essays (and may add a sixth, if they wish) that cover a wide range of topics. One submission is a fairly standard personal statement, but then applicants … Read More  

The application essays for IE University’s International MBA Program are not overly taxing from a length perspective, but they require candidates to make some important decisions as to what they choose to share and how. We imagine most applicants will end up devoting a good bit of time to considering their options as far as … Read More  

The Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford takes a rather minimalist approach to application essays, asking its candidates to compose only one short, traditional written submission. The essay’s prompt gives applicants the leeway to share whatever additional information they believe the school needs to fully evaluate them, so they do not have to … Read More  

Emory University’s Goizueta Business School demands three short-answer questions, two relatively brief written essays, and a one-minute “small talk” video essay from its applicants. Two of the three short-answer questions address common MBA essay topics: one’s short-term career objectives and how the school can help the applicant achieve them. The third, however, asks candidates to … Read More  

The University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business takes a somewhat traditional approach to its application essays. For the school’s required essay, applicants must detail their short-term and long-term career goals and explain Marshall’s role in achieving them—though without much elaboration, given the submission’s mere 400-word limit. Applicants who feel they have an … Read More