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As you are working on your MBA applications, you will inevitably come across an opportunity to write an optional essay. Virtually every application has one. But do you need to write an optional essay? What exactly is it for? And who should use it?

Understanding MBA application requirements early gives you a major competitive advantage. Top programs such as Harvard Business School, UPenn Wharton, and Columbia Business School receive thousands of strong applications each year, and small strategic decisions—including when to take your admission test, how to frame your story, and whom to ask for a recommendation—often separate admitted … Read More  

Years ago, Harvard Business School (HBS) made a change to its application essay questions that surprised many. Its previously mandatory “long- and short-term goals” essay prompt changed its focus more broadly to “career vision” and became one of four topic choices from which applicants could select two. Immediately, MBA candidates tried to read between the … Read More  

IESE, like all business schools, is in search of capable, ambitious candidates who know why they need an MBA and what they want to do once they have one. The school’s two required essays provide applicants with the opportunity to show that they understand the program’s specific resources and opportunities. Candidates must also record a … Read More  

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management asks you to provide several short essays, one of which is a very standard explanation of your professional aspirations and motivation for pursuing an MBA. The three brief Membership Application essays are meant to reveal evidence of your active dedication to The Consortium’s goals of inclusion and progressive … Read More