Harvard Business School Admissions Essay Requirements

Approaching the prompt

This essay has been a standard feature of the HBS application for years now, and the vast majority of advice out there encourages applicants to tackle it as if they were writing three separate essays of 200 words each. Doing so ensures that you give equal space and attention to each of the three accomplishments you choose to highlight. You don’t want to write an essay that spends 400 words describing what you consider your premiere accomplishment and then just 100 words each on the other two. In this essay, you need to feature three distinct and noteworthy accomplishments, each given an equal amount of attention.

Note that the essay no longer asks you to justify selecting these three accomplishments. The essay prompt used to finish by saying, “…and why do you view them as such?” but that section has been removed. As a result, you don’t need to use precious space explaining why you have chosen to share these three accomplishments. If you can describe them in a detailed and engaging manner, your reason for selecting them should be at least partially evident. You can then elaborate more during an interview.

With that said, however, make sure that you have a reason for selecting each of the three accomplishments you decide to share. And finally, choose accomplishments that will showcase diverse elements of your skill set and personality. An essay built on three accomplishments that are all essentially the same thing will not succeed nearly as well as an essay that talks about more varied accomplishments.

Common pitfalls

Filling your essay with “I ” statements. In any essay that asks you to recount something that you did, it’s very easy to find yourself starting the majority of your sentences with “I” followed by a verb of some sort. Don’t let boring writing like this strip the energy from your essay. Find different ways to make your points (watch out for excessive use of the passive voice, though), and always think about how you can use dynamic verbs and descriptive nouns to make your story vivid.

Embellishing your accomplishments or exaggerating your role in them. Admissions committees are very good at sniffing out such embellishment and will usually know if you’re not being 100% honest. That will cripple your chance of admission if it comes to light. Be honest.

Neglecting to explain your role in the accomplishment. Some applicants get so caught up in sharing the details of their accomplishments that they completely forget to note what they did to make it happen. Describing the intricacies of a multi-million dollar buy-out may be impressive, but if the reader is left wondering what exactly you did during that process, your essay will fall flat.

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Approaching the prompt

This one is almost the exact opposite of the first HBS essay, so in terms of formatting your response (devote 200 words to each of 3 setbacks), you can pretty much take the exact same advice as above.

When thinking about what to write for an essay like this, remember that the admissions committee wants to know that you are capable of handling adversity. Challenges, setbacks, and failures are a universal part of life, especially in the fast-paced and demanding world of business. It’s vital that a successful businessperson be able to handle those events, adapt to changing circumstances, and learn from them. Even though the essay doesn’t specifically ask you about those elements, make sure you consider them when choosing your stories and describing them; they will almost certainly come up during your interview.

Also, recognize that the essay is asking about setbacks you have faced, not necessarily setbacks you have caused. As a result, it is completely legitimate to share stories about a time when someone else’s struggle or failure required you to overcome an obstacle. When taking that route, focus on the challenges you faced and how you approached them rather than laying blame on someone else.

Common pitfalls

Discussing setbacks that weren’t really setbacks. This is more common when the essay asks you to talk about “failures,” but it applies here too. Some MBA applicants are so concerned with presenting themselves as outstanding candidates that they are reluctant to share any negative information about themselves. When they see an essay prompt like this, they try to think of ways to share setbacks that were minor in order to imply that they don’t cause such problems. Don’t do this; everyone, no matter how successful, has experienced challenges and failures (both of their own making and caused by others). Use this essay as a chance to be honest about those from your own life.

See pitfalls 1 and 3 from prompt 1. Both apply here as well.

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Approaching the prompt

This is an extremely common question that appears, in some form or another, on applications at many top programs. Perhaps as a direct result of this, it is the prompt on which it is easiest for applicants to stumble and write an unoriginal essay that make absolutely no impression on the reader.

The most important thing to keep in mind as you write an essay on a prompt like this is to be personal and original. That doesn’t mean that you should go out of your way to make yourself seem absurdly unique; rather, you should be honest about the detailed reasons you want an MBA. Think about it in terms of why now is the best time for you to get an MBA, what an MBA will equip you to do that you are currently unable to do, and how the MBA will impact your future.

In all of your writing, don’t try to present yourself or your goals based on what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. That usually leads to an unoriginal essay that reads like those of everyone else. Be yourself and be detailed.

Common pitfalls

Clichés. Becoming a CEO or starting your own business may be admirable goals, but they are severely overused in essays like this. You can avoid clichés by being as specific as possible when it comes to your own plans and goals.

Unrealistic goals. Similar to clichés, being unrealistic won’t serve you well in an essay like this. Everyone would like to start a company that quickly rises to become a global powerhouse with billions in profit, but chances are that’s not going to happen to you.

Neglecting to consider what makes HBS unique. Your answer to this question will be even stronger if you can connect your reasons for wanting an MBA to something specific offered by HBS.

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Approaching the prompt

The most important thing to consider when writing on this prompt is that it is not simply an invitation to talk about a bunch of random stuff for 400 words.

Make sure that you base your response on an actual targeted question. You may find it helpful to review other MBA applications, both from this year and past years, to get an idea of the types of questions they tend to ask. By starting with that question, you’ll ensure that your essay is focused rather than just being a collection of extra information.

Once you choose a question, remember to answer it in a detailed and personal way.

Common pitfalls

Not including your chosen question when you write your essay. If you simply submit the essay without the question, you may end up with a very confused reader.

Choosing a vague question. “Tell us about yourself” or “Why are you a great MBA candidate,” may be easy questions to answer, but they won’t be received well by the admissions committee.

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