Sandy On Harvard’s New MBA Application

BYRNE: What about applicants who do have issues like grades or low GMATs to explain.

KREISBERG: Well, they used to give you some really short space to do that  and now you have unlimited space. I suppose that is an improvement, just from the demands of brevity, but I am not expecting to see the new unlimited space make a difference in any one case.  There are only so many ways you can say, “I screwed up college because I was a jerk but now I am serious . . .” Although let me add, there may only be so many ways to say that, but some ways are better than others. As with everything else, remember, “Is this the kind of excuse making I would want to hear from the kid sitting next to me?” That is a golden test for HBS. That is the way adcoms think. Now that I think about it, having more space, as noted, can lead to drift, and drift can lead to bad judgment and affectation, so this new format might be dangerous for “explainers” as well.  Let me also add that you can also write a Stanford type essay and then draw a line and explain why your GMATs are not a fair predictive metric of how well you will do at HBS. Writing the full BS essay does not preclude you from also explaining things like grades or GMATs. Although the change in tone and sensibility is often jarring.

BYRNE: What about strong applicants with super solid grades from Ivy schools and top feeder firm jobs who just don’t want to blow this question. What is your advice for playing it safe.

KREISBERG: This becomes a similar exercise to the post-interview reflection they asked last year.  You recall that question was, “You’ve just had your HBS interview. Tell us about it. How well did we get to know you?” The formula  answer to that, and, ahem, one that worked in 100s cases that I am familiar with, was, about 400-600 words, along the lines of

“Thanks for the interview, and just a list of things that were sorta special and did not come up in the interview.  My guess is, if you want to neutralize this essay, the standard answer will be like that. Something close to 750  words, to let them know you are not blowing this off (that is also a similar word count to  Stanford Essay One), and some kind of discussion of what three or four things in your background mean, and how you were effective at doing those things, and what those events mean to you. Some discussion of 4-8 events, people, etc. in 750 words, my guess is, you just described 70 percent of the essays of the admitted class, and 70 percent of the essays of the dinged class.

Another issue is goals and why HBS. Last year you had 500 characters (including spaces) to discuss that, as a required short answer inside the application. That may give you some idea of how important they think that is. Not very. I suppose you could stuff out an essay this year with some rap about your goals and why HBS, blah, blah. That won’t hurt you, unless you are already in the warning zone of being boring and banal, but it won’t help either.  It is especially a low gain situation to talk about why HBS.  Talking about your goals, well, sure, especially if you can make that discussion follow powerfully from some prior discussion about what your values are how the two match up.

BYRNE: Sandy, what about stunt  essays, like making a list or writing in verse or drawing a picture?

KREISBERG: Well, not sure if you can draw a picture. Just in terms of technology. Making a list of people and places that mattered to you, if done well, would get you a pass, which means if you were getting in, you would still get in. If you were a reject, you would still be rejected. It could depend on what you said about each.  In theory, that would be as good as a regular essay. Writing in verse, phew, risky, but I am rooting for you.

BYRNE: What about writing about ONE event?

KREISBERG: Sure, along the lines of “I’d like you to know about X, which reveals several things about me . . .”

Stanford essays often work that way. “What matters most to me is the year I spent doing X”

BYRNE: Any final tips?

KREISBERG: Don’t fall down a hole. Writing can be a drug. That is good and bad. The drug can energize you and distort your judgment. Leave lots of time for revision. Show your essay to people. They may not be able to tell you what is good or bad, although sometimes they can, but they can alert you to what is odd, offensive, unclear, or just annoying, Trust those responses, even if they are inarticulate. As with the HBS interview, the real test is not to blow it. This essay, in terms of  adding value to what they actually do know about you from everything else, is not going to turn bronze into gold. It may turn high silver into low gold, and that can be critical. It can also turn gold into gold dust, seriously, so make sure that does not happen.

DON’T MISS: HBS APPLICATION DOWN TO JUST ONE ESSAY FOR CLASS OF 2016

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