Sound Off On This Year’s MBA Applications!

Now it’s your turn to roar back and tell those adcom big cheeses what you thought of their MBA applications.

You sweated over the process in Rounds 1 and 2. You had to jump through numerous hoops to file your application on time.

Tell us in the comment section below what you think about both the process and the essays questions (which we’ve reprinted below for a select group of schools to help start the process).

• Which essay questions did you like best and why?
• Which questions did you think were just dumb and a waste of time?
• Which admissions office did you find welcoming and helpful?
• Which one did you find cold and off-putting?

HBSGuru.com Founder Sandy Kreisberg will orchestrate the discussion on this year’s MBA applications, which is bound to be informative, entertaining, and laugh-out-loud funny.

THE MBA ESSAY QUESTIONS

 

Harvard Business School

1. You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy? (No word limit.)

Stanford Graduate School of Business

1. What matters most to you, and why?

2. What do you want to do ­REALLY ­and why Stanford?

3. Answer one of the three questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.

Option A: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.

Option B: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you identified and pursued an opportunity to improve an organization.

Option C: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you went beyond what was defined or established.

(Answers for all of the essay questions cannot exceed 1,600 words total.)

Chicago (Booth)

1. My favorite part of my work is… (250 words.)

2. I started to think differently when… (250 words.)

3. The Chicago experience will take you deeper into issues, force you to challenge assumptions, and broaden your perspective. In a four-slide presentation or an essay of no more than 600 words, broaden our perspective about who you are. Understanding what we currently know about you from the rest of the application, what else would you like us to know? (600 words or four slides.)

UPenn (Wharton)

1. What do you aspire to achieve, personally and professionally, through the Wharton MBA? (500 words.)

2. Academic engagement is an important element of the Wharton MBA experience. How do you see yourself contributing to our learning community? (500 words.)