Kenan-Flagler case competition with Ramses

How To Address UNC Kenan-Flagler Essays

The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School ranked number 20 in our annual ranking B-schools.

Kenan-Flagler has consistently ranked as a top B-school in the nation, but what exactly does it take to get into the prestigious B-school?

Experts at Stratus Admission Counseling recently broke down the B-school’s essay prompts for 2020-21 and how applicants should address them.

ESSAY 1

The first essay asks applicants to answer the following questions in under 500 words:

• What are your immediate career goals?
• How will you benefit personally and professionally from earning an MBA at UNC Kenan-Flagler?
• As the business world continues to evolve, circumstances can change that can guide you in a different direction. Should your goals that you provided above not transpire, what other opportunities would you explore?

Stratus experts say the first two parts should make up a majority of the first essay.

“Consider sharing a story that provides some insight into how you developed your career goals in the opening part of the essay where you present your immediate professional aspirations,” according to Stratus. “In addressing how you will benefit from a UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA, be specific in noting the areas you need to improve to reach your MBA career goal and how UNC Kenan-Flagler’s specific classes, clubs, and other resources can help you fill these gaps.”

The third question aims to see if you’ve done career planning and how well you can adapt your goals.

“The challenges presented this past year from COVID-19 highlight directly how the ability to adapt to challenging times is more important than ever,” according to Stratus.

ESSAY 2

The second essay asks applicants to answer the following question in under 300 words:

2020 brought many defining experiences, including: a global pandemic, changes to learning and working environments, and calls for social justice and racial equity. At UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, these experiences propel us to strengthen efforts to increase the diversity in our community, to create a more equitable and inclusive learning environment and to teach our students to manage diversity, equity and inclusion. What have you learned about diversity, equity and inclusion in 2020? Please share your experience and what you learned about yourself as a leader. Tell us how you changed or would like to change your leadership style? If you were not leading a team, tell us what you learned at your level about diversity, equity and inclusion. How do you expect to continue that growth in the MBA program?

The second essay prompt is one that is highly relevant to the events that have taken place in 2020. This question aims to see how well you align with Kenan-Flagler’s values of diversity and inclusion.

“Without question, 2020 has been a year like no other, and UNC Kenan-Flagler is signaling the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their community by asking this question,” according to Stratus. “Be specific in discussing a particular example and also in mentioning UNC Kenan-Flagler resources where you will continue your growth during your MBA program.”

Sources: Stratus Admissions Counseling, Poets&Quants