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How to Write a Powerful MBA Essay—With Examples

The MBA essay is critical to your business school application. Read our guide to writing the perfect MBA essay, with successful admit examples.

Posted April 4, 2024

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What is the mba essay.

The MBA admissions essay.

Those words alone are enough to make most MBA candidates run screaming. Writing in general is hard enough. Writing about why you want an MBA? Your short-term goals and career aspirations? What matters to you most, and why? Forget it.

Of course, you still have to write these essays.

The MBA essay is perhaps  the most important part of the business school application. (It's also getting more and more important by the day, with some business schools moving away from traditional, quantitative measuring sticks, like the GMAT and the GRE.) Every other part of the application — your GPA, your test scores, your letters of recommendation — are quantified, cut and dried, or out of your control. The essay is your chance to show up as a fully realized MBA candidate, with hopes, dreams, and vulnerabilities. Admissions committees are not simply assessing your candidacy as a future leader — they're looking to admit human beings. That's where the MBA applicant essays come in.

That being the case, rather than being intimidated by it, treat the essay like the opportunity that it is — the chance for you to highlight your unique, iridescent self; the only moment in the MBA admissions process (prior to the interview) when you can speak directly to the admissions officers; the time when you'll show them who you really are. It's not easy to write something that will do that, of course, but with the tips and tricks in this guide, and some help from one of Leland's vetted, world-class admissions coaches, we know you can do it. Give the essay the time, attention, and respect it deserves, and you'll be on your way to an offer of admission at your dream school.

Without further ado, let's dive in!

Ultimate MBA Essay Guide

See the MBA essay prompts, top tips from experts, and real examples from admits with this comprehensive guide.

How Long Will My MBA Essay Take?

First thing's first: let's talk about timing.

The MBA application is a behemoth; between exams, resumes, gathering your official transcripts, letters of recommendation, and the applications themselves, there's a lot to juggle. That being the case, we suggest you give yourself ample time to draft, write, and revise your essays. The last thing you want is to be rushed to the finish line.

So, give yourself  at least three months to write your MBA essays. That should allow you ample time to draft, write, and edit. For more information on timing your entire b-school application, click here for  A Comprehensive MBA Application Timeline--With Chart .

Now, on to the critical question:

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What Makes a Great MBA Essay?

At the highest level, the answer is the one that is truest to you. The whole point of these essays is to shine through as an authentic, vibrant human being, so the best essays are the ones that cut through the clutter, and allow you do to that.

Which begs the question — how  do you cut through the clutter and shine through as a vibrant human being? Here are four critical tips to follow as you begin thinking about your essays.

1. Answer the Question

This one sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many applicants launch into their story, get carried away, and forget to answer the question. Follow the prompt, and answer the question the admissions committee has asked you. Those prompts can actually be very useful when writing your essays — it's a great deal harder to write when you have no guidance or guardrails. With the MBA essays, you have a very specific question you need to answer. So answer it!

2. Be Specific

Another mistake some MBA applicants make is to stay at a high level in their essays, keeping their writing abstract and therefore inaccessible to the admissions committee. If at any point, an admissions officer could replace your name with the name of another applicant, then your essay isn't getting deep enough. It's not enough, for instance, to say that you suffered adversity in high school, or that you really, really want a Wharton MBA. You need to explain, in detail, the adversity you faced, and give concrete and unique reasons why you think Wharton is the right program for you. The best essays offer hyper-specific examples and anecdotes, with details and anecdotes that no other candidate could bring to the table. To get those anecdotes, we recommend using the STAR template, as explained below:

• Situation : What was the situation you were facing? Where were you? How old were you? If you were in a professional role during this anecdote, what was the role, and how long had you been in it? If you were volunteering, at what organization? How long had you been volunteering there? Why did you start? Offer all the relevant information that the admissions readers will need to understand your story.
• Task : What was the task at hand? What went wrong? In your professional role, what was the challenge you faced? In that volunteering experience, what were the hurdles you had to overcome? You can't have a good story without conflict or tension, so after you set up the anecdote, explain what that conflict or tension was (and remember, be specific!).
• Action : What was the action you took to resolve the problem? What did you have to do to fix that issue at work? How did you clear that hurdle in your volunteer experience? Again, be specific about how you came through on the other side of that conflict/tension — and while you're doing it, highlight your leadership capabilities as much as possible! Remember that top MBA programs are looking for future leaders who can assess a situation and decisively take action. (We'll say a bit more about this below, in the Personal Statement section.
• Result : What was the result of your action? If you were facing a growth problem at work, were you able to increase sales? If so, by what percentage? If you were advocating for diversity and inclusion at your local charity, what new programs did you implement to help with that effort, and what was the enrollment like in those new programs? Detail what happened in your anecdote with as much specificity as possible — and quantify, quantify, quantify!

3. Get Vulnerable

Most MBA admissions essay prompts are written with the goal of getting to know as much about you as possible in the shortest number of words. To do that, you're going to have to share real things from your life — to get personal, intimate, and vulnerable. Do not shy away from this. If you're starting to get emotional during the reflection, drafting, and writing process, good — that means you're on the right track. Keep going. Pro tip: If it’s making you cry, it will make them cry. Another good rule of thumb is to put something real and true on the table. Admissions officers have to read literally thousands of applications from thoroughly qualified individuals, some of whom might come from similar roles to yours, with letters of recommendation from equally impressive supervisors. In order to cut through that noise, you'll have to share something honest. If you're doing it right, this can feel risky. At some point, you’ll likely think to yourself: “Can I say that?” The answer is: “Yes.” Of course, there is a line, you don’t want to be crass or offensive but err on the side of being open and authentic. The very worst thing you can do is be overly cautious, and write something you think will please the admissions committee. These poor people have to read thousands of essays. If yours is just like everyone else’s, they’ll fall asleep. Don’t let that happen. Wake them up by putting yourself —your true, bright, vibrant, quirky self—on the page.

4. Don't Exaggerate

Finally, do not exaggerate, over-inflate, or lie. This goes without saying, but admissions committees are looking for honest candidates. The surest way to get rejected is to lie about something. (Business schools do a background check on you before you're properly admitted, so they will find out.) Don't be the person who over-inflates on their essays, then has their offer letter rescinded.

The Types of MBA Essays

All right — since we've covered high-level approaches to the MBA essays, it's time to dig into the various types.

There are three general categories of MBA essays you'll see across the board.

1. Personal Statement

These questions ask you to offer up something sincere about yourself. They'll often touch on such things as your values and your character. In these, you'll want to be as authentic as possible, while also highlighting attributes like leadership, intellectual vitality, and teamwork, that business schools are looking for. Here are a few examples of personal statement essays:

• As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program? (HBS)
• What matters most to you, and why? (Stanford GSB)

2. Why an MBA/Why This School

The next category of essays is the "Why an MBA" / "Why This School" set.

In these, schools first want to hear about how an MBA will fit into your career, both short and long term. Top MBA programs are looking for candidates who will: first of all, be gainfully employed upon graduating, second of all, have an illustrious career that will make their institution look good and encourage future generations of applicants to apply, and third, be consistent and generous donors. That being the case, they want to know about your career trajectory, and how an MBA will fit into it.

Pro tip: Here, you want to be ambitious and inspiring in laying out your future career, but not naïve. Walk the line between shooting for the stars and sounding dreamlike and uninformed.

In this set of questions, you'll also encounter questions geared at figuring out why you would want to attend a specific school. MBA programs want to know that you're serious about attending their school — yield, or the percentage of admitted candidates who accept their offers of admission, is an important metric for them — but they also want to envision how you'll contribute to their admitted class. What will you uniquely bring to the table, the things that you'll do that the other candidates wouldn’t be able to offer?

We've heard former deans of business schools say that, in choosing a class, they're curating a world-class dinner party, and that each person invited to the dinner party has to bring something different. What will you bring to the dinner party?

Pro tip: To demonstrate that you've done your research, and to help the admissions committee envision you in their program, indicate which classes you might take when earning your MBA and why, which professors you might hope to study with, and in which clubs you might participate.

Here are a few examples of "why MBA / why this school" essays:

• How is a Columbia MBA going to help you? (Columbia)
• What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Wharton)
• Why Stanford? Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. (Stanford GSB)

3. Behavioral/Other

Finally, most other essays will either be behavioral, asking you about experiences, traits, strengths, weaknesses, and achievements. There's a wide variety of topics here, but all the guidelines from above apply, with the final note to always prioritize authenticity (as mentioned in the Personal Statement section) and leadership ability (remember, business schools are choosing future leaders). Here are a few examples of behavioral/other essays:

• Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. (Yale SOM)
• Tell us about your favorite book, movie, or song and why it resonates with you. (Columbia)
• Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others? (Stanford GSB)

Top MBA Program Essay Prompts (Updated 2022)

To help you get started, we've compiled the required prompts from a few top MBA programs below:

1. Harvard Business School (HBS)

As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program? (900 words)

For more information, visit A Guide to the HBS Essay .

2. Stanford Graduate School of Business

What matters to you most, and why? (650 words)

Why Stanford? (400 words)

Read What Matters Most When Writing the GSB Essays.

How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

For Wharton-specific advice, visit A Guide to the Wharton Essays .

4. Columbia Business School

Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Essay 2: The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a new co-curricular program designed to ensure that every CBS student develops the skills to become an ethical and inclusive leader. Through PPIL, students attend programming focused on five essential diversity, equity, and inclusion skills: Creating an Inclusive Environment, Mitigating Bias, Communicating Across Identities, Addressing Systemic Inequity, and Managing Difficult Conversations. Tell us about a time you were challenged around one of these five skills. Describe the situation, the actions you took, and the outcome. (250 words)

Essay 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place. CBS proudly fosters a collaborative learning environment through curricular experiences like our clusters and learning teams , an extremely active co-curricular and student life environment, and career mentorship opportunities like our Executives-in-Residence program .Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you academically, culturally, and professionally? Please be specific. (250 words)

5. Chicago Booth

How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250-word minimum)

An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of your career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are… (250-word minimum)

Read more at A Guide to the Booth Essays .

6. Kellogg Northwestern

Kellogg’s purpose is to educate, equip and inspire brave leaders who create lasting value. Provide a recent example where you have demonstrated leadership and created value. What challenges did you face and what did you learn? (450 words)

Values are what guide you in your life and work. What values are important to you and how have they influenced you? (450 words)

Read How to Nail Your Kellogg MBA Application Essays

7. MIT Sloan

MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity, respect, and passion.

Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation)

Applicants are required to upload a 1 minute (60 seconds) video as part of their application. In your video, you should introduce yourself to your future classmates, tell us about your past experiences, and touch on why MIT Sloan is the best place for you to pursue your degree.

How to Start Your MBA Essay

So you've read about the types of essays, and seen some of the prompts from top MBA programs. Now it's time to actually start diving into the essay.

The very first thing to do, before putting pen to paper, is to look inward.

Why do  you want an MBA? What role will this degree play in your professional growth? How do you imagine it will shape your life? What do you want out of your career? What is the most important thing in the world to you?

Yes, these are life’s deep-end questions, but you’ll need to tackle them in these essays, so before you start writing, take the time to think through them. Go for a run, swim some laps, bake a cake—however you get into the flow — and start a dialogue with yourself. Put down your work, turn your phone off, and give your mind permission to go to the places it usually avoids. That’s a good place to start. That’s where the answers are.

Pro tip: The first sentence is the hardest one to write. When you're starting out if it can intimidating and anxiety-producing. The trick is to simply put  anything  down — and don't look back. Keep putting one sentence after the other. You can edit later: let whatever comes to you out onto the page. If you’re struggling with self-critique, dim your computer screen until you can’t even see the words you’re typing. Then keep going.

Additional Tips & Tricks

Once you've started your essay, it's a matter of persistence: keep writing, then keep drafting and editing until you have something you're really proud of.

To help you with that process, here are a few more tips and tricks:

• Take Breaks

When you hit the wall — you will hit the wall — stop. This is your brain telling you it needs to do something else. Walk your dog. Take a lap around your room. Eat some cheese. Your body needs sleep every night to function; your mind is the same way. That next leap of inspiration will come exactly at the moment when you’re least expecting it.

• Read it Out Loud

When you finally have a draft, print it and read it out loud to yourself. Your ear will catch things your eyes miss. Reading out loud is the best way to pick up on spelling errors, clunky transitions, and paragraphs that still need ironing out. It’s also a good way to envision how the admissions committee will experience your essay.

Don’t be precious with your essay. Send it to anyone willing to read it. Solicit as much feedback as you can. If you don’t like what people have to say, you don’t have to incorporate it, but you need an impartial third party to give notes on what they’re seeing, thinking, and feeling. (You’re too close to things to do it for yourself.) This is where a Leland coach comes very much in handy!

• Complete Everything Early

This is more of a timing consideration, but you do not want to trip at the finish line because your internet went down the night before the deadline, or your credit card was denied when paying your application fee (it's happened before). Don't let that be you!

Here is another article to get you started, written by an expert essays coach: 7 MBA Essay Tips to Make You Stand Out in 2022 .

Example MBA Essays

Finally, here are two essays to help inspire you. The first, a personal statement essay, was submitted by an admit to Berkeley Haas' Executive MBA program; the second, a career goals / why MBA essay, was submitted by an admit to Chicago Booth's deferred MBA program.

Haas Admit:

A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects, including family, culture, personal interests, and surrounding environments. Please share a facet of your identity or story that is essential to who you are. (300 words) My upbringing in India, filled with countless myths and legends, had a profound influence on me. The most formative tale was about a sage who prays for years to the goddess of knowledge, but in vain. In the end, the goddess didn’t appear for the sage because he was turning his prayer beads the wrong way! As a child, this story upset me: the sage worked so hard and had the right intentions. As an adult, though, I’ve come to realize that the goddess of knowledge was right: you can’t succeed unless you do things the right way. Seven years ago, two friends and I started a company, XXXX: a digital health platform that would allow patients to store medical records online and consult doctors remotely. We had early success—we brought on 2,000 patients at XXXX, a gynecology clinic in XXXX—but ultimately we didn’t have the resources to properly scale, and had to shut the company down. Among the many lessons I learned, the most valuable was that ideas and hard work are common; businesses succeed or fail based on execution—on doing things the right way. Two years ago, I relearned this lesson in the most painful way possible: when my marriage ended. My wife and I loved each other, but we weren’t there for each other when it mattered most. Our feelings weren’t enough—we had to back them up with the right actions. It’s disheartening when you have good intentions but still fall short. When this happens, though, you have to keep trying—because eventually you will do things the right way. I carry the story of the sage with me always, not as a harsh lesson, but as a motivating goal: one that keeps me striving towards doing things the right way.

Booth Admit:

How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250 word minimum)

I want to start a geothermal company that will help lead the energy transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy—by targeting existing oil wells as sites for geothermal plants. Oil fields are close to electric grids and have high nearby subsurface temperatures, making them ideal sites for geothermal plants. By building geothermal infrastructure nearby, my company will produce cleaner, cheaper energy, making it more profitable for operators to switch from oil to geothermal. As oil companies decommission their wells, I’ll negotiate for their land rights, so I can use their existing wells for new geothermal vents. I want my company to prove the case for economically viable, carbon neutral energy production. After getting an MBA I want to start a geothermal company which will help me lead the energy transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. I plan to target developed oil fields in Texas, where, in many places, producing wells are flowing enough hot fluid to generate clean energy. Using this geothermal heat, the carbon footprint of oil and gas extraction will decrease as fewer fossil fuels are utilized to power surrounding infrastructure. As the wells approach their economic life, I will negotiate the lease from various operators, saving them millions in plug and abandonment costs, and retrofit the wells for direct geothermal energy production via closed loop binary fluid systems, bringing emissions to zero. To accomplish this goal, I need to shore up my knowledge of energy economics and entrepreneurial finance, develop a strong sense of leadership, and build a network of like minded individuals that will help me lead the transition and I believe I can get those things at Chicago Booth. My immediate career goal is to develop my first co-production site in Shelby County, Texas at the Blanton well site, which produces abnormally heated fluid from the flanks of an active salt dome. Before investing in capital expenditures, developing a strong sense of energy economics and broader markets is necessary to verify financial feasibility. University of Chicago, through the Graduate-Student-At-Large: Business program, is already allowing me to accomplish this goal with my enrollment in “Microeconomics” with Professor Andrew McClellan. His instruction helped me understand the impact taxes and subsidies have on market equilibrium, an important aspect of renewable energy as green energy tax incentives continue to change on a yearly basis. As my company continues to grow, having a strong finance and accounting foundation is imperative to building and sustaining a healthy company. Electives such as “Accounting for Entrepreneurship: From Start-Up through IPO” will provide the skills I need to be successful by following the life-cycle of a business that originates as a start-up, and covers topics such as building an initial accounting infrastructure. I understand that execution of the business is as important as developing the idea and proof of concept, and Booth is the best place for me to develop financial fluency. Leading the energy transition will require a strong sense of leadership. Not only will I need to lead those I get to work with over my career, but to lead the energy transition, and reverse the impact fossil fuels have had thus far, I must have the emotional intelligence to inspire others to join me in my journey. The “Interpersonal Dynamics” course at Booth will allow me to develop my communication skills and better understand the emotions and perceptions of my colleagues. These skills, synthesized with leadership development acquired in “Leadership Practicum” will prepare me to act as a relational leader, who understands the needs of others. As a relational leader I hope to foster an environment which promotes happiness, and maximizes efficiency, not only to make our efforts in changing the world more successful, but to excite other people to join our cause.

To find the greatest chance of success in leading the energy transition, I will need a network of like-minded individuals who can provide a diversity of thought. Chicago Booth provides the opportunity to develop that network through different community experiences. The Energy Club’s “Energy Forward” conference, which designates time to topics in oil and gas and renewable energy will allow me to hear from industry leaders, build meaningful relationships with peers and contribute my sector experience to the public forum as I learn from those around me. Opportunities through the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group such as “SeedCon” will help me connect with successful entrepreneurs and early-stage investors whose ideas and funding might change the course of my venture’s trajectory. Even in the GSALB program I have had the opportunity to connect with other students in various sectors, including the energy industry. I hope to continue to strengthen those connections and continue building new ones with matriculation into the full time program.

Here are several other articles that you may find helpful as you put together your MBA application:

• The Most Frequently Asked Questions on MBA Applications
• How to Answer the "Why an MBA?" Essay Question
• My Top Piece of Advice for MBA Applicants
• How I Nailed My MBA Interview and Gained Admission to Top 10 Business Schools
• 4 Expert Tips on Paying for Business School

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7 tips for writing a winning mba application essay.

Nervous about your MBA admissions essay? You’re not alone! Many applicants wonder how to put their best foot forward in a business school entrance essay.

In this article, I’ll tell you what admissions committees look for in application essays and offer MBA essay tips on how to make yours stand out. We’ll also take a look at the different kinds of business school essays and a few examples of MBA essay prompts.

Why Do Business Schools Ask for Essays? What Do They Look For?

Business schools ask for essays for several reasons, all of which help admissions committees determine whether you have the skills and traits to succeed in an MBA program.

First, MBA admissions committees want to see how you write. Communication skills—including concision, clarity, style, and fluency in English—will be essential to your success in business school. One way of discerning your level of writing ability is to require an original writing sample. In an MBA essay, you have to get your point across straightforwardly, elegantly, and concisely; being able to do this is a key element of succeeding in business school and the world of business in general.

Also, MBA admissions committees want to get a sense of who you are on a more personal level. MBA application essays tell admissions officials about you not only through what you say, but in how you say it. Are you self-aware, for example, and can you reflect on past challenges or mistakes in a thoughtful way? Do you demonstrate insight into who you are and your goals? How you answer questions about yourself, your career, and your journey can help MBA admissions officials discern your level of critical thinking and personal insight.

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You can have countless accomplishments, but to succeed in business school, you’ll also need to fit in with the campus climate, work well with your peers, and contribute to campus diversity in a meaningful way. The MBA essay is a place for you to talk about the background or experiences you have that are unique to you and that you believe could differentiate you from your colleagues and/or provide a fresh perspective to campus.

Finally, essays are a way for you to showcase the qualities that most MBA programs say they are looking for in applicants, such as leadership skills, community involvement, problem-solving skills, communication skills, clear goals, and a strong sense of ethics. Some of these traits might not be readily apparent from a resume alone, and an MBA essay can be a place for you to elaborate on how you’ve cultivated them in yourself.

MBA Entrance Essay Sample Prompts

Most MBA entrance essays ask you about one of several things. Many of them are variations on similar questions: the open-ended question, the leadership question, the personal growth question, questions on short- and long-term academic and career goals, and the diversity question. For each one, I’ll give an example of a real MBA essay prompt from 2016 or 2017.

#1: Open-Ended

The open-ended MBA application essay question is just that: open. It allows you to tell your own story, giving you quite a bit of freedom but also little to no guidance. For that reason, many applicants find it to be the most challenging MBA essay prompt.

Harvard Business School has only one essay for its MBA application, and it’s the quintessential open-ended MBA essay question. This is the prompt for 2017-2018 applicants.

As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?

Note that, as in other open-ended MBA admission essay prompts, this question asks you to decide what you’ll write about. Successful Harvard applicants and HBS admissions counselors have advised applicants to use the prompt as a chance to demonstrate their past use of an especially desired trait, such as problem-solving skills. For example, many successful applicants use the prompt to describe a scenario in which they faced and overcame a challenge, especially as a leader or alongside a team.

Notably, Harvard also doesn’t list a word limit, so you can decide the appropriate length for your essay. However, most admissions counselors will advise you to keep it concise and straightforward.

#2: Leadership

Another common MBA essay prompt asks you to demonstrate your experience and skills as a leader. Leadership qualities are listed by nearly all MBA admissions counselors as fundamental to a career in business and, thus, to a successful business school application.

Let’s look at a sample leadership MBA essay prompt from Kellogg.

Leadership and teamwork are integral parts of the Kellogg experience. Describe a recent and meaningful time you were a leader. What challenges did you face, and what did you learn? (450 words)

In a response to this kind of prompt, you should be as specific as possible. Name the company you were working for or specifically describe the project you were heading. Who was on your team? What were your objectives? Did you meet them? How could you have done so more effectively?

While you shouldn’t be overly self-deprecating, don’t be afraid to address the challenges you met and how you overcame them (or would overcome them now, with more experience and knowledge). Remember that one important aspect of leadership is accountability, so if there were problems, don’t solely blame your team for them. Instead, reflect on how you successfully worked with your team to solve the problems, and/or on how you could have done so more effectively or efficiently.

#3: Personal Growth

The personal growth MBA admission essay prompt will ask you how you’ve changed in the past and how you want to grow in the future. Here’s one example from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Pursuing an MBA is a catalyst for personal and professional growth. How have you grown in the past? How do you intend to grow at Kellogg? (450 words)

Don’t be afraid to get a bit personal with these kinds of prompts . They’re meant to gauge something about your personality and who you are, rather than only what you’ve done.

Many successful MBA admission essays that respond to these kinds of questions follow a past/present/future format. Ask yourself what traits you’ve gathered over the years that have benefited you personally and professionally, how you’ve improved, and what you’ve learned. What experiences have shaped you? Be as specific as possible.

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Then, take stock of yourself now: your career, your education, and where you see yourself in the future. What do you need in order to get there?

Finally, most essay MBA prompts in this vein (like Kellogg’s) will ask you how they can help you move towards that personal or professional goal. Be as specific as you can, focusing on the particular strengths of the prospective MBA program and how they match up with what you want to improve about yourself as a person, colleague, and leader.

#4: Your Plan

Some MBA application essay prompts will ask you about your career goals and how attendance at a particular business school will help you to achieve them. Let’s look at one from the USC Marshall School of Business.

Essay #1 (Required) – What is your specific, immediate short-term career goal upon completion of your MBA? Please include an intended position, function, and industry in your response. (word limit: 100)

As you can see, questions like these often request brief responses. So get straight to the point, and give details. Name a specific job you’d like to hold, what you’d like to do there, and even particular companies if you can.

Questions like this one will require some research. Research alumni from your prospective business school who’ve ended up in positions comparable to ones you’d like to hold in the future, particular companies and positions that match up with your personal and professional goals, and specific coursework or industry experiences offered by your prospective business school that would help you get there.

#5: Diversity, Culture, and Community

Finally, some MBA essay prompts will ask you how your unique background and experiences would contribute to the overall diversity and collegial atmosphere of a school’s campus climate and community. Here’s one example from USC.

Essay #2 (Required) – At Marshall, we take pride in the fact that our students work collaboratively, both inside and outside the classroom, to create a culture, a community, and an environment that truly defines what we call the Trojan Family. Please describe the contributions you expect to make to your classmates during your time at USC. How will they benefit from your presence in the program? (word limit: 500)

You can respond to questions like this, depending on the wording of the original prompt, by discussing your cultural background, identity, and/or personal experiences that have given you particular insight into a given community or that have lent you a unique perspective that could be valuable to your colleagues as you collaborate.

You can also discuss past community service projects or issues you’re passionate about and how you plan to carry those experiences and passions into your work at your prospective MBA program.

7 MBA Essay Tips

Writing MBA essays takes a particular skill set. Let’s go over the top seven MBA essay tips for making your application essay shine.

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#1: Write Early and Often

Even though MBA entrance essays are brief, they take a lot of polishing. Writing MBA essays takes time.

Don’t expect to write yours at the last minute or knock out a quality essay in a day. Most students need several drafts to make sure they’re getting their points across as elegantly and clearly as possible.

Start your essay well before the application deadline, when you don’t yet feel any pressure. For several weeks, don’t try to write at all. Instead, before crafting your essay for MBA admission, take notes on your past, present, and future. What have you learned? What unique experiences have you had? What have been the most meaningful projects you’ve undertaken? Ask friends, family, and mentors to tell you what they value most about you or what they see as your greatest personal and professional assets.

Only once you’ve gathered this material should you begin your first draft of your MBA application essay. Start with an outline for each one that includes the story you want to tell and the main points you want to get across.

Once you have a clear outline, you can start drafting. Taking the writing process seriously from start to finish will give you a much better product in the end than trying to write something hastily right before the deadline.

#2: Show, Don’t Tell

MBA admissions committees want to be able to tell that you have the qualities that are necessary to succeed in business school, such as leadership skills and integrity.

Your MBA admissions essay can be a great place to showcase those qualities. However, remember to show, not tell. Saying “I have strong leadership skills” doesn’t tell an admissions committee much. Through an anecdote about, say, meeting a difficult deadline or overcoming an obstacle, a reader should be able to tell that you have the qualities of a strong leader without your having to say so explicitly.

#3: Research Your Goals

When describing your future goals, be as specific as possible. Business schools know that your goals may change in the future, but stating specific goals now will show that you’ve done your research and have an idea of what you want and how an MBA program can help you get there.

Before writing your essay for MBA admission, research the ins and outs of the industry you want to enter, the position you’d like to have, companies you might like to work for, and coursework and internships or fieldwork that could aid you on your way to those goals.

#4: Keep It Concise

Never, ever go over a stated word count limit when you’re writing your essay for MBA admission. It might be tempting, but business schools want to see that you can get your point across concisely and straightforwardly.This rule goes for MBA essay prompts that don’t have specific word counts, too: sometimes, less is more.

One of the biggest mistakes applicants make in writing an essay for MBA admission is to use too much flowery language to come across as more professional. If you do this, it can be distracting and cause the admissions committee to miss the main points you’re making.

Bottom line, trim anything extraneous from your essay —that is, anything that doesn’t actively support the main point(s) you’re trying to get across.

#5: Show Self-Awareness

It might feel tempting to use the MBA admission essay as a space to list all of your accomplishments (and since your resume is already part of your application, this is unnecessary), but MBA admissions committees would rather see that you have insight into both your strengths and weaknesses. No one is perfect, and in your essay for MBA admission, you shouldn’t try to come across as if you’ve never made a mistake or faced a challenge that you’ve had to learn from.

Also, in business school and the business world at large, bouncing back from failures, being flexible, and problem solving are all essential skills. All of them require a thick skin and awareness of what you could do better.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t showcase your achievements, but if you’re asked about personal growth or an obstacle you’ve overcome, be clear about what you could have done more effectively in the past (at a job or in your education, for example) and the steps you’ve taken or will take to sidestep that mistake in the future.

#6: Share Your Personal Journey

Many applicants would prefer to focus only on their professional backgrounds and goals in their MBA essays, but you shouldn’t be afraid to get personal in your essay. You don’t need to tell your whole life story, but especially in response to questions that ask about your growth over time, you should showcase your personality and give the admissions committee an idea of your personal background and experiences.

#7: Ask for Edits

It might seem obvious, but many applicants don’t do it: proofread your work! When writing MBA essays, revision is key. Turning in an MBA essay with typos and other errors will come off as thoughtless and unprofessional.

You should also get a second (and, perhaps, a third and fourth) pair of eyes on your essay to make sure it’s coming across as you want it to. Going through several rounds of drafts is a necessary part of the writing process to ensure that you’re putting your best foot forward in your MBA entrance essay.

What’s Next?

Worried about how your GMAT score matches up to other applicants’? Find out more in our list of average GMAT scores by school.

Concerned about your chances of getting into an MBA program? Our guide to business school acceptance rates will help.

Ready to apply to business school? Check out our top eight tips for applying to MBA programs here.

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Author: Laura Dorwart

Laura Dorwart is a Ph.D. student at UC San Diego. She has taught and tutored hundreds of students in standardized testing, literature, and writing. View all posts by Laura Dorwart

20 Great MBA Application Essay Samples (With Links)

Want to ace your MBA application? A stellar essay can be your golden ticket.

With elite business schools like Harvard and Stanford boasting acceptance rates as low as 10% and 6% respectively, every aspect of your application counts. While GPA and GMAT scores matter, your essay can be a game-changer. Recognizing its weight, we’ve gathered top-notch MBA essay samples, endorsed by admission committees from premier institutions. Dive in and let’s craft that standout application!

What is an MBA Application Essay?

An MBA application essay is a detailed write-up about your personal and professional goals and aspirations. It also explains how the MBA program will help you attain your objectives for the future. Your essay is your one shot to convince the admission committee to consider you for the initial interview.

What Admission Committee Look for in an MBA Essay?

• Academic ability
• Impressive work experience
• Career Course
• Authenticity of goals
• Competencies, leadership , dedication, challenges, and growth
• The right reason for pursuing an MBA
• Your compatibility with the culture in which the program is being offered

If you want to learn more, here is the complete guide on how admission committees process MBA applications.

20 Great MBA Applications Essays Samples

Now you have known that what makes a great MBA admission essay, the next step is to write one for yourself. Before writing, check out this list of expert-vetted MBA application essays that secured admissions to top-rated business schools in the world. Admission consultants have shared these samples and they can be helpful if you read and analyze them carefully. If you’re completely unsure about how to get started, there are also custom essay writing services that can help you structure your essay with the help of professional editors.

Sample 1: Leadership-focused MBA application essay

This sample is particularly focused on leadership traits. If your essay is about explaining your leadership quality experience, this sample is right up your alley. The best thing about the essay is that it is written in a simple, engaging, and humorous style. It defines a great experience in a very conversational style.

Sample 2: Self-focused MBA application essay 

If you are asked to write about your strengths, weaknesses, aims, and goals in your application essay, this sample will help you. The applicant who wrote this got accepted to the INSEAD business school. It doesn’t merely describe her strengths and weaknesses, but it presents a complete picture of herself as a person. It highlighted the events and incidents that shaped her personality.

Sample 3: Life-hardships-focused MBA application essay

If you want to explain your life’s hardships and the events that turned you into an ambitious person, this sample is for you. In this application essay, the candidate has defined three phases of his life and how he survived through each adversity. He beautifully explained why the MBA program is important to his future.

Sample 4: Continuous growth and learning-focused MBA application essay

This essay was submitted to Harvard Business School. The best thing about this piece is that the writer has explained her learning and professional development journey in a very sequential and engaging manner, which is truly admirable. A useful thing to remember about the MBA essays included in this list is that you can merge them into a single printable and perfectly formatted file with Sodapdf or another PDF editor. Having all of them stored in a single PDF is going to be quite helpful when it’s time to write your piece. But guess what? There are more examples to explore below, so let’s keep going…

Sample 5: Best MBA application essay for low scorers

Have a low GPA? What would you write about academics in an MBA essay to convince the admission committee? Do not overthink! MBA essay is not all about high achievements and sterling background. It is also an opportunity to atone for your past mistakes. This MBA essay was written by a student who obtained very low academic grades, yet got admitted to her desired business school. Her turning point? A powerful application essay.

Sample 6: A guitarist’s application essay for the MBA program

Suppose you are ambitious in a skill or profession that has nothing to do with the MBA program, yet you need the degree for certain reasons. How would you showcase that irrelevant skill in your MBA application essay? This sample essay will show how you how. A guitarist who got selected for the MBA program wrote this one. The applicant has intelligently defined his passion for guitar as a way of developing discipline, determination, leadership, and success. He explained how his passion affected his academics and how the guitar helped him cope with the challenges.

Sample 7: An engineer’s essay for MBA application

If you come from a technical or engineering background and have the ambition to pursue an MBA degree to boost your engineering career, this sample essay will help pave the way for you. This essay was submitted by a mechanical engineer to Harvard Business School. The writer explained how his engineering experience motivated him to pursue an MBA and how the program is important to his long-term goals.

Sample 8: Harvard Business School MBA essay

This essay was written by a candidate who got accepted to Harvard Business School. Check it out to know what the prestigious academic institution looks for in your essay.

Sample 9: Wharton Business School MBA essay

This essay has been honored as one of the best MBA essays ever received by the Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania. Check out the structure, organization, and flow, and adapt the same to your essay.

Sample 10: Columbia Business School MBA essay

The Columbia Business School’s admission committee shared this MBA essay. They explained why the applicant who wrote this was instantly accepted to the program and why they appreciated its content.

Sample 11: Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA essay

This essay was written by a candidate who got accepted to Stanford Business School for an MBA. If you are aiming to get your MBA at Stanford, this sample will give you a deep understanding of what convinces the esteemed school’s admission committee to accept applicants into their fold.

Sample 12: University of California Business School MBA essay

This sample was taken from a pool of successful MBA application essays submitted to the University of California business school. Read it carefully and analyze its structure, words, and substance before you compose your own fantastic MBA essay.

Sample 13: University of OXFORD business school MBA essay

If Oxford Business School is your target destiny for earning your MBA, then check out this outstanding application essay. The person who wrote it managed to grab the admission committee member’s attention.

Sample 14: London Business School MBA essay

This essay was written by a candidate who got accepted to the London Business School. The school’s admission consultant shared this sample as a reference to other MBA aspirants. This piece will specifically help you understand the tone, writing style, formatting, and overall flow of the MBA application essay that meets the school’s standards.

Sample 15: A goal-oriented MBA application essay

Sometimes the MBA admission portal may demand an essay specifically focused on your future goals. In such a case, you must be very sure about yourself and must convey your goals and future directions based on your experiences and planning. Check out this sample to get an idea of how a successful candidate writes about personal goals.

Sample 16: Executive MBA essay

This successful MBA application essay was submitted to the MIT Sloan Executive MBA Program. EMBA essay requires you to show strong potential, impact, leadership, and the ultimate need for the program. Read this essay if EMBA is on your horizon.

Sample 17: MBA video essay

Many business schools are turning to video-based essays for MBA applications. A video-based essay is a better option to express yourself directly to the admission committee. A successful candidate for the Kellogg School of Management submitted this sample. Listen to the video and appreciate how beautifully the applicant has explained his journey from beginning to end. Want to learn more about video MBA essays? Here is a complete guide.

Sample 18: Short-answer-based MBA application essay

Some business schools require candidates to respond to short questions to get insights into their personalities and suitability for the MBA program. More or less, most of the questions revolve around the same theme. The key to success is to grasp the intention of the admission committee behind the questions and to stick to your identity . These successful answers submitted to the Tepper School of Business will help you in formulating your answers.

Sample 19: MIT Sloan School of Management

This essay was submitted by a successful candidate for the MIT Sloan School of Management MBA program. See how this applicant smartly answered the essay questions.

Sample 20:  Michigan Ross School of Business MBA program

The Michigan Ross Business School asks a diverse range of questions from candidates to analyze their competencies from multiple perspectives. If Michigan Ross is where you intend to get your MBA, this essay submitted by a candidate who got admitted to the school’s MBA program will help keep you on track.

What Should be Included in the MBA Application Essay?

• Your background: What shaped you into what you are now? Including ethnicity, obstacles, and struggles.
• Self-reflection: Your values, characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Your goals : How do you envision your future?
• Aspirations: Why MBA is important to you and how this program will help you in shaping your future?
• Justification: If you have low academic grades, explain the reasons you did not do well and what you learned from it.
• Experience and achievements: What have you achieved so far?

These are the significant components of an MBA essay. Just adjust the sequence, play with words, and come up with a persuasive yet realistic picture of yourself.

What Makes a Great MBA Application Essay?

• Be school-specific. Explain why you are passionate about the MBA program of the school to which you’re applying.
• Avoid edition. Write simply and engagingly. Let the reader read a meaningful story about you.
• Make it 100% typo-free. Grammatical errors and typos will ruin your essay. Apply standard essay format and structure guidelines , scan your piece several times for errors, get it reviewed by an expert, and present a very professional piece to the admission committee.
• Be original. Do not copy-paste from any source. Strictly follow plagiarism guidelines.
• Write an overwhelming introduction to urge the reader to keep reading and conclude your essay with a strong declaration.
• Be authentic. Write what you are, not what the committee wants to read.
• Be concise, as many schools impose a limit on the essay word count .

Do you want more tips? Here is a complete guide to writing a compelling MBA application essay.

The application essay is a core part of the admission process in the increasingly competitive MBA program. If you do not want to miss the chance of getting selected, you need to know what will make your essay stand out . The expert-vetted list of MBA application essay samples we cited here worked for the top business schools. Learn them by heart, and who knows, it may work for you too. Put your other activities aside, read and analyze the list carefully, and start writing your MBA essay to land in your dream business school.

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Mba personal statement examples.

Get accepted to your top choice business school with your compelling essay.

MBA Personal Statement Sample Essays & Tips

Your academic record, GMAT scores, and GPA are important factors in the MBA application process. But, more than that, business schools ultimately care about who you are and whether you would be a good fit for their program. This is where your application essays come in. The goal here is to complete the picture that your scores and stats began sketching. Take your time when writing these essays. They will form the image the admissions committee will see before they meet you at your interview. Write, edit, and edit again. Be sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors in your essay. You want your portrait to be clean and clear. Once you are satisfied with your essay, ask a trusted friend, mentor, or admissions pro to read it. A fresh pair of eyes can often see things that you can’t.

7 tips for creating the best MBA essays

Here are some important things to remember when writing your MBA essays.

• Show who you are in a background essay Use this opportunity to reveal your values and personality, the obstacles you’ve overcome, and the seminal experiences that have shaped you into the person you are today. No two people have the same history. Use stories and examples to make your background bright and stand out to demonstrate what makes you special. Discuss how your history has brought you to this point. What is there in your background that compels you to pursue an MBA at this time?
• Show your direction in the goals essay Use this opportunity to show that you have clear direction and purpose based on experience and planning. Business school is not another opportunity to “find yourself.” Even if you have had one career path and will use your MBA to launch another career, this essay must describe the reasons behind your career-change, your new goals, and how the program will help you achieve them.
• Use your optional essay to explain negatives in your stats If your GPA was lower than you would have liked early in your undergraduate education, use your essay to show how you learned from this experience. Everyone makes mistakes. How you deal with your mistakes shows a lot to the admissions committee – determination, discipline, success, resilience, and breadth of experience are qualities that will serve you well in your MBA studies and later in life. Be sure that you explain your negatives and don’t try to justify them. Show that you understand the mistake you made, learned from it and changed as a result of processing the experience. That response shows maturity. Justifying – instead of learning or changing – is a sign of immaturity. MBA programs want mature adults. Almost all of them have made mistakes.
• Say what you mean, and mean what you say Admissions committees read thousands of essays during each admissions round. A concise, well thought-out essay will have them reading yours to the end.  You need examples and stories to support your statements and make your essay interesting and readable. Each of these needs to be to the point. These professionals are trained to spot an essay that is full of fluff and without substance.Avoid rambling and the use of keywords that you think the reader wants to see. A non-substantive essay will lead the reader to conclude that you, too, are without substance.
• Find your passion This relates to tip #4 above. You want to grab the reader right away and create an essay that will keep their attention to the very end – and leave them wanting to meet you and get to know you even better. In other words, offer you a coveted interview! Find a theme, and weave it throughout your essay. If you can identify a passion that you had from an early age and follow it through the different stages of your life, you will have an interesting, readable essay. Connect your passion to your childhood and you professional and extracurricular experiences and accomplishments. Demonstrate how your passion will influence your future career and serve the community at the school you want to attend.
• Focus on your professional experience and achievements Not everyone has a passion that they have carried with them throughout their life. However, since you are planning on attending an MBA program, you must have had professional and personal achievements. Highlight your professional skills and successes, as well as personal accomplishments. Show how these experiences and achievements have brought you to this point, and how they have influenced your long-term plans and reasons for pursuing an MBA.
• Highlight your experience in your EMBA essay An applicant to an Executive MBA program is an executive or manager currently in the workforce, usually with at least eight years of business experience. As an EMBA student you will be expected to excel in your coursework while continuing to hold down your full-time job. You must demonstrate significant leadership, impact, potential, and the legitimate need for the degree to be accepted. Highlight your current responsibilities and recent achievements, as well as your skill sets. Discuss your goals and how an EMBA will help you reach them. Include how you will positively impact the community at the program you are applying to.

Read MBA Personal Statement Examples

Now that you have the tools to write your compelling essay, check out our sample MBA application essays to see what you will be able to accomplish.

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HAVE AN AVERAGE ACCEPTANCE RATE OF  10.25%. 

A STRONG BUSINESS SCHOOL APPLICATION ESSAY WILL MAKE YOU STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

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MBA Essay Examples, Tips, and Analysis

Y our MBA application essays are your best opportunity to share meaningful life experiences that hide in the “white spaces” of the resume and to tell admissions officers not only “what” you have achieved but also “why” those achievements are meaningful to you.

Your MBA application essays are going to be crucial if you are competing for a spot at one of the world’s top business schools.

These resources will show you how to excel in the rigorous MBA essay writing challenges ahead of you, provide you with the guidance to create MBA essays that will impress admissions officers, and share MBA essay examples that illustrate our advice in action.

Second, we survey the five most frequently asked MBA essay questions. We preview video essay questions and link to detailed guidance on how to tackle this emerging class of application essays.

Third, we will teach you how to choose topics and stories for your essays and share a story-outlining technique to help you tell those stories.

Common MBA Essay Forms: Persuasive versus Narrative Essays

There are two primary forms that MBA application essays take: persuasive essays and narrative essays. In a persuasive essay, you must persuade your reader that your argument is a sound one. An op-ed column in a newspaper is one example of a persuasive essay.

The classic “What Will You Contribute to the Class?” question is an excellent example of a persuasive essay question that MBA programs like to ask. The essay you write must persuade the admissions committee that you will enrich next year’s class. You will generally present evidence from past experiences and achievements to support your claims about what you can offer the MBA community.

The other style of essay you’ll encounter in your MBA applications is the narrative essay. Certain MBA essay questions don’t sound like questions at all; they are, in fact, an invitation for you to tell a story. We refer to these as narrative essays – but others call them behavioral essays or expository essays.

The Leadership Story Essay is a perfect example of a narrative essay. It’s one thing to claim to be a leader – but it’s quite another to show the admissions committee that you’re a leader by telling a captivating leadership story in which you played the starring role.

While MBA essays often fall into these two categories, the actual prompts will differ from school to school. Let’s discuss the five most frequently asked MBA essay questions. ↑ To the Top

The Five Most Frequently Asked MBA Essay Questions

Every business school application requires you to answer one or more MBA essay questions. Although the essay prompts differ from application to application, we identified five types of MBA application essay questions that appear again and again.

Career Goals Essays

A career goals essay question regularly appears in one form or another on just about every MBA application. Even if you aren’t required to write this type of essay, you will almost certainly be asked about your post-MBA career goals during an admissions interview.

Admissions committees ask about your career plans because they want to understand what you aspire to do after your MBA and how the MBA degree fits into your career plan. As it turns out, a strong career goals essay is one of the best tools in your application to stand out from MBA candidates who don’t have a compelling career vision or haven’t effectively articulated their professional goals in their MBA application essays.

Leadership Essays

Leadership essays are your absolute best opportunity to convince MBA admissions committees of your leadership abilities. Remember that MBA admissions officers will be interested in your leadership achievements both inside and outside of work.

You probably won’t be asked directly, “Are you a leader?” Instead, you’ll be asked to tell stories about your leadership achievements. When given the opportunity, you need to supply evidence that you can rally other people and motivate them to work together to achieve an important shared vision or goal. Therein lies the objective of a great leadership essay.

Why MBA? and Why Our School? Essays

The “Why MBA? Why Our School?” essay is your chance to convince admissions officers that their school is the perfect fit for what you need from an MBA program. The best answers to these types of questions are both personal and specific. You need to effectively convey what you are looking for in an MBA program and tell the admissions committee why their school will best satisfy your learning goals and help you achieve your career development objectives.

“What Will You Contribute?” Essays

The “What Will You Contribute?” essay presents you with an opportunity to tell the MBA Admissions Committee why you would be a valuable addition to their incoming class. The schools are looking for candidates who can put in just as much as they take out. One critical thing to understand when preparing to answer these questions is that concrete and tailored answers about what you can contribute to each MBA program are crucial.

Professional Experience Essays

The professional experience essay is an executive summary of your career thus far. A resume is a record of jobs and achievements — a Professional Experience Essay provides the connections and interrelationships between those jobs and brings your resume to life. An effective Professional Experience essay will give the admissions committee a sense of the career decisions you’ve made, your major achievements in each step of your career, and the skills and knowledge you’ve acquired along the way.

MBA Application Video Essays

MBA admissions committees are increasingly relying on technology to help them evaluate and manage their growing applicant pools. MBA application video essays are becoming a popular tool, as MBA programs can use them to learn far more about candidates than the traditional application permits. In recent years, leading MBA programs including Kellogg Northwestern , MIT Sloan , and Chicago Booth have incorporated a video component into their evaluation process. Video essays are excellent screening tools that allow admissions officers to assess candidates’ professional presence and communication skills.

Free MBA Essay Writing Course

Please enter your email below to gain 30 days of free access to our MBA Essay Writing course. Learn about the five most frequently asked MBA application essay questions and access our brainstorming tools and sample essays.

No matter which type of MBA essay question you are tackling, your primary objective is to provide evidence that proves you possess the qualities that admissions committees value most. By doing so, you will move one step closer to an acceptance letter from a top business school.

Now that you have a better picture of the classic MBA essay questions you’re likely to face, let’s cover selecting the strongest stories to present in your MBA application essays.

How to Choose the Best Stories for your MBA Essays

Story selection is something all MBA applicants wrestle with. When you first read the MBA application essay questions, it may be hard to figure out which topics to cover or which of your stories to tell. We’ll explain how to go step-by-step to choose your best stories. Here are the steps:

Research the School’s Fit Qualities

Categorize the question.

• Brainstorm Topic/Stories

Choose a Topic or Story

To choose your best stories, you need to know what qualities MBA programs truly value when evaluating applicants. You want to tell stories that prove to the admissions officers that you possess the attributes they seek in MBA candidates. We refer to these as the school’s Fit Qualities . You might think of them as the highest-common denominators among the candidates who are accepted.

Early in your MBA essay writing process is the time to make some strategic choices about which qualities and strengths you will put front and center in your MBA essays. If you attempt to feature all of your strengths, you run the risk that admissions officers will finish your essays with no clear idea of any of them. Instead, select three or four of the qualities that your research tells you the school you are applying to prizes most of all.

Second, study the essay question to determine if it falls into one of the five essay categories discussed earlier in this article.

By categorizing each question, you’ll have a better idea of what the admissions committee will be looking for in your response. You’ll know the criteria for scoring top marks in that essay style, which will guide your application essay design decisions.

Brainstorm Topics/Stories

Third, you are ready to start brainstorming potential topics and stories. Remember that your central objective is to find opportunities to feature the key elements of your application strategy .

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you to choose your best topic or story:

Are you the star of the story or supporting cast?

With very few exceptions, you need to write stories where you play the starring role. Don’t make the mistake some applicants make of writing a thrilling story about their parents’ hardships and triumphs, leaving little room for their own.

Did the experience occur recently?

It is usually best to choose stories that happened within the last three years. If an older story is incredibly compelling, then keep it on your list. However, bear in mind that admissions officers are rarely interested in reading about your high school glory days.

Does the essay feature several Fit Qualities?

Review your topic ideas objectively and ask yourself if they exemplify the school’s Fit Qualities. Because you’ll be limited to telling only a few stories, you’ll want to choose the ones that feature a few different Fit Qualities if at all possible.

Once you have selected your best stories, it is time to create an outline to organize your thoughts before jumping into the writing process. ↑ To the Top

How to Outline Your MBA Essay Stories

The persuasive essay writing style is prevalent in university and work settings, so it may have been some time since you were asked to write a story. For that reason, we want to share a powerful outlining technique called the STAR framework that will help with the “story-telling” essays you may be asked to write in your MBA application.

The STAR framework is designed to help you tell a concise story with a beginning, middle, and end.

The “S” in STAR stands for Situation .

The Situation is the time, place, and context of the story; you can think of it as the setting, but it might also include the broader challenge or conflict you or your organization faced. In essence, this is the set-up of the story.

“T” in the STAR acronym stands for Task . The Task is your role and goal in the story. What were you expected to accomplish by the end of the story? An effective story has built-in conflicts and complications.

The Action of the story is what admissions officers are really interested in because this is their chance to see your strengths and qualities in action. While it won’t be necessary to write down every step you took at the outlining stage, you’ll want to jot down the highlights.

Below is an MBA essay example told using the STAR framework. It outlines a story written by a candidate who served as a donation chair for a fundraising event for a non-profit organization.

Task: Assigning specific jobs to committee members, checking on their progress, helping teammates meet agreed-upon deadlines for obtaining the donations, and offering other assistance

Action: Motivated my team by having them meet Literacy Now children. Assigned tasks and checked in regularly. Successfully mediated team disputes. Visited 20 restaurants and called 12 wineries. Ensured deadlines were met.

Sample MBA Essays: MBA Applicant Beware!

MBA Prep School’s guide is replete with essay writing tips, and we do provide excerpts from sample essays to illustrate the most common MBA essay categories. However, while you will find page-after-page of helpful advice and building blocks for constructing your own original MBA essays and stories, we don’t publish an extensive catalog of MBA essays written by MBA Prep School’s past clients.

The problem with collections of sample MBA application essays is that they can mislead you into thinking that if you can just replicate one of those sample essays, you’ve got your golden ticket into business school. Unfortunately, the opposite can be true. The reason those essays “succeeded” is because they were an integral part of a complete story about an impressive human being whom the admission committee concluded belonged at their business school.

And the scary truth is that reading MBA essay examples might even harm your chance of admission for several reasons:

1. They might stunt your creativity and ability to express yourself. If you are trying to mimic someone else’s essays – the content, the style, or the approach – your story and voice are likely to get lost in the process. Admissions committees want to be impressed – but they want to be impressed by you. Feature the traits and tell the stories that depict “you” at your best.

2. Sample MBA essays can undermine your confidence in your MBA candidacy. The essays that get published as samples are often truly eye-catching, dramatic, and sensational – stories of exceptional accomplishment, rare feats, or extreme obstacles. It may seem, in comparison, that none of your stories stack up. The good news is that the whole package is what matters, not a single defining moment in a candidate’s life.

The last thing you need is to doubt your abilities or have a crisis of confidence when you’re trying to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). Trust in your own experiences and tell stories about what you – and only you – will bring to the MBA program.

3. Admissions officers can tell when you’ve “sampled” from sample MBA essays. The pesky thing about MBA admissions committees is that they’re filled with brilliant people who know how this game is played and what resources are available. They can spot themes and clichéd stories inspired by sample essay collections. More importantly, they can sense when you’re telling someone else’s story or when the story doesn’t ring true to your MBA application’s other elements. Don’t give an admissions officer reason to doubt your authenticity by risking even the appearance that you “sampled” from MBA sample essays that are swirling around on the Internet.

At MBA Prep School, we work with clients we believe in and help them tell their stories, not someone else’s. Remember that the MBA application process is not a storytelling contest; even if it were, the winners would be chosen based on the authenticity, originality, and integrity of the stories they tell!

Final Thoughts

Critics of MBA essays often wonder if they still have a place in the application process when admissions committees can rely on quantitative data points to choose among applicants. However, your transcripts, test scores, and resume are historical documents that only tell a fraction of the story. Your MBA essays represent a powerful opportunity to communicate your goals, strengths, reasons for applying, and potential contributions to the class.

The process of writing MBA essays provides you with a rare opportunity for self-examination and self-expression. Many applicants value the introspection required of them in the MBA essay-writing process and find they can better articulate their strengths and goals during their subsequent MBA interviews as a result. By putting ample thought and effort into brainstorming and writing your MBA essays, you will almost certainly increase your odds of being accepted to a top MBA program.

Related Articles: Essay Examples

• Career Goals Essay Example
• What Will You Contribute? Essay Example
• Why MBA? and Why Our School? Essay Example
• Leadership Story Essay Example
• Professional Experience Essay Example
• MBA Video Essays
• Consulting Terms & Conditions

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MBA Essays That Worked At Harvard & Stanford

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What does a successful MBA essay look like at Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business?

This collection of 50 successful HBS and GSB essays, with smart commentary, can be downloaded for $60

The answers will vary greatly from applicant to applicant, just as the essay prompts for these two schools differ dramatically. Harvard asks applicants the following: As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?

Stanford’s prompt is among the most iconic MBA essay questions in admissions: What matters most to you, and why?

Both prompts are notoriously challenging. Even if these schools had more generous acceptance rates (currently 10% and 6%, respectively), their essay prompts would still vex candidates with both their simplicity and open-ended nature. How do successful applicants respond to these prompts and, more importantly perhaps, how do they adopt their narratives to fit each school’s requirements? (see  She Applied To Harvard & Stanford With These Two MBA Essays ).

Here are four recent examples from successful MBA applicants who shared their essays with us for What Matters? What More? , a unique collection of 50 successful essays written by applicants to either Harvard, Stanford, or both business schools. Published by Poets&Quants with mbaMission and Gatehouse Admissions, the guide is instantly downloadable , at a cost which is less than $1 an essay. Accompanying each essay is expert commentary from mbaMission founder Jeremy Shinewald or Gatehouse founder Liza Weale on the strengths and sometimes weaknesses of each one, even including detailed footnotes to highlight key passages in every single essay.

If you plan to apply to Harvard Business School or the Stanford GSB or any top MBA program, this digital book is a must-have resource. You can access the book here.

Despite all we had been through in recent years, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I asked my mother one summer evening in Singapore, “What role did I play during those tough times?”

In 2014, a pulmonologist in Singapore, where my parents live, told my father he had three months to live. The only solution was to undergo a complete double lung transplant in America—a precarious, logistically complex, and financially burdensome procedure. Despite the daunting news, I sprang into action and spent weeks researching options. I channeled my inner Product Manager and delegated aspects of the research and planning to different family members, creating dozens of spreadsheets detailing our to-dos. We then waited patiently for the call.

After months of nervous anticipation, I received word from the hospital that a matching donor lung had been found. We hastily grabbed our “go bags” and rushed to the hospital. The 10-hour surgery, though harrowing, was a stunning success. Assuming my work was done, I flew home to San Francisco with an enormous burden lifted. In the subsequent months, though, my mother would call me almost every day crying. Sometimes she was upset that my father—struggling with his recuperation—wasn’t appreciative or, worse, was harsh with her; other times she was stressed by the body- and mind-numbing labor that goes into postsurgical care. I listened and would tell her that everything was going to be alright, but no amount of reassurance seemed to make her feel better. To be honest, I had to wonder if it actually would be; there was no clear end in sight, and everyone’s patience was running thin.

There’s a saying in Chinese: “Amongst the hundreds of virtues, filial piety is the first in line (百行孝 為先).” I had been there for my father and did not want exhaustion to prevent me from supporting my mother, who had given up her career and dedicated her life to raising and supporting her children. One evening, I stumbled upon an opportunity to volunteer at Helping Hands, a suicide prevention hotline that focuses on providing emotional support. I knew that helping strangers would be rewarding in itself but also thought the program could expand my own perspective and help me guide my family through this emotional crisis, so I signed up on the spot.

I had never encountered any experience as intense, rigorous, and grueling as Helping Hands. Helping Hands volunteers go through an active listening boot camp, with dropout rates higher than the Navy SEALs. After all, there is no room for error when you’re taking calls on a suicide hotline. After months of relinquishing all weekend hours to training, I took my first call: a teenage girl who just wanted to “be a kid and go to school” but had to work to financially support her chronically ill parent. My first instinct was to respond with phrases like, “it’s ok, don’t worry,” but training taught me that platitudes prevent the caller from feeling heard. Instead, an active listener must validate the callers’ feelings and ask open-ended questions, empathetically steering the conversation “towards the pain.” Rather than avoiding sensitive topics, active listeners get to the root of suffering through deliberate dialogue.

Taking over 500 calls at Helping Hands, I learned how judgment and excellent listening skills are incompatible, especially when the other person holds views or values that are completely diametric to yours. 2 For example, I will never forget the call from a serial pedophile who had nobody to turn to except for us. Helping Hands requires operators to treat every caller equally and with empathy, no matter how you feel about them. So, I cast aside all presumptions and focused on talking to the caller like an old friend, listening to what he had to say and unraveling the struggles he was wrestling with. By helping him get troublesome thoughts off his chest, I could only hope that I helped reduced the chances of him reoffending. Practicing empathic listening with these callers enabled me to understand and connect with humans who are vastly different from me.

Working with Helping Hands also taught me the importance of knowing my own emotional limits, so I learned to practice self-care as a means to engage others. I started journaling regularly and became far more open to being vulnerable. Having inherited a stoicism from my father, I had to take an honest, critical look at myself in order to manifest this shift. When I allowed myself to truly unmask my feelings, I started to find real strength and resilience within.

As I came to these realizations, I began to incorporate them into phone calls with my mother. I withheld advice and simply listened actively, validating her feelings and allowing her to unpack her emotions. Slowly but surely, brick by brick, she began to piece her own life together in her own way. She allowed herself to leave my father’s side and instead to focus on her own well-being. She picked up yoga and made new friends at her local church. A year later, she even took a solo trip to the UK to attend a retreat at a monastery.

Since my time volunteering at Helping Hands and supporting my mother, I’ve also incorporated active listening into my professional life. When I discovered that a teammate was struggling to keep up with her programming tasks, instead of jumping to conclusions, I put my active listening skills to use. She confided in me that she felt her manager had neglected her and that she had been struggling with personal issues outside of work. After talking through her concerns, we made an action plan that would allow her to get back on track. I followed up with her consistently and supportively, and a year later, she was nominated to become a technical lead.

In another instance, two executives with disparate opinions on our fraud management strategy kept talking past each other. One believed that Square should fight fraud using internal resources, while the other wished to leverage multiple external vendors. When the conversation reached an impasse, I used my active listening skills to paraphrase each person’s position so both executives felt heard and followed up with open-ended questions to ensure the issues at hand were sufficiently explored. I steered the conversation out of the stalemate, and the executive team reached a multilateral solution— to conduct a time-bound test of the potential systems before choosing a path. The following day, the CTO commended me on my approach and my diplomacy. Active listening allows me to work and understand people at a level that is simply unattainable if all I do is listen passively or speak without thinking.

So, with this new perspective on personal growth, I found myself one quiet evening chatting with my mother, looking back at how far we had come from those trying times. She briefly pondered my role amid our family crisis. Against the sounds of cicadas in the humid Singapore air, she looked at me and replied, “you were my lifeline through my darkest times, listening to me day after day without fail.” In the end, the best way to support my mother had been to provide her with the scaffolding from which to reconstruct her own life.

Jeremy Shinewald, founder of mbaMission

Commentary by Jeremy Shinewald of mbaMission: Many applicants have preconceived notions about how a great HBS essay should read. A candidate could be forgiven for thinking something along the lines of “HBS wants to see ferocious, unyielding leaders who achieve the impossible,” but the idea that most applicants would fit this mold is unrealistic. Reading this guide should prove that point! In this essay, which is one of our absolute favorites, the applicant writes about a superpower that effectively plays directly against the aforementioned perceived HBS “type.”

Rather than being the kind of leader who raises his fist and screams, “After me!,” he listens and is continuously improving his ability to listen, while developing an enormous well of empathy in his dealings with others. In managing a complicated family dynamic, he realizes the importance of truly paying attention to what someone is saying, and he adroitly hones this skill through challenging community work, which itself equips him to solve personal and professional problems. Throughout, the applicant creates a narrative that is deeply thoughtful and calming. His voice in the essay gives the reader the sense that he is a fundamentally introspective person who draws power from reflection. But do not try to simply replicate his voice in your essay. What is critical is finding your own.

ORDER: WHAT MATTERS? WHAT MORE? 50 SUCCESSFUL MBA ESSAYS TO HARVARD & STANFORD

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7 Common MBA Essay Questions and How to Tackle Them

There are a handful of business school essay questions that seem to capture the heart and imagination of many an MBA program.

It seems that, across the board, admissions committees feel these queries offer the best insight into the minds of their applicants. You are likely to see a version of one or more of these common MBA essay questions on your b-school application . These tips will help you craft the perfect answer.

1. Describe your specific career aspirations and your reason for pursuing an MBA.

This may be the most important essay question you tackle. You must convince the admissions committee that you deserve one of their few, cherished spots. Reference your background, skills, and career aspirations, demonstrating how this degree is a bridge to the next step in your professional life. Be sure to speak to how this particular program will help you realize your potential.

It's okay to present modest goals. Deepening your expertise and broadening your perspective are solid reasons for pursuing this degree. If you aspire to lofty goals, like becoming a CEO or starting your own company, be careful to detail a sensible (read: realistic), pragmatic plan.

Read More: Find Your Business School

2. What are your principal interests outside of work or school? What leisure and/or community activities do you particularly enjoy?

There's more to b-school than the library. The best programs buzz with the energy of a student body that is talented and creative and bursting with personality. These students are not just about case studies and careers. Describe how you will be a unique addition to the business school community.

B-school is also a very social experience. Much of the work is done in groups. Weekends are full of social gatherings or immersion experiences, and the networking you do here will impact the rest of your career. Communicate that people, not just your job, are an important part of your life.

3. Who do you most admire?

The admissions committee wants to know the qualities, attributes and strengths you value in others and hope to embrace. Drive, discipline and vision are fine examples but try and look beyond these conventional characteristics. Tell a story and provide specific examples. If you choose someone famous (which is fine), remember that you risk being one of many in the pile. Instead, consider a current boss, business associate, or friend. Know that your choice of person is less important than what you say about him or her.

4. Describe a situation in which you led a team. What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

The committee isn't looking to see how you saved the team through your heroic efforts (so put yourself on ego alert). They want to see how you helped foster an environment in which everyone contributes, illustrating that the sum is greater than its parts. B-schools like leaders, but they like leaders who can help everyone get along and arrive at a collaborative solution.

You should shift gears for this question. Almost the entire application process thus far has asked you to showcase "me-me-me." Now the focus of your story needs to be on the "we" and how you made the "we" happen.

5. Our business school is a diverse environment. How will your experiences contribute to this?

This essay gets at two concerns for the admissions committee: (1) how will you enrich the student body at this school and (2) what is your attitude toward others' diverse backgrounds?

Diversity comes in many shapes. If a grandparent or relative is an immigrant to this country, you can discuss the impact of his or her values on your life. Perhaps you are the first individual in your family to attend college or graduate school. Maybe you are involved in a meaningful or unusual extracurricular activity. Whatever you choose to write, it's vital that you discuss how it contributes to your unique perspective.

6. Describe a personal achievement that has had a significant impact on your life.

Don't pull your hair out just because you haven't founded a successful start-up or swum across the English Channel. Smaller accomplishments with a lot of personal significance are just fine if they demonstrate character, sacrifice, humility, dedication, or perseverance. A good essay describes how you reached a personal objective and what that meant to you. Maybe you didn't lead a sports team to a victory. Maybe the victory was that you made it onto the team .

Read More: 20 Must-Read MBA Essay Tips

7. Discuss a non-academic personal failure. What did you learn from the experience?

Many applicants make the mistake of answering this question with a failure that is really a positive. Or they never really answer the question, fearful that any admission of failure will throw their whole candidacy into jeopardy. Don't get crafty. You should answer with a genuine mistake that the committee will recognize as authentic.

Write about a failure that had some high stakes for you. Demonstrate what you learned from your mistake and how it helped you mature. This is a chance to show b-schools your ability to be honest, show accountability, and face your failures head-on.

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How to Address Weaknesses, Strengths as MBA Applicant

Vivid examples of weaknesses and strengths can help humanize an MBA application.

Humanize MBA Applications

Joos Mind | Getty Images

MBA applicants can revisit past employee performance reviews and get feedback from colleagues to get a sense of their strengths and weaknesses.

Faced with increasingly stiff competition for a spot at the top business schools , MBA applicants must possess more than stellar test scores and a pedigreed employment and educational history to gain admission. The admissions committee is looking for that elusive je ne sais quoi when reading through application essays.

Your job is to present your personal and professional narrative in a way that captivates the reader – and doesn’t come off as a recitation of your resume .

Almost every MBA application asks some version of the strengths-and-weaknesses question, either as part of an essay or as a question for your recommenders. Understandably, applicants dread the thought of discussing anything negative within their application. But admissions committees specifically ask you to reveal your weaknesses to assess your fit with the program.

If you have difficulty knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, read through past employment performance reviews, think about projects where you were particularly successful and get feedback from colleagues and friends. Your own desire and motivation to get involved in a particular task can often reveal the areas where you are strong and where you need improvement.

Remember, your greatest strength is sometimes the flip side of a frustrating weakness. Consider, for example, the analytical and thorough worker who is detail-oriented but has difficulties seeing the big picture in a strategic way. Here are three tips to help you address your weaknesses and strengths in your MBA application.

• Personalize weaknesses: Leadership experience and potential is highly prized at business schools but doesn’t come easily for everyone. Think of weaknesses as opportunities for growth.

Our client Samantha often felt timid about speaking up and taking leadership positions at work, and she worried that her shyness would crush her chances at Stanford University , University of California—Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business . Because she started working a year before she planned to apply, we suggested she immediately focus on taking on more responsibilities at the nonprofit she volunteered for instead, which to her felt less risky and intimidating.

At the same time, Samantha joined Toastmasters to build up her communication skills, and she subsequently started a public speaking club in her office to help others struggling with the same issue. When the time came to apply, Samantha used her essays to discuss how she successfully climbed the ranks at the nonprofit and gained more confidence in her leadership abilities through both of these less-conventional ways.

Another client Tim admitted he had struggled with multitasking in college and had become so overwhelmed by his classes and social activities that his grades had suffered. Knowing that his GPA might be an issue, we suggested Tim show what steps he had taken to become more organized as an MBA hopeful.

He used his optional essay for Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management to explain that he had recently juggled a college-level calculus class while working full time, applying to business school and maintaining his volunteer commitments. This showcased his academic readiness as well as improved time-management skills.

• Illustrate strengths: Schools are looking for leadership, teamwork , intellectual curiosity, innovative vision and creativity – but it’s not enough to simply have an attractive list of strengths. You must provide concrete examples.

Admissions committees know that you are early in your career and perhaps have few major impressive accomplishments to date. The task here is to think of situations that spurred you to learn something valuable about yourself. Try to choose examples from different parts of your life – work, community service, extracurriculars – or maybe even something about your personal background. A diverse set of scenarios will not only keep your reviewer interested but also show that you are a well-rounded individual.

Sometimes discussing your strengths can feel too much like bragging. If you’re worried about that perception, do a reality check by having a friend or family member read your essay and let you know if you really are coming across in a negative way.

• Discuss strengths and weaknesses in recommendation letter: For some reason, the strengths-and-weaknesses question strikes more fear in recommenders than any other. Recommenders often worry that they’ll expose a fatal weakness and somehow ruin your chances.

Ideally, you’ll sit down and brainstorm with your recommender about your strengths and weaknesses. This can be awkward, but if you’re honest about what you think you need to work on and what you hope to gain from your MBA education, it can become a productive conversation. Just make sure that your recommender cites solid and specific steps you have taken to overcome any weakness he or she raises in the recommendation .

When you personalize your weaknesses and illustrate your strengths, you humanize your application for the admissions committee. All applicants have weaknesses of some kind, but if you can provide context for them, it allows the reader to have a greater understanding of both the previous situation and how you would act as a student, if accepted.

The most important takeaway is to be honest, with yourself and the admissions committee. Your keen self-assessment skills will go a long way toward impressing the individual who reads your application and – fingers crossed – earn you admission to the school of your choice.

Tags: business school , students , education , graduate schools , MBAs

About MBA Admissions: Strictly Business

MBA Admissions: Strictly Business, authored by Stacy Blackman, offers prospective MBA students tips on application essays, interviews and paying for school. Blackman launched her MBA admissions consulting company in 2001 and has since helped thousands of clients gain admission to the most selective b-schools in the world, many with merit scholarships. She is the author of “ The MBA Application Roadmap: The Essential Guide to Getting Into a Top Business School ” and has published a series of online guides about the admissions process at top schools. Blackman has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Got a question? Email [email protected] .

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MBA Resources

Strengths and Weaknesses Unveiled: Navigating Your MBA Application Journey

MBA & Beyond Team

21/08/2023 | 10:21 pm

Welcome to our guide on addressing “Strengths and Weaknesses” in your MBA application. As you embark on this crucial journey towards your business school aspirations, it’s essential to master the art of presenting your strengths confidently while candidly addressing your areas for growth. In this article, we’ll delve into strategies and insights to help you navigate this aspect of your application process effectively. Let’s unlock the potential of your candidacy together.

Writing an application includes your GMAT scores or GPA; it tells who you are as a person. Your Strengths and Weaknesses in an MBA application serve as indicators of your credibility and accountability in unfamiliar and challenging situations, a common and signature element of the business field.

LIVE Q&A WITH ALUMS OF TOP B-SCHOOL

Condensing all the essential dimensions into a few paragraphs and showcasing the “best” in you for the cause may appear daunting and exhausting.

But fret not!

This article will cover all the pertinent details to include and avoid when addressing your strengths and weaknesses essay in detail during the drafting of your B-school application.

Our bullet spells will help you succeed with flying colors. 😉

So, here’s your key tip for crafting a high-quality strengths and weaknesses essay for your MBA application.

HERE ARE FEW TIPS TO ACE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS ESSAY FOR YOUR MBA APPLICATION

What are your strengths for an mba.

The question mentioned above is considered one of the most anticipated ones that nearly every MBA applicant needs to address, either within an essay or as a query for your recommenders.

“What are your strengths for an MBA?” may appear as a generic question, but the scope of knowing your “strengths for MBA application” and aligning them with the values that your target b-school holds can be a total game-changer!. World-class B-schools seek leaders, visionaries, and individuals capable of challenging established norms in the business world. It is crucial to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you embody these qualities by highlighting your strengths in your MBA application.

IDENTIFY THE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES OF YOUR PROFILE

Strengths for MBA are easy; most of the top B-schools are looking for candidates with leadership qualities. 

College administrations are aware that most candidates won’t have many significant accomplishments in terms of strengths for MBA early in their career. However, they seek qualities such as innovative vision, creativity, teamwork, and thoughtful curiosity in applicants.

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Alongside implementing other general tips outlined in the article, ensuring that your strengths and weaknesses for MBA application complement each other effectively in your b-school essays is a strategic and wise move.

• Precision in your writing of Strengths and weaknesses essay 

Be precise while introducing yourself or providing valuable details such as your GMAT/GRE Scores in your strengths and weakness essays. 

Precision doesn’t entail portraying oneself as a ‘perfect candidate’; the objective should be to selectively highlight pertinent aspects, depicting oneself as a ‘credible candidate’ who pays attention to even minute details when conveying strengths and weaknesses for MBA applications.

RATE MY CHANCE FOR TOP B-SCHOOLS

• Creativity is the key to master strengths and weaknesses for MBA applications.

Well, it’s no secret that every B-school receives thousands of application letters every day so, what makes your letter unique among others? 

Beyond professional certificates and test scores, the method of expressing your strengths and weaknesses for MBA applications plays a pivotal role in your selection.

Why would they accept your candidature? Everyone talks about their leadership experiences, accomplishments, social impact, etc. What will make you stand out?

To tackle such questions, position yourself as the protagonist when detailing your strengths for MBA. Make yourself the focal point. Mould your actions and experiences into a narrative that showcases your involvement in managing difficult situations while addressing your strengths and weaknesses essay. Add a touch of personality to infuse depth and flavor into your essay.

• Be Professional in your Strengths for MBA essay.

Remember that you are creating an application for a professionally-oriented B-school. Therefore, emphasizing strengths in your professional experience should be your primary focus.

It’s vital to underscore strengths for MBA that highlight your personality, but that’s the second step to consider. Initially, you must link your strengths for MBA to your professional life, future goals, and aspirations.

WEAKNESS FOR MBA APPLICATION

When prompted to explore their weaknesses for MBA applications, candidates should ponder two fundamental questions before starting:

What should I avoid mentioning about my weakness for MBA interviews?

What is the college administration looking for in my strengths and weaknesses essays?

Answering these two questions clearly and earnestly will help you craft a thoughtful and compelling response that will enhance your strength and weakness for MBA application.

MAXIMIZE CHANCES FOR TOP B-SCHOOLS SCHOLARSHIPS

First, avoid mentioning weakness for MBA applications outside your academic or professional life as they aren’t relevant to your future career.

Crafting a weakness that logically aligns with your strengths is a strategic approach. It not only underscores your self-awareness but also showcases your leadership trait of recognizing areas for improvement. This method can be particularly valuable when addressing weaknesses for the MBA application and interview. The essence lies in establishing a connection between specific drawbacks and particular strengths in your weakness for the MBA application.

The college administration is seeking applicants with positive character traits such as self-awareness and self-assessment—someone who can interpret their shortcomings and improvise to develop them into potential growth areas. 

WHY IS WEAKNESS A STRENGTH?

To answer this above question, here are some tips to address your “ weakness for MBA application .”

• Personalize your weaknesses for MBA application:

Each candidate possesses their own set of shortcomings and weaknesses. Offering appropriate context for them in your strength and weakness essay enables the reader to comprehend the specific circumstances and envisage how you would handle similar situations as a student if admitted.

Leadership experience and potential are highly valued at business schools but may not be universally attainable. Instead, consider weaknesses for MBA as opportunities for growth and present them effectively in your strength and weakness essays.

APPLY WITH TOP B-SCHOOL EXPERTS

• Be Honest 

“The most crucial takeaway is to be honest.” Presenting specific flaws and addressing them sincerely in your weakness for MBA application essays will give you an advantage by allowing you to discuss the impact they’ve had on shaping who you are today. Every candidate has their own flaws, but not everyone will use them as an opportunity to reveal their true selves in their strengths and weaknesses for MBA application essays.

• Avoid counting too many weaknesses for MBA admission essays.    

Avoid delving into excessive weaknesses; one or two examples will suffice. Instead, concentrate on sharing a genuine weakness in your MBA application. You can emphasize a specific area of knowledge, skill, or type of experience that you wish you had acquired based on your previous work. Furthermore, be sure to elaborate on your plans for skill development in your strengths and weaknesses essays. This approach will convey to the college admissions committee that you are actively addressing your areas of improvement, demonstrating your commitment to personal growth while acknowledging that nobody is flawless.

• Focus on yourself in your strengths and weaknesses essays

Instead of attributing blame to colleagues and the work environment, it is crucial to present proof of your capacity to identify the skills needed. Discuss the strategies employed in addressing these challenges in your strengths and weaknesses essays. Demonstrating self-awareness and self-assessment is essential to depict yourself as an applicant who acknowledges areas for improvement.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES EXAMPLES

Leadership qualities, intellectual appetite, self-introspection, and personal accountability are some prime qualities every B-school is looking for. 

Feel free to narrate a success story! Sharing a success story is a fantastic method to highlight your decision-making and communication skills adeptly. Nevertheless, it is equally crucial to illustrate how you have actively enhanced these skills and your recognition of the necessity to incorporate additional skills into your skill set.

BEST-FIT B SCHOOLS FOR YOUR PROFILE

While discussing your strengths, always remember to follow a Problem, action, result approach!

• Mention the situation and your role
• Mention your action and how you utilize your skills to deal with the problem.
• Describe the result and how the situation turned out in favor of your company.
• Lessons you learned and how these skills will help you prosper in your future.

Lacking adequate knowledge in a specific domain can be a valid weakness. For instance, in your previous role as a Marketing Manager, limited exposure to the technical aspect of the business could be identified as an area for improvement. Subsequently, you can elaborate on your plans to enhance these skills.

The top B-school programs seek individuals with leadership qualities, visionary thinking, and an entrepreneurial spirit capable of challenging and shaping the future. It is crucial to convey to the admissions board that you embody these traits. With competition intensifying each day, securing a spot at the top business schools has become an increasingly challenging endeavor. Merely having good grades, certificates, and educational history is no longer sufficient for MBA applicants; they must possess additional qualities to gain admission.

While reviewing application essays, the admission committee seeks credible individuals poised for future impact. Hence, it is your responsibility to articulate your personal and professional narrative in a manner that engages the reader. You may think this means that you need to show them a history of spotless professional records, a flawless transcript, and a journey filled with success?

KNOW YOUR ADMISSION CHANCE

Of course not! If your story lacks failures or weaknesses, it may come across as lacking authenticity, and the admissions committee might perceive it as if you haven’t fully contemplated their application questions.

Every individual has experienced failure at some point, and such setbacks can serve as a dual advantage for your application. They not only showcase the capacity for self-introspection, a rare leadership trait, but also provide an opportunity to outline your action plan for future endeavors.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES FOR AN MBA INTERVIEW TO THE ADCOMS?

The first and foremost step is to be perfectly honest, don’t try to outplay the interviewer by marking your strengths as your weaknesses.

Ensure that any strength you highlight incorporates qualities that B-schools specifically value. Avoid presenting yourself as perfect, as it implies there’s nothing left to learn, and this impression may not be well-received by the Adcoms.

Self-introspection is valuable, but it doesn’t necessitate tearing yourself down. Limit your weaknesses to one or two at most. Simply stating your weaknesses is not sufficient; provide a logical foundation linked to your future goals. Question why you believe a particular aspect needs change and consider how this transformation can contribute to your personal growth.

If you’re still seeking further guidance on how to prepare your strengths and weaknesses for an MBA interview, join us for a call! Our 45-minute in-depth consultation will assist you in overcoming any challenges encountered during interview preparation. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I make my MBA application strong?

Rather than making your strengths and weaknesses for MBA application exhaustive detail-wise, try to make it more genuine by focusing on strengths for MBA relevant to your future goals and how admission to your dream school will help achieve them.

Precision, creativity, honesty, and professionalism are the major aspects of drafting a near-perfect strengths and weaknesses essay for an MBA application.  

How can you justify your strengths?

Ensure that your certificates, academic background, and prior work experience seamlessly align with the highlighted strengths for MBA. The college administration recognizes that noteworthy achievements at a young age are uncommon, making them particularly interested in individuals with vision, creativity, and strong leadership skills.

What should I write about my weaknesses in MBA?

Crafting weaknesses for MBA essays can be challenging, but to prevent misinterpretation, focus on offering logical weaknesses tied to your profession. However, refrain from listing too many in your MBA application essays; limit them to two or at most three. Additionally, keep in mind that the capacity for self-criticism and introspection is a valuable leadership trait, and it’s relatively rare among B-school applicants.

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MBA Career Goals Essay Examples

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Career Goals Essay Samples

Almost every MBA application has a career goals essay. Here are some important resources to help you nail it:

Career Goal Guidance from Key Members of our SBC team

How to Structure your MBA Essays

Successful Examples of Career Goal Essays

One of the things I value most at Company X is the collaboration between teams to advance new technologies. As a Program Manager, I coordinate research and development (R&D) projects for the engineering department. R&D is an exciting field to me because we make quick decisions, progress at lightning speed, and focus on the future. Currently, I am directing a X project that impacts the future of autonomous driving.

Post-MBA, I will join the R&D group for a technology or automotive company as a product manager. I want to own the product lifecycle and effectively shepherd a product from inception to market. Ultimately, I aspire to influence monumental decisions like Porsche’s recent $6B investment in electric cars and electric charging infrastructure.

Product management capitalizes on my strengths: communication, teamwork, leadership, planning and organization. I enjoy the breadth of exposure through this role because successful new product development requires me to leverage resources from all over the company – R&D, finance, marketing, supply chain, and production.

But to achieve this goal, I first need a Goizueta MBA. Specifically, Goizueta’s extensive core coursework will teach me how to manage budgets and identify new product markets. Opportunities to apply my classroom learnings to real-world problems through an IMPACT 360 project and to further my leadership development through the Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy will enable me to pivot to a R&D product manager role and advance my career.

Additionally, Goizueta’s culture of engagement will be instrumental to my development. Building camaraderie through extracurricular and social opportunities will enhance the shared learning I seek in my MBA program, as I envision gathering with my classmates every Thursday at KEGS and exploring Atlanta on the weekends. Essentially, Goizueta provides a business education that will not only facilitate my career progression, but also offers a lasting, lifelong community.

My immediate post-MBA goal is to secure a client relations position at a private equity firm, focusing on global expansion in Latin America. In this position I will hone-in on my knowledge of Latin American banking and finance, coupled with my Spanish speaking fluency, to apply the financial acumen gained at Kelley, to help drive firm’s expansion into the Latin American market. I know that a Kelley MBA would help me pivot into the private equity space and enhance my technical finance and analytical skills needed to excel while working in this unique investment class.

In my three years of professional experience, I have an increased understanding in interpersonal skills needed for a client relations position; however, I want to continue to advance my career in finance through a private equity role. A Kelley MBA will help me enrich my financial expertise and build technical skills needed to succeed in the industry. Additionally, I will acquire deeper problem solving and data analytics skills through courses in the Quantitative Analysis for Business Decisions and Financial Accounting disciplines. Specifically, I am excited how Kelley offers finance electives as early as my second semester, which I will take advantage of in preparation for my summer internship. Finally, Kelley’s Capital Markets Academy will be key to my development. The Capital Markets Academy, particularly Academy Fridays, will provide me with additional coverage into the financial services industry where I can gain the core finance skills necessary to grow, as well as delve into networking opportunities outside of the classroom.

My immediate post-MBA goal also includes being a business leader with global perspective. I anticipate enhancing my managerial skills through courses such as International Management and Organizational Behavior and Leadership in order to be a more effective manager and a stronger communicator. Because of my interest in working with a global financial services organization, I will pursue the Global Business Achievement certificate program. Through Kelley’s Global Business Achievement certificate program, I can further develop my Spanish speaking skills and potentially work on a global research project in hopes of enhancing my worldview, gaining exposure to other international companies, and expanding my global perspective; all key to leading international teams.

In summary, I believe my MBA from Kelley, coupled with my experience working in Latin American finance, will make me a competitive candidate for a position at a private equity firm. In the event I do not get an offer from a private equity firm, I would look for client facing roles at an international bank or hedge fund. Ideally, these opportunities will also focus on Latin American expansion, as I am interested in continuing to work in Latin American finance and improving my Spanish language skills. I know that Kelley offers exposure to diverse financial firms and opportunities in banking, ensuring my successful launch on a new path.

I am excited by the ability of technology to make tools and information more accessible. Television and libraries have been made available globally through internet distribution at virtually no cost. I too have leveraged data and technology to exceed expectations in my educational and professional experiences. For example, I spearheaded the development of Energy First’s iPhone application in 2008, and integrated Live Meeting as a collaborative tool in my retail territory. As I uncovered further applications of technology, I began aspiring to work on the strategic development of such advances, rather than merely their adoption. Having spent the last three and a half years with Energy First, a conservative organization, I look to further my career with more innovative organizations that drive change – such as Facebook or Google – before working in a strategic capacity for a startup venture.

I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. In the sixth grade I published a magazine on my home computer, seeking subscribers from classmates. In 2005, I ran a consulting service that provided computer training for baby boomers. As I look to shift my career path to the technology sector, a strategic roadmap is required to ensure I develop the appropriate skills to facilitate this transition. In the short-term, I plan to gain experience with leading providers of online solutions through internships and post-graduate work. Industry experience will help me apply strategic theory in practice, while I learn best in class marketing tools and processes. I will learn to apply my refined analytical skills in scenarios that are pertinent to preparing for my long-term goals. Having already worked in strategy and execution roles with Energy First, I see myself applying these complimentary foundations in a new sector. After gaining industry experience, refining my quantitative skills and learning to apply a rounded skill set with leading organizations, I will be prepared for a prominent marketing and strategy role in an innovative online service startup. I seek to work on leveraging technology to improve accessibility to information and services. Just as Google has leveraged data mining to launch Google Books and expand global access to literature, I believe further opportunities exist that I plan to uncover as I gain industry knowledge. Any organization in which I work will also need to have a significant focus on leveraging their resources to help the community. UCLA Anderson provides an ideal foundation for achieving both my short-term and long-term goals, as well as allowing me to continue developing a socially conscious mindset through various leadership opportunities.

In order for my career to take a crucial step forward, I need to put myself in an innovative environment where I can challenge and be challenged. I have developed a strong understanding of what my strengths are, and more importantly, what areas require development – financial analysis and business planning in a new industry. An MBA at UCLA Anderson will provide me with the best foundation to take that next step for three reasons. First, the culture of energetic and passionate students and faculty from diverse professional and geographic backgrounds will facilitate idea sharing from varied points of view. For example, the opportunity to learn from Professor Bob Foster on technological business plan development will be a crucial element of my graduate studies. Secondly, Anderson’s reputation for developing exceptional team leaders is evidenced by some of the inspiring alumni, such as Jim Stengel. Teamwork will be at the forefront of any business that I enter, and learning leadership principles that have produced success in the past will ensure that I am adequately prepared to lead a team-based organization. I will develop my teamwork and leadership skills in clubs such as the High Tech Business Association as well as community-driven endeavors such as the Challenge for Charity. Finally, Anderson’s Applied Management Research Program will allow me to build on the principles of the rigorous curriculum, as well as acquire knowledge firsthand about an organization in an industry that I am passionate about. The challenge of working with a team to develop recommendations will provide invaluable experience that will prepare me for business plan development in a method unique to a traditional class-based curriculum. I am confident that my experience at UCLA Anderson will help me target my current weaknesses, share my strengths and experiences with my colleagues, and develop my entrepreneurial skills so that I am able to play a key role in a venture that is both financially and socially responsible.

After several years as a Wireline Field Engineer, I am at a crossroads where I will start to define the future of my career. I envision becoming the VP of Strategic Marketing at a technical firm. Unlike most of my fellow engineers, I plan to merge my technical background with a marketing education to put myself in a position where I can be successful in such a career. A marketing position in a technical firm fits my interests and talents perfectly. Cutting-edge technology fascinates me, and with an engineering background, it is a language I speak. Most engineering jobs deal with technology, but few are primarily focused on human interaction, something that is an essential part of my vision. I enjoy dealing with people; while solving a complex engineering problem can provide great pleasure, it is no match for the satisfaction I derive through team interaction. Similarly, I have always enjoyed coaching others, whether it’s by conducting mock interviews at the high school where I volunteer or teaching nuclear theory to new engineers at a wellsite. The idea of taking a complicated concept and packaging it in such a way that the client clearly understands the benefits is highly appealing.

While my current technical position has many advantages, it is time for a change. I love the challenge of problem solving, and I thrive in such an international role, but I lack a strong business background. As I progress and move into an office job within Schlumberger, I do not see a career path allowing me to follow my goal without taking the initiative to gain further marketing knowledge. I have set my sights on this goal and will devote the necessary time and energy to put myself in a position to be successful.

Anderson is my choice in an MBA program for three reasons. First, it has excellent access to the Asia Pacific region, a market I am familiar with and would like to do business with in the future. My time spent in Thailand has been phenomenal, and I hope to work with such gracious, hospitable people throughout my career. Second, Anderson has a diverse student body from all over the world, something that is essential if I am to be multi-cultural upon graduation. Finally, Anderson is known to be an excellent all-around program, and being well-rounded is extremely important to me. With high quality training from Anderson, I am certain that I can succeed in the strategic marketing position I desire. I understand that a career of this nature requires a great deal of work. I embrace the challenge and look forward to a career which combines my professional skills and my enjoyment in working with others, but for the near future I look forward to an MBA program with exposure to the brightest teachers and young professionals from different business sectors across the globe. Learning to solve business problems, not just technical ones, is the next critical step toward a career in which I will thrive for years to come.

Growing up as one of five bi-racial students in a small farm town south of Dallas, I yearned to see the world outside of Texas. Looking for the first opportunity to broaden my horizons, I only applied to East Coast colleges to ensure that I would experience a variety of ways of life. At seventeen, I moved to New York to attend NYU where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and immediately after moved to the Midwest to experience another area of the country, attending Indiana University Law School. Further pushing my boundaries, I studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain my first summer of law school and realized not only the joy of experiencing different cultures, but also my desire to have a career with a global impact. While interviewing for post-law school positions, I found I was not interested in the more traditional legal roles, but that my skills and passions were better suited for the business sector where I could combine the reasoning and analytical skills I learned in law school with my interest in marketing and travelling. My first job with Kaplan was a perfect balance of these qualities. My responsibilities as an account manager, including creating and implementing effective strategies, plans and promotions to increase preference at law schools, sparked my interest in discovering consumer needs. Last year, I accepted a position with Princeton Review as a regional manager, where I manage and analyze sales goals for over 100 representatives, work with outside corporate sponsors to increase revenue and brand recognition, and partner with cross-functional teams to drive growth. Additionally, this position has required numerous business travels, which, in addition to my international travels, has strongly piqued my interest in the hospitality and travel industry and I am now ready to make a career shift to this sector. My long-term vision is to become an innovator, developer and leader as a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of a large hospitality company. The most rewarding aspect of my past two roles is bringing a product that I believe in to other people. As a CMO, the opportunity to share my passion on an international level is exciting and motivating. After three years of sales and account management experience, I have developed a thirst for understanding consumers and discovering their needs, their motivation to purchase products or services and ultimately how they become loyal to a specific company or product. Within the hospitality industry, specifically airlines and hotels, providing excellent service and a quality product makes travel easier and more enjoyable, increases travelers’ happiness and encourages future travel and brand loyalty. To reach this goal, in the short term I want to become an associate brand manager within the hospitality industry with a company such as Virgin America or Kimpton Hotels, helping grow their business traveler segment, while maintaining their current brand as a luxury service. Here I will learn the ins and outs of the hospitality industry, while receiving hands on experience managing a product, coordinating marketing functions, and leading cross-functional teams to ensure that the marketing plan is properly executed. After learning the basic skills of brand management, I expect to progress through the company as a marketing director and eventually my ultimate goal of a CMO. An MBA is essential to reach my goals. As I have only worked on the sales side with a legal research and a bar review prep company, I realize my limitations without more formal training. Without knowledge of how to read and analyze a profit & loss statement, bring a brand to market and position it for success, evaluate pricing patterns, synthesize market reports and understand consumer learning, I cannot be successful in a brand management role. An MBA will not only ease the transition, but will also help me gain the building blocks of marketing and business in general and gain broader strategic skills to effectively manage multiple large products. I look forward to my MBA putting me on the path to achieving my personal and professional goals.

Having the opportunity to observe the intricacies of private real estate operations in my current position, I have come to the realization that there’s a considerable gap in how sustainable design (planning strategies that minimize environmental impact and reduce energy consumption) is integrated with development/construction efforts. Consequently, I see significant promise in expanding green awareness to urban planning and wish to dedicate my career to support sustainable growth in the real estate industry. Therefore, in the short term after earning an MBA, I plan to take a position as a development manager for a national REIT and work to implement programs that derive economic gain from environmentally-conscious construction. In the long run, I will capitalize on these experiences by founding a consulting firm that will provide strategic expertise to support and improve private retail, real estate, and development firms’ sustainable initiatives.

My passion for green design began when I was a young painter growing up in an overpopulated Taipei neighborhood. As a boy, I often found the city’s monotonous gray backdrop insufficient for the contents of my canvas. The drastic Taipei urban expansion, resulting from rapid economic growth in the 80’s, drained many environmental resources and plagued the sky with pollution. During this time, I started recreating the city’s outlines into a more ideal community through imagination, and in the process found a passion to combine my artistic talents with my creativity to reshape the surrounding neighborhood. After moving to the US, I decided to make a leap from my imagination to reality and embarked on a career in sustainable design by enrolling in the School of Architecture at the University of Arizona.

After graduating, I took a position with Thompson Architecture in 2004 for the opportunity to work on program implementations that emphasized green construction. Recognizing the potential impact of my position, I consistently went beyond my defined technical roles to assume managerial responsibilities and became the youngest Project Architect in the 600 employee firm at the age of 24. In this new role, I was provided significant exposure to project delivery management, contract negotiations, and client interactions, and in the process deepened my overall interest in business operations. My increased client access also enabled me to initiate sustainability research proposals for them, an endeavor that resulted in landing new green design deals with retailers including Coffeeland, Clothestime, and Shoetown. However, in the process of analyzing the costs and environmental benefits for these green stores, I learned that this case by case approach offers rather limited effects on the environment, and the only way to maximize the benefits of sustainability is through implementation on a more massive scale. After working with the real estate groups of these major retailers and witnessing the impact of ROI analysis on the direction of corporate development, I discovered my true passion would be to work in a business capacity that had exposure to all sides of the real estate development business and could drive environmental impact through broad company initiatives.

Upon evaluating my objectives, I believe I have attained the core technical knowledge necessary to fulfill my future aspirations, but lack the business expertise to execute upon my abilities. Specifically, I would like to enhance my knowledge of market analysis, financing options, economics, and the overall trends/cycles of the real estate industry, in order to propose effective, sustainable solutions. Additionally, as my current role is limited to serving only retailers, I would like to learn appropriate strategic frameworks for consulting other types of clients. I also hope to refine my managerial and communication skills, which will be essential for obtaining buy-in for alternative development proposals. Having identified my goals, I feel now is the right time to attain a business education that can complement my technical experience and facilitate a career transition into real estate development.

From my campus visit this summer, interaction with current students, and discussions with school alumni, I strongly believe that Haas offers the best MBA program for me. First, the Fisher Center offers a wide array of real estate courses, such as Real Estate and Urban Economics, that will provide a valuable foundation for understanding the market dynamics of the development industry. I have already studied Professor Jaffee’s insightful research on the trend toward green development and discussed my interests at length with current Haas Real Estate student Steven Shanks. Therefore, I sincerely believe the Fisher Center will empower me with the necessary resources to identify high-potential sustainable opportunities and organizational skills to generate substantial returns. Outside of the classroom, I plan to take on leadership roles within the Real Estate Club and contribute through activities such as the Bank of America: Low Income Housing Challenge. Finally, I am excited about the Real Estate career opportunities that Haas has to offer, and plan to be actively involved with the new ACRE program.

Haas also stresses global entrepreneurship and innovation. As an innate entrepreneur who has implemented numerous personal and professional initiatives to improve our environment, I look forward to participating in Lester Center activities such as the Berkeley Solutions Group and YEAH. Additionally, through the Haas Social Venture Competition, I plan to propose a business idea for assisting private real estate companies address public urban concerns while achieving financial returns. I also hope to explore different leadership styles and further expand my international exposure by interacting with a truly global student body and learning environment. To that end, I am interested in leveraging Haas’ global entrepreneurial perspective to assist underprivileged communities around the world by participating in the International Business Development program. Through the sponsorship of nonprofit sustainable-oriented clients, such as Beahrs ELP, I hope to assist low-income neighborhoods similar to where I grew up through proposing effective green planning and environmental conscious construction.

Lastly, I am ultimately impressed by Haas’ unparalleled commitment to integrating corporate social responsibility within its entire business curriculum. My definitive goal is to implement innovative programs that positively advance our surroundings and Berkeley’s socially active student body passionately shares such vision. I plan to contribute through the Net Impact Club by making use of my non-profit experience while proposing novel and publicly useful business plans to local private companies. Thus, I will stay involved with the local community while investing in my cross-functional skills alongside a diverse set of talented peers. I am deeply impressed by Haas’ strong support and tradition, and I sincerely believe Berkeley’s close-knit student body will strengthen my capacity to lead the important changes that I could only imagine as a young painter twenty years ago.

Entering the classical music industry just before the economic downturn has opened my eyes to disconcerting financial weaknesses in professional symphonies. As lucky as I was to be a working musician, I saw signs of economic instability in orchestras around America. As a committee member of the Santa Barbara Symphony, I see firsthand how orchestras are financed from year to year and the room for improvement is tremendous. Almost immediately after the housing bubble burst and the market crashed in 2008, orchestras began to show signs of financial insecurity. Due to the recent economic downturn, symphonies across the country are shortening seasons, instituting hiring freezes, and even filing bankruptcy. Top ranked symphony orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic, have enacted hiring freezes for vacant positions, and highly regarded orchestras in Houston, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Philadelphia have enforced pay cuts after posting an average of $1.5M in budget deficits. Clearly, changes need to be made on how these primarily nonprofit organizations operate.

After working as a cellist in this economic climate and seeing the strain on my colleagues, I am moved to make a career change to the business side and revolutionize how symphony orchestras are managed. Over the past four years, I have witnessed my peers struggle to find work, soloist friends go weeks without concerts, and prominent symphony musicians show deep concern for their livelihoods. In spite of recent hardships, I believe there is incredible room for growth and revitalization within the classical music community, specifically in symphony orchestras. With the right guidance, I know that symphonies can not only become more financially secure, but also stir a renewed interest in orchestra concerts in their surrounding areas. Armed with an education in general management and exposure to nonprofit business models, I will be able to exact that change. With the skills gained from a Rice MBA, I will join a symphony in a general management role to improve operations and better manage endowment funds and revenue from ticket sales and donations. Long-term, I will transition my career to consulting, where I will help orchestras around the country operate more efficiently and profitably, thus enabling them to thrive both financially and artistically.

To be effective, I need both the strong educational foundation and practical application that Rice offers. At Rice, I will gain the knowledge and skills I need through its comprehensive general management core curriculum. Specifically, I intend to maximize my education through the Leadership Intensive Learning Experience, case-based coursework, public/nonprofit financial management elective, and real-world Action Learning Project. I believe that attacking real world issues and learning from real examples will be key in my transition from a leader as a cellist to a leader as an executive. Coming from a collaborative musical background, I believe that Rice’s well-rounded core curriculum, which emphasizes a healthy balance of class lectures by leading faculty and real world applications of concepts, will give me the tools I need to transform from musician to businessman. Moreover, the Leadership ILE courses will give me a chance to turn my leadership skills in music into strong leadership skills in business. Finally, participating in the Consulting, Net Impact, and Finance Clubs will further equip me to work with orchestras by learning from and being inspired by my diverse peers, all the while building lifelong friendships with like-minded colleagues.

I look forward to bringing my experience as a team player and leader from a unique background as a musician back to Rice and growing both professionally and personally within a culture where students challenge and encourage each other. I am confident that I will contribute to the overall culture, atmosphere, and education of the Jones School by working well with my classmates both inside and outside the classroom. With my unique background as a concert cellist and pedagogue, I also look forward to offering a different perspective in class discussions while having my eyes opened to many different perspectives drawn from equally diverse experiences. Furthermore, I look forward to being able to exercise the problem-solving skills I acquired as a teacher, an ensemble team member, and a section leader in my transition to a businessman at Rice. As my MBA classmates inspire me to constantly evolve and improve on my strengths and weaknesses, I know will do the same for my peers.

As a high school senior, I was given an interesting Christmas present from my parents. They opened up a brokerage account in my name and deposited few hundred dollars into it. It wasn’t the stereo system or the new set of golf clubs that I had hoped for, but it would turn out to be the best present they could have given me. I did not realize it at the time, but this gift would ultimately have a great impact on my future. Sitting down at the computer with my father, he taught me the basics of investing in stocks and mutual funds. My interest in investing grew throughout that final year of high school and became even greater in college. The more I learned about finance and the capital markets, the greater my interest grew.

Not surprisingly, I chose to study economics and finance as an undergraduate student at SMU. The summer after my freshman year of college, I obtained an internship with Merrill Lynch, assisting a Senior Financial Advisor with the daily duties of his job. I continued my studies throughout college and upon graduation, accepted an Operations Associate position at Condera, a boutique asset management firm in Houston. Supporting several financial advisors in the management of around $200 million in assets, my duties include performing portfolio analysis, implementing our strategies by executing trades in client accounts, and interacting with clients on a daily basis. This role has enhanced my leadership and communication skills, two areas in which I can contribute in my endeavors at the Jones School. The autonomy of the position and the willingness of my supervisors to listen to my suggestions are extremely satisfying and for this experience, I am grateful.

Throughout my career at Company X, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the sophisticated investment strategies that we employ for our clients, institutions, and foundations. Working with two industry veterans, I make it a point to learn as much as possible from them. They allow me to undertake challenging tasks, such as explaining our investment philosophy to prospects and researching new products to use. As I have grown into a more proactive role in client service, the advisors have focused more on bringing in new assets, thereby increasing revenue for the firm. It is from these experiences that my passion for the analytical side of investing has emerged. I have a deep interest in modern portfolio theory and, after completing my MBA, plan to apply that theory in a role that focuses on market and securities analysis. I believe the Jones School curriculum and the environment fostered by the students and faculty will give me a more comprehensive understanding of modern portfolio theory and its application to institutional asset management.

Long-term, I plan to start a boutique asset management firm that services foundations, endowments, and institutions. Recent trends in the financial services industry indicate that the big box brokerage firms such as Merrill Lynch and UBS are losing favor with many investors. Independent advisors are leveraging the services of custodial firms like Fidelity and JP Morgan to run asset management shops that provide completely unbiased and independent financial advisory services. I see this trend continuing as the major investment houses go through drastic changes during the current financial crisis and intend to capitalize on the migration of assets to independent advisors.

The MBA program at the Jones School provides the best bridge for connecting my current career to the future career that I seek. I have gained a strong, core knowledge of investing and finance and need to build on this knowledge, acquiring a more in depth view of the capital markets. After visiting the campus, speaking with students at a partio, and sitting in on one of Professor Weston’s finance classes, I have concluded that the Jones School offers the curriculum and environment that will best prepare me for that career. The real-world asset management experience that the Wright Fund provides is also of particular interest. Another impressive aspect of the program is the wide array of finance courses available to students. I look forward to being a part of a diverse class that will allow me to learn as much from my peers as I will learn from my professors. It is this collaborative aspect of the Jones School that impresses me the most. I know that I will contribute to the Jones School community in a profound way while growing both personally and professionally from all that the program has to offer.

My earliest memories are punctuated with aromas of my Mexican mother cooking tamales, while my Iranian father taught us about Navroz – the Persian New Year – where life begins anew, and dreams are revitalized. This idealism excited me, and watching my parents struggle to provide for my sister and myself, I wanted to help them create a fresh start. I channeled this motivation into opportunities where I could deliver positive change. My career vision, to lead a Latin America-centric microfinance organization such as Accion, capitalizes on these experiences. In the interim, I will prepare myself by attaining an MBA, and joining the International Finance Corporation’s Global Transaction Team as an Investment Officer.

After graduating from UCSB, I wanted to maximize my contributions and exposure and found this opportunity at [XYZ Sports], a small, established apparel manufacturer. While my primary responsibilities were in finance, I made time to work with marketing, sales, and operations teams, understanding their challenges, and helping implement proposed solutions. I wanted to apply this newly acquired knowledge at a startup, passionate about influencing a fledgling entity. At [Memorabilia Retailer], my goal was to implement financial and accounting processes forming the company’s backbone. Working in an ambiguous, often chaotic startup environment, I holistically analyzed each issue and its ramifications. I also built relationships with functional experts, incorporating valuable insights from them. I confidently presented a tough but necessary set of strategic recommendations around financial operations reengineering to management, and won their approval. As an Investment Officer at IFC, and later, a leader in microfinance, I will leverage the poise I developed during these early-career experiences.

Next, I accepted a job at [ABC Healthcare], coming in to an under-resourced finance department. I suggested augmenting our human-capital base in Costa Rica, expanding our limited presence there, and lowering costs. Although this went far beyond my official job description, I spearheaded this project. Spending significant time in Costa Rica, I understood the work environment, hired resources, and trained them on our business processes. Under my direction our Costa Rican office now efficiently handles all our accounting processes, and has grown from a staff of two women, to 20. This success hinged on my ability to safeguard against the risks of developing an international location, a practice that is imperative to the sustainability of a microfinance organization. Further, witnessing the impact meaningful employment can have on families and communities paved the way for my professional ambitions.

Inspired by the transformation I saw in Costa Rica, I began actively volunteering at a local non-profit microfinance organization, Foundation for Women (FFW). As a Senior Advisor, I partner with low-income entrepreneurs to develop their businesses. Through this first-hand microfinance experience, I have reaffirmed that it is an area of business in which I thrive personally and professionally. I have also recognized the skills I need in order to attain my goals.

An MBA’s academic rigor will form the theoretical foundation on which I will build my future career. Courses such as Business Strategies for Emerging Markets, and Corporate Finance may sound similar to what other business schools offer, but Haas’s approach to the MBA via the BILD curriculum is distinctive, and especially appealing to me as its focus on forging change fits well with my personal leadership style. Through its emphasis on innovative leadership I will prepare myself for the volatility often inherent in international microfinance. I am looking forward to embracing knowledge outside the classroom as well. Applying academic theories to real world issues through Haas’s International Business Development Program will be a unique opportunity to learn from diverse teammates, professors, and clients, while gaining exposure to different geographies and their intricacies. I would also love to add an element of microfinance at the 2013 Latin American Business Conference, perhaps by inviting my contacts from FFW to attend or speak.

The Haas MBA will prepare me for a summer internship in banking and a full-time job at the IFC’s Global Transaction Team, where I will strengthen my understanding of the investor’s role in microfinance and build a toolkit for analyzing businesses with a discerning eye. Focusing on Latin America at the IFC and studying the design and productivity of the region’s microenterprise operations, I will become well versed in its cultural and socioeconomic challenges. Armed with this analytical acumen and regional perspective, I will be ideally positioned for a career at Accion, ultimately building on my experiences and network to establish a robust microfinance infrastructure in a country like Costa Rica and eventually across Latin America.

Upon receiving my MBA at USC Marshall, I will assume a managerial role at XYZ where my mother has been the President and CEO since she took the company over from my grandmother in 1998. XYZ is a leading managed care company in Southern California, providing billing and quality oversight services for over 7,400 physician practices. As the future leader of XYZ, I seek to expand its success by addressing the fast-changing management dynamics of medical groups; a Marshall MBA is critical to this career path.

To ensure an efficient transition to my managerial role at XYZ, I will enter the Marshall program with knowledge from my public health masters program and preceding consumer-oriented work. Through my public health masters program, I have developed an innovative masters thesis that evaluates Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), the latest healthcare delivery model put forth by the President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Through this project, I have become savvy in the ACO model and have gained an understanding of’s current and future potential clients, many of which are already ACOs in the Southern California region. My preceding work in connecting to the consumer mindset through marketing programs and, before that, through internships at XYZ, will also contribute to my informed managerial role.

I have a unique opportunity to create a renewed vision for our company that leverages the emerging paradigm shift in healthcare; the industry is moving away from a system of “sick care”—or acute care for diseases and illness—to a focus on preventing chronic disease and reducing costs. In the short-term, as a manager at XYZ, I intend to align my department and influence my employees to set the industry standard for coordinating care by evaluating the effectiveness of provider networks under this new model of care. I will expand XYZ’s services and client-base by creating sustainable, cutting edge products. I intend to enable the company to thrive in the next era of provider services.

My short-term career goals will be only realized if I fuel them with the functional knowledge and critical leadership skills of the Marshall MBA. I will immerse myself in the curriculum at USC Marshall and apply this knowledge in practice through its international programs and on-campus opportunities. In my first year, I will choose marketing as my functional area to hone my skills in management and team-building and will then take electives in healthcare during my second year to learn the specific business principles that guide my industry. The new core curriculum will allow me to explore subjects outside of my specialization to become a holistic leader. Marshall’s coursework will help me acquire the adaptability and rigorous knowledge that is critical for my high-impact career in healthcare.

My experience at Marshall will empower decision making that is socially-conscious within an increasingly global healthcare arena. I require an understanding of social responsibility to make my mark in the healthcare industry. The Pacific Rim International Management Education (PRIME) is a platform to understand these perspectives and will make me a more self-aware, globally-minded professional. The PRIME program will facilitate my learning of the global economy in healthcare as well as further my knowledge about XYZ’s client-base, as XYZ currently coordinates care for patients in the Pacific Rim. The PRIME program will give me a deeper understanding of our clients abroad and potential opportunities for global business development.

USC Marshall will also help me achieve my career goals because of its proximity to XYZ, as I will actively develop my professional network of future business partners and colleagues from the start of the program. Marshall’s core communities will create invaluable networking opportunities with fellow students. As healthcare is quickly evolving into a collaborative, interdisciplinary field, Marshall’s culture will reinforce the values that I will need as a healthcare leader. To further create connections with peers, I will be an active leader in the Healthcare Leadership Association and star player in Challenge for Charity, where I will use my passion for soccer for philanthropic benefit. After my MBA and several successful years working in a managerial position at XYZ, I hope to inherit my family’s business with a strong sense of duty and capability. Only an education from USC Marshall will give me the integrated foundations and networks to transform our business in the decades to come.

SBC’s star-studded consultant team is unparalleled. Our clients benefit from current intelligence that we receive from the former MBA Admissions Officers from Harvard HBS, Stanford GSB and every elite business program in the US and Europe.  These MBA Admissions Officers have chosen to work exclusively with SBC.

Just two of the many superstars on the SBC team: Meet Erin , who was Assistant Director of MBA Admissions at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) and Director of MBA Admissions at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Meet Andrea , who served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years.

Tap into this inside knowledge for your MBA applications by requesting a consultation .

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How to talk about weaknesses in MBA essays and interviews

“I have my flaws. I sing in the shower, sometimes I volunteer too much, occasionally, I’ll hit somebody with my car.” – Michael Scott, Regional Manager, Scranton Branch, Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

In two delightfully short sentences, Michael Scott from The Office , with his trademark humor, summed up the contradictions and complexities involved in confronting that most confounding of all corporate questions – tell us about your weaknesses.

Talking about weaknesses in your MBA essay and interview is like walking a tightrope. Talk too less and you end up looking arrogant, like Michael Scott. Talk too much and you start sounding like an agony aunt column in an adolescent magazine, also like Michael Scott.

Is there a sweet spot somewhere in between that is just right and that isn’t Michael Scott?

Yes, there is, and we are here to tell you how to hit it.

Why do you need to talk about your weaknesses anyway?

Most MBA essays have a section that requires you to talk about your strengths and weaknesses. Alternatively, there might be a section where you are asked to describe a situation where you failed or talk about a time when you received criticism for your work and how you handled it.

The same set of questions could be posed to you in an interview as well.

Strengths are easy to talk about. You know what you’re good at and you can talk about it endlessly. Talking about weaknesses is the tricky part.

The admissions committee judges your answers to evaluate two things – how self-aware you are, and how well you bounce back from failure. The point to really understand here is that you are applying to a school. A business school, yes, but a school nonetheless. A school is a place where you go to learn things. And you only learn things you do not know yet, or which you aren’t very good at yet.

To put it simply, the admissions committee wants to hear about your weaknesses so that you enter school and learn to improve upon them.

It follows that what the admissions committee wants to see in your essay or hear from you in the interview are two things – an awareness of what your weaknesses are, and a capacity or a will to improve upon them provided the right guidance and environment.

Knowing this is the key to crafting a great response to the adcom’s questions.

So how do you put this knowledge into actionable items?

Below is a 7-point checklist on what to do and what not to do when talking about your weaknesses in MBA essays and interviews.

• Don’t take it personally
• Be original
• Don’t hide your weaknesses
• Don’t try to turn a positive into a negative
• Don’t dwell on your weaknesses too much
• Avoid freudian slips, red flags, alarm bells
• Take it easy

Let’s try to understand what each one means.

Before you leave, check out our Mini MBA and Top MBA Admissions Consulting services.

How to Talk About Weaknesses in MBA Essays and Interviews

1. don’t take it personally.

Your MBA essay is not your personal diary and your interviewer is not your therapist. While it’s a good habit to keep a diary and try therapy for self-improvement , your MBA essay/interview is not the right place for these.

When the adcom asks you to talk about your weaknesses, what they have in mind are your weaknesses or failures in a professional setting. They aren’t very interested in your character flaws or your life struggles unless they have a direct bearing on your professional performance.

So what you are expected to describe here are situations at your workplace, or examples from your academics where you struggled.  

2. Be Original

This one’s a little obvious but it bears repeating. Only talk about weaknesses that you really have. Do not try to mention a weakness simply because it sounds cool, or because you heard someone else talk about it and get through.

Remember how in school, when we were asked our hobbies, half the class would say listening to music and playing cricket?

And then there would be one wiseguy ( it was almost always a guy for some reason) who, refusing to be dragged down to the level of average Joes and plain Janes possessing mundane hobbies, would come up with a hobby no one had ever heard of, simply to sound cool. Like lepidopterology.

Don’t be that guy in your MBA essay.

It is perfectly fine to have perfectly ordinary hobbies like listening to music and playing cricket. It is also perfectly fine to have outrageously unheard of hobbies like lepidopterology. Just make sure that whatever you say, you mean it. If you talk about a certain weakness, you need to make sure that it is something you’ve lived through.

Oh, and a lepidopterologist, by the way, is a butterfly collector.

Read more on the best extracurricular activity for college admissions .

3. Don’t Hide Your Weaknesses

Remember how Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones advised wearing your weaknesses like armor so no one could use them against you?

He had a point.

Everyone has weaknesses. If you try to hide yours, the admissions committee will see right through it.

Instead, be honest and talk about your weaknesses openly. You can even use them as an opportunity to show how you’ve grown and changed over the years.

For example, let’s say you have a weakness in math. You can talk about how you used to struggle with math in school and how you had to work hard to improve your skills. You can talk about how you’re now much better at math and how you’ve even been able to help other people improve their own math skills.

This shows that you’re honest about your weaknesses and that you’ve taken steps to improve upon them.  

4. Don’t Try To Turn a Positive Into a Negative

This is a classic mistake, related closely to the previous point that a lot of candidates make. It involves describing as a weakness something that is not usually considered a flaw.

For instance, when you mention things like being a perfectionist, or being too kind, or working too hard, what you are in effect doing, is dressing up desirable qualities to pass them off as weaknesses.

This feels disingenuous, like trying to stick colorful feathers on a chicken to pass it off for a peacock.  Your interviewer can easily turn it around into a sticky situation and trap you.

Imagine the following exchange:

Interviewer: What is your biggest weakness? You: I think I am too kind. Interviewer: I don’t think kindness is a weakness. I think it is a strength. *awkward silence*

To avoid this trap, instead of saying you’re too kind, you need to phrase it to convey that you lack the firmness to deal with people or that you’re not very good with people skills.

In other words, call a spade a spade.

5. Don’t Dwell on Your Weaknesses Too Much

This follows directly as a counter to the previous point. When talking about your weaknesses, don’t overdo them. You need to keep a balance.

For example, let’s say you’re asked about a time when you failed. You don’t want to spend the whole interview talking about that one time you failed.

Instead, you want to focus on what you learned from that experience and how it made you a better person. This shows that you’re able to learn from your mistakes and that you’re not afraid to fail.

What you want to emphasize here is that you’re aware of your weaknesses and that you’re taking steps to improve upon them.

6. Avoid Freudian Slips, Red Flags, Alarm Bells

This one follows directly from the previous point. When you talk about your weaknesses, make sure you do not reveal more than is necessary.

An example?

Suppose you say something like you have trouble being fully functional at work until you have had your fourth cup of coffee. Or You say that you have trouble waking up most mornings and reporting to work. Or You say that you prepare all your PowerPoint presentations after 7 PM with a sundowner in hand.

All these are behavioral traits that can be viewed as being symptomatic of deeper mental or physical health issues. They are best kept away from an MBA essay or interview.

7. Take It Easy

Finally, don’t spend too much time figuring out the perfect weakness.We know this is a kind of a long and somewhat intimidating list, but once you sit down with a pen and paper to think things through, it will all come together naturally.

Remember, that everyone has weaknesses and that you’re not alone in this. Give it a good thought, but it shoudn’t sound too stressed.  

Industry insider tips to answer the weakness question in Interviews

Some business schools do not specifically ask about strengths and weaknesses in their MBA essays. So how does the admissions committee judge these aspects?

“We practice holistic admissions and evaluate candidates across a wide array of behavioral-based evidence in their application packages,” says Erin O’Brien, assistant dean and chief enrollment and marketing officer in the University at Buffalo School of Management.

“We choose to explore a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses as part of our interview process, so that we can probe their responses in a deeper and more thoughtful way than limiting it to a written personal statement,” she adds.

We took the opportunity to dig a little deeper, and Erin had some interesting insights, advice and tips to share.

MCB: What advice do you have to applicants who are apprehensive about revealing their vulnerabilities during the interview?

Erin: Let’s face it, interviews for any graduate management program can be scary. While it’s a delicate balance, it’s also OK to reveal vulnerabilities during an interview – personally, I think it shows authenticity. So many interviews sound the same, and sometimes vulnerabilities can help positively differentiate you from the rest of the candidates. They have the power to show honesty, self-awareness, and a focus on continuous improvement – traits we strongly desire in our students. They can also show the human side of a candidate, beyond quantifiable academic performance statistics.

But, it’s best to be planned and directed when sharing vulnerabilities. As you prep for your interview, ask yourself how will sharing my weakness also provide evidence of something more positive – can I use it to frame resilience or persistence, skill or competency growth? Can I weave it into my motivation for applying to my graduate management program? And, make sure you include how you’ve worked to overcome this weakness or vulnerability, even if you haven’t quite solved it yet. Show how you have made the effort to improve. If you have actual results or behavior-based evidence of success, highlight them.

I think it is important to have guard rails, though, in this type of response. There are potential pitfalls if you choose to reveal a weakness or vulnerability that may be baseline required skills for entrance into the program. You’ll want to avoid those types of responses. Also, as with every answer in a graduate management admissions interview, don’t make anything up – be truthful and honest.

MCB: What are some of the top traits your team looks for in candidates that can help them get an admit in spite of weak areas like a low GMAT score or low GPA?

Erin: I tell candidates all the time, no one thing can rule you in or out. Just because you show up with a great standardized test score or outstanding undergraduate GPA, you still need to bring a portfolio of both cognitive and non-cognitive skills with you into your application. We want to see evidence of strong work experience, be it professional post-baccalaureate, volunteer or internship. We want to see behavioral-based evidence of skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, resilience, creativity, etc. We want to see positive progression, motivation and the ability to self-manage and adapt. These are all equally or sometimes even more important than GPA or test score.

Look at your application as a whole, an entire portfolio of elements. Draw a line between what may be a plus or a minus. If you have a minus, like a lower GPA or a lower test score, make sure you have a plus above the line that far outweighs any negative impact.

For example, if you have a lower GPA, but your undergraduate career was more than five years ago and you now have outstanding work experience showing lots of leadership potential, that’s going to minimize the negative impact of that GPA in our admissions decision-making. If you volunteered in a global experience, leading a team of others in a social impact project, that may far outweigh any negative impact from test scores.

Here’s an insider pro tip: you’re far more interesting than your GPA or test score. Tell us all about it. Chances are it will improve your potential of admission.

MCB: What is your advice to those who have career related issues including frequent career switching, career gaps or lay-offs?

Erin: My advice to applicants with resumes that may have gaps or frequent switches is really a call-back to my previous responses above: you are far more interesting than any single application data point.

Let’s start with lay-offs. Lay-offs happen – look at what’s happening in the tech world now. What I would want to know, as your interviewer, is, how did you pivot? This is a great opportunity to show resilience and creativity.

For gaps or career-switching, what is the story behind the gap or switch pattern? Was it intentional, e.g., did you purposefully make lateral moves to gain a wide variety of experience? Was it a condition of the industry in which you operate, e.g., were you in start-ups? What did you do with the gap time? How did you make it constructive and progressive? Was the switch or gap unintentional, e.g., is it a potential weakness?

Be truthful and honest…this may be an opportunity to showcase your adaptability and motivation for pursuing a graduate management degree, to hurdle the career plateau on which you found yourself switching job to job without advancement.

In the end, relative to all three questions and responses above, many applicants think business schools are looking for a homogenized portrait of traits and characteristics in the admissions process. Unfortunately, I think that’s a condition of being in a publicly-ranked market where applicants are trying to make themselves look like the “ideal” candidate.

However, that couldn’t be further from the truth! We are building a balanced cohort of different thoughts, perspectives and experiences for our programs. How boring would business school be if it were filled with only those who had the same profile – high test scores, similar experiences, the same type of work backgrounds.

How much more interesting will it be if you are in a cohort teamed with people who have vastly different opinions, points of view and backgrounds from yours, where you can learn new things from each other? Personally, I’d much rather be in that class.

Talking about your weaknesses is a complex task that requires self-awareness to understand and nuance to express. It is for this reason that MBA essays and interviews want to hear it from you.

Even if you haven’t been asked to talk about your weaknesses in the MBA essay, it’s good to have a few examples of your weaknesses ready to go, so that you’re not caught off guard in the interview.

By being honest and prepared, you’ll be able to talk about your weaknesses in a way that will show the admissions committee that you’re aware of them and that you’re taking steps to improve upon them.

You also want to make sure that you don’t dwell on your weaknesses too much. Instead, focus on what you’ve done to improve upon them.

A word of caution: Often, this question on weaknesses works in conjunction with other topics in the application essays or interviews. This is where it gets trickier. So make sure you understand the implications of what you’re saying, to avoid conflicting with your other answers.

MBA Crystal Ball has top admission consultants to help you answer this and other questions in your MBA application in the most effective manner. Drop us an email, if you need professional help: info [at] mbacrystalball [dot] com   Also read: – How to write great MBA essays – Common mistakes to avoid in MBA application essays – How to answer questions on the long term and short term goals – Many more top MBA essay tips – Best admissions consultant for ISB for winning ISB essay tips

Image credit: The Office

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How to Discuss Failures & Weaknesses in Your MBA Essay

May 10, 2023

The disadvantage of perfection

Demonstrating a growth mindset, using failure to your advantage, what kinds of failures and weaknesses can be used in mba essays, using stories to effectively discuss failures and weaknesses in your mba essay.

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UPDATE: This article was originally posted on June 6, 2019. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

When writing your MBA admissions essay, you want to shine. World-class programs are looking for leaders, visionaries, and reliable sources of future impact, and it is imperative that you show the admissions board that you are one of these candidates. 

You may think this means that you need to show them a straightforward history of success, a spotless professional record, and a flawless transcript. After all, top MBA programs are looking for perfect candidates, right?

Of course not. 

If your record is devoid of weaknesses, failures, or misadventures, it probably lacks authenticity. Nobody is perfect.

In fact, if your past reads as completely flawless, they may feel like you have not thoroughly reflected on your profile or their application questions. 

For MBA candidates, this has a twofold advantage: not only that you should not avoid talking about failures and weaknesses in your MBA essay, but that these stories can actually play to your advantage.

If you try to make a case to the admissions committee that claims you have a flawless record, this is unlikely to be successful. In other words, to allege perfection is likely to get your application set aside. This is because the adcom is looking for a pattern of success based on abilities of self-reflection, open-mindedness, and capacity for improvement . If you do not show that you recognize the fact that there is always more to learn, why should they let you into their school? 

After all, a school – including top programs like Harvard , MIT, or Yale – are institutions of learning . All schools implicitly value growth, improving on one’s weaknesses, and intellectual appetite in their candidates. 

Berkeley Haas , for example, emphasizes four defining leadership principles . Among other qualities, they define being a “student always” as a fundamental element of leadership:

“ We are a community designed for curiosity and lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. This is not a place for those who feel they have learned all they need to learn .”

The Berkeley admissions committee explicitly states that they are not looking for candidates who already have all the knowledge in the textbook but rather for students who can recognize the need to learn from their weaknesses. 

If you claim that you are perfect, you indicate that there is nothing left to learn . This is definitely not the impression you want to give the adcom. 

Top MBA programs are looking for students with what is called a growth mindset . This term was coined by Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University. 

Dweck explains the “growth mindset” in comparison to its counterpart, a “fixed mindset”: 

“ In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities. ”

According to this article by the New York Times , a growth mindset helps promote innovation. That being said, it is no surprise that elite MBA programs explicitly look for evidence of this in their applicants. 

MIT , for example, specifically looks for candidates who desire “ growth in both professional and personal endeavors. ” One of Kellogg’s essay questions even begins with “An MBA is a catalyst for personal and professional growth,” as they directly draw upon the growth-minded principle when selecting candidates.

Some schools are even explicitly looking for a growth mindset by asking you to reflect on your weaknesses or discuss a failure. Take INSEAD, for example, whose motivational essay questions request you do both:

 “Give a candid description of yourself (who you are as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors that have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary.” (approximately 500 words)

“Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned. (approximately 400 words)”

INSEAD knows that you must reflect on failure to continue growing, and outright demands this skill from their candidates. 

Remember, you are not trying to tell the adcom that you are perfect . Instead, you are trying to tell them how you use imperfection to your advantage to lead you to success.

Of course, talking about weaknesses and failures in an effective way can be tricky. If you are looking for help to determine if your essays are structured in a way that stands out to the adcom, don’t hesitate to check out our MBA Resource Center! 

There, you can find dozens of past successful essays and detailed brainstorming worksheets to help you plan out a winning essay. Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join !

The admissions committee for your t op MBA program is looking for future leaders who have experience making difficult, real-life decisions . 

People with experience are people who have made mistakes. This doesn’t mean that the adcom is looking for people who are failures. Instead, it means that they seek candidates who have learned from their mistakes and failures . 

This is great for MBA admissions essays. This means you can talk about a negative event in a positive light when you show the adcom what you learned from the experience . 

For example, in her INSEAD essay, our client Vanessa described a story about a professional failure like this: 

“My performance in this project would be the main factor in determining a full-time offer as an associate, so I decided to impress the project leader and do every task by myself. In doing so, I encountered difficulties that I could not solve alone – yet, I refused to ask for help, missing a deadline. By the time I did ask the project leader for help, I had not finished the task. This mistake was crucial. I learned that I have to ask for help when I encounter difficulties I cannot solve, especially when timing is vital. Luckily, learning from my initial mistake did not damage my relationship with the Project Leader; I had enough time to change this bad impression and received a full-time offer. However, this failure could have cost me a huge career opportunity.”

Vanessa uses this mistake to clearly show how she grew out of this situation. She thus successfully demonstrated a growth mindset by explaining how she learned firsthand about the importance of asking for help .

By demonstrating that you learn from your mistakes, see the need to improve on your weaknesses, and know that you still have a lot to learn , you can show the admissions board that you are the type of reflected leader that belongs at their school. 

Everyone has failed at one time or another. The range of experiences you could talk about in this regard is wide and varied. 

Failures may be reflected by a failed business venture, a missed target for a client, or a class you failed in college . All of these are professional experiences from which one can learn straightforward lessons that contribute to your growth as a professional. 

Take a look at this example from our client Guilherme. In his answer to Yale ’s question “Describe the biggest commitment you’ve ever made” (500 words), Guilherme describes his experience of starting his own business, only to realize that the best decision was to shut down the company: 

“Making the decision was not easy. I could have taken everything we had developed and pursued my entrepreneurial dream. However, that was not the kind of leader I wanted to be – someone who puts his selfish ambitions before the needs of his team. Doing what felt fair to all involved was more important, whatever the cost. Today, I am happy about my decision. I lost the business, but I gained the trust and confidence of my team. I saw entrepreneurship from another perspective and truly considered the difficult decisions business leaders face.”

Guilherme’s “biggest commitment” was not the venture itself but the decision as a leader to shut it down for the well-being of his team. Although he describes a professional failure, he also describes the success he won from it: how he grew as a leader .

However, these are not the only kind of failures that you could write about in your MBA essay. Some misadventures may be more subtle . You may have experienced letting down a colleague by not dedicating time to giving them the extra help they asked for. You may want to explain a failed presentation at work that made you look bad in front of your boss or team . However, the repertoire of failures and weaknesses is even broader. Personal failures are just as valid as professional ones – especially because our experts at Ellin Lolis Consulting find that it is important to have a good mix of personal and professional stories in your MBA essays.

Personal weaknesses may range from disappointing a good friend to a tendency for tardiness. They could include not fulfilling someone else’s expectations, deciding not to take over the family business, or the fact that you have trouble negotiating compromise . 

Last year, our client Conrad wrote about a personal failure while leading his sailing team in a regional competition. 

In his answer, Conrad explains that his team consisted of him and his five teammates, all expert sailors. However, an inability to work together, despite careful planning, led them to lose their first race of the regatta:

“I learned that to have a successful team, it is not sufficient to focus only on high-performing individuals. Instead, it is necessary to create a unified mentality that moved us toward the same goal. If given a second chance, I would begin our planning by emphasizing how we were all skilled sailors but that we needed to form a united team. Some of us might disagree with aspects of the strategy, but we must derive a single plan and stick to it, knowing that focusing our efforts is the best overall option.”

Here, Conrad learned an important lesson about leadership, an important quality in MBA candidates , and a good choice of topic for your MBA admissions essay. As you can see, strong professional lessons can also be derived from personal stories.

In fact, failures and weaknesses can also include much larger personal challenges. You may even find that themes like discussing dealing with addiction, coming to terms with your identity, or overcoming loss are powerful – and authentic – solutions for answering an essay question. This may be another way to creatively elaborate a change in industry or direction in your professional past. 

Which failures and weaknesses you want to discuss in your MBA essay are completely up to you. They will depend on your personal history and your ability to reflect on the not-always-so-shiny moments of your past. However, when you begin to investigate, you may find there is more to mention here than you originally imagined.

The best way to talk about failures and weaknesses – and, more importantly, the lessons you learned from these experiences – in your MBA admissions essay is by utilizing stories . 

Our editors at Ellin Lolis Consulting believe that using stories in your MBA admissions essay is an effective tactic for persuading the adcom that you deserve a spot in their program. By using storytelling , incorporating psychological storytelling concepts , and choosing your stories wisely, you can make your essays stand out and increase your chances of being admitted to your number one MBA program.

How to use stories to discuss failures and weaknesses

When using storytelling to discuss failures and weaknesses in your MBA essay, there are a few essentials to include. 

To effectively discuss a failure, the following elements must be clear : 

1) The problem : Why did the failure happen in the first place? Why did you act as you did in that situation from your perspective?

2) How you recognized the problem : How did you notice it was a problem? What further consequences did this problem have? 

3) How you overcame the problem : What did you do to solve this problem? What do you wish you would have done differently?

4) The lesson you learned from the experience : What was your takeaway from this story? How would you apply this lesson in the future?

It is important to include all of these elements to tell an effective story about failure or weakness. For example, take a look at how our client Andrey concisely discussed a weakness in his Ross essay last year. 

“I was humbled when I failed to implement a product’s preparation process at a retail store during a consulting project, leading to sales loss risks – besides client dissatisfaction. Later, the store’s manager eliminated parts of the process, completely redesigning it. His idea initially seemed like unfounded nonsense, as necessary data wasn’t being collected. However, the manager insisted on its success, so I tested his idea in two other stores: it was indeed agiler while maintaining effectiveness. I learned that listening to others is essential, even when our opinions diverge. The manager’s idea was subsequently shared with 300+ stores.”

Andrey does an excellent job of including all of these elements:

1) The problem : Andrey designed an ineffective process and, more importantly, did not listen to an alternative suggestion from his subordinate.

2) How he recognized the problem : The subordinate presented evidence of the effectiveness of the new solution. 

3) How he overcame the problem : Andrey decided to test the idea in other stores, which led to success.

4) The lesson he learned from the experience : Andrey learned firsthand that listening to others is important, even if he has a different opinion on the matter.

As you can see, all of these elements must be present to tell an effective and compelling story about failure . If one or more of these is unclear or missing altogether, you will not be able to make an effective case.

We Make Your Story Shine

One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA essays is that candidates fail to tell compelling stories . This is important because if your stories are not compelling, they will not be persuasive. At the same time, they must be backed by strong examples that establish a track record of success and prove to the admissions committees why you belong at their school. 

Striking this balance between content and creativity can be tough, however, as succeeding means not only choosing the right stories but ensuring they are told in an optimal manner. 

This is why our iterative developmental feedback process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting helps you mold your message through the application of our storytelling expertise until it reflects exactly what makes your profile stand out and show fit with your target program. 

No matter how long we work with you, we will always ensure your essays shine . Sign up to work with our team of storytelling experts and get accepted.

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INSEAD Essay 1 (Strengths & Weaknesses): Tips & Winning Essay/ Sample

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• Feb 2, 2023

From Flaw to Strength: 5 Weaknesses For Your MBA Application

Updated: Feb 1

Some business schools explicitly ask for weaknesses in their written applications. For example, the INSEAD MBA application includes a strengths and weaknesses essay:

“Give a candid description of yourself (who are you as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary in 500 words.”

While answering a question like this, you need to reflect on your work experience to identify a weakness that is, first off, undeniably a weakness, and second improvable. Think of something that is a trait or a skill that needs improvement. Humbly accept it and show how you’re working on improving it. Then pair it with a fierce strength of yours, especially something you’ve been applauded for at work, to balance it out and make a strong impression on AdCom.

But for those schools that don’t have a personal strengths and weaknesses essay, it’s also a question you should be ready to answer in your 1:1 interview , a mandatory part of most business school applications. These interviews are usually conducted by the AdCom or a second-year student and statistically you have a 50% chance of making it through to the school.

In these MBA interviews, a weakness question could come up in many ways, but according to our client feedback the two most common weakness interview questions are:

“Tell us about your biggest weakness”

“Tell us about a time you failed”

Don’t even think about brushing them off with a rubbish answer, such as “I’m a perfectionist”, thinking they won’t be able to see through you. Forget it. They definitely will. So, how do you identify a weakness for your essays and interviews? Let’s read further.

How to identify (a good) weakness

Admitting a weakness might look like it could harm your candidature. And yes, it could if you don’t approach the question in the right way, which is to find a genuine weakness and explain how you are working to improve it. This shows maturity, self-awareness and the ability to address an area for improvement. After all, if you were perfect already, you wouldn't need an MBA!

Instead of focusing on fundamental personality flaws, we suggest highlighting a skill that you are working to improve. To do this, make a list of the technical and non-technical skills that are required to succeed in your industry. Then, identify the skills you already possess and the ones you need to develop. Finally, select a skill that an MBA program could help you improve.

For example, if you find it difficult to share your innovative ideas with a room full of strangers, explain how this has affected you at work. Then talk about the actionable steps you have taken to improve this weakness. This could include taking on a hobby such as public speaking or acting. This approach demonstrates that you are action-oriented, have a growth-oriented mindset, are introspective and have the maturity to articulate your weaknesses. It also shows that you are not afraid of being vulnerable , a trait that is essential for success in an MBA program and in life.

Pro tip: One of the first steps we take with clients is to ask them to complete a Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test. Using this, you can identify weaknesses typical of your personality type. You can take a free personality test at 16personalities.com.

Take an MBTI personality test to find the weaknesses typical of your personality type

Now that you understand how to choose a weakness and discuss it in your interview, check out five examples of personal weaknesses that you may want to use in your essays or interview.

5 personal weaknesses examples for MBA applications

1. I tend to overlook details

“My biggest weakness is that I am not naturally detail-oriented, and tend to focus more on the big picture. As a project manager in my current job, I once lost a significant deal due to overlooking crucial details in the contract. Since then, I’ve been working on improving my attention to detail. For instance, I now take detailed notes during meetings and review them afterwards to ensure I didn't miss anything important. I also make a point of double-checking my work before submitting it, and have been delegating some of my tasks to a colleague known for their attention to detail. I’ll continue to improve on this during my MBA by systematically checking coursework for myself and my study team."

2. I tend to be overly self-critical

“Being highly self-conscious, I sometimes struggle with self-criticism. I often find myself judging my thoughts and ideas, which leads me to doubt my skills and abilities. Because of this, I sometimes get stuck in a continuous procrastinating cycle. Fairly recently, I missed out on an important project at work because I was afraid to open up and share my ideas with my teammates. To improve on this weakness, I’ve been trying to be more mindful of my thoughts and practice self-compassion. I try to remind myself that it's normal to make mistakes and that everyone has unique strengths and weaknesses. I also try to reframe my negative thoughts and turn them into positives. Practicing meditation and mindfulness techniques has also helped me focus on the present and not get caught up in negative thoughts. Recently, I was able to present my ideas one at a time to a prospective client without getting too caught up in my head, by taking these small steps. He was so impressed by my presentation that he signed a new contract. This is the biggest client account I have onboarded in my current role.”

3. I struggle to multi-task

“I can struggle to manage different tasks at the same time. This especially became challenging when I took over as an Operations Specialist, where I led the implementation teams for 10 different tier-2 cities across India. With so much happening on various fronts, I sometimes failed to meet the deadline or could not resolve supply chain issues with different city teams. My manager gave me feedback to use a platform like 'Notion' to manage project timelines better. She also advised breaking tasks into smaller goals and set a to-do list for each day. I have also started to delegate wherever possible so that my team becomes more efficient and self-dependent. Since implementing these suggestions, I’ve certainly improved my ability to multi-task and have received great feedback.”

4. I lose interest during execution

“I’m the Ideas person in my team. When we’re marketing a new product in our agency, I’m the one who devises an innovative marketing strategy and creates effective action plans. I love making chart boards and step-by-step plans and using data visualization tech like Tableau. However, when it comes to executing our strategies, my mind often moves onto the next project before the last one is complete. In my post-MBA role of Marketing Manager at a startup, I’ll lead the in-house marketing team where I’ll need to oversee the execution of our strategies while also devising new strategies. During my MBA, I plan to take the Operations elective with professor XYZ to help manage this.”

5. I can be reluctant to speak up

“Being an introvert, I can be reserved in meetings and after-work networking gatherings. While working with new teams, it takes me time to warm up to my teammates and openly share my ideas. However, I have recently acknowledged this weakness and am working on becoming more comfortable in social settings. I go out of my way to attend networking events regularly, where I challenge myself to initiate conversations with new people. I have also joined the Toastmasters public speaking club to help me improve my confidence. I am determined to continue to put in the effort to become more outgoing and confident in social settings, as I know it will help me achieve my professional goals."

We hope these 5 examples of weaknesses help you understand how to constructively share your weakness with AdCom during your interview. If you need help preparing for your business school interview, why not book a 20-min chat with any of our consultants and explore how our team can help you prepare for your MBA interviews.

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5 tips for stating PI strengths/weaknesses

Why does the evaluator ask this Question?

• To find out how well you understand yourself. The panel wants to assess you on your clarity of thought and there can be no better way to do so than checking whether you understand your strengths and weaknesses or not!
• To find out how your strengths are related to your past experiences and to future expectations. This demonstrates an ability to apply strengths in real life situations.
• Every person has some weak points. The evaluators would like to know whether you understand what your weaknesses are and how you plan to remove these weaknesses.

How to decide on your strengths/weaknesses?

• You should be able to justify your strengths and weaknesses by stating past experiences with examples. The width and depth of examples will define the sanctity of what you say.
• Examiners usually ask you instance where you demonstrated a particular strength or where a weakness landed you in problem.
• You should be able to justify how your strengths and weaknesses are going to help in achieving your future expectations. For example, if you are opting for a role in finance, good analytical skills would be an advantage. If you are opting for a career in HR, team skills and values become important. For a person interested in marketing, 'getting along well with people', 'persuasive skills' etc. become important.
• Interviewers would ask you questions on how your strengths and weaknesses can help in achieving your future expectations. For example, if you are someone with high levels of initiative, then you can project it as a trait which will facilitate your leadership roles in professional set ups.

Examples of Strengths

• Willingness to learn – which is critical for any learning program.
• Strong application orientation- which measures your ability to apply theory into practice and becomes imperative for a management program.
• High levels of initiative- which mark your ability to take first steps in the right direction.
• Temperament suitable for team work- which benchmarks your ability to collaborate with team members.
• Capacity for hard work- which is a basic requirement for contributing to a cause.

Examples of Weaknesses

• Impulsive- someone high on energy runs the danger of being restless and impulsive, at which point it starts affecting performance adversely.
• Over meticulous- while having an eye for detail is a positive trait, it starts operating as a hurdle when you get too fastidious about things.
• Set very high goals- which assumes the proportions of being unrealistically ambitious.
• Too curious- which is a disturbing trait as it leads to redundant intervention.

Avoid the following

• Do not state a strength merely because of its political correctness.
• Do not over commit under situational pressure.
• Do not state a weakness of character, like lack of integrity or fairness.
• Do not keep on unfolding with every goad the panel exercises to evoke a reaction from you. For example stating too many weaknesses  as the panel continuously pushes you into a situation where it keeps triggering you, may not go well!
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