2019–2020 MBA Essay Analysis: Chicago Booth, Columbia, Harvard
How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? With these thorough essay analyses, our friends at mbaMission help you conceptualize your essay ideas and understand how to execute so that your experiences truly stand out.
This week, we round up essay analyses for The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Columbia Business School, and Harvard Business School.
CHICAGO BOOTH ESSAY ANALYSIS 2019-2020
When releasing its MBA application essay prompts for this year, the admissions committee at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business noted that after completely recasting its questions last season, it received “responses [that] disclosed amazing insights into our applicants’ professional aspirations as well as personal interests.” So why change them, right? Again, candidates must respond to two short, direct essay questions that, interestingly, have stipulated minimum—rather than maximum—word counts. In the past, when Chicago Booth required only one essay, we often suggested 1,000 words as a guide; now with two essays, we propose keeping your responses to 500–600 words each. Approximately double the minimum seems to be a reasonable high-end target, though you will not be rejected from the applicant pool for going even higher. That said, we would recommend 1,000 words per essay as the absolute upper limit, and only in exceedingly rare cases.
Returning to the prompts, the school’s first essay is a very traditional career essay, in which you will need to reveal that your MBA is a well-thought-out professional imperative and that Chicago Booth is the clear bridge to your future. In the second essay, you have an opportunity to turn inward and share more personal aspects of your character and journey. With the two pieces together, you should be able to provide the admissions committee with a well-rounded picture of yourself. To continue reading, click here.
Watch: mbaMission’s Jeremy Shinewald helps you tackle Chicago Booth’s 2019–2020 application essay questions…
COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAY ANALYSIS 2019-2020
One of the first top programs to release its essay questions for this season, Columbia Business School (CBS) is again hitting candidates with a mix of old and new prompts. Its goal statement from 2018 has been relabeled as a short-answer question but has changed in no other way, while its first essay prompt—also about applicants’ career aspirations—has likewise remained the same. The school’s second essay question has been tweaked slightly to concentrate less overtly on the value of CBS’s Manhattan location and more on the program in general, though we would argue that in the end, the new prompt is intended to elicit much of the same information as last year’s. As for the third essay, applicants may be glad to learn they do not need to discuss and reimagine a past team failure (who wants to dwell on a defeat, right?), but they will instead need to look inward and reveal their values. Read on for our more detailed analysis of the program’s 2019–2020 questions.
Watch: mbaMission’s Rachel Beck helps you tackle Columbia Business School’s 2019–2020 application essay questions…
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAY ANALYSIS 2019-2020
The 2019–2020 MBA admissions season kicked off with Harvard Business School (HBS) releasing (or shall we say rereleasing) its single application essay prompt. Once again, HBS has made no changes to its question. HBS Managing Director of MBA Admissions Chad Losee, now entering his fourth application season, must feel the prompt is effective in eliciting the kind of information the admissions committee finds valuable in evaluating potential students. Our analysis of the prompt and advice on the best way to approach it therefore also remain constant. To continue reading the analysis, click here.
Watch: mbaMission’s Jeremy Shinewald helps you tackle Harvard Business School’s 2019–2020 application essay questions…
Download: Before you apply, be sure to check out the following free resources from mbaMission…
Insider’s Guides:
For a thorough exploration of each business school’s academic program, unique offerings, social life, and other key characteristics and resources, we recommend downloading a complimentary copy of our school-specific Insider’s Guides. Informed by firsthand insight from students, alumni, program representatives, and admissions officers, our Insider’s Guides offer a detailed look at each business school’s most defining characteristics. According to Poets & Quants, “A more thorough analysis of a school will not be found elsewhere on the web.”
- Insider’s Guide to the Chicago Booth School of Business
- Insider’s Guide to Harvard Business School
- Insider’s Guide to Columbia Business School
Interview Guides:
Take the next step towards mastering your business school interview by downloading mbaMission’s free Interview Guides. Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and intimidating, but mastering this important element of the application process is definitely possible—the key is informed preparation. And, on your way to this high level of preparation, we offer our free Interview Primers to spur you along.
- Chicago Booth Interview Guide
- Harvard Business School Interview Guide
- Columbia Business School Interview Guide
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