Embracing Your Forward-Looking Memoir

If you are one of the candidates applying for the Round 2 deadlines, which at the time I recorded the video below are just over a month away, you are looking at writing a dozen, maybe even more, MBA essays.

If you put a dozen essays together, it will be like a small book! You could call it your forward-looking memoir because it will have chapters about your past, your present, and also your future.

Does the idea of writing a book intimidate you? Yeah, me too.

But there’s lots of good news when it comes to writing the collection of your MBA essays.

The goal is to win admission, not a Pulitzer!

First, you are not aiming to win a Pulitzer. While producing very well written essays is a must when you are applying to the most selective MBA programs, you don’t have to quite rise to the level of writing that lands you on the NYT’s bestseller list.

Second, there is a good amount of overlap between the essay questions of different MBA programs. And that spells good news for you because it means you will be able to reuse some of the content from one application to another.

But to take advantage of this opportunity to repurpose some of you writing, you need to understand the purpose of the MBA essays and the types of essays you will encounter.

Building a Strategic Framework for Success

If you begin your MBA essay writing with a strategic framework you will be much more likely to produce stronger essays and be more efficient in the process.

So today, I’m going to help you understand the four types of essays that you will meet in the MBA application process. Knowing this will enable you to stay organized but even more importantly, it will alleviate the dreaded “What do I write about?” that stumbles so many candidates.

And then over the next weeks, I will continue to do deeper dives into each kind of MBA essay so make sure to subscribe to this channel and especially the Sunday AdCom Insights newsletter where these updates are always shared first. The link to sign up for the Sunday AdCom Insights is in the video description below.

In creating this framework, I’m using what I’ve seen has worked REALLY well for so many MBA candidates that I’ve helped over the years. In Round 1 this year, every single MBA candidate who chose to use my comprehensive support got at least one interview from their top school choices. And some got interviews from ALL their schools, even when those schools were Harvard and Stanford.

And this is what we will do today. I want to help you look at your MBA essays through the lens of results and see how my framework is a stepping stone to get there.

Think of it as if you're wearing a pair of magical eyewear, opening up a view into the strategy and steps the most successful MBA candidates take so you, too, can work towards your goals with the sharp focus that brings the best results.

Unveiling the Four Types of MBA Essays

OK, let’s dive in. And let’s look at two of the most important essays out there – from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School.

Here’s what HBS asks in their only essay and what Wharton asks in their essay 1.

HBS asks: “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?”

Wharton on the other hand asks: “How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals?”

At the heart of the HBS essay are some big questions. Who am I? What made me the person I am today, the one seeking admission to one of the most selective programs in the world?

The Wharton essay on the other hand, much more narrowly asks about what your plans for your MBA are. What goals have you set for yourself and what would you need to achieve them?

The Wharton essay is a pretty classic career vision essay.

HBS is what I call a philosophical essay. One that requires you to consider how you view the world and your place in it.

Now, let’s take a look at two more examples.

The second Wharton essay asks you: “Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community?”

In essence, Wharton is asking you what your IMPACT has been. It encourages you to examine your background, which really means your track record, personal and professional and link your past actions to your future ones.

OK, one more example and then we will talk a bit more about how all this fits together into a useful framework you can use.

In one of its essays, Columbia Business School asks you: “Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you academically, culturally, and professionally?”

If you had to guess what type of essay this is, what would you say?

If you are nodding your head and saying “well, this is an essay about fit, Petia”, you would be right! It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?

And these are exactly the four categories of MBA admssions essays that you will encounter.

The Four Flavors of MBA Essay Questions

You will see essay questions about your career vision, essays about school fit, essays about impact, and essays that I call philosophical or existential.

Now, do all essays neatly fit into just one category? No! There is always some level of overlap between them.

A goals essay will always require some amount of demonstrating school fit as you discuss how that particular program with all its features and resources will help you realize your professional vision.

So in one of the next pieces, coming soon, we will dive even deeper into the similarities and differences between the types of MBA essays and how to use this framework to smartly and efficiently approach finding the building blocks for each essay and the actual writing of your MBA essays.

[This is an article you don’t want to miss: Take Your MBA Essays to Unexpected Places]

Onwards and upwards,

Petia