How to shine in your MBA “School Fit” Essay

In the MBA admissions process, you can think of each of your MBA essays as a thread.

Each thread represents a facet of your qualifications.

Among these threads, one strand stands out as the linchpin that can either weave a seamless masterpiece or leave a scrambled and unconvincing picture. It often ends up being the difference between “admit” and “deny”.

That essay is your “School Fit” essay. Often overshadowed by the excessive focus on GMAT scores and resumes, for the savvy MBA candidates, the “School Fit” essay is the place where they know how to shine.

In the world of MBA admissions, understanding how to strategically demonstrate fit through your essays is often the part that can make or break your MBA application and determine its success.

In this article, I’m going to use my experience as a former Dean of MBA Admissions to show you why the MBA school fit essay is so critical and how to create your own great one.

Examples of MBA School Fit Essays

First, let’s begin by looking at a couple of examples of “classic” school fit essays.

One comes from UC Berkeley Haas, which asks “The Berkeley MBA program develops leaders who embody our four Defining Leadership Principles. Briefly introduce yourself to the admissions committee, explain which leadership principle resonates most with you, and tell us how you have exemplified the principle in your personal or professional life.”

Another example comes from Columba Business School. One of their essay questions is “Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you academically, culturally, and professionally? Please be specific.”

So how do you tackle these two essays – or similar ones from other schools?

The key is understanding each school’s culture – and demonstrating how you belong as a valuable future addition to the school community.

But what does this look like in practice in the MBA application process?

Understanding MBA program culture: The foundation of your MBA “school fit” essay

When MBA candidates start thinking of the MBA application process, the first thing they search for is the class profile at their target schools. They beeline straight to it and they start obsessing about how their GPA or years of work experience compare and what GMAT or GRE they should target.

Schools take tremendous pride in their class profile and the class profile is directly linked to their position in the rankings.

But I am here to tell you it’s important for you to take a minute first and read the school’s mission statement.

Let’s read Harvard Business School’s mission:

“We educate leaders who make a difference in the world.”

Do you see a mention anywhere of “we educate leaders with a median GMAT score of 730, ideally ones who have a 3.8GPA”? Nope. And you never will.

So here is my message and task for you. As you embark on your MBA school fit essay, remember that the mandate of any MBA admissions committee is to FIND the type of leaders the school aims to educate, shape, and deliver to the world of business and to society really.

And as a former Dean of MBA Admissions, I can assure you schools take their mission seriously.

Everything the school’s leadership does flows from their commitment to the school’s mission and that’s reflected in who they choose to invite into their community.

When you become an MBA student, that school’s brand will be yours for life – and you will be part of the school’s community and brand for life too.

That is a notion that the major stakeholders of any school – the faculty, the dean, the trustees, overseers, alumni board, and alumni community – take very, very seriously.

So understanding WHO the schools are looking for will help you approach creating your own MBA candidacy through a different lens.

And this brings us to the first step in writing a compelling School Fit essay, which is to understand the culture of the institution you're applying to.

You can’t barely scratch the surface and only look at MBA rankings and reputation.

If you want to be successful in convincing your dream MBA program that the two of you are a fit, you’ll need to dig much deeper than this!

So how do you do that? Well, first of all, I very much hope you didn’t wait until it was time to start writing your essays to actually dig into deciphering the culture of your target MBA programs!

Hopefully, you are watching this video with plenty of time to do what is required here.

As you start exploring your understanding and interpretation of it, there are three areas that you should focus on to understand school culture.

Core Values and Mission of your Dream MBA Program

As I mentioned earlier, the first is to research the school's core values and mission statement. These are typically found on the school's website. Don’t just give them a quick glance. Take notes on what these values are, what they mean to you, and how they resonate with you personally and professionally.

A quick insider tip here: Avoid generic statements like "I value diversity." Instead, be specific. You can say, "The school's commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive community aligns with my experiences working in multicultural teams at Company XYZ."

Academic Programs and Opportunities

The second place to examine is the curriculum: the academic programs, courses, and experiential opportunities the school offers. Identify those that align with your academic and career goals. Consider how you will explain how these programs will contribute to your growth.

Another insider top: Don't just list programs; connect them to your aspirations. For instance, "The school's Tech MBA program, with its focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, perfectly complements my goal of launching a technology startup."

MBA Clubs and Extracurricular Activities

Next, research the many student clubs, organizations, and extracurricular activities available. Identify those that genuinely excite you and explain why they resonate with your interests and passions.

Specific Advice: You can mention a club or activity that aligns with your personal interests and career goals. For instance, "I am enthusiastic about joining the Social Impact Club, as it reflects my commitment to creating educational resources for underserved communities."

Now, researching these three areas is something you can do on your own and do it quickly. But there is another important step that will require much more time and effort.

That area is school engagement.

School Engagement: Show Your Top MBA Programs Genuine Interest

One of the questions MBA candidates frequently ask is how important school engagement is for getting admitted. Too often they approach it as just another checkbox during the MBA admissions process.

School engagement is an important part of the MBA application process but not simply to guarantee you have covered the minimum requirements for demonstrating school interest to the MBA admissions committee. (And no, there are no “minimum requirements”. There is no “Five events and you are in, seven events and you even get a scholarship!” rule!)

The most important part of school engagement is to actually help you better assess the match between your MBA candidacy and the MBA program of your interest.

So if you are writing your “school fit” essay, hopefully you’ve already done your homework of attending school events and connecting and having substantial conversations with current students and alumni.

Some of the stories from these interactions, highlighting what you've learned and how it shaped your decision to apply, even when they are simple and brief, can add great value to your essays.

Alignment with your target MBA programs: Demonstrating Shared Values

At the heart of an outstanding school fit essay is your ability to connect your values to the school ones.

Your School Fit essay should be a natural blend of your story and the school's story. Showcase how your experiences have prepared you to thrive in their unique environment.

The school fit essay is the perfect place in your application that shows not simply why you need an MBA, but why that MBA class needs YOU.

It should reflect not only why you want to be part of the school but also why the school should want you as a part of their community.

How will you show up as a student?

How will you make this school look good for years to come as an alum?

The more specific you are about who are you going to be as an MBA student and why that MBA program needs you, the better your chances of admission.

Now, you may be thinking, this is all well and good but where does the differentiation come from?

If everyone who hears your advice follows the same approach, won’t we all look the same?

The answer is no. No, you won’t.

Even if you inevitably mention the same classes and clubs as some other MBA candidate, that doesn’t mean you are going to blend in.

Your differentiation will come from your “how” and your “why”.

Having read thousands of applications over the course of my career, I can tell you with complete confidence that if you include enough details about how and why you do things and how you will show up as an MBA student, your candidacy will never look the same as someone else’s.

Now, remember, in the earlier videos from the MBA essay series, I talked about how the notion of “fit” goes beyond just one type of essay.

So don’t limit your thinking of demonstrating fit to apply only to the MBA essays that specifically ask about fit. You should consider the “fit” lens in multiple places throughout your application and the entire MBA admissions process.

Bonus tip: Don’t show simply how you will benefit. Think – and show! – how you will contribute.

If you haven’t watched the previous videos on MBA essays, watch them now. They will help you approach the MBA essay writing more effectively. And if you are not on the insider list of those who receive my Sunday AdCom Insights, sign up now – the link is in the description. The Sunday AdCom Insights are where I give you the latest and most important MBA admissions trends from the current admissions cycle. It’s also where I break down how MBA candidates create winning applications. It’s a great way to fuel up with insights and inspiration every week as you work on your MBA applications.

Onwards and upwards,

Petia