Most master of business administration (MBA) programs require each applicant to write an essay. The applicant’s core values, an explanation of why the applicant is applying, the applicant’s accomplishments, and the applicant’s interaction with others are the four types of MBA essays. Regardless of which of these four types of essays is requested, most MBA applications may also include supporting material or additional questions.
the most important values MBA essays concentrate on the applicant’s guiding beliefs or experiences, as well as what an MBA degree will mean for those values. The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, for example, requires an essay that explains how the applicant’s values will improve the Kellogg experience for all students in the applicant’s class. The MBA application process at Stanford University requires applicants to explain why and what matters to them.
Essays that focus on why an applicant is applying require an explanation of why the applicant is applying at this particular time in life and how it fits into long-term career and personal goals. This type of essay is required, for example, by the University of Chicago’s MBA program. In most cases, the reasons essay also asks applicants to describe specific personal or professional life experiences that led to their application to the program.
Accomplishment MBA essays emphasize the applicant’s accomplishments prior to applying. As a condition of admission, many MBA programs require professional work experience after college graduation. MBA essays detailing professional career accomplishments are required at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, for example.
Some programs ask for an essay about how the applicant has influenced others or how others have influenced the applicant. Among many other materials, Harvard University requires MBA essays that focus on a defining experience in the applicant’s life. Other programs ask for an essay describing how the applicant lived out his or her values and how those values impacted others.
Within these broad categories of MBA essays, each program has its own set of requirements, which can be incorporated into the application essay or submitted as supporting documentation. For example, the University of Chicago requires a slide presentation to accompany the essay. Some programs require a second essay on the applicant’s global viewpoint. Many programs require applicants to write a secondary essay about a positive or negative team experience they had and what they learned from it.