Category Archives: Analyzing the Applications

MBA Admissions Essays are Disappearing

By Kyle Watkins (last updated: October 14, 2019)

How to Make the Most of a Shrinking MBA Admissions Application

MBA admissions essays are quickly disappearing. In fact, an applicant applying to the top ten MBA programs today would be required to complete fewer than half as many essays today as she would have just five year ago. And – she’d have to do it in a lot less space, with the average word limit per essay a mere 75% of what it used to be:

Since last year, HBS has no longer required that applicants write any essay (although only 10 of the 9,543 candidates that applied last cycle actually opted not to submit one). Wharton, meanwhile, moved to require only a single essay of its applicants this year. Even Columbia and Haas, the only programs among the top ten that still require applicants to write more than two essays, have reduced the word limit that applicants are allowed.

Why Essays are Disappearing

Having read many applications, I can attest to the fact that you don’t need four essays and 2,000 words to gauge an applicant’s compatibility with a program. So I don’t mean to cynically suggest that business schools’ motives are entirely self-serving here. With that said, however, logic holds that requiring fewer essays and shorter word counts – essentially decreasing the cost to apply – will increase the number of candidates that submit applications. Increasing the number of applicants will, in turn, decrease a school’s admittance rate, making the school seem more selective and helping to keep the top-ranked programs top ranked.

Additionally, there’s no doubt that reducing the number of application essays also reduces the burden on busy admissions staff. Ensuring that there are fewer essays to read will also ensure that fewer resources are required to do so, something any admissions director could get behind.

Finally, admissions committees are likely looking for a more focused story and essay set from their applicants, who can meander quite a bit over the course of 2,000 words. This raises the next logical question, which is what fewer essays should mean for aspiring applicants…

What it Means for Your Applications

The reduction in essays has been a pretty remarkable shift, and it certainly has consequences for applicants applying this year:

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Wharton Essay Analysis

By Kyle Watkins (last updated: July 10, 2014)

Wharton Business School Essay Tips for the 2014-2015 Admissions Cycle

Over the past five years, Wharton has steadily decreased the number of essays required in its application. This year, that trend continues, as Wharton announced that it will require only one, 500-word essay, a far cry from the four essays totaling over 2,000 words that it required half a decade ago.

At face value, this may just be an attempt by Wharton to reverse the decline in applications they saw with the Class of 2015, the latest class for which stats are available:

Percent Change in Number of Applicants

 

Requiring less essay writing lowers the cost of applying, likely increasing the number of applications Wharton will receive (and also making the school’s admissions stats seem more selective – something that can only help it stay at the top of the US News business school rankings).

But this change also raises the stake for applicants, who have a lot less space to capture the attention of the Wharton admissions committee. In about half the words that are in this blog post, candidates must answer:

What do you hope to gain both personally and professionally from the Wharton MBA?

The question is nearly identical to the prompt provided for last year’s applicants, which asked, “What do you aspire to achieve, personally and professionally, through the Wharton MBA?” Perhaps this biggest different is the word choice Wharton used to set up the question. “Hope to gain” is a lot more down to earth than “aspire to achieve” – likely a subtle cue to applicants that went a bit overboard with their answers last year. Wharton isn’t looking for applicants dreaming of solving poverty and ending hunger; they want to get to know you in a very personal and real way. The shift in language is a subtle hint at that, and something applicants should be mindful of when they’re deciding how lofty they want to make their goals.

Last year, Wharton made a similarly subtle shift in this essay question, which previously had read, “How will a Wharton MBA help you achieve your professional objectives?” The addition of the word “personal” last year was an important prod to get applicants to talk more about their passions and values, as well as their professional ambition and vision. The admissions committee wants to know how you’ll participate in the broader school community – and what you expect to gain from that involvement. It wants to know how you think you’ll grow as a person, so you have to go beyond the commonplace reasons almost all applicants give for why they want an MBA: enhance their skill set and grow their network.

So, given all of this, what does a good Wharton essay response look like? Here are the keys:

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Columbia Business School Essay Analysis: Part II

By Kyle Watkins (last updated: July 6, 2014)

We pick up where we left off last week, analyzing the essays for the 2014 Columbia Business School application. Part I of this post is available here.

Essay #2

Please watch this video. How will you take advantage of being “at the very center of business”? (250 words)

There are two easy ways to botch this question, so let’s tackle each in turn.

1. Don’t just talk about New York City.

Last October, Columbia Business School unveiled a new branding campaign and tagline: “At the Very Center of Business.” This essay question is a not so subtle attempt to see how closely applicants were paying attention.

As Columbia notes, the campaign is supported by four pillars:

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Columbia Business School 2014 Essay Analysis: Part I

By Kyle Watkins (last updated: July 6, 2014)

Columbia University’s Butler Library at nighttime

Columbia Business School made some subtle but important changes to its essays this year, so let’s take a look at each of the questions that applicants will have to answer.

We’ll analyze each essay question in a two-part series, beginning with part I below, in which we take a look at Columbia’s short answer question and first essay prompt for applicants in the 2014-15 season:

Short Answer Question

Goal: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? Examples of possible responses:
      1. “Work in business development for a media company.”
      2. “Join a consulting firm specializing in renewable energy.”
      3. “Work for an investment firm that focuses on real estate.”

Three important words describe the very specific type of goal that Columbia is asking applicants to describe here:

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Analyzing the Applications: the MIT Sloan Essay Questions

By Kyle Watkins (last updated: October 15, 2019)

The MIT Sloan School of Management lays out five characteristics that it looks for in candidates for its MBA program:

  • Leadership and an ability to inspire others
  • A collaborative spirit and focus on community
  • Intellectual curiosity and analytical strength
  • Creativity to generate new solutions to existing challenges
  • Growth in both professional and personal endeavors
MIT Sloan School of Management Admissions Essays

MIT Sloan main building – E62

These five character traits should serve as a checklist for any student developing his or her application to Sloan’s MBA program. As you consider the different pieces of your MIT Sloan admissions application, each often fits very naturally with one or more of these characteristics. For example, your recommenders should demonstrate your ability to inspire others and focus on the community. Your GMAT, GPA, and undergraduate transcripts should speak to your intellectual curiosity and analytical strength. Your resume should showcase your personal and professional growth.
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HBS MBA Admissions Interviews

By Kyle Watkins (last updated: December 17, 2013)

At precisely noon Wednesday October 9, 2013, HBS sent a first wave of interview invitations to many of its Class of 2016 applicants. On Wednesday October 16, at exactly the same time (noon), more invitations will be extended. Unfortunately, no one really knows how many.

Last year the school apparently sent most (some say close to 90%) of its first round interview invitations in the first batch. This year however many believe that the split might be more balanced between the first and second wave of invites. There is no solid basis for this assumption other than data publicly available on GMATclub and other MBA discussion boards. If you receive an invitation today, we would appreciate to read about it. So feel free to leave a comment below or send us a short email.

According to Dee Leopold, “there will also be some “Further Consideration” decisions. This means that [HBS is] unable to invite you to interview now, but [they] wish to keep your application under consideration. In Round 2, [HBS] will be either inviting you to interview – and you’ll move along on the Round 2 timetable – or “releasing” you. (…) There will be information in the Further Consideration decision letter about a contact person (…) in Dillon to answer questions and keep you informed. Of course, you may decline to stay in the process and withdraw your application at any time“. Harvard Business School will also be sending “deny” decisions to unlucky candidates on October 16.

We’d like to wish best of luck to everyone, and for the happy few who receive the coveted email from Dillon House today, it is time to prepare for the last step of your application.

In no time at all, the first group of candidates will indeed be up at Dillon House or at admissions outposts around the globe sitting down to their interviews with HBS admissions committee members. While we have been writing about the HBS interview process for a while on this blog, we thought it would be helpful to bring all of our resources together in one place:

What it’s like to interview at HBS: My own personal account of what it is like to interview at HBS, from receiving the email inviting me to interview to receiving the phone call congratulating me on my admittance.

Mastering Every Admissions Interview Question: Advice and tips on how to best prepare for an MBA admissions interview — at HBS or any other MBA program.

Post-Interview Reflection: Guidance on how to approach preparing for, drafting, and sending HBS’s 24-hour post-interview reflection email.

If you’re still looking for guidance, please reach out to us via our free consultation link or via [email protected]. We’re happy to help, even with last-minute questions and requests. Also make sure to give our MBA Matching Algorithm a try and let us know what you think.