Archive : MBA Essays

Recently we wrote about the Haas application deadlines for the coming admissions season. Today we’ll dig into the school’s admissions essays for 2010-2011.

Recently we wrote about Chicago Booth’s admissions deadlines for the coming year. Today we dig into the school’s admissions essays, which have changed quite a bit since last year.

The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business has released its application essays for the 2010-2011 admissions season. (We wrote about the school’s upcoming MBA admissions deadlines last week.)

Darmouth’s Tuck School of Business recently published its admissions essay topics for the 2010-2011 application season. You’ll see that some of the questions have changed a bit vs. last year’s essays, although Tuck still hits on the same themes this year. That suggests that the school still feels that these themes (e.g., leadership and overcoming adversity) work well for the school in terms of finding applicants who are good Tuck material.

Imagine the business school application of the future: Rather than spending weeks on dozens of revisions of multiple essays, you sit down at a computer and give short verbal responses to questions, which are recorded via a webcam and uploaded to your target business school’s online application system. Sound crazy? It’s not necessarily as far away as you might think.

A few weeks after releasing its application deadlines for the coming year, the school has published its admissions essays. Here they are, followed by our comments in italics:

A couple of weeks after releasing its application deadlines for 2010-2011, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business has released its admissions essays for the coming year. Ross has made some very significant changes to its essays this year. While the school’s Round 1 deadline is still more than three months away, now is a great time to start mapping out your application strategy, starting with these essays.

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management recently released its admissions essays for the coming year. While Kellogg’s application won’t be live until early August, now is a great time to start mapping out your essays for a Round 1 application to Kellogg.

A couple of weeks after announcing its application deadlines for the coming year, Stanford GSB has released its MBA application essays for 2010-2011. Bucking the trend that some other top business schools have exhibited so far this year, Stanford hasn’t made a single change to its essays. Accordingly, our advice mostly remains the same.

After releasing its application deadlines a few weeks ago, Wharton has just released its admissions essays for the Class of 2013.

The Yale School of Management has released its application deadlines and admissions essays for the coming admissions season. Here they are, followed by our comments in italics.

Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business has released its admissions essays for the 2010-2011 season. They’ve made some pretty interesting changes this year, so let’s dig in. Our comments are in italics.

Last week Columbia Business School released its online application for the 2010-2011 admissions season. Oddly, they seem to make applicants create two accounts on their site: One on their “Inside MBA” site and one on Apply Yourself, which actually hosts Columbia’s online application.

If you were wondering whether the 2010-2011 MBA admissions season could really upon us already after Wharton released its application deadlines last week, then wonder no more. Yesterday Harvard Business School announced its application deadlines and admissions essays for the 2010-2011 season. Here they are, taken from Harvard’s site. Our comments are in italics:

(Today’s post is a guest feature by Darren Kowitt, one of Veritas Prep’s most experienced MBA admissions consultants and essay editors. He shares some insights about what makes a great manager, and how these lessons also apply to crafting an effective business school application.)

(This is the final installment in a series introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back soon to see what else we have in store!)

(This is Part 9 of series on the Veritas Prep Blog, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more admissions essay tips!)

(This is Part 8 of series on the Veritas Prep Blog, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more admissions essay tips!)

(This is Part 7 of series on the Veritas Prep Blog, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more admissions essay tips!)

Continuing our new MBA admissions video series, this week we investigate how some of our admissions experts attack the process to help their applicants write knockout admissions essays. This clip covers two important steps that every applicant should take — one tactical step at the beginning, and one strategic step closer to the end of the process.

(This is part of series on the Veritas Prep Blog, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more MBA admissions essay tips!)

(This is part of a new series that we will roll out over the next several weeks, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more MBA admissions essay tips!)

Continuing our new MBA admissions video series, this week we ask how personal someone should get in their admissions essays, and how much personal information is too much. One thing that we always tell our clients — and admissions officers frequently tell their applicants — is that they shouldn’t be afraid to get personal in their essays. Admissions officers don’t want to only read about your accomplishments; they want to get to know the real you, and that means sharing a piece of yourself, even if it means revealing some vulnerability.

(This is part of a new series that we will roll out over the next several weeks, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more MBA admissions essay tips!)

(This is part of a new series that we will roll out over the next several weeks, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more MBA admissions essay tips!)

(This is part of a new series that we will roll out over the next several weeks, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more MBA admissions essay tips!)

(This is part of a new series that we will roll out over the next several weeks, introducing our readers to our proven 10-step process for writing great admissions essays. Check back often for more MBA admissions essay tips!)

As we round out our analysis of the top MBA program’s application essays, here are Columbia Business School’s application essays and deadlines for the September 2010 intake. Everything remains pretty the the same since last year, but we’ve put everything to make sure our readers have everything they need. Our comments follow in italics:

As we round out our analysis of the top business schools’ admissions essays for the coming season, today we look at The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business’ admissions essays. Ross’s essays actually carry over completely unchanged vs. last year, and so our analysis remains pretty much the same.

With application season around the corner, the law school personal statement is becoming a hot topic around the Veritas Prep offices. With applications projected to rise for the 2009-2010 season and the personal statement increasing in importance, students are desperate to ace this difficult assignment and improve their chances. Unfortunately, the best efforts to do so are often misguided. As the basketball coaching legend John Wooden once said, “Never mistake activity for achievement.”

MBA Essay Map: View all business school essays, side by side, in one succinct view.

The UCLA Anderson School of Management has released its admissions essays and deadlines for the coming application season. Here they are, followed by our comments:

Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business won’t release its full 2009-2010 application until mid-August, but the school has already announced its application deadlines for the coming year, and has also spread the word that its admissions essays will carry over unchanged from last year.

Recently we posted the Haas School of Business’ application deadlines for 2009-2010. Haas has since posted its admissions essays for the coming year. Our comments follow in italics:

The Chicago Booth admissions office recently announced its admissions deadlines and application essays for the coming year. These will help you start planning your Chicago Booth application. Our comments follow in italics:

Yale SOM Director of Admissions Bruce DelMonico was kind enough to reach out recently and let us know that Yale has posted it application essays and deadlines for the coming season. It looks like Yale has significantly overhauled its essays for the coming year, going with shorter essays that will require brevity and focus.

(This is the fourth in a series of blog posts in which Julie DeLoyd, a Veritas Prep GMAT alumna-turned-instructor, will tell the story of her experience through the MBA admissions process. Julie will begin her MBA program at Chicago Booth this fall. You can also read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 to learn Julie’s whole story.)

Recently NYU’s Stern School of Business released its application essays for the the 2009-2010 admissions season.

We recently visited NYU Stern and met with the admissions office as part of the second annual AIGAC conference in New York, and we came away impressed with how much the school has innovated with special academic and job-related programs. Take a look at Veritas Prep’s NYU Stern information page to learn more about the school and see if it’s a good fit for you.

Several weeks ago Wharton released its application deadlines for the coming admissions season. Now, the school has released its admissions essays for the coming year. If you plan on applying to Wharton, even if you don’t start working on your essays for a couple of months, we recommend that you at least review them now to familiarize yourself with the subject matter you will need to cover in your Wharton application.

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management has just released its admissions essays for the coming year. While the school has not yet released its application deadlines, Kellogg applicants can start digging into these essays now.