weakness mba essay sample

Strengths & Weaknesses MBA Essay Examples

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Strengths & Weaknesses Essay Samples

Many MBA applications include a strengths and weaknesses essay prompt, either directly or indirectly.

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In the meantime, see examples of strengths and weaknesses essays from our successful admits below.

My diverse upbringing and career choices have provided me with a broad skill set that I intend to further cultivate in business school. My analytical and interpersonal skills have been integral to my success, and I aim to further enhance these skills while also honing my leadership abilities at Kenan-Flagler.

Analytical skills are instrumental in my role as a planner at Fossil Inc where I combine historical sales metrics with current trends to forecast sales opportunities and maximize sales potential nation-wide. Working on a tight budget, I scrutinize sales and inventory reports to make the most accurate allocation and purchasing decisions. My precision in forecasting has led my team to achieve the most productive product assortment of any Fossil merchandise category. Most recently, I architected the Holiday 2010 Sunwear assortment purchase for North American stores by determining which silhouettes sold best in different geographies and which price points were the most effective in certain regions. For instance, large round shaped frames are not as productive in many west coast and Hawaii stores as these shapes do not fit Asian faces as well. Also, customers are less price-sensitive in Las Vegas and New York, as most of the customer base is tourists who are willing to pay higher prices. Because of my precise analysis of purchasing trends, I created a highly accurate assortment purchase and led my team to achieve same-store comparative sales of +6% in October, a result that had not been reached in over 14 months.

Interpersonal skills have also driven my career success to date. When working with the international planning department, I was quickly recognized for these skills and was selected to serve as an ambassador to our international counterparts when they visited the corporate headquarters, directing them to meetings and organizing break-out sessions with the individual planning groups. Due in part to my strong interpersonal abilities, I was moved to the domestic planning team where I have relished the challenge of more corporate and executive exposure. I quickly became the contact person within the stores planning department for the entire Sunwear business, partnering with our wholesale teams to discuss best practices and sales drivers.

While I have also been recognized for my leadership skills, leadership is a strength I intend to leverage in the future as I progress up the management ranks. Recently at Fossil, I assumed an ad-hoc leadership role on my team and was selected to be the new store coordinator based on my performance. Organizing meetings, communicating critical milestones and ensuring flawless execution of product delivery, I have led the store planning team in the opening of 18 new global sites in 2010 and will lay the framework to open an additional 50 sites in 2011. At Kenan-Flagler, I plan to continue my leadership development by assuming the role of team leader on a STAR team, where I will gain unmatched real world and leadership experience and skills. I also intend to leverage the “continuous learning cycle” method and the leadership development program at Kenan-Flagler to evolve into a recognized leader in my newly launched career.

?Leadership ability is one of my greatest strengths. The most vivid example of this ability was my role spearheading the move of our $3 billion Wealth Management business from Matstone to GTR amid the chaotic financial system meltdown and the collapse of our firm in 2008. My attention to detail, organization, and capacity to adapt quickly resulted in significant progress, but it was my ability to effectively delegate responsibilities and empower team members that enabled us to be successful. As a leader, my open-minded, results-driven style made me more productive and respected and I used feedback from my team to make effective changes in my management style. My versatility and self-awareness elicited a positive response from my team members, which was reflected in their attitudes and in the quality of their work. The end result: today we operate as one of the largest and most successful teams at GTR.

Another area of strength is my communication skills, which are essential to building and fostering relationships in the financial services industry. The dynamic interrelationships of markets and the growing complexity of financial products regularly exceed clients’ levels of sophistication and it is my job to interpret and explain these investments in a language they can easily understand. During Matstone’s bankruptcy, I interacted in person and over the phone with our panicked clients to comfort and reassure them we were actively seeking the most accurate information and consistently looking out for their best interests.

An additional strength is my ability to think analytically across a wide spectrum of interrelated disciplines, from trading to developing investment solutions, to estate planning and operations. In Wealth Management, decision-making occurs in real-time and requires the ability to proactively synthesize large amounts of information and react accordingly. I earned the CFA designation in 2008 to further develop my analytical skills and it is this critical thinking ability that has drawn clients to seek my advice and perspective, adding value to our team and to GTR. I look forward to leveraging my creative and teambuilding skills while capitalizing on the diverse curriculum offered at Kenan-Flagler. The STAR program, for example, will provide me with an entrée into the consulting field and the opportunity to work collaboratively with students and global business leaders, turning real world business challenges into profitable business solutions. As a varsity “athlete” at Kenan-Flagler, I am also eager to utilize these skills as an active participant in case competitions, leading my team to a first place finish over Duke University in the “Battle of the Blues.”

Philanthropy is also an integral part of my life and I intend to leverage my extensive non-profit leadership experience while continuing my commitment to community service at Kenan-Flagler. As a leader of the Kenan-Flagler Habitat for Humanity Project, an organization for which I have done extensive work, I can contribute to an MBA culture that exemplifies a positive impact on society and supports leadership development on campus and in the UNC-Chapel Hill community.

I define myself as a person with strong values, intelligence, passion and perseverance, who is committed to making a difference in her country and her region. These qualities were instilled in me at an early age by my family and my environment.

My father’s death when I was one year old changed my life significantly. To cover her grief, my mother put her focus on my education during my pre-school years. Through her commitment I entered school directly into the second grade and since then, I have succeeded in doing many things earlier in life. Although, at times I was put in situations I was not really prepared for, including entering university as a precocious age of 15 years old, on the whole, I have matured faster than people my age, built a strong character to overcome challenges, and become self-confident. These qualities have helped me achieve success both personally and professionally: I was a top performer in my marketing career in three international companies; I lived and thrived in three different foreign countries; and most recently, I started my own venture.

My mother also instilled in me a strong moral character. That strength, coupled with my problem solving skills, makes me a good leader; I have led teams successfully in diverse situations with different leadership styles, from an intellectual style based on data-driven decision-making and strong analytical thinking, to a more participative style, requesting ideas and fostering teamwork. I am aware of my weaknesses too: I am impatient, it is difficult for me to deal with ambiguity, and sometimes I react quickly and emotionally. To overcome these weaknesses, I keep a log of the situations that trigger them so I will be more careful in the future. I also seek out coaching from people who are strong in these areas, and read relevant self-help materials.

Starting my own venture helped me further develop perseverance and overcome my impatience. Launching my company was very difficult because I lacked a network in Chile, knowledge of the country, and experience starting a business. However, with perseverance and creativity I learned how to make an impact and provide a compelling offer to local companies, I also learned how to absorb negative answers and deal with adversity. After the success of my first project, people learned about my good service and my business is now well positioned.

Perhaps the most important aspects of my upbringing in Canada was seeing the difficulties poor people face first-hand. I am aware of the advantages I have received, and I am passionate and committed to improve the quality of life of all North Americans.

One of John’ greatest strengths is his personal drive. Even though he has a full workload, often requiring weekend work, he requested authority to hire and manage an intern this year too. Though it added to his work-load, John felt that an internship program would give us an opportunity to develop talented young people for future positions, while providing local students with the experience they need in today’s competitive job market. John has also taken this opportunity to build on his own management and delegation skills. However, drive alone does not translate into high performance. John is extremely intelligent; he grasps and synthesizes complex concepts quickly. I can think of numerous instances where I explained a complicated accounting concept to John, and he quickly demonstrated a firm understanding and incorporated it into a financial model. Also, John stands out among his peers for his work ethic. We can always count on him to take on extra projects with immediate deadlines. It is never necessary to ask John to stay late or put in extra time as he takes the initiate to put in whatever it takes. Moreover, he completes these extra projects by the deadlines every time, while continuing to complete his standard duties in a timely manner as well. Finally, John is committed to giving back. He places a high priority on contributing his time to help Oregon State students. Additionally, he coaches the varsity girls’ volleyball team at a local high school.

The Library Foundation’s (TLF) motto reads that “the love of learning is the guide of life.” I have always lived my life to this effect, majoring in History and studying and travelling abroad whenever possible. Desiring to give back and inspire others to follow their own love of learning, I became involved in TLF, initially through fundraising and later through a program called The Upper School Awards, whose proceeds go towards scholarships for local, underprivileged students. I volunteered to co-chair the awards committee and read through each application. I was honored to present these awards to the recipients in a ceremony at the TLF headquarters.

Following this effort, I further collaborated with a TLF Board member to spearhead a Fundraising Committee, not only to continue raising money for the Upper School Awards, but also to fundraise for member events and speaker series, and eventually launch a small endowment. We created a proposal and presented to the Board, discussing the reasons why we felt this committee would be fruitful to TLF, our monetary goals for the year and specifics as to how we planned to raise money through donations and special events. The Board ultimately voted in favor of the Committee and members of the association recognized my dedication to the organization and its cause; as a result, I was elected to become the youngest Executive Committee Member on TLF’s Board.

Through this experience I learned that I am adaptable. When asked to co-chair the High School Awards committee, while I did not have direct experience in education, I used my analytical skills and love of learning to select three well-qualified individuals for scholarships. I also learned that I am skilled at communicating effectively not only in the corporate world, but in the non-profit world as well. For instance, I determined it would be worthwhile to invest our limited funds to generate a small return. While other board members had suggested this to no avail in the past, I performed my own due diligence and clearly communicated my findings in layman’s terms to the Board, which ultimately signed off.

Through this experience I also learned that I could be impatient when others are resistant to change, as was the case when I suggested investing our funds. Ultimately, I was successful in this pursuit. However, next time I will approach impatience as an opportunity to find a useful solution, rather than a hindrance in accomplishing a goal. Additionally, I learned that I have difficulty accepting that a non-corporate environment could have a different pace, and there weren’t necessarily the same kinds of experts to which I was accustomed. I am learning to adjust my expectations and in turn take advantage of learning about concepts in non-profits with which I am unfamiliar.

I hope to continue following my love of learning by pursuing an MBA at Tuck. In doing so I am confident I will bring the same enthusiasm for teamwork, adaptability and effective communication as I did to TLF.

I am a leader, and I would like to emphasize a few characteristics I have found to be especially important in terms of my leadership skills. In my opinion, the biggest challenge of leadership is taking responsibility rather than assigning it. I’ve always taken responsibility. For me, personal example is not a slogan, but a regular practice. I believe that a real leader is someone with full integrity and high moral standards and all my life I have striven to keep the highest standards in my personal and professional lives.

I am a very open minded person. While I believe in myself, I am also highly self-critical. My gift, as a journalist, has been to interact with a lot of people who are smarter and more experienced than me. I believe I am a quick learner and for me, criticism is a means of self-improvement. I must admit that I make many mistakes, but I try not to repeat them and to understand what went wrong in order to improve in the future.

I’m a man of action and not a man of words. I know that this statement sounds funny coming from a journalist, but I truly believe first in action. The Jewish leadership includes two items: responsibility and action. A Jewish leader is judged on his deeds, rather than his words.

I tend to make difficult decisions on my own, rather than reaching out for help. This is an advantage when the process requires speed and decisiveness, but I believe that I need to be more open to discussion and that is something I have been focused on improving. I am a very curious individual; over the years I’ve gained an extremely large base of knowledge, but I acknowledge that I lack international exposure as someone who has never been away from my home for more than 4 months. I’m also aware that I don’t have the broad base of knowledge required of a 21st century global manager. I believe studying at HBS could help to address these weaknesses.

Lastly, I am an ambitious and determined individual. My efforts are to keep those characteristics in balance so they will be strengths and not weaknesses. A thorough understanding of personality brings me to the conclusion that balance is the key differentiating factor between strengths and weaknesses. Most characteristics are neutral in nature and the way that you use them determines whether they become a weakness or a strength.

Since an early age, balance has played a critical role in my personal growth. I define balance as embracing new activities and perspectives that challenge me, broaden my worldview, and ultimately allow me to enrich my work environments and communities. Consciously maintaining a balance in all elements of my life has trained me to be versatile and has helped me develop numerous strengths. My team leadership and adaptability skills have grown most under this philosophy.

My life-long passion for team sports culminated in a leadership role as a member of Colgate’s Division I lacrosse team. Although I was not the most physically gifted athlete, I compensated for my lack of innate skill with a dedicated work ethic, uncompromising team loyalty, and strong performance under pressure. A consummate student, my experiences during the first years on the team taught me that the most effective leadership style requires a mix of leading by example and leading by instruction. Recognizing that I was developing these attributes, our coach selected me as captain my senior year. In turn, I leveraged this strength to help lead the team to the Patriot League regular season title.

Subsequently, I have applied the team leadership skills developed on the field to my career, where I have led several teams. Most recently, I partnered with the Global Head of a new sales team at AllianceBernstein to execute the strategic direction of the company. In this role, I have collaborated with multiple levels of stakeholders to determine that we should shift the firm’s sales strategy from one focused on equity products to one oriented towards alternative investments.

Although I have been successful in my post-collegiate career, my career alone does not define me. I am deeply involved in several non-work activities, adapting to each activity’s demands in order to meaningfully contribute. In particular, I embrace and thrive in a diversity of environments. To maintain ties to nature, I annually climb fourteen-thousand foot mountains in my native state, Colorado. To maintain ties to team sports, I captain a club lacrosse team and race for a cycling team in New York. To maintain ties to the arts community, I supportively patronize emerging artists and am a young member of the MET. My most meaningful non-career activity, however, has been my work with two philanthropic organizations in New York: the Fresh Air Fund and Year-Up. Each group supports at-risk urban youth from New York’s five boroughs. My involvement has been balanced between ground level support, tutoring Fresh Air Fund students and mentoring Year-Up participants, and fundraising support, ensuring the organizations have resources to achieve their goals.

While my adaptability and team leadership skills will allow me to immediately contribute to the MBA program, I believe my perspective on seeking balance is the strength that will enable me to truly enrich the McCombs community. I plan to share my experiences and skills with fellow students while leveraging the full resources of the school to gain not merely a degree, but a broadening educational experience.

Living in Malaysia was a defining moment in my life. I attended an international school where I developed an appreciation for diversity as I interacted with people from countless countries and societies. My experiences living and traveling abroad also shaped many life choices I made going forward. I chose to attend Tufts University because of its diverse population, international relations coursework, and extensive study abroad opportunities.

These international experiences have been beneficial thus far in my career, namely in working with global teams at Fossil. These skills will also be an asset to the McCombs community, enabling me to effectively work with diverse classmates on team assignments and club activities. My understanding of other cultures will help me relate to my international peers, serving as a link, when needed, between international and domestic students. While at McCombs, I plan to be an active member of the International MBA Student Association and Graduate Marketing Network. I believe that the purpose and team building on which these associations are built are fundamental components to both a well-rounded MBA experience and an extensive global perspective.

Living abroad also instilled a desire to give back to my community. My family participated in a number of company-organized community outreach events in Malaysia, inspiring me to serve my community since. After college, I decided to focus my efforts on two organizations where I feel I make a substantial impact: Vickery Meadow Learning Center, an ESL center in an impoverished neighborhood, and Attitudes and Attire, a women’s outreach program. My work with both organizations involves helping diverse people turn their lives around, whether it is through teaching English or offering job interview advice. These are highly rewarding experiences as evidenced by my long-standing tenure at each. I strive to hold a leadership role in the Net Impact Student Club, and leverage my business knowledge to help solve social issues in the Austin community. I also plan on making an impact on the Net Impact Club and McCombs community by proposing new local organizations, namely ESL centers, so that my peers can experience their inspiring nature and create personal relationships with the greater Austin community.

I also believe that my retail industry experience will add richness to classroom discussions, and my knowledge of trend identification, strategic data analysis and sales forecasting will be valuable for case studies. Furthermore, because of the entrepreneurial spirit at Fossil, I have sharpened my persuasion skills, as I often propose visual statements or other initiatives to the executive team.

Both my diverse upbringing and retail industry background will bring a fresh perspective to the McCombs classroom and community. Moreover, my involvement in the McCombs community will not end at graduation; I plan on being a dynamic member of my local McCombs alumni chapter. Exposure to diversity and investment in the community are key initiatives in my life, and I intend to make a significant impact at McCombs, both as a student and an alumna.

?One way I’ll enrich the McCombs community during my two years in the program will be by sharing my passion for community service. Giving back is incredibly important to me for a number of reasons, most prevalently because there were times in my youth when my family was on the receiving end of charitable giving. That experience left me with a deep and unwavering commitment to the people and organizations that help families through hard times. I’ll be eager to share this passion by challenging my fellow students to use their unique skills and knowledge to improve the lives of less fortunate people. At McCombs I’ll look to bring my experience as a Life Circuit board member to the Board Fellows program and will work with Net Impact to organize a student trek aimed at meeting and evaluating successful nonprofits in an effort to share best practices and strategy with local nonprofits.

Another way I’ll enrich the McCombs community is by bringing a unique, creative perspective, both inside and outside the classroom. Since graduating with a degree in creative writing, I’ve continually found ways to apply the creative processes I refined in college to problems and opportunities in business. When the Life Circuit faced the inherent challenge of maintaining long-term communication with the homeless youths on the street, I developed an outreach program that relied on social networks, public library computers and a small but spirited troop of volunteers. When LOCO converted to a new data management system, I developed alternative uses for the program that significantly improved my team’s data mining efficiency. At McCombs, I’ll continue to deliver creative solutions and ideas, specifically in terms of innovative approaches to economic development and social capital management.

I’ll also enrich the McCombs community by sharing my passion for health and wellness. Living an active lifestyle became an important part of my life a few years ago when I set out to compete in an Ironman Triathlon, which is a 140.6 mile race composed of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a full 26.2 mile marathon. I had never been much of a runner or biker, let alone an endurance athlete, so the experience was a transformative process. My goal was to go from “everyman” to “Ironman”, and after roughly eight months and over 700 hours of training, I was able to do just that. Going through that transformation motivated me to help others live healthy lifestyles. Now I’m passionate about creating inroads to wellness for novices like me and I write about these efforts on my blog. We all live busy lives and often experience fitness in waves of motivation. However, I have a core belief that when it comes to wellness, a small effort goes a long way and we are all much closer to a healthy life than we realize. Through student clubs, forums, and launching events such as fitness themed fundraisers for nonprofits, I’ll spread this philosophy and passion at McCombs, where I expect to find many students eagerly trying to maintain balance between work, school and personal health.

My first major project as the new store coordinator was arguably one of the largest milestones in Fossil Inc.’s history. A local Fossil Clothing concept store was undergoing a major transformation. The re-opening of this store marked the first full-fledged “lifestyle brand” site, and all corporate staff members, both domestic and global, were eyeing the implementation of this project closely. With the annual proforma rising by 200% and an unparalleled amount of money being spent on the state of the art light fixtures, wall displays, and check-out counter, this site was a very expensive testing ground and astonishing results were anticipated. The execution of this new store opening had to be airtight, and I was determined to deliver tremendous results. When I was presented with the responsibility of launching the new lifestyle brand location, I immediately took action. In order to effectively communicate critical information to my team, I needed to understand the vital tasks involved in a successful store opening. I began attending team meetings with the various departments involved in the new store process, compiled each team’s key objectives and timelines, and kept all team members updated on project progress via email and meetings. In order to balance my new leadership role and my everyday job duties, I knew serious process changes had to be made or I would find myself living at the office.

To ensure the successful execution of this project in the most efficient manner, I established new communication strategies. I created an unprecedented template that displayed the most critical projects pending completion from each team. Amended weekly and distributed to all departments, this template helped all teams involved plan and coordinate tasks better with other teams. I also arranged for the store manager to visit the corporate office, so that my team could field any merchandise questions and explain the financial objectives that needed to be met.

Two weeks prior to the store opening, I received word that the Board of Directors wished to view the space in its completed form the day before the official re-opening. To fill any inventory gaps, I enlisted the support of our wholesale and ecommerce partners. The evening before the Board visit, there were still some key items pending delivery, so I arranged a hand-carry of merchandise from the warehouse to the store and helped with last minute aesthetic touch-ups.

The presentation of the new lifestyle brand location to the Board was a huge success for all teams involved, not to mention critical in my leadership development. I needed to make a solid impression on my colleagues in order for them to fully trust my leadership and organizational skills in my new role. After the project reached completion, I was applauded by my peers for my embodiment of two of Fossil’s Core Values: “Be Resourceful,” and “Be Relentless.”

In reflecting on this experience, I initially found myself struggling with time management, working late hours and inefficiently juggling the two responsibilities. Thus I learned the power of communication in leadership and developed new communication documents and a hands-on approach to correspond with the field team. I not only streamlined my communication to all teams, but was also applauded for my entrepreneurial and resourceful abilities.

Moreover, my experience during this project taught me the ability to think strategically under pressure and take the necessary measures to react to challenges with confidence and positivity. In doing so, I demonstrated my relentless attitude and secured the confidence of my colleagues from my quick, yet calculated response to providing a seamless early viewing of the store to our Board. The store remodel was a huge accomplishment for both the Fossil brand and me. The store has far exceeded financial expectations, and since then, I have played a large role in the successful execution of 18 global Fossil sites in 2010 and will lay the critical framework to open another 50 sites in 2011. ?

My team at Knoxland manages LOCO’s international trade operations. In early 2010, I led a project that became a defining leadership experience in that it challenged my quantitative and analytical abilities, as well as my ability to inspire innovation while managing a group of my peers.

After a long-term review of an ongoing operational problem, I presented a plan to management aimed at reducing LOCO’s risk exposure and operational costs. I asserted I could lead a small cross-functional team to analyze trade flow at boutique brokers and ultimately reduce trade risk and costs by developing customized data management solutions to meet the unique needs of broker-dealers in small and emerging markets.

Once management consented, I began the work of executing the plan. I outlined the project with colleagues from different business units, emphasizing the value it would create for our client. I gained the support of foreign broker representatives by highlighting the benefits they’d see through an improved system. And eventually, once all parties were on-board, I led the cross-functional team to orchestrate the technology review and data customization process.

The plan relied on extensive collaboration between operations specialists and IT teams from firms around the world. As project manager I managed deadlines, set goals, mediated conflicts and guided overall strategy. But the more rewarding aspects of the project centered on training my team to address problems creatively.

Each boutique broker presented a different set of technological and operational limitations. By helping my team develop unorthodox and nonstandard solutions, we overcame each broker’s unique set of challenges. I did this by empowering my team to allocate resources and time towards exploring ideas and alternative approaches to longstanding processes.

When the project was complete, LOCO’s risk exposure and operational costs were reduced and an array of longstanding problems resolved. I was pleased to have created added value for our client and proud to have left a lasting footprint on the methods my colleagues now employ when approaching operational problems and solutions.

The experience gave me a great deal of valuable insight into my strengths and weaknesses as a leader. I reaffirmed that effective communication is a key leadership skill and one that demands constant attention. Had I not successfully persuaded managers across a number of departments that the project would strengthen our client relationship, I wouldn’t have had the cross-functional support needed to carry out the project. By highlighting how the project’s success could regularly be quantified and how it would serve the ongoing mission of our division, I was able to get the project off the ground.

Another personal take-away from the experience is that I thrive in a team setting, in part, because I lead by building consensus and advocating collaboration. During each stage of the project, from the initial planning through the final stages, I made it a point to gather feedback from each member in the group in terms of how they felt we should move forward. This was especially helpful since the team was cross-functional and few of us had detailed insight into the challenges each department would face, but it was also helpful because when it came time to execute the plan, each member had a strong sense of ownership in our approach. One personal weakness that surfaced during the project was my inexperience managing direct reports. I learned I tend to rely on collaborative, consensus-building leadership because I have room to grow as a “directive” leader. While I expect leadership via collaboration to be a constant and vital aspect to any MBA program, to be a successful CEO I’ll need to be proficient leading a team of subordinates in a non-restrictive, non-authoritarian manner. I want my direct reports to thrive, personally and professionally. As a result, part of my MBA experience will be about exploring opportunities to develop my personal “directive” leadership style, such as holding leadership positions in various clubs, soliciting feedback from students and faculty, and through specific leadership classes such as Leading People and Organizations and Creating and Managing Human Capital.

It was June of 2005. I had just completed three long years of flight training and was on my way to my first operational squadron. I couldn’t wait to get there, start learning how to tactically employ the F-18, and go on my first deployment. After all, the war on terror was raging and that is why I had signed up three years earlier. But when I arrived, I found out there would be one more detour. I was immediately sent for three weeks to the Naval Legal Justice School where I received a crash course on the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), the laws that regulate behavior in the Armed Forces. After the training, my first job in the squadron would be Legal Officer. A Legal Officer handles administrative paperwork, investigates alleged violations, gathers evidence, and advises the Commanding Officer (CO) on how to best deal with sailors who have found themselves at odds with the law — specifically, what punishments could and could not be legally rendered. I initially thought the job would be no big deal — a few weeks of training and then an hour or two a day dealing with legal matters. I could not have been more wrong.

To begin with, I quickly realized that law school is three years, and not three weeks, for a very good reason. There was simply more to learn than you possibly could in three weeks. Plus, up to that point in my career, I had only been in flight school where my sole responsibility was learning to fly. Now, one month into my first operational tour, not only was I overwhelmed by the new tactics I was expected to learn and execute in the airplane, but I also had a completely different set of skills to master.

Second, it became readily apparent that being the Legal Officer entailed a lot more face time with the CO than most brand new officers were comfortable with, including me. Because violating an accused sailor’s rights can cost a CO his job, he took a great interest in mine. In fact, every time he asked me a question, he wanted the answer yesterday. I also learned that the CO had spent twenty years in the Navy waiting for his chance to be in charge, so he didn’t like being told that he couldn’t do something. While he was very knowledgeable on the inner workings of the Navy, he was unfamiliar with the rules of the UCMJ. So, as the newest member of the squadron, I had the precarious task of advising the boss on what he could do and, on occasion, telling him what he couldn’t.

My initial thought was the squadron made a mistake; someone of my rank and experience should not be given this much responsibility. After I let the overwhelmed feeling sink in, I had to step back and evaluate the situation. What weaknesses were preventing me from doing an outstanding job? I realized I had to get organized, both with my time and study management. Like it or not, I now had two very important jobs to learn. Second, I had to be more assertive when speaking to authority. I had the knack for analyzing a situation and developing a strategy; I just needed to develop my communication skills so that I could effectively convey those options to the CO without negatively affecting my career. By putting these realizations into action, I became more comfortable in my role and over time I even began to enjoy the job. About a month before I was relieved by a new Legal Officer, the CO approached me at a squadron social function. He put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eye and said, “Wanted you to know that you’ve done a great job,” the ultimate compliment for a new officer.

SBC’s star-studded consultant team is unparalleled. Our clients benefit from current intelligence that we receive from the former MBA Admissions Officers from Kellogg, Booth and every elite business program in the US and Europe.  These MBA Admissions Officers have chosen to work exclusively with SBC.

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• Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (11 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Ross MBA Essay Guide (31 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (10 Sample Essays + Two 25 Random Things Samples) (New!)
• Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays) (New!)
• Winning MBA Essay Guide (Harvard + Stanford + Wharton + Columbia + Booth + MIT + Kellogg + Darden + Yale + NYU Stern + Haas + Ross + Duke Fuqua + INSEAD + LBS + Tuck) (245+ Sample Essays) (New!)

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Stanford MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) 

• Sample Why Stanford MBA Essay (Consulting)(396 words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA Essay (Tech Entrepreneur) (389 words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Finance to Green Energy Consulting) (388 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Private Equity to Operations) (384 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Industry and Function – Oil & Gas to Consulting in Operations) (389 Words)    
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Design Engineer in Automobiles to Managing the Products of the Future) (391 Words)    
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Career Switching (Accounting to Private Equity) (395 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Dual Degree (MBA and Public Policy) (380 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA: Dual Degree (Investment Banking to Venture Capital) (393 Words)     
• Sample Why Stanford MBA:  NASA Missions to Mitigating Risks of Global Flooding (393 Words)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (613 Words)(Balance in Life)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (645 Words)(Veterans PTSD and Healing)    
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (649 Words)(Vulnerability and Learning)    
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (642 Words)(Education and Investment)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (602 Words)(Freedom and Commitment)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (646 Words)(Savor Every Moment and Be Present)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (632 Words)(Power of Restlessness)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (619 Words)( The Slums, A Tragedy and the Search for a Systemic Solution)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (640 Words)(Privilege to Serving the Most Vulnerable)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (Generative AI, Bias, and Safety) (649 Words)     
• Sample Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (Truth from Interpreting Right, Left, and Centre Narratives) (648 Words)    
• Sample Stanford MBA Positive IMPACT Optional Essay (Flexible Hours for Working Mothers)(200 Words)    
• Sample Stanford MBA Positive IMPACT Optional Essay (Cross-Functional Collaboration to Mitigate a Toxic Culture) (192 Words)    
• Sample Stanford MBA Positive IMPACT Optional Essay (Introduced Analytics for monitoring performance) (200 Words)   

Download Stanford MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (24 Sample Essays)

Harvard MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – The Power of Community (Private Equity Applicant) (781 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Entrepreneurship as an Identity and supporting minority Entrepreneurs (664 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Following Passion and consciously challenging oneself (711 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Life Starts at No (618 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Establishing a Cooperative and Transforming Rural Telecom (695 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Small Business Values during COVID crisis (852 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Military and the search for IMPACT (826 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Numbers to Healthcare Entrepreneurship (820 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – The American Dream and Harvard’s Peers (662 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay - Volunteering (Marketing in Volunteering) (Mental Health Awareness) (758 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay - Stoic Disregard for Setbacks and value of Freedom (636 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Consulting vs. the Power of Data (535 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Guilt of working in the Oil & Gas Industry (592 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Breaking Away from Family Business (607 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Trauma, Healing and Finding Authentic Self (843 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Crypto As a Tool for Good (687 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Finding Creative Solution in Scarcity (834 Words)    
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Passion vs. Talent (882 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Starting Over Again (861 Words)     
• Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Gaming for Good (840 Words)    

Download Harvard MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (20 Sample Essays)

Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Booth Goals Essay #1: Oil & Gas to Consulting (474 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #2: Social IMPACT to Marketing (469 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #3: Accounting to Entrepreneurship (490 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #4: Technology (Programming to Product Development) (493 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #5: Media Sales to Consulting (Food and Beverages Industry) (522 Words)   
• Sample Booth Goals Essay #6: Economic Development to IMPACT investing (586 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are:Father’s Restaurant Business and Leadership (451 Words)
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Teaching and Scientific Temperament as a Virtue (654 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Learning from Tragedy (610 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Risk Taking and Learning (Reimagining the Food Supply Chain)(628 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Nature or Nurture (Hunting and Conservationism) (497 Words)   
• Sample Booth Tell Us who you are: Single Parent and Entrepreneurship (631 Words)

Download Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Essays)

Columbia MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 1: Enterprise Technology to Consumer Marketing (495 Words)
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 2: Healthcare (Finance to Consulting) (499 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 3: FinTech (Product Manager to Strategy) (473 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 4: IMPACT Investing (Accounting to IMPACT Investing) (447 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 5: Digital Strategy – Media Technology (Journalism to Media Tech) (454 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Goals Essay 6: Scaling Boutique Investment Management Firm (492 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Onboarding a non-traditional Candidate (243 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Changing Biases in the Algorithm (244 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Improving Women’s Success Potential (Oil & Gas Industry) (245 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Recommending Unionization (Railway Project) (250 Words)    
• Sample Columbia PPIL Essay: Recommending Social Media Controls (Liberal Applicant with Conservative peers) (247 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Value from NYC (246 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Auto Manufacturer (Family Business – Value from EIR) (249 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Unique Insights from Mentors (250 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Strategic Direction for a Once in a lifetime Opportunity (249 Words)    
• Sample Columbia Fit Essay: Real Estate Development with ESG Goals and Columbia EIR’s Expertise (242 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #1 (Tech Entrepreneur) (286 Words)
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #2 (Father) (275 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #3 (Mother) (279 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #4 (Math Teacher) (289 Words)    
• Sample Columbia MBA Leader I admire Essay #5 (Co-Founder) (285 Words)   

Download Columbia MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (21 Sample Essays)

Wharton MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 1: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Consulting to Finance) (493 words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 2: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (VC to Consulting (Healthcare))(477 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 3: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Business Development to Finance (Non-Profit in Energy))(495 Words)
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 4: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Digital Marketing to Marketing Strategy) (498 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 5: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? General Management (Consulting – Building a Strong Management Fundamentals and International Perspective)(498 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 6: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? IMPACT Investing (Experience Outside Govt. Organizations)(490 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 7: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Incubation & Angel Investing to Venture Capital) (471 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 8: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Tech Entrepreneur to Product Manager with Strong Business Fundamentals) (497 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 9: Math Tutoring and Experimental music’s value for the Wharton Community (388 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 10: Non-Profit – Obesity Epidemic and Healthy Lifestyle at Wharton (398 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 11: Non-Profit – Energy-Efficient Offices for Start-ups and value of Design Thinking in the Wharton Community (392 Words)
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 12: Non-Profit (Personalized Education for Low-Income Students) (397 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 13: Process Innovation in Investment Banking (360 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 14: Radical Solution for the Hispanic Community in Philadelphia (400 Words)    
• Sample Wharton MBA Essay 15: Climate Change – Shaming to Inclusive Strategy with Empathy (392 Words)  

Download Wharton MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays)

MIT Sloan MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Cover Letter – Technology to Consulting (284 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Healthcare Entrepreneurship (297 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Consulting to Technology (298 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Wealth Management to FinTech (299 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Manufacturing to Consulting (Retail) (299 Words)
• Sample Cover Letter – Strategy to Consulting (297 Words)
• Sample Video Statement – Technology Consultant with the ambition to transform Education (161 Words)
• Sample Video Statement - Accounting Professional with a unique patent (142 Words)
• Sample Video Statement – Oil & Gas Professional with a passion for Flying and Exploration(152 Words)
• Sample MIT World Shaped Who You Are Essay – Homeschooling (248 Words)    
• Sample MIT World Shaped Who You Are Essay – War Trauma (242 Words)    
• Sample MIT World Shaped Who You Are Essay – Military Upbringing (242 Words)    

Download MIT MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Cover Letters and Essays)

Haas MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Start-up in Cryptocurrency) (291 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Design as a tool for Change) (296 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Flying and AI in Healthcare)(299 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you Feel Alive (Learning, Failing and Prototyping)(289 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Affordable Education and Satellite Technology) (271 Words)    
• Sample Haas What Makes you feel Alive (Future-Proofing the Underprivileged) (Climate Change) (299 Words)    
• Sample Haas Career Goals Essay (Technology Consulting to Strategy) (284 Words)    
• Sample Haas Career Goals Essay (Product Management to Venture Capital in AI) (293 Words)    
• Sample Haas Career Goals Essay (Corporate Finance to Consulting) (292 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Team Building – Technology) (Questioning Status Quo & Beyond Yourself) (277 Words)
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Student Always) (Adaptability, IMPACT Oriented and Intellectual Curiosity) (276 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Beyond Yourself) (Adaptability, IMPACT Oriented and Intellectual Curiosity) (247 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Confidence Without Attitude) (Adaptability, and IMPACT Oriented) (287 Words)    50
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Question the Status Quo) (Adaptability, Leveraging Power for Good and Impact-Oriented) (216 Words)    
• Sample Berkeley Haas Embody Four Defining Principles Video Essay (Beyond Yourself) (Adaptability and Leveraging Power for Good) (294 Words)
• Sample Haas MBA Essay on DEI  (Building Inclusive Teams to Address Domestic Violence Among Native Americans)  (300 Words)    
• Sample Haas MBA Essay on DEI  (Silicon Valley and Black Entrepreneurs) (295 Words)    
• Sample Haas MBA Essay on DEI (DEI in Design) (298 Words)   

Download Haas MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (18 Sample Essays)

Yale SOM MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Business Development (Mobile Phone Start-Up)(474 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Investment Banking  and Teaching (499 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Consulting and Listening (413 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Technology and Commitment to Learning (438 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Marketing (489 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Entrepreneurship (497 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: IMPACT Investing (479 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Oil & Gas to Clean Energy (Consulting) (435 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Angel Investing and Rural Entrepreneurship (490 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Community MBA Essay: Mental Health and Fitness Community(498 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Community MBA Essay: Neighborhood as a Community (496 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Community MBA Essay: Library as a Community Space (489 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Significant Challenge MBA Essay: Scarcity to Growth Mindset (486 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Significant Challenge MBA Essay: COVID-19 Vaccine Development (498 Words)    
• Sample Yale SOM Significant Challenge MBA Essay: Leadership in Startup to Leadership in Fortune 500  (496 Words)   

Download Yale MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays)

Ross MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)   Prompt 1: I want people to know that I    

• Sample MBA Essay: Finance Professional who was a former member of a rock band (89 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Marketing Professional with a hidden talent to do Impression (80 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Life Philosophy through the prism of an Entrepreneurial failure (88 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Overcoming the Fear of Speaking in front of an Audience (97 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Communicating Inconvenient Truth (99 Words)    

Prompt 2: I made a difference when I    

• Sample MBA Essay: Consulting for a Pharma Giant (Made a Difference) (97 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Three-Level Sanitation Campaign (95 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Water Conservation Kit (84 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay:  Book Donation and Its IMPACT (91 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay:  Parental Leave and Flexible Time (96 Words)    

Prompt 3: I was aware that I was different when    

• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Leadership and Culture) (91 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Technology Project and Last-minute change) (91 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Making Business metrics relevant to a Creative team) (83 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Feedback seeking) (81 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I am aware that I am different (Challenging Established Way of Thinking) (100 Words)    

Prompt 1: I am out of my comfort zone when    

• Sample MBA Essay: Out of my comfort zone(extra-curricular) (85 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Out of my comfort zone (Daily Science Show) (100 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Simplifying Operations for Manufacturing (extra-curricular) (88 Words)    

Prompt 2: I was humbled when    

• Sample MBA Essay: Losing client (96 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Misreading Market Conditions (88 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: Strategic Planning vs. Tactical Dominance in Chess (93 Words)    

Prompt 3: I was challenged when    

• Sample MBA Essay: I was challenged when (Change in Scope) (100 Words)    
• Sample MBA Essay: I was challenged when (Team Failed) (98 Words)    

Pick One Thing from your Resume and Tell us More

• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Consulting for Small Business During COVID) (100 Words)
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Negotiating Design Changes – Cross-functional and Global communication) (100 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Entrepreneurship) (100 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (Event Organization – During COVID) (99 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Pick One Thing from your resume and tell us more (First Job – Career Switcher BA in English to Investment Management) (100 Words)

Short-Term Goals Essay

• Sample Essay – Short-term Goals and why the goal is the right choice for you (Private Investment as a Tool for Change) (150 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Short-term Goals and why the goal is the right choice for you (Education to Consulting) (150 Words)    
• Sample Essay – Short-term Goals and why the goal is the right choice for you (Software Development to Sales to Marketing) (148 Words)  

  Download Ross MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (31 Sample Essays)

  Darden MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (100 Words) (Near Death Experience)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume  (100 Words) (Passion and Networking)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (100 Words) (Persistence)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (95 Words) (Climate Change – A Uniting theme)
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – About you Not in Resume (96 Words) (Science Fiction)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Revamping Recruitment Process) (298 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Obesity and Hunger) (Rural America) (272 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Decoding Vaccine Hesitation) (298 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Team Diversity)(297 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Inclusive Leadership (Interpreting a foreign culture) (258 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay – Leadership (First Leadership Lesson) (289 Words)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (197 words) (Technology to Consulting and Boutique Consulting)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (200 words)  (Product Management and CEO)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (200 words) (Investment Banking to Private Equity)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (199 words)  (Strategy Consulting – Change in Industry)    
• Sample Darden MBA Essay: Short-term Post-MBA career goal and align long-term vision (197 words) (Operations to Corporate Finance)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (47 Words) (Uganda)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (49 Words) (Sweden)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (48 Words) (China)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (49 Words) (Israel)    
• Sample Essay – Where you want to go with Darden (50 Words) (Germany)    

  Download Darden MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (21 Sample Essays)

Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (90 Words) (Product Marketing for FinTech start-up)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (98 Words)(Financial Consulting to Management Consulting)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (100 Words) (IB to Entrepreneurship)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (95 Words) (ML to Marketing)  
• Sample Duke Fuqua Post-MBA Career Goals (100 Words) (Healthcare to Retail)   
• 25 Random Things: Chinese Female Engineer     
• 25 Random Things: Indian Product Manager with Strong Community Engagement
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Consulting) (Max 1 Page) (279 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Max 1 Page) (Education Club) (295 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Performance-Based Micropayments) (Max 1 Page) (256 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Transforming Grant Making for a Family Foundation) (Max 1 Page) (300 Words)    
• Sample Duke Fuqua Essay: The Fuqua community and you (Addressing Bias in Patient Experience) (Max 1 Page) (299 Words)  

  Download Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Essays)

NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (150 Words) (Finance)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (146 Words) (Consulting)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-term Career Goals (148 Words)(Product Management)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (149 Words)(Marketing Consulting – Fortune 500 New Media Companies)    
• Sample NYU Stern Essay: Short-Term Career Goals (150 Words)(Retail Family Business to Luxury)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dare It (Finance Candidate – Immigrant Family) (350 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dare It (Communication Gap Around Mandate to Return to Office – Investment Banker) (347 Words)  
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dream It (Consultant – Understanding long-term Goal and Personal Fears) (334 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Dream It (EdTech Non-Profit Serving Cincinnati) (349 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Drive It (Entrepreneurial Thinking – Fortune 500 Company)(340 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Drive It (Sports Injury to Media Startup)(348 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Empower It (Healthy Eating for SNAP beneficiaries)(347 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Empower It (FinTech and Behavioral Metrics in Non-Profit)(346 Words)
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Manifest It (Helping Junior Bankers Manage Mental & Physical Health) (338 Words)    
• Sample NYU Stern Change Essay: Manifest It (Addressing Homelessness Among Teenagers in Baltimore) (346 Words)  

Download NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays + 6 Visual Essay Examples)

Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Essay 1: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Marketing) (425 Words)    
• Sample Essay 2: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Technology) (450 Words)    
• Sample Essay 3: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Non-Profit) (441 Words)    
• Sample Essay 4: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Product Manager) (437 Words)    
• Sample Essay 5: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and Skills Used (Addressing IMPLICIT Biases IN VC Community) (447 Words)    
• Sample Essay 6: Demonstrated Leadership, the challenges you faced and what you learned (Leadership in Digitization) (447 Words)
• Sample Essay #1: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Inclusive Hiring) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #2: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Courage and Changing a Corrupt Culture) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #3: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Empathetic Intervention and Consulting) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #4: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Creative Leadership and Technology) (440 Words)    
• Sample Essay #5: Diverse Leaders. Enrich Kellogg Community Essay? (Open Mindedness - Team Management and Sales Call) (440 Words)    

Download Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (11 Sample Essays)

Tuck MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay One: Oil & Gas to Sustainability (288 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Two: Marketing to Branding (284 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Three: Investment Banking to Consulting (263 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Four: VC to Consulting (291 Words)    
• Sample Why Tuck MBA Essay Five: Technology to Research to General Management (281 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay One: YouTube Channel and Creative Video Editing (287 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Two: Early Education and Storytelling (297 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Three: Music as a Healer (294 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Four: Breaking AI’s Filter Bubble (289 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Who you are Essay Five: Transforming Culture to Empower Women Professionals (295 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - YouTube Competitor (291 Words)   
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Ethical Mistake (Second chance) (299 Words)    
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Deal Novice in Billion $ Transaction (293 Words)    
• S ample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Xenophobia (279 Words)   
• Sample Tuck Meaningfully contributed sense of inclusion - Overcoming personal Challenges of a teammate as a Manager (282 Words)   

Download Tuck MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (15 Sample Essays)

INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Essay 1: Summarize Current job Nature of work Major Responsibilities (200 Words)    
• Sample Essay 2: Next Position if Remain in Same Company (198 Words)
• Sample Essay 3: Description of your Career since Graduating University (183 Words)    
• Sample Essay 4: Short-Term and Long-Term Career Aspiration (Technology to Consulting) (200 Words)    
• Sample Essay 5: Candid Description, Strengths & Weaknesses (Marketing Lead) (500 Words)    
• Sample Essay 6: Candid Description, Strengths & Weaknesses (Consulting to Product Development) (491 Words)    
• Sample Essay 7: Achievements and Failures (399 Words) (Technology Consultant)    
• Sample Essay 8: Achievement and Failure (397 Words) (International Relations) (Negotiations)    
• Sample Essay 9: Achievement and Failure (395 Words) (Woman and Non-Traditional background in IB)    
• Sample Essay 10: Achievement and Failure (394 Words) (VC)    
• Sample Essay 11: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (274 Words) (Hiking and Vlogging)    
• Sample Essay 12: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (296 Words) (Improv Acting)    
• Sample Essay 13: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (292 Words) (NASA and Scientific Thinking)    
• Sample Essay 14: Extra-Curricular and How enriched you are (299 Words) (M&A and Orchestra)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 15 – What do you know about INSEAD MBA (183 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 16 – Response to Team’s Underperformance (176 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 17 – Work well with a person with differing opinion (169 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 18 – Success for me in a Career (158 Words)    
• Sample INSEAD Video Essay 19 – Unethical Leadership (194 Words)     

Download INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (19 Sample Essays)

Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay 1: Goals (467 Words) (Technology to Finance)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay 2: Goals (499 Words) (Sales to Consulting)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay 3: Goals (429 Words) (Technology)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Difficult Decision – Learn and Changed as a Result(188 words) (Marketing)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay - Difficult Decision – Looking Beyond Data (199 words) (Reducing Open Defecation and the complexity of cultural beliefs)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay - Difficult Decision – Choosing Crypto over Investment Banking (199 words)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Teamwork and lessons learned (195 words) (Leading a Dysfunctional team)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Teamwork and lessons learned (199 words) (Exposure to International Culture)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Teamwork and lessons learned (197 words) (Not Recognizing Strategic Objective)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Advice to 18-year old Self (196 words) (Avoid Alcohol)
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Advice to 18-year old Self (187 words) (Creative Career to Banking)   
• Sample Cambridge MBA Essay – Advice to 18-year old Self (200 words) (Friends and Purpose)

Download Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (12 Sample Essays)

  London Business School MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class)

• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (489 Words)(Technology to Consulting)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals (493 Words)(Hospitality to Consulting)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (500 Words)(Government/Non-Profit to Technology)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (495 Words)(Medical Doctor to Investment Banking)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (458 Words)(Wealth Management to Product Management)
• Sample LBS MBA Essay: Post-MBA Goals  (488 Words)(Risk Management to Operations)

Download LBS MBA Essay Guide (2024 Entering Class) (6 Sample Essays)

How to Address Weaknesses, Strengths as MBA Applicant

Vivid examples of weaknesses and strengths can help humanize an MBA application.

Humanize MBA Applications

Joos Mind | Getty Images

MBA applicants can revisit past employee performance reviews and get feedback from colleagues to get a sense of their strengths and weaknesses.

Faced with increasingly stiff competition for a spot at the top business schools , MBA applicants must possess more than stellar test scores and a pedigreed employment and educational history to gain admission. The admissions committee is looking for that elusive je ne sais quoi when reading through application essays.

Your job is to present your personal and professional narrative in a way that captivates the reader – and doesn’t come off as a recitation of your resume .

Almost every MBA application asks some version of the strengths-and-weaknesses question, either as part of an essay or as a question for your recommenders. Understandably, applicants dread the thought of discussing anything negative within their application. But admissions committees specifically ask you to reveal your weaknesses to assess your fit with the program.

If you have difficulty knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, read through past employment performance reviews, think about projects where you were particularly successful and get feedback from colleagues and friends. Your own desire and motivation to get involved in a particular task can often reveal the areas where you are strong and where you need improvement.

Remember, your greatest strength is sometimes the flip side of a frustrating weakness. Consider, for example, the analytical and thorough worker who is detail-oriented but has difficulties seeing the big picture in a strategic way. Here are three tips to help you address your weaknesses and strengths in your MBA application.

• Personalize weaknesses: Leadership experience and potential is highly prized at business schools but doesn’t come easily for everyone. Think of weaknesses as opportunities for growth.

Our client Samantha often felt timid about speaking up and taking leadership positions at work, and she worried that her shyness would crush her chances at Stanford University , University of California—Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business . Because she started working a year before she planned to apply, we suggested she immediately focus on taking on more responsibilities at the nonprofit she volunteered for instead, which to her felt less risky and intimidating.

At the same time, Samantha joined Toastmasters to build up her communication skills, and she subsequently started a public speaking club in her office to help others struggling with the same issue. When the time came to apply, Samantha used her essays to discuss how she successfully climbed the ranks at the nonprofit and gained more confidence in her leadership abilities through both of these less-conventional ways.

Another client Tim admitted he had struggled with multitasking in college and had become so overwhelmed by his classes and social activities that his grades had suffered. Knowing that his GPA might be an issue, we suggested Tim show what steps he had taken to become more organized as an MBA hopeful.

He used his optional essay for Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management to explain that he had recently juggled a college-level calculus class while working full time, applying to business school and maintaining his volunteer commitments. This showcased his academic readiness as well as improved time-management skills.

• Illustrate strengths: Schools are looking for leadership, teamwork , intellectual curiosity, innovative vision and creativity – but it’s not enough to simply have an attractive list of strengths. You must provide concrete examples.

Admissions committees know that you are early in your career and perhaps have few major impressive accomplishments to date. The task here is to think of situations that spurred you to learn something valuable about yourself. Try to choose examples from different parts of your life – work, community service, extracurriculars – or maybe even something about your personal background. A diverse set of scenarios will not only keep your reviewer interested but also show that you are a well-rounded individual.

Sometimes discussing your strengths can feel too much like bragging. If you’re worried about that perception, do a reality check by having a friend or family member read your essay and let you know if you really are coming across in a negative way.

• Discuss strengths and weaknesses in recommendation letter: For some reason, the strengths-and-weaknesses question strikes more fear in recommenders than any other. Recommenders often worry that they’ll expose a fatal weakness and somehow ruin your chances.

Ideally, you’ll sit down and brainstorm with your recommender about your strengths and weaknesses. This can be awkward, but if you’re honest about what you think you need to work on and what you hope to gain from your MBA education, it can become a productive conversation. Just make sure that your recommender cites solid and specific steps you have taken to overcome any weakness he or she raises in the recommendation .

When you personalize your weaknesses and illustrate your strengths, you humanize your application for the admissions committee. All applicants have weaknesses of some kind, but if you can provide context for them, it allows the reader to have a greater understanding of both the previous situation and how you would act as a student, if accepted.

The most important takeaway is to be honest, with yourself and the admissions committee. Your keen self-assessment skills will go a long way toward impressing the individual who reads your application and – fingers crossed – earn you admission to the school of your choice.

Tags: business school , students , education , graduate schools , MBAs

About MBA Admissions: Strictly Business

MBA Admissions: Strictly Business, authored by Stacy Blackman, offers prospective MBA students tips on application essays, interviews and paying for school. Blackman launched her MBA admissions consulting company in 2001 and has since helped thousands of clients gain admission to the most selective b-schools in the world, many with merit scholarships. She is the author of “ The MBA Application Roadmap: The Essential Guide to Getting Into a Top Business School ” and has published a series of online guides about the admissions process at top schools. Blackman has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Got a question? Email [email protected] .

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How to talk about weaknesses in MBA essays and interviews

“I have my flaws. I sing in the shower, sometimes I volunteer too much, occasionally, I’ll hit somebody with my car.” – Michael Scott, Regional Manager, Scranton Branch, Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

In two delightfully short sentences, Michael Scott from The Office , with his trademark humor, summed up the contradictions and complexities involved in confronting that most confounding of all corporate questions – tell us about your weaknesses.

Talking about weaknesses in your MBA essay and interview is like walking a tightrope. Talk too less and you end up looking arrogant, like Michael Scott. Talk too much and you start sounding like an agony aunt column in an adolescent magazine, also like Michael Scott.

Is there a sweet spot somewhere in between that is just right and that isn’t Michael Scott?

Yes, there is, and we are here to tell you how to hit it.

Why do you need to talk about your weaknesses anyway?

Most MBA essays have a section that requires you to talk about your strengths and weaknesses. Alternatively, there might be a section where you are asked to describe a situation where you failed or talk about a time when you received criticism for your work and how you handled it.

The same set of questions could be posed to you in an interview as well.

Strengths are easy to talk about. You know what you’re good at and you can talk about it endlessly. Talking about weaknesses is the tricky part.

The admissions committee judges your answers to evaluate two things – how self-aware you are, and how well you bounce back from failure. The point to really understand here is that you are applying to a school. A business school, yes, but a school nonetheless. A school is a place where you go to learn things. And you only learn things you do not know yet, or which you aren’t very good at yet.

To put it simply, the admissions committee wants to hear about your weaknesses so that you enter school and learn to improve upon them.

It follows that what the admissions committee wants to see in your essay or hear from you in the interview are two things – an awareness of what your weaknesses are, and a capacity or a will to improve upon them provided the right guidance and environment.

Knowing this is the key to crafting a great response to the adcom’s questions.

So how do you put this knowledge into actionable items?

Below is a 7-point checklist on what to do and what not to do when talking about your weaknesses in MBA essays and interviews.

• Don’t take it personally
• Be original
• Don’t hide your weaknesses
• Don’t try to turn a positive into a negative
• Don’t dwell on your weaknesses too much
• Avoid freudian slips, red flags, alarm bells
• Take it easy

Let’s try to understand what each one means.

Before you leave, check out our Mini MBA and Top MBA Admissions Consulting services.

How to Talk About Weaknesses in MBA Essays and Interviews

1. don’t take it personally.

Your MBA essay is not your personal diary and your interviewer is not your therapist. While it’s a good habit to keep a diary and try therapy for self-improvement , your MBA essay/interview is not the right place for these.

When the adcom asks you to talk about your weaknesses, what they have in mind are your weaknesses or failures in a professional setting. They aren’t very interested in your character flaws or your life struggles unless they have a direct bearing on your professional performance.

So what you are expected to describe here are situations at your workplace, or examples from your academics where you struggled.  

2. Be Original

This one’s a little obvious but it bears repeating. Only talk about weaknesses that you really have. Do not try to mention a weakness simply because it sounds cool, or because you heard someone else talk about it and get through.

Remember how in school, when we were asked our hobbies, half the class would say listening to music and playing cricket?

And then there would be one wiseguy ( it was almost always a guy for some reason) who, refusing to be dragged down to the level of average Joes and plain Janes possessing mundane hobbies, would come up with a hobby no one had ever heard of, simply to sound cool. Like lepidopterology.

Don’t be that guy in your MBA essay.

It is perfectly fine to have perfectly ordinary hobbies like listening to music and playing cricket. It is also perfectly fine to have outrageously unheard of hobbies like lepidopterology. Just make sure that whatever you say, you mean it. If you talk about a certain weakness, you need to make sure that it is something you’ve lived through.

Oh, and a lepidopterologist, by the way, is a butterfly collector.

Read more on the best extracurricular activity for college admissions .

3. Don’t Hide Your Weaknesses

Remember how Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones advised wearing your weaknesses like armor so no one could use them against you?

He had a point.

Everyone has weaknesses. If you try to hide yours, the admissions committee will see right through it.

Instead, be honest and talk about your weaknesses openly. You can even use them as an opportunity to show how you’ve grown and changed over the years.

For example, let’s say you have a weakness in math. You can talk about how you used to struggle with math in school and how you had to work hard to improve your skills. You can talk about how you’re now much better at math and how you’ve even been able to help other people improve their own math skills.

This shows that you’re honest about your weaknesses and that you’ve taken steps to improve upon them.  

4. Don’t Try To Turn a Positive Into a Negative

This is a classic mistake, related closely to the previous point that a lot of candidates make. It involves describing as a weakness something that is not usually considered a flaw.

For instance, when you mention things like being a perfectionist, or being too kind, or working too hard, what you are in effect doing, is dressing up desirable qualities to pass them off as weaknesses.

This feels disingenuous, like trying to stick colorful feathers on a chicken to pass it off for a peacock.  Your interviewer can easily turn it around into a sticky situation and trap you.

Imagine the following exchange:

Interviewer: What is your biggest weakness? You: I think I am too kind. Interviewer: I don’t think kindness is a weakness. I think it is a strength. *awkward silence*

To avoid this trap, instead of saying you’re too kind, you need to phrase it to convey that you lack the firmness to deal with people or that you’re not very good with people skills.

In other words, call a spade a spade.

5. Don’t Dwell on Your Weaknesses Too Much

This follows directly as a counter to the previous point. When talking about your weaknesses, don’t overdo them. You need to keep a balance.

For example, let’s say you’re asked about a time when you failed. You don’t want to spend the whole interview talking about that one time you failed.

Instead, you want to focus on what you learned from that experience and how it made you a better person. This shows that you’re able to learn from your mistakes and that you’re not afraid to fail.

What you want to emphasize here is that you’re aware of your weaknesses and that you’re taking steps to improve upon them.

6. Avoid Freudian Slips, Red Flags, Alarm Bells

This one follows directly from the previous point. When you talk about your weaknesses, make sure you do not reveal more than is necessary.

An example?

Suppose you say something like you have trouble being fully functional at work until you have had your fourth cup of coffee. Or You say that you have trouble waking up most mornings and reporting to work. Or You say that you prepare all your PowerPoint presentations after 7 PM with a sundowner in hand.

All these are behavioral traits that can be viewed as being symptomatic of deeper mental or physical health issues. They are best kept away from an MBA essay or interview.

7. Take It Easy

Finally, don’t spend too much time figuring out the perfect weakness.We know this is a kind of a long and somewhat intimidating list, but once you sit down with a pen and paper to think things through, it will all come together naturally.

Remember, that everyone has weaknesses and that you’re not alone in this. Give it a good thought, but it shoudn’t sound too stressed.  

Industry insider tips to answer the weakness question in Interviews

Some business schools do not specifically ask about strengths and weaknesses in their MBA essays. So how does the admissions committee judge these aspects?

“We practice holistic admissions and evaluate candidates across a wide array of behavioral-based evidence in their application packages,” says Erin O’Brien, assistant dean and chief enrollment and marketing officer in the University at Buffalo School of Management.

“We choose to explore a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses as part of our interview process, so that we can probe their responses in a deeper and more thoughtful way than limiting it to a written personal statement,” she adds.

We took the opportunity to dig a little deeper, and Erin had some interesting insights, advice and tips to share.

MCB: What advice do you have to applicants who are apprehensive about revealing their vulnerabilities during the interview?

Erin: Let’s face it, interviews for any graduate management program can be scary. While it’s a delicate balance, it’s also OK to reveal vulnerabilities during an interview – personally, I think it shows authenticity. So many interviews sound the same, and sometimes vulnerabilities can help positively differentiate you from the rest of the candidates. They have the power to show honesty, self-awareness, and a focus on continuous improvement – traits we strongly desire in our students. They can also show the human side of a candidate, beyond quantifiable academic performance statistics.

But, it’s best to be planned and directed when sharing vulnerabilities. As you prep for your interview, ask yourself how will sharing my weakness also provide evidence of something more positive – can I use it to frame resilience or persistence, skill or competency growth? Can I weave it into my motivation for applying to my graduate management program? And, make sure you include how you’ve worked to overcome this weakness or vulnerability, even if you haven’t quite solved it yet. Show how you have made the effort to improve. If you have actual results or behavior-based evidence of success, highlight them.

I think it is important to have guard rails, though, in this type of response. There are potential pitfalls if you choose to reveal a weakness or vulnerability that may be baseline required skills for entrance into the program. You’ll want to avoid those types of responses. Also, as with every answer in a graduate management admissions interview, don’t make anything up – be truthful and honest.

MCB: What are some of the top traits your team looks for in candidates that can help them get an admit in spite of weak areas like a low GMAT score or low GPA?

Erin: I tell candidates all the time, no one thing can rule you in or out. Just because you show up with a great standardized test score or outstanding undergraduate GPA, you still need to bring a portfolio of both cognitive and non-cognitive skills with you into your application. We want to see evidence of strong work experience, be it professional post-baccalaureate, volunteer or internship. We want to see behavioral-based evidence of skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, resilience, creativity, etc. We want to see positive progression, motivation and the ability to self-manage and adapt. These are all equally or sometimes even more important than GPA or test score.

Look at your application as a whole, an entire portfolio of elements. Draw a line between what may be a plus or a minus. If you have a minus, like a lower GPA or a lower test score, make sure you have a plus above the line that far outweighs any negative impact.

For example, if you have a lower GPA, but your undergraduate career was more than five years ago and you now have outstanding work experience showing lots of leadership potential, that’s going to minimize the negative impact of that GPA in our admissions decision-making. If you volunteered in a global experience, leading a team of others in a social impact project, that may far outweigh any negative impact from test scores.

Here’s an insider pro tip: you’re far more interesting than your GPA or test score. Tell us all about it. Chances are it will improve your potential of admission.

MCB: What is your advice to those who have career related issues including frequent career switching, career gaps or lay-offs?

Erin: My advice to applicants with resumes that may have gaps or frequent switches is really a call-back to my previous responses above: you are far more interesting than any single application data point.

Let’s start with lay-offs. Lay-offs happen – look at what’s happening in the tech world now. What I would want to know, as your interviewer, is, how did you pivot? This is a great opportunity to show resilience and creativity.

For gaps or career-switching, what is the story behind the gap or switch pattern? Was it intentional, e.g., did you purposefully make lateral moves to gain a wide variety of experience? Was it a condition of the industry in which you operate, e.g., were you in start-ups? What did you do with the gap time? How did you make it constructive and progressive? Was the switch or gap unintentional, e.g., is it a potential weakness?

Be truthful and honest…this may be an opportunity to showcase your adaptability and motivation for pursuing a graduate management degree, to hurdle the career plateau on which you found yourself switching job to job without advancement.

In the end, relative to all three questions and responses above, many applicants think business schools are looking for a homogenized portrait of traits and characteristics in the admissions process. Unfortunately, I think that’s a condition of being in a publicly-ranked market where applicants are trying to make themselves look like the “ideal” candidate.

However, that couldn’t be further from the truth! We are building a balanced cohort of different thoughts, perspectives and experiences for our programs. How boring would business school be if it were filled with only those who had the same profile – high test scores, similar experiences, the same type of work backgrounds.

How much more interesting will it be if you are in a cohort teamed with people who have vastly different opinions, points of view and backgrounds from yours, where you can learn new things from each other? Personally, I’d much rather be in that class.

Talking about your weaknesses is a complex task that requires self-awareness to understand and nuance to express. It is for this reason that MBA essays and interviews want to hear it from you.

Even if you haven’t been asked to talk about your weaknesses in the MBA essay, it’s good to have a few examples of your weaknesses ready to go, so that you’re not caught off guard in the interview.

By being honest and prepared, you’ll be able to talk about your weaknesses in a way that will show the admissions committee that you’re aware of them and that you’re taking steps to improve upon them.

You also want to make sure that you don’t dwell on your weaknesses too much. Instead, focus on what you’ve done to improve upon them.

A word of caution: Often, this question on weaknesses works in conjunction with other topics in the application essays or interviews. This is where it gets trickier. So make sure you understand the implications of what you’re saying, to avoid conflicting with your other answers.

MBA Crystal Ball has top admission consultants to help you answer this and other questions in your MBA application in the most effective manner. Drop us an email, if you need professional help: info [at] mbacrystalball [dot] com   Also read: – How to write great MBA essays – Common mistakes to avoid in MBA application essays – How to answer questions on the long term and short term goals – Many more top MBA essay tips – Best admissions consultant for ISB for winning ISB essay tips

Image credit: The Office

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20 Great MBA Application Essay Samples (With Links)

Want to ace your MBA application? A stellar essay can be your golden ticket.

With elite business schools like Harvard and Stanford boasting acceptance rates as low as 10% and 6% respectively, every aspect of your application counts. While GPA and GMAT scores matter, your essay can be a game-changer. Recognizing its weight, we’ve gathered top-notch MBA essay samples, endorsed by admission committees from premier institutions. Dive in and let’s craft that standout application!

What is an MBA Application Essay?

An MBA application essay is a detailed write-up about your personal and professional goals and aspirations. It also explains how the MBA program will help you attain your objectives for the future. Your essay is your one shot to convince the admission committee to consider you for the initial interview.

What Admission Committee Look for in an MBA Essay?

• Academic ability
• Impressive work experience
• Career Course
• Authenticity of goals
• Competencies, leadership , dedication, challenges, and growth
• The right reason for pursuing an MBA
• Your compatibility with the culture in which the program is being offered

If you want to learn more, here is the complete guide on how admission committees process MBA applications.

20 Great MBA Applications Essays Samples

Now you have known that what makes a great MBA admission essay, the next step is to write one for yourself. Before writing, check out this list of expert-vetted MBA application essays that secured admissions to top-rated business schools in the world. Admission consultants have shared these samples and they can be helpful if you read and analyze them carefully. If you’re completely unsure about how to get started, there are also custom essay writing services that can help you structure your essay with the help of professional editors.

Sample 1: Leadership-focused MBA application essay

This sample is particularly focused on leadership traits. If your essay is about explaining your leadership quality experience, this sample is right up your alley. The best thing about the essay is that it is written in a simple, engaging, and humorous style. It defines a great experience in a very conversational style.

Sample 2: Self-focused MBA application essay 

If you are asked to write about your strengths, weaknesses, aims, and goals in your application essay, this sample will help you. The applicant who wrote this got accepted to the INSEAD business school. It doesn’t merely describe her strengths and weaknesses, but it presents a complete picture of herself as a person. It highlighted the events and incidents that shaped her personality.

Sample 3: Life-hardships-focused MBA application essay

If you want to explain your life’s hardships and the events that turned you into an ambitious person, this sample is for you. In this application essay, the candidate has defined three phases of his life and how he survived through each adversity. He beautifully explained why the MBA program is important to his future.

Sample 4: Continuous growth and learning-focused MBA application essay

This essay was submitted to Harvard Business School. The best thing about this piece is that the writer has explained her learning and professional development journey in a very sequential and engaging manner, which is truly admirable. A useful thing to remember about the MBA essays included in this list is that you can merge them into a single printable and perfectly formatted file with Sodapdf or another PDF editor. Having all of them stored in a single PDF is going to be quite helpful when it’s time to write your piece. But guess what? There are more examples to explore below, so let’s keep going…

Sample 5: Best MBA application essay for low scorers

Have a low GPA? What would you write about academics in an MBA essay to convince the admission committee? Do not overthink! MBA essay is not all about high achievements and sterling background. It is also an opportunity to atone for your past mistakes. This MBA essay was written by a student who obtained very low academic grades, yet got admitted to her desired business school. Her turning point? A powerful application essay.

Sample 6: A guitarist’s application essay for the MBA program

Suppose you are ambitious in a skill or profession that has nothing to do with the MBA program, yet you need the degree for certain reasons. How would you showcase that irrelevant skill in your MBA application essay? This sample essay will show how you how. A guitarist who got selected for the MBA program wrote this one. The applicant has intelligently defined his passion for guitar as a way of developing discipline, determination, leadership, and success. He explained how his passion affected his academics and how the guitar helped him cope with the challenges.

Sample 7: An engineer’s essay for MBA application

If you come from a technical or engineering background and have the ambition to pursue an MBA degree to boost your engineering career, this sample essay will help pave the way for you. This essay was submitted by a mechanical engineer to Harvard Business School. The writer explained how his engineering experience motivated him to pursue an MBA and how the program is important to his long-term goals.

Sample 8: Harvard Business School MBA essay

This essay was written by a candidate who got accepted to Harvard Business School. Check it out to know what the prestigious academic institution looks for in your essay.

Sample 9: Wharton Business School MBA essay

This essay has been honored as one of the best MBA essays ever received by the Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania. Check out the structure, organization, and flow, and adapt the same to your essay.

Sample 10: Columbia Business School MBA essay

The Columbia Business School’s admission committee shared this MBA essay. They explained why the applicant who wrote this was instantly accepted to the program and why they appreciated its content.

Sample 11: Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA essay

This essay was written by a candidate who got accepted to Stanford Business School for an MBA. If you are aiming to get your MBA at Stanford, this sample will give you a deep understanding of what convinces the esteemed school’s admission committee to accept applicants into their fold.

Sample 12: University of California Business School MBA essay

This sample was taken from a pool of successful MBA application essays submitted to the University of California business school. Read it carefully and analyze its structure, words, and substance before you compose your own fantastic MBA essay.

Sample 13: University of OXFORD business school MBA essay

If Oxford Business School is your target destiny for earning your MBA, then check out this outstanding application essay. The person who wrote it managed to grab the admission committee member’s attention.

Sample 14: London Business School MBA essay

This essay was written by a candidate who got accepted to the London Business School. The school’s admission consultant shared this sample as a reference to other MBA aspirants. This piece will specifically help you understand the tone, writing style, formatting, and overall flow of the MBA application essay that meets the school’s standards.

Sample 15: A goal-oriented MBA application essay

Sometimes the MBA admission portal may demand an essay specifically focused on your future goals. In such a case, you must be very sure about yourself and must convey your goals and future directions based on your experiences and planning. Check out this sample to get an idea of how a successful candidate writes about personal goals.

Sample 16: Executive MBA essay

This successful MBA application essay was submitted to the MIT Sloan Executive MBA Program. EMBA essay requires you to show strong potential, impact, leadership, and the ultimate need for the program. Read this essay if EMBA is on your horizon.

Sample 17: MBA video essay

Many business schools are turning to video-based essays for MBA applications. A video-based essay is a better option to express yourself directly to the admission committee. A successful candidate for the Kellogg School of Management submitted this sample. Listen to the video and appreciate how beautifully the applicant has explained his journey from beginning to end. Want to learn more about video MBA essays? Here is a complete guide.

Sample 18: Short-answer-based MBA application essay

Some business schools require candidates to respond to short questions to get insights into their personalities and suitability for the MBA program. More or less, most of the questions revolve around the same theme. The key to success is to grasp the intention of the admission committee behind the questions and to stick to your identity . These successful answers submitted to the Tepper School of Business will help you in formulating your answers.

Sample 19: MIT Sloan School of Management

This essay was submitted by a successful candidate for the MIT Sloan School of Management MBA program. See how this applicant smartly answered the essay questions.

Sample 20:  Michigan Ross School of Business MBA program

The Michigan Ross Business School asks a diverse range of questions from candidates to analyze their competencies from multiple perspectives. If Michigan Ross is where you intend to get your MBA, this essay submitted by a candidate who got admitted to the school’s MBA program will help keep you on track.

What Should be Included in the MBA Application Essay?

• Your background: What shaped you into what you are now? Including ethnicity, obstacles, and struggles.
• Self-reflection: Your values, characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Your goals : How do you envision your future?
• Aspirations: Why MBA is important to you and how this program will help you in shaping your future?
• Justification: If you have low academic grades, explain the reasons you did not do well and what you learned from it.
• Experience and achievements: What have you achieved so far?

These are the significant components of an MBA essay. Just adjust the sequence, play with words, and come up with a persuasive yet realistic picture of yourself.

What Makes a Great MBA Application Essay?

• Be school-specific. Explain why you are passionate about the MBA program of the school to which you’re applying.
• Avoid edition. Write simply and engagingly. Let the reader read a meaningful story about you.
• Make it 100% typo-free. Grammatical errors and typos will ruin your essay. Apply standard essay format and structure guidelines , scan your piece several times for errors, get it reviewed by an expert, and present a very professional piece to the admission committee.
• Be original. Do not copy-paste from any source. Strictly follow plagiarism guidelines.
• Write an overwhelming introduction to urge the reader to keep reading and conclude your essay with a strong declaration.
• Be authentic. Write what you are, not what the committee wants to read.
• Be concise, as many schools impose a limit on the essay word count .

Do you want more tips? Here is a complete guide to writing a compelling MBA application essay.

The application essay is a core part of the admission process in the increasingly competitive MBA program. If you do not want to miss the chance of getting selected, you need to know what will make your essay stand out . The expert-vetted list of MBA application essay samples we cited here worked for the top business schools. Learn them by heart, and who knows, it may work for you too. Put your other activities aside, read and analyze the list carefully, and start writing your MBA essay to land in your dream business school.

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Hey there, welcome to my blog! I'm a full-time entrepreneur building two companies, a digital marketer, and a content creator with 10+ years of experience. I started RafalReyzer.com to provide you with great tools and strategies you can use to become a proficient digital marketer and achieve freedom through online creativity. My site is a one-stop shop for digital marketers, and content enthusiasts who want to be independent, earn more money, and create beautiful things. Explore my journey here , and don't miss out on my AI Marketing Mastery online course.

How to Write a Powerful MBA Essay—With Examples

The MBA essay is critical to your business school application. Read our guide to writing the perfect MBA essay, with successful admit examples.

Posted April 4, 2024

MBA Week (June 3-6)

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Table of Contents

What is the mba essay.

The MBA admissions essay.

Those words alone are enough to make most MBA candidates run screaming. Writing in general is hard enough. Writing about why you want an MBA? Your short-term goals and career aspirations? What matters to you most, and why? Forget it.

Of course, you still have to write these essays.

The MBA essay is perhaps  the most important part of the business school application. (It's also getting more and more important by the day, with some business schools moving away from traditional, quantitative measuring sticks, like the GMAT and the GRE.) Every other part of the application — your GPA, your test scores, your letters of recommendation — are quantified, cut and dried, or out of your control. The essay is your chance to show up as a fully realized MBA candidate, with hopes, dreams, and vulnerabilities. Admissions committees are not simply assessing your candidacy as a future leader — they're looking to admit human beings. That's where the MBA applicant essays come in.

That being the case, rather than being intimidated by it, treat the essay like the opportunity that it is — the chance for you to highlight your unique, iridescent self; the only moment in the MBA admissions process (prior to the interview) when you can speak directly to the admissions officers; the time when you'll show them who you really are. It's not easy to write something that will do that, of course, but with the tips and tricks in this guide, and some help from one of Leland's vetted, world-class admissions coaches, we know you can do it. Give the essay the time, attention, and respect it deserves, and you'll be on your way to an offer of admission at your dream school.

Without further ado, let's dive in!

Ultimate MBA Essay Guide

See the MBA essay prompts, top tips from experts, and real examples from admits with this comprehensive guide.

How Long Will My MBA Essay Take?

First thing's first: let's talk about timing.

The MBA application is a behemoth; between exams, resumes, gathering your official transcripts, letters of recommendation, and the applications themselves, there's a lot to juggle. That being the case, we suggest you give yourself ample time to draft, write, and revise your essays. The last thing you want is to be rushed to the finish line.

So, give yourself  at least three months to write your MBA essays. That should allow you ample time to draft, write, and edit. For more information on timing your entire b-school application, click here for  A Comprehensive MBA Application Timeline--With Chart .

Now, on to the critical question:

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What Makes a Great MBA Essay?

At the highest level, the answer is the one that is truest to you. The whole point of these essays is to shine through as an authentic, vibrant human being, so the best essays are the ones that cut through the clutter, and allow you do to that.

Which begs the question — how  do you cut through the clutter and shine through as a vibrant human being? Here are four critical tips to follow as you begin thinking about your essays.

1. Answer the Question

This one sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many applicants launch into their story, get carried away, and forget to answer the question. Follow the prompt, and answer the question the admissions committee has asked you. Those prompts can actually be very useful when writing your essays — it's a great deal harder to write when you have no guidance or guardrails. With the MBA essays, you have a very specific question you need to answer. So answer it!

2. Be Specific

Another mistake some MBA applicants make is to stay at a high level in their essays, keeping their writing abstract and therefore inaccessible to the admissions committee. If at any point, an admissions officer could replace your name with the name of another applicant, then your essay isn't getting deep enough. It's not enough, for instance, to say that you suffered adversity in high school, or that you really, really want a Wharton MBA. You need to explain, in detail, the adversity you faced, and give concrete and unique reasons why you think Wharton is the right program for you. The best essays offer hyper-specific examples and anecdotes, with details and anecdotes that no other candidate could bring to the table. To get those anecdotes, we recommend using the STAR template, as explained below:

• Situation : What was the situation you were facing? Where were you? How old were you? If you were in a professional role during this anecdote, what was the role, and how long had you been in it? If you were volunteering, at what organization? How long had you been volunteering there? Why did you start? Offer all the relevant information that the admissions readers will need to understand your story.
• Task : What was the task at hand? What went wrong? In your professional role, what was the challenge you faced? In that volunteering experience, what were the hurdles you had to overcome? You can't have a good story without conflict or tension, so after you set up the anecdote, explain what that conflict or tension was (and remember, be specific!).
• Action : What was the action you took to resolve the problem? What did you have to do to fix that issue at work? How did you clear that hurdle in your volunteer experience? Again, be specific about how you came through on the other side of that conflict/tension — and while you're doing it, highlight your leadership capabilities as much as possible! Remember that top MBA programs are looking for future leaders who can assess a situation and decisively take action. (We'll say a bit more about this below, in the Personal Statement section.
• Result : What was the result of your action? If you were facing a growth problem at work, were you able to increase sales? If so, by what percentage? If you were advocating for diversity and inclusion at your local charity, what new programs did you implement to help with that effort, and what was the enrollment like in those new programs? Detail what happened in your anecdote with as much specificity as possible — and quantify, quantify, quantify!

3. Get Vulnerable

Most MBA admissions essay prompts are written with the goal of getting to know as much about you as possible in the shortest number of words. To do that, you're going to have to share real things from your life — to get personal, intimate, and vulnerable. Do not shy away from this. If you're starting to get emotional during the reflection, drafting, and writing process, good — that means you're on the right track. Keep going. Pro tip: If it’s making you cry, it will make them cry. Another good rule of thumb is to put something real and true on the table. Admissions officers have to read literally thousands of applications from thoroughly qualified individuals, some of whom might come from similar roles to yours, with letters of recommendation from equally impressive supervisors. In order to cut through that noise, you'll have to share something honest. If you're doing it right, this can feel risky. At some point, you’ll likely think to yourself: “Can I say that?” The answer is: “Yes.” Of course, there is a line, you don’t want to be crass or offensive but err on the side of being open and authentic. The very worst thing you can do is be overly cautious, and write something you think will please the admissions committee. These poor people have to read thousands of essays. If yours is just like everyone else’s, they’ll fall asleep. Don’t let that happen. Wake them up by putting yourself —your true, bright, vibrant, quirky self—on the page.

4. Don't Exaggerate

Finally, do not exaggerate, over-inflate, or lie. This goes without saying, but admissions committees are looking for honest candidates. The surest way to get rejected is to lie about something. (Business schools do a background check on you before you're properly admitted, so they will find out.) Don't be the person who over-inflates on their essays, then has their offer letter rescinded.

The Types of MBA Essays

All right — since we've covered high-level approaches to the MBA essays, it's time to dig into the various types.

There are three general categories of MBA essays you'll see across the board.

1. Personal Statement

These questions ask you to offer up something sincere about yourself. They'll often touch on such things as your values and your character. In these, you'll want to be as authentic as possible, while also highlighting attributes like leadership, intellectual vitality, and teamwork, that business schools are looking for. Here are a few examples of personal statement essays:

• 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? (HBS)
• What matters most to you, and why? (Stanford GSB)

2. Why an MBA/Why This School

The next category of essays is the "Why an MBA" / "Why This School" set.

In these, schools first want to hear about how an MBA will fit into your career, both short and long term. Top MBA programs are looking for candidates who will: first of all, be gainfully employed upon graduating, second of all, have an illustrious career that will make their institution look good and encourage future generations of applicants to apply, and third, be consistent and generous donors. That being the case, they want to know about your career trajectory, and how an MBA will fit into it.

Pro tip: Here, you want to be ambitious and inspiring in laying out your future career, but not naïve. Walk the line between shooting for the stars and sounding dreamlike and uninformed.

In this set of questions, you'll also encounter questions geared at figuring out why you would want to attend a specific school. MBA programs want to know that you're serious about attending their school — yield, or the percentage of admitted candidates who accept their offers of admission, is an important metric for them — but they also want to envision how you'll contribute to their admitted class. What will you uniquely bring to the table, the things that you'll do that the other candidates wouldn’t be able to offer?

We've heard former deans of business schools say that, in choosing a class, they're curating a world-class dinner party, and that each person invited to the dinner party has to bring something different. What will you bring to the dinner party?

Pro tip: To demonstrate that you've done your research, and to help the admissions committee envision you in their program, indicate which classes you might take when earning your MBA and why, which professors you might hope to study with, and in which clubs you might participate.

Here are a few examples of "why MBA / why this school" essays:

• How is a Columbia MBA going to help you? (Columbia)
• What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (Wharton)
• Why Stanford? Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. (Stanford GSB)

3. Behavioral/Other

Finally, most other essays will either be behavioral, asking you about experiences, traits, strengths, weaknesses, and achievements. There's a wide variety of topics here, but all the guidelines from above apply, with the final note to always prioritize authenticity (as mentioned in the Personal Statement section) and leadership ability (remember, business schools are choosing future leaders). Here are a few examples of behavioral/other essays:

• Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. (Yale SOM)
• Tell us about your favorite book, movie, or song and why it resonates with you. (Columbia)
• Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others? (Stanford GSB)

Top MBA Program Essay Prompts (Updated 2022)

To help you get started, we've compiled the required prompts from a few top MBA programs below:

1. Harvard Business School (HBS)

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? (900 words)

For more information, visit A Guide to the HBS Essay .

2. Stanford Graduate School of Business

What matters to you most, and why? (650 words)

Why Stanford? (400 words)

Read What Matters Most When Writing the GSB Essays.

How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

For Wharton-specific advice, visit A Guide to the Wharton Essays .

4. Columbia Business School

Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what, in your imagination, would be your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Essay 2: The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a new co-curricular program designed to ensure that every CBS student develops the skills to become an ethical and inclusive leader. Through PPIL, students attend programming focused on five essential diversity, equity, and inclusion skills: Creating an Inclusive Environment, Mitigating Bias, Communicating Across Identities, Addressing Systemic Inequity, and Managing Difficult Conversations. Tell us about a time you were challenged around one of these five skills. Describe the situation, the actions you took, and the outcome. (250 words)

Essay 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place. CBS proudly fosters a collaborative learning environment through curricular experiences like our clusters and learning teams , an extremely active co-curricular and student life environment, and career mentorship opportunities like our Executives-in-Residence program .Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you academically, culturally, and professionally? Please be specific. (250 words)

5. Chicago Booth

How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250-word minimum)

An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of your career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are… (250-word minimum)

Read more at A Guide to the Booth Essays .

6. Kellogg Northwestern

Kellogg’s purpose is to educate, equip and inspire brave leaders who create lasting value. Provide a recent example where you have demonstrated leadership and created value. What challenges did you face and what did you learn? (450 words)

Values are what guide you in your life and work. What values are important to you and how have they influenced you? (450 words)

Read How to Nail Your Kellogg MBA Application Essays

7. MIT Sloan

MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity, respect, and passion.

Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation)

Applicants are required to upload a 1 minute (60 seconds) video as part of their application. In your video, you should introduce yourself to your future classmates, tell us about your past experiences, and touch on why MIT Sloan is the best place for you to pursue your degree.

How to Start Your MBA Essay

So you've read about the types of essays, and seen some of the prompts from top MBA programs. Now it's time to actually start diving into the essay.

The very first thing to do, before putting pen to paper, is to look inward.

Why do  you want an MBA? What role will this degree play in your professional growth? How do you imagine it will shape your life? What do you want out of your career? What is the most important thing in the world to you?

Yes, these are life’s deep-end questions, but you’ll need to tackle them in these essays, so before you start writing, take the time to think through them. Go for a run, swim some laps, bake a cake—however you get into the flow — and start a dialogue with yourself. Put down your work, turn your phone off, and give your mind permission to go to the places it usually avoids. That’s a good place to start. That’s where the answers are.

Pro tip: The first sentence is the hardest one to write. When you're starting out if it can intimidating and anxiety-producing. The trick is to simply put  anything  down — and don't look back. Keep putting one sentence after the other. You can edit later: let whatever comes to you out onto the page. If you’re struggling with self-critique, dim your computer screen until you can’t even see the words you’re typing. Then keep going.

Additional Tips & Tricks

Once you've started your essay, it's a matter of persistence: keep writing, then keep drafting and editing until you have something you're really proud of.

To help you with that process, here are a few more tips and tricks:

• Take Breaks

When you hit the wall — you will hit the wall — stop. This is your brain telling you it needs to do something else. Walk your dog. Take a lap around your room. Eat some cheese. Your body needs sleep every night to function; your mind is the same way. That next leap of inspiration will come exactly at the moment when you’re least expecting it.

• Read it Out Loud

When you finally have a draft, print it and read it out loud to yourself. Your ear will catch things your eyes miss. Reading out loud is the best way to pick up on spelling errors, clunky transitions, and paragraphs that still need ironing out. It’s also a good way to envision how the admissions committee will experience your essay.

Don’t be precious with your essay. Send it to anyone willing to read it. Solicit as much feedback as you can. If you don’t like what people have to say, you don’t have to incorporate it, but you need an impartial third party to give notes on what they’re seeing, thinking, and feeling. (You’re too close to things to do it for yourself.) This is where a Leland coach comes very much in handy!

• Complete Everything Early

This is more of a timing consideration, but you do not want to trip at the finish line because your internet went down the night before the deadline, or your credit card was denied when paying your application fee (it's happened before). Don't let that be you!

Here is another article to get you started, written by an expert essays coach: 7 MBA Essay Tips to Make You Stand Out in 2022 .

Example MBA Essays

Finally, here are two essays to help inspire you. The first, a personal statement essay, was submitted by an admit to Berkeley Haas' Executive MBA program; the second, a career goals / why MBA essay, was submitted by an admit to Chicago Booth's deferred MBA program.

Haas Admit:

A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects, including family, culture, personal interests, and surrounding environments. Please share a facet of your identity or story that is essential to who you are. (300 words) My upbringing in India, filled with countless myths and legends, had a profound influence on me. The most formative tale was about a sage who prays for years to the goddess of knowledge, but in vain. In the end, the goddess didn’t appear for the sage because he was turning his prayer beads the wrong way! As a child, this story upset me: the sage worked so hard and had the right intentions. As an adult, though, I’ve come to realize that the goddess of knowledge was right: you can’t succeed unless you do things the right way. Seven years ago, two friends and I started a company, XXXX: a digital health platform that would allow patients to store medical records online and consult doctors remotely. We had early success—we brought on 2,000 patients at XXXX, a gynecology clinic in XXXX—but ultimately we didn’t have the resources to properly scale, and had to shut the company down. Among the many lessons I learned, the most valuable was that ideas and hard work are common; businesses succeed or fail based on execution—on doing things the right way. Two years ago, I relearned this lesson in the most painful way possible: when my marriage ended. My wife and I loved each other, but we weren’t there for each other when it mattered most. Our feelings weren’t enough—we had to back them up with the right actions. It’s disheartening when you have good intentions but still fall short. When this happens, though, you have to keep trying—because eventually you will do things the right way. I carry the story of the sage with me always, not as a harsh lesson, but as a motivating goal: one that keeps me striving towards doing things the right way.

Booth Admit:

How will the Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (250 word minimum)

I want to start a geothermal company that will help lead the energy transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy—by targeting existing oil wells as sites for geothermal plants. Oil fields are close to electric grids and have high nearby subsurface temperatures, making them ideal sites for geothermal plants. By building geothermal infrastructure nearby, my company will produce cleaner, cheaper energy, making it more profitable for operators to switch from oil to geothermal. As oil companies decommission their wells, I’ll negotiate for their land rights, so I can use their existing wells for new geothermal vents. I want my company to prove the case for economically viable, carbon neutral energy production. After getting an MBA I want to start a geothermal company which will help me lead the energy transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. I plan to target developed oil fields in Texas, where, in many places, producing wells are flowing enough hot fluid to generate clean energy. Using this geothermal heat, the carbon footprint of oil and gas extraction will decrease as fewer fossil fuels are utilized to power surrounding infrastructure. As the wells approach their economic life, I will negotiate the lease from various operators, saving them millions in plug and abandonment costs, and retrofit the wells for direct geothermal energy production via closed loop binary fluid systems, bringing emissions to zero. To accomplish this goal, I need to shore up my knowledge of energy economics and entrepreneurial finance, develop a strong sense of leadership, and build a network of like minded individuals that will help me lead the transition and I believe I can get those things at Chicago Booth. My immediate career goal is to develop my first co-production site in Shelby County, Texas at the Blanton well site, which produces abnormally heated fluid from the flanks of an active salt dome. Before investing in capital expenditures, developing a strong sense of energy economics and broader markets is necessary to verify financial feasibility. University of Chicago, through the Graduate-Student-At-Large: Business program, is already allowing me to accomplish this goal with my enrollment in “Microeconomics” with Professor Andrew McClellan. His instruction helped me understand the impact taxes and subsidies have on market equilibrium, an important aspect of renewable energy as green energy tax incentives continue to change on a yearly basis. As my company continues to grow, having a strong finance and accounting foundation is imperative to building and sustaining a healthy company. Electives such as “Accounting for Entrepreneurship: From Start-Up through IPO” will provide the skills I need to be successful by following the life-cycle of a business that originates as a start-up, and covers topics such as building an initial accounting infrastructure. I understand that execution of the business is as important as developing the idea and proof of concept, and Booth is the best place for me to develop financial fluency. Leading the energy transition will require a strong sense of leadership. Not only will I need to lead those I get to work with over my career, but to lead the energy transition, and reverse the impact fossil fuels have had thus far, I must have the emotional intelligence to inspire others to join me in my journey. The “Interpersonal Dynamics” course at Booth will allow me to develop my communication skills and better understand the emotions and perceptions of my colleagues. These skills, synthesized with leadership development acquired in “Leadership Practicum” will prepare me to act as a relational leader, who understands the needs of others. As a relational leader I hope to foster an environment which promotes happiness, and maximizes efficiency, not only to make our efforts in changing the world more successful, but to excite other people to join our cause.

To find the greatest chance of success in leading the energy transition, I will need a network of like-minded individuals who can provide a diversity of thought. Chicago Booth provides the opportunity to develop that network through different community experiences. The Energy Club’s “Energy Forward” conference, which designates time to topics in oil and gas and renewable energy will allow me to hear from industry leaders, build meaningful relationships with peers and contribute my sector experience to the public forum as I learn from those around me. Opportunities through the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group such as “SeedCon” will help me connect with successful entrepreneurs and early-stage investors whose ideas and funding might change the course of my venture’s trajectory. Even in the GSALB program I have had the opportunity to connect with other students in various sectors, including the energy industry. I hope to continue to strengthen those connections and continue building new ones with matriculation into the full time program.

Here are several other articles that you may find helpful as you put together your MBA application:

• The Most Frequently Asked Questions on MBA Applications
• How to Answer the "Why an MBA?" Essay Question
• My Top Piece of Advice for MBA Applicants
• How I Nailed My MBA Interview and Gained Admission to Top 10 Business Schools
• 4 Expert Tips on Paying for Business School

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How to Discuss Failures and Weaknesses In Your MBA Essay

May 27, 2024

• Take advantage of failure
• Use STAR to demonstrate your strengths!
• Strengths and weaknesses complement each other
• Check out past examples!
• Nobody is perfect!
• Utilize personal failures, too
• Talk about failure – even when you don’t have to!
• Get expert help

UPDATE: This article was originally posted on July 18, 2022. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

For your MBA admissions essay, you want to ensure you shine to stand out amongst thousands of other applicants. Does that mean you should avoid talking about negative experiences, failures, and weaknesses? Not at all. In fact, you should use past failures to your advantage to show how you have grown!

Utilizing failure in the appropriate places can even help you stand out from the crowd and land you a spot at your top bschool. To do so effectively, we have compiled our top tips for handling stories of failure and weaknesses below!

Tip #1: Take Advantage of Failure

The admissions committee for your top MBA program is looking for future leaders who seek to make a difference in their field. They want candidates who have experience making difficult, real-life decisions.  

Experienced professionals have most often made their share of mistakes. This doesn’t mean that admissions committees are looking for people who have never failed. Instead, they seek candidates who have grown from their past errors.

This perspective is particularly useful for writing MBA admissions essays. It allows you to frame a negative event positively by showing the admissions committee what you’ve learned from it.

Tip #2: Use STAR to Demonstrate Your Strengths!

The best way to talk about failures and weaknesses – and, more importantly, the lessons you learned from these experiences – in your MBA admissions essay is by utilizing stories . When using storytelling to discuss failures and weaknesses in your MBA essay, there are a few essentials to include. 

To effectively discuss a failure, the following elements must be clear: 

1) The problem: Why did the failure happen in the first place? Why did you act as you did in that situation from your perspective?

2) How you recognized the problem: How did you notice it was a problem? What further consequences did this problem have? 

3) How you overcome the problem: What did you do to solve this problem? What do you wish you would have done differently?

4) The lesson you learned from the experience: What was your takeaway from this story? How would you apply this lesson in the future?

It is important to include all of these elements to tell an effective story about failure or weakness. For example, take a look at how our client Paul concisely discussed a weakness in his Ross essay: 

“ I was humbled when I failed to implement a product’s preparation process at a retail store during a consulting project, leading to sales loss risks – besides client dissatisfaction. Later, the store’s manager eliminated parts of the process, completely redesigning it. His idea initially seemed like unfounded nonsense, as necessary data wasn’t being collected. However, the manager insisted on its success, so I tested his idea in two other stores: it was indeed agiler while maintaining effectiveness. I learned that listening to others is essential, even when our opinions diverge. The manager’s idea was subsequently shared with 300+ stores.”

As you can see, all of these elements must be present to tell an effective and compelling story about failure. If one or more of these is unclear or missing altogether, you may not be able to make an effective case.

Tip #3: Strengths and Weaknesses Complement Each Other

Sharing stories about your weaknesses or past failures can also highlight your strengths to the admissions committee. Here, weaknesses and strengths work together harmoniously.

In other words, discussing a negative habit, trait, or experience does not have to result in a negative perception. Instead, you can use these weaknesses, along with the lessons you’ve gleaned from them, to clearly demonstrate your strengths .

In this regard, you could present your tendency for being stubborn – which could be a problem in some situations – as a strength when it comes to knowing what you want. The decision not to go into the family business – which may have been seen as a failure from the family’s perspective – may have helped you find a job that revealed your true passion and opportunities for impact.

In this example, our client Lucas used his multicultural background characterized by culture clash to show how this led to both his greatest strengths and the need to overcome a weakness in his essay for INSEAD:

“The child of South Korean immigrants, I was born in France and raised in Argentina. Growing up between clashing cultures yielded important personal adaptability skills. These skills have shown me how I can serve a higher purpose, helping people and businesses through responsive empathy and a pragmatic approach. Nevertheless, my parent’s Korean heritage also reinforced a strong respect for hierarchy. I have, therefore, always avoided openly discussing their decisions or suggesting new ideas, focusing instead on delivering requests. However, effective consultants don’t just follow orders, they take the initiative to think like a leader. I thus began challenging myself to think critically to assess objectives.” 

This excerpt from Lucas’ essay clearly shows how traits he gained from his cultural background contributed both positively and negatively to his character. This way, he can use this theme to discuss both of these elements. 

Tip #4: Check Out Past Examples!

Some schools are explicitly looking for candidates to show how they have grown from failures or are improving on their weaknesses. This is because top MBA programs are looking for students with what is called a growth mindset . Take INSEAD, for example, whose motivational essay questions request you do both:

 “Give a candid description of yourself (who you are as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors that have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary.” (approximately 500 words)

“Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned. (approximately 400 words)”

INSEAD knows that you must reflect on failure to continue growing, and outright demands this skill from their candidates. 

Ross is another good example. They ask candidates to answer one of three prompts from two sets. One of the prompts reads: 

“I was humbled when…” (100 words or fewer)”

Like INSEAD, Ross wants to know how you reacted at a time things did not go exactly as you planned. Learning from a past failure would be a good choice for this prompt. Not sure if you’ve struck the right balance when writing about your failures and weaknesses?

If you are looking for help, don’t hesitate to check out our MBA Resource Center ! There, you can find dozens of past successful essays and detailed brainstorming worksheets to help you plan out a winning essay. 

Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join!

Tip #5: Nobody is Perfect!

If you try to make a case to the admissions committee that claims you have a flawless record, this is unlikely to be successful. In other words, to allege perfection is likely to get your application set aside. This is because the adcom is looking for a pattern of success based on abilities of self-reflection, open-mindedness, and capacity for improvement.  

After all, universities – including top programs like Harvard , MIT , or Yale – are institutions of learning . All schools implicitly value growth, improving on one’s weaknesses, and intellectual appetite. High-profile MBA programs are specifically looking for these qualities in their candidates. 

If you claim that you are perfect, you indicate that there is nothing left to learn. This is definitely not the impression you want to give the adcom. By including failures and weaknesses, you can show the adcom that, even in success, there is still a way to get even better – and become even more successful. 

Remember, you are not trying to tell the adcom that you are perfect . Instead, you are trying to tell them how you use imperfection to your advantage to lead you to success.

Tip #6: Utilize personal failures, too

Not every failure or weakness you discuss has to come from your professional background. Personal stories about failure can be very effective, too . Similarly, not every failure has to be a huge one – some can be tiny mistakes that you wish you had done differently.

Personal weaknesses may range from disappointing a good friend to a tendency for tardiness. They could include not making time for someone in need, deciding not to take over the family business, or the fact that you have trouble negotiating compromise. 

Last year, our client Audrey wrote about a personal failure while leading her sailing team in a regional competition. In her answer, Audrey explains that her team consisted of her and her five teammates, all expert sailors. However, an inability to work together, despite careful planning, led to them losing their first race of the regatta:

“I learned that to have a successful team, it is not sufficient to focus only on high-performing individuals. Instead, it is necessary to create a unified mentality, aimed together at the same goal. If given a second chance, I would begin our planning by emphasizing how we were all skilled sailors but that we needed to form a united team. Some of us might disagree with aspects of the strategy, but we must derive a single plan and stick to it, knowing that focusing our efforts is the best overall option.”

Here, Audrey learned an important lesson about leadership, an important quality in MBA candidates . As you can see, strong professional lessons can also be derived from personal stories.

Failures and weaknesses can also include much larger personal challenges. You may even find that themes like coming to terms with your identity or overcoming loss are powerful – and authentic – solutions. This may be another way to creatively elaborate a change in industry or direction in your professional past. 

Tip #7: Talk About Failure – Even When You Don’t Have To!

Although schools like INSEAD and Ross explicitly ask their candidates to discuss past failures or their weaknesses, choosing to do so for another school is never a bad idea. Depending on the prompt, you can decide to discuss your failures and weaknesses for other schools as well. 

This will help demonstrate to other schools that you have a growth mentality, can reflect on your past failures, and see the need to improve on your weaknesses. Keep in mind that the admin board is looking for these traits – even if they are not explicitly asking you to talk about them!

For his LBS essay, for example, our client Dennis decided to tell the admissions board how working with the case-study format during a university exchange led to lower grades but ultimately helped him refine his communication skills. 

Whatever you choose, make sure the content you are sharing is relevant and adds value to your application. 

Make Sure Your MBA Essays Get You In

The extracurricular activities you decide to discuss in your MBA essay are completely up to you. They will depend on your personal context, your unique interests, and your motivation to contribute to your MBA community. 

Of course, discussing these in the right amount of detail or ensuring that you remain authentic to yourself is not always straightforward. Even the best writers struggle with these issues sometimes. 

At Ellin Lolis Consulting, we are here to help ensure that you make the most of your MBA admissions essays and how you can engage with your MBA community beyond the classroom.

So click here and put our expertise to work for your application!

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• Feb 2, 2023

From Flaw to Strength: 5 Weaknesses For Your MBA Application

Updated: Feb 1

Some business schools explicitly ask for weaknesses in their written applications. For example, the INSEAD MBA application includes a strengths and weaknesses essay:

“Give a candid description of yourself (who are you as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary in 500 words.”

While answering a question like this, you need to reflect on your work experience to identify a weakness that is, first off, undeniably a weakness, and second improvable. Think of something that is a trait or a skill that needs improvement. Humbly accept it and show how you’re working on improving it. Then pair it with a fierce strength of yours, especially something you’ve been applauded for at work, to balance it out and make a strong impression on AdCom.

But for those schools that don’t have a personal strengths and weaknesses essay, it’s also a question you should be ready to answer in your 1:1 interview , a mandatory part of most business school applications. These interviews are usually conducted by the AdCom or a second-year student and statistically you have a 50% chance of making it through to the school.

In these MBA interviews, a weakness question could come up in many ways, but according to our client feedback the two most common weakness interview questions are:

“Tell us about your biggest weakness”

“Tell us about a time you failed”

Don’t even think about brushing them off with a rubbish answer, such as “I’m a perfectionist”, thinking they won’t be able to see through you. Forget it. They definitely will. So, how do you identify a weakness for your essays and interviews? Let’s read further.

How to identify (a good) weakness

Admitting a weakness might look like it could harm your candidature. And yes, it could if you don’t approach the question in the right way, which is to find a genuine weakness and explain how you are working to improve it. This shows maturity, self-awareness and the ability to address an area for improvement. After all, if you were perfect already, you wouldn't need an MBA!

Instead of focusing on fundamental personality flaws, we suggest highlighting a skill that you are working to improve. To do this, make a list of the technical and non-technical skills that are required to succeed in your industry. Then, identify the skills you already possess and the ones you need to develop. Finally, select a skill that an MBA program could help you improve.

For example, if you find it difficult to share your innovative ideas with a room full of strangers, explain how this has affected you at work. Then talk about the actionable steps you have taken to improve this weakness. This could include taking on a hobby such as public speaking or acting. This approach demonstrates that you are action-oriented, have a growth-oriented mindset, are introspective and have the maturity to articulate your weaknesses. It also shows that you are not afraid of being vulnerable , a trait that is essential for success in an MBA program and in life.

Pro tip: One of the first steps we take with clients is to ask them to complete a Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test. Using this, you can identify weaknesses typical of your personality type. You can take a free personality test at 16personalities.com.

Take an MBTI personality test to find the weaknesses typical of your personality type

Now that you understand how to choose a weakness and discuss it in your interview, check out five examples of personal weaknesses that you may want to use in your essays or interview.

5 personal weaknesses examples for MBA applications

1. I tend to overlook details

“My biggest weakness is that I am not naturally detail-oriented, and tend to focus more on the big picture. As a project manager in my current job, I once lost a significant deal due to overlooking crucial details in the contract. Since then, I’ve been working on improving my attention to detail. For instance, I now take detailed notes during meetings and review them afterwards to ensure I didn't miss anything important. I also make a point of double-checking my work before submitting it, and have been delegating some of my tasks to a colleague known for their attention to detail. I’ll continue to improve on this during my MBA by systematically checking coursework for myself and my study team."

2. I tend to be overly self-critical

“Being highly self-conscious, I sometimes struggle with self-criticism. I often find myself judging my thoughts and ideas, which leads me to doubt my skills and abilities. Because of this, I sometimes get stuck in a continuous procrastinating cycle. Fairly recently, I missed out on an important project at work because I was afraid to open up and share my ideas with my teammates. To improve on this weakness, I’ve been trying to be more mindful of my thoughts and practice self-compassion. I try to remind myself that it's normal to make mistakes and that everyone has unique strengths and weaknesses. I also try to reframe my negative thoughts and turn them into positives. Practicing meditation and mindfulness techniques has also helped me focus on the present and not get caught up in negative thoughts. Recently, I was able to present my ideas one at a time to a prospective client without getting too caught up in my head, by taking these small steps. He was so impressed by my presentation that he signed a new contract. This is the biggest client account I have onboarded in my current role.”

3. I struggle to multi-task

“I can struggle to manage different tasks at the same time. This especially became challenging when I took over as an Operations Specialist, where I led the implementation teams for 10 different tier-2 cities across India. With so much happening on various fronts, I sometimes failed to meet the deadline or could not resolve supply chain issues with different city teams. My manager gave me feedback to use a platform like 'Notion' to manage project timelines better. She also advised breaking tasks into smaller goals and set a to-do list for each day. I have also started to delegate wherever possible so that my team becomes more efficient and self-dependent. Since implementing these suggestions, I’ve certainly improved my ability to multi-task and have received great feedback.”

4. I lose interest during execution

“I’m the Ideas person in my team. When we’re marketing a new product in our agency, I’m the one who devises an innovative marketing strategy and creates effective action plans. I love making chart boards and step-by-step plans and using data visualization tech like Tableau. However, when it comes to executing our strategies, my mind often moves onto the next project before the last one is complete. In my post-MBA role of Marketing Manager at a startup, I’ll lead the in-house marketing team where I’ll need to oversee the execution of our strategies while also devising new strategies. During my MBA, I plan to take the Operations elective with professor XYZ to help manage this.”

5. I can be reluctant to speak up

“Being an introvert, I can be reserved in meetings and after-work networking gatherings. While working with new teams, it takes me time to warm up to my teammates and openly share my ideas. However, I have recently acknowledged this weakness and am working on becoming more comfortable in social settings. I go out of my way to attend networking events regularly, where I challenge myself to initiate conversations with new people. I have also joined the Toastmasters public speaking club to help me improve my confidence. I am determined to continue to put in the effort to become more outgoing and confident in social settings, as I know it will help me achieve my professional goals."

We hope these 5 examples of weaknesses help you understand how to constructively share your weakness with AdCom during your interview. If you need help preparing for your business school interview, why not book a 20-min chat with any of our consultants and explore how our team can help you prepare for your MBA interviews.

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50 MBA Essays That Got Applicants Admitted To Harvard & Stanford

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What Matters? and What More? is a collection of 50 application essays written by successful MBA candidates to Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business

I sat alone one Saturday night in a boardroom in Eastern Oregon, miles from home, my laptop lighting the room. I was painstakingly reviewing a complex spreadsheet of household energy consumption data, cell by cell. ‘Why am I doing this to myself? For remote transmission lines?’…I felt dejected. I’d felt that way before, during my summer at JP Morgan, standing alone in the printing room at 3 a.m., binding decks for a paper mill merger that wouldn’t affect my life in the least.

That’s how an analyst at an MBB firm started his MBA application essay to Stanford Graduate School of Business. His point: In a well-crafted essay, he confronts the challenge of finding meaning in his work and a place where he can make a meaningful difference. That is what really matters most to him, and his answer to Stanford’s iconic MBA application essay helped get him defy the formidable odds of acceptance and gain an admit to the school.

Getting into the prestigious MBA programs at either Stanford Graduate School of Business or Harvard Business School are among the most difficult journeys any young professional can make.

NEARLY 17,000 CANDIDATES APPLIED TO HARVARD & STANFORD LAST YEAR. 1,500 GOT IN

This collection of 50 successful HBS and GSB essays, with smart commentary, can be downloaded for $60

They are two of the most selective schools, routinely rejecting nine or more out of every ten applicants. Last year alone, 16,628 candidates applied to both schools; just 1,520 gained an acceptance, a mere 9.1% admit rate.

Business school admissions are holistic, meaning that while standardized test scores and undergraduate transcripts are a critical part of the admissions process, they aren’t the whole story. In fact, the stories that applicants tell the schools in the form of essays can be a critical component of a successful application.

So what kinds of stories are successful applicants to Harvard and Stanford telling their admission officers? For the first time ever, a newly published collection of 50 of these essays from current MBA students at these two schools has been published. In ten cases, applicants share the essays they wrote in applying to both schools so you can see whether they merely did a cut-and-paste job or approached the task anew. The 188-page book, What Matters? and What More?, gains its title from the two iconic essay prompts at Harvard and Stanford.

THOUGHTFUL CRITIQUES OF THE ESSAYS

Stanford can easily boast having the most difficult question posed to MBA applicants in any given year: In 650 words or less, candidates must tell the school what matters most to them and why. Harvard gives applicants ample room to hang themselves, providing no word limit at all, “What more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?”

One makes this unusual collection of essays powerful are the thoughtful critiques by the founders of two MBA admissions consulting firms, Jeremy Shinewald of mbaMission and Liza Weale of Gatehouse Admissions. They write overviews of each essay in the book and then tear apart portions by paragraphs to either underline a point or address a weakness. The book became available to download for $60 a pop.

As I note in a foreword to the collection, published in partnership with Poets&Quants, the essay portion of an application is where a person can give voice to who they are, what they have achieved so far, and what they imagine their future to be. Yet crafting a powerful and introspective essay can be incredibly daunting as you stare at a blank computer screen.

APPLICANTS OPEN UP WITH INTIMATE STORIES THAT SHOW VULNERABILITY

One successful applicant to Harvard Business School begins his essay by conveying a deeply personal story: The time his father was told that he had three months to live, with his only hope being a double lung transplant. had to undergo a lung transplant. His opening line: “Despite all we had been through in recent years, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I asked my mother one summer evening in Singapore, ‘What role did I play during those tough times?’”

For this candidate to Stanford Graduate School of Business, the essay provided a chance to creatively engage admission readers about what matters most to him–equality-by cleverly using zip codes as a hook.

60605, 60606, 60607.

These zip codes are just one digit apart, but the difference that digit makes in someone’s life is unfathomable. I realized this on my first day as a high school senior. Leafing through my out-of- date, stained, calculus textbook, I kept picturing the new books that my friend from a neighboring (more affluent) district had. As college acceptances came in, I saw educational inequality’s more lasting effects—my friends from affluent districts that better funded education were headed to prestigious universities, while most of my classmates were only accepted by the local junior college. I was unsettled that this divergence wasn’t the students’ doing, but rather institutionalized by the state’s education system. Since this experience, I realized that the fight for education equality will be won through equal opportunity. Overcoming inequality, to ensure that everyone has a fair shake at success, is what matters most to me.

HOW AN APPLICANT TO BOTH SCHOOLS ALTERED HIS ESSAYS

Yet another candidate, who applied to both Harvard and Stanford, writes about being at but not fully present at his friend’s wedding.

The morning after serving as my friend’s best man, I was waiting for my Uber to the airport and—as usual—scrolling through my phone,” he wrote. “I had taken seemingly hundreds of photos of the event, posting in real time to social media, but had not really looked through them. With growing unease, I noticed people and things that had not registered with me the night before and realized I had been so preoccupied with capturing the occasion on my phone that I had essentially missed the whole thing. I never learned the name of the woman beside me at the reception. I could not recall the wedding cake flavor. I never introduced myself to my friend’s grandfather from Edmonton. I was so mortified that before checking into my flight, I turned my phone off and stuffed it into my carry-on.

The Stanford version of his essay is more compact. In truth, it’s more succinctly written and more satisfying because it is to the point. By stripping away all but the most critical pieces of his narrative, the candidate focuses his essay entirely on his central point: the battle of man versus technology.

Even if you’re not applying to business school, the essays are entertaining and fun to read. Sure, precious few are New Yorker worthy. In fact, many are fairly straightforward tales, simply told. What the successful essays clearly show is that there is no cookie-cutter formula or paint-by-the-numbers approach. Some start bluntly and straightforwardly, without a compelling or even interesting opening. Some meander through different themes. Some betray real personality and passion. Others are frankly boring. If a pattern of any kind could be discerned, it is how genuine the essays read.

The greatest benefit of reading them? For obsessive applicants to two of the very best business schools, they’ll take a lot of pressure off of you because they are quite imperfect.

GET YOUR COPY OF WHAT MATTERS? AND WHAT MORE? NOW

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How to Answer “What’s Your Greatest Weakness?” [Real-life examples and practical tips inside]

You’re in the middle of your business school interview, confidently responding to all the questions your interview panel is shooting at you from all directions.

“I’m crushing it!” you think to yourself. On the outside, you’re smiling politely. On the inside, you’re glowing.

One of the interviewers decides it’s time to ask another question. A dreadful question. This a question that makes most people squirm during any interview.

“What’s your greatest weakness?”

You pause. Furiously thinking. Still smiling politely. You can feel your pause stretching eternally.

And then you blurt out something. Incoherent. Banal. Inauthentic.

Your interview panel looks visibly unconvinced. The interviewers start to probe further. Your responses start to become more and more convoluted. Now you feel yourself struggling to explain.

And just like that you know you have messed up what was until then a great interview.

Over the years, I’ve interviewed, both at MBAEssayNation and on the interview panel of ISB, hundreds of applicants. And most struggle to respond well to this question.

What I have done is analyzed the best and the worst responses to this much-dreaded question.

So, by the end of this post, you will walk away with the exact formula to answer this question like a pro.

But first, we need to understand the “Why” behind this question.

Table of Contents

Why is this question important?

3 most important things your interviewers want to know when they ask this question are –

• How self-aware are you?

We all face numerous challenges at our workplace, ranging from conflicts to managing deliverables. And just like we have strengths that help us navigate many of these challenges, there are also weaknesses that prevent us from operating at optimal levels. The interviewers, by asking this question, essentially want to know whether you are aware of any such weaknesses.

• Can you be open and honest about it?

And if you are aware of your weakness, how willing are you to articulate it openly and with honesty?

• Finally, what are you doing to overcome your weakness?

It’s all very well to be aware of your weakness and the fact that you can even be open about it. But what the panel would really like to know is whether you are pursuing any self-improvement opportunities. Because a weakness that’s hindering your effectiveness has to be tackled, right?

Having said that, it’s never easy to confess openly about your weakness.

In fact, 90% of candidates during their B-School interviews, struggle to respond to this question.

So, how should you respond to this question?

You need to show these 2 crucial elements in your response –

• Self-Awareness
• Actions and improvements

Show Self-Awareness

Start by identifying your areas of improvement. 3 sources you can tap into are

Source No #1: Reflect and Introspect

Your past is a great source for identifying your weaknesses. Incidents where you know you could’ve handled things better, but you didn’t or couldn’t. Write them down.

Source No #2: Post MBA goals – from your essays

Chances are you’ve already identified an important area of weakness while writing your post-MBA goals essay.

Source No #3: Feedback from managers, colleagues, or your recommenders

Seek out those at work who know you best. Get their honest feedback on what you can improve further.

(I’d highly recommend you connect with people from your professional network– those who’ve worked with you –rather than trying to get it from family and friends. Because, well, our family and friends think we’re awesome and that’s not going to be of much help, is it?)

Show Actions and Improvements

It’s all about momentum. You can’t just stop saying, “Oh, well, this is my weakness”.

Your interviewers would be interested to know what’re you doing about it.

This means when you respond, it should be all about Show rather than Tell .

Show that you’re working on improving your weakness by outlining the actions you’re taking and the results you’re achieving .

To recap, make sure you’re able to verbalize your self-awareness about a weakness , explain what you’re doing to overcome your weakness, and summarize the progress you’ve made so far .

Weaknesses and Skills

Because your weaknesses are typically linked to skills or capabilities you need at work, it helps to know about the different skill types.

Broadly, there’re 2 categories –

• Hard Skills
• Soft Skills

Hard skills are those foundational blocks you need to do your work competently. Examples of hard skills would be accounting, advanced mathematics, project management, specific software applications and so on, depending on your professional background.

Soft skills are integral to you as a person. For instance, if you communicate well through writing, you have strong written communication skills. Or, if you are someone who has lots of patience and you don’t get easily rattled, then your patience is your soft skill. Some other examples of soft skills are creativity, being organized, and, risk-taking, to list a few.

Soft skills can be further broken down into two subcategories –

• Interpersonal Skills
• Work Ethic Skills

Interpersonal skills help you work with others, be it your team members, managers, vendors, or clients. Examples of weak interpersonal skills include being too blunt with others, not having enough patience, being aggressive, extremely shy, and so on.

Work ethic skills relate to how you are at work. Examples of work ethic skills include taking on too many projects at once, multitasking, delegating tasks, being obsessed with small details, and so on.

Pitfalls to look out for

There are 4 common fallacies that most people fall into when they think about this question.

• Trying too hard to turn a negative into a positive

Saying things like “I am a perfectionist” or “I work too hard” seem banal and inauthentic. Even if you think these are true, stay away from such oft-repeated responses. You’ll get a massive eye-roll from your interviewers.

• Refusing to answer the question

We are all inherently flawed. And we’re all works in progress. That’s just what makes us human. Refusing to acknowledge that there’re areas we can do better is a strong indicator of a lack of self-awareness.

• Revealing a weakness that raises red flags

If you’re a project manager but you say, “My project management skills are my biggest weakness”, that’s a RED flag. Similarly, if you are a people manager, but you say, “I hate managing people, I’d rather be an individual contributor”, that’s again a red flag.

More so, in the context of a business school interview because business schools are in the business of nurturing business leaders who can lead others. (Wow, that’s a lot of “business” there!)

• Revealing weaknesses that you’ve already overcome

Remember your interviewers want to know, “What IS your greatest weakness?” which means they want you to talk about a weakness you haven’t yet overcome but are in the process of overcoming.

Customize for the context

In a business school context, know what business schools look for in their future MBA students. Typically, there’re 5 primary attributes all business schools value the most –

• Team player
• Emotional intelligence
• Analytical thinking
• Respect for diverse perspectives

Make sure the weakness you zoom in on isn’t in major conflict with any of the above attributes.

Examples of Answers That Might Backfire In B-School Interviews

What makes answering this question so tough is that it’s tricky. Sometimes a response that’s authentic may still backfire because your interviewers may perceive it to be in conflict with the key attributes that business schools look for.

“I am incredibly introverted, which makes me wary of sharing my ideas in a group setting or speaking up during team meetings. I feel that I had good intentions, I just wasn’t always comfortable speaking up…”

The reason this response could be a problem is that most business schools follow case study methodology which means at the most basic level, students are expected to openly share their thoughts with their classmates and faculty.

If you’re too shy to speak up in a group setting, you may not be perceived as a good fit because being comfortable with people is an essential attribute for a business leader.

This response could, therefore, be in conflict with the leadership attribute that schools value.

Do you see the challenge with such a response now? Good, let’s see some more examples.

“I go to great lengths to avoid confrontation. This caused me to compromise sometimes on the quality of my work or what I needed to complete a project just to keep the peace. This became a real problem when I became a manager..”

Compromising with the quality of your work thanks to your weakness can result in some serious eyebrow-raising from your interviewers. Your foundational competency is under a shadow which again is in conflict with core attributes such as leadership and emotional intelligence.

“Oftentimes, I can be timid when providing constructive feedback to co-workers or managers, out of fear of hurting someone’s feelings…”

This is also in conflict with attributes such as leadership and emotional intelligence.

“When I’m given a task, I am very goal-oriented and work hard to complete that task. However, when new projects come across my plate, I sometimes jump right into those projects and halt work on the projects I had in progress. Having to jump between tasks, so many times throughout the day hinders my productivity…

This can raise questions about your ability to manage the heavy workload of a rigorous program that an MBA is.

Similarly, a response like “I’m not great at analyzing data or numbers” can be viewed negatively especially if you are applying to a program that has a heavy quant-focused curriculum.

As I mentioned before, be careful about the weakness you want to talk about. Being overly honest without knowing the context could backfire.

Because some of these responses can be double-edged and can go either way – either in your favor or against it – you’ve got to factor in these 4 things –

• Be authentic – The BS detectors of interviewers are finely honed so this one’s a no-brainer
• While you’re being authentic, remember to pick a weakness that is acceptable in a business school context – use the 5 key attributes to guide your choice
• Next, select a weakness that’s relatively minor and can be fixed with the right effort
• And make sure you identify 2-3 weaknesses, just in case, your interviewers ask for more.

All right, now that we’ve understood the “Why” of this question, it’s time to focus on how you can create your response.

Create your response in 3 steps

Use this simple 3I framework

Identify – Identify your weakness

Initiate – Initiate actions to work on your weakness

Improve – Improve your weakness

Identify a “good” weakness

Ask yourself these questions –

• Is there a task or work-related skill that you don’t like to do or don’t do well ?
• Did your supervisor or co-workers ever point out you needed to work on some characteristics ?
• Did you ever have any academic weaknesses ?

Example of identifying a weakness

Weakness Identified – Being overly self-critical

“My greatest weakness is that I sometimes have a hard time letting go of a project. I’m the biggest critic of my work, and I can always find something that needs to be improved or changed.

I observed that even after completing a deliverable, I would mull over what I could have done better. I decided that beyond a certain point, it was unproductive to focus so much attention on what could have been improved or changed.”

Show actions you’ve initiated to work on your weakness

• Enroll in a class
• Get training (internal or external)
• Join groups or workshops
• Sign up for an opportunity at work
• Volunteer for an activity outside of work that uses that skill
• Get help from a mentor or advisor
• Find tools that help correct the weakness

Example of initiating action

To help myself improve in this area, I have started to give myself deadlines for revisions. Within those deadlines, I proactively also seek feedback from my manager and team, and if their feedback confirms that my deliverables meet expectations, I tell myself that my work is good enough to be submitted and that it’s time for me to move on to other deliverables or projects.

Show you are able to make improvements

Ask yourself these questions

• Have you noticed an improvement?
• Did your manager or co-workers notice a change after you put the effort to work on your weakness?
• Can you prove that you’re fixing your weakness with clear results?

Example of improving

“This helps ensure that I’m neither making changes at the last minute nor expending precious time and energy trying to perfect something that’s already good enough.

I’ve also started to take out time to look at my achievements objectively and celebrate those wins.”

Tie all the 3Is together with the STAR method

STAR, if you haven’t come across this method before, stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result.

The beauty of STAR is that it lends a structure to your response, helping you craft your response in a way that makes it easy for the listener to appreciate your story far more effectively.

Now, that we have all the 3 elements from the 3I framework, let’s see how, using STAR, we can combine the elements to form a coherent and importantly, impactful response.

Situation  –  My greatest weakness is that I sometimes have a hard time letting go of a project. I’m the biggest critic of my work, and I can always find something that needs to be improved or changed.

Task  – I observed that even after completing a deliverable, I would mull over what I could have done better. I decided that beyond a certain point, it was unproductive to focus so much attention on what could have been improved or changed.

Action  –   To help myself improve in this area, I have started to give myself deadlines for revisions. Within those deadlines, I proactively also seek feedback from my manager and team, and if their feedback confirms that my deliverables meet expectations, I tell myself that my work is good enough to be submitted and that it’s time for me to move on to other deliverables or projects.

Result  –  This helps ensure that I’m neither making changes at the last minute nor expending precious time and energy trying to perfect something that’s already good enough. I’ve also started to take out time to look at my achievements objectively and celebrate those wins.

Some more examples

Weakness identified – delegation.

Situation – I think one area I could work on is my delegation skills. I am always so concerned about everything being done right and on time that I can get stuck in that mentality of “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” Unfortunately, that’s not always possible and I’ve realized that by not delegating I can in fact slow things down.

Task – I learned this recently when I was working with 2 others on a critical cross-functional project. The project had a tight deadline and initially, I sensed my team members were not contributing as much as they should.

So, I took up most of the activities because I didn’t want us to fall behind schedule. But I soon realized that by doing so, I was caught up in the minutiae, I was stressing myself out, and worse, we were all missing out on the opportunity to collaborate effectively by bringing our knowledge and expertise to the table, which was the reason why we were chosen for the project in the first place.

Stepping back helped me see that it wasn’t a lack of willingness but a fear of failure that was holding my team members from bringing their best. And by taking up all the activities, I was in fact, doing a huge disfavor to not just myself but also to them.

Action – I created a plan for all three of us to work on various activities and started to have mini-training sessions to coach my team members on how to work on those activities. Taking the time to clarify tasks, putting necessary support and resources in place, and reviewing progress regularly are some of the steps I took to overcome my reluctance to delegate. Soon, our project started to progress really well. My team members learned new skills and gained confidence each time they successfully completed an activity. Importantly, I got the time to focus on the big picture.

Result – This experience has taught me how crucial it is to delegate, and how delegation can empower people by turning them into problem solvers. I know this is important to both my success and the development of my team. I am also learning that for delegation to succeed, it’s important to put the necessary support and resources in place along with regular progress reviews.

Weakness – Too Direct

Situation  –  My blunt, straightforward nature has allowed me to succeed over the years as a team manager, because I’m able to get things done efficiently, and people often appreciate my honesty. However, I’ve recognized my bluntness doesn’t always serve my team well when I’m delivering feedback.

Task  –  When my team members’ work would fall short of my expectations, I’d give direct, critical feedback. But I observed that many team members would take the feedback personally rather than as feedback for their specific deliverables or performance at work. I realized I had to become more tactful in the way I shared feedback, especially when their work didn’t meet my expectations.

Action  –   To combat this, I’ve worked to develop empathy and deeper relationships with those I manage. To do so, I requested my manager to coach me. I also enrolled in an online leadership management course to develop my ability to deliver feedback.

Result  –  I’ve realized feedback can be both helpful and kind when delivered the right way. I understand how different individuals respond differently to feedback and that’s why it’s important I keep the process as objective as possible by sharing constructive rather than critical feedback so that, at the end of a feedback discussion, people don’t just become aware about their improvement areas but also feel empowered to work on those areas.

Weakness – Impatience

Situation  –  My greatest weakness is that I get impatient when projects run past the deadline. I’m a stickler for due dates and I get uncomfortable when work is not completed on time.

Task  –  I was working with my onshore team to release a much-awaited product by a certain date, setting up daily meetings with them. I ensured that the majority of the user testing was done offshore so that all the activities were completed on schedule. However, just 3 days before the launch, the onshore team decided to delay the release by 2 weeks. This caused me a great deal of consternation, given the effort my team and I had put in. When I spoke to my onshore team, I found out that their senior managers had wanted them to change the UX and when the UX team suddenly became available, they decided to delay the release for the new UX. I have always prided myself on being a problem solver and getting things done on or before schedule. Still, I learned through this experience that it’s important for me to accept that sometimes, in spite of my best efforts, projects will be delayed due to factors outside my control.

Action  –   To handle such situations where things outside my control could affect my plans, I have started to focus on what I control – I’m paying close attention to how I can improve responding to unforeseen situations, by making an effort to accept that there are different ways of achieving an outcome, in this case launching a product that was useful for users, despite the delays. And I am trying to see things from different individuals’ points of view and the constraints they might be working with.

Result  –  I am learning that when managing projects with many variables, it’s not always possible to plan everything to the last detail. It’s important to focus on planning rather than remaining too fixated on the plans. And that by being patient and motivational in such situations, I would be able to foster greater efficiency.

Weakness – Too detail-oriented

Situation  –  My greatest weakness is that I sometimes focus too much on the details of a project and spend too much time analyzing the finer points.

Task – A few months ago, I was asked to create a  3-min video presentation to build awareness about a strategic program I was managing. This was the first time I was creating a presentation in a video format. The plan was to show the video to employees across my company.

I worked hard to capture as many details as possible to ensure that I covered every single aspect in great depth so that the context and messaging were clear to all employees.

When I told my manager how I was struggling to fit in all the information in a 3-min video, my manager helped me understand that for a 3-min video, I should include a high-level view of the program, and by including too many details, I run the risk of overwhelming them.

Action  –   I refocused my attention on highlighting the high-level view of the program. Initially, I struggled but I made a conscious effort to be stringent in choosing only the most crucial elements.

I constantly reminded myself of the deadline to focus on capturing the most important aspects of my program and was able to limit the video’s length to 3 mins. It was a great success and was well-received.

Result  – Overall, the experience has shown that I have some unlearning and learning to do to balance out being too detail-oriented.

I’ve been striving to improve in this area by checking in with myself at regular intervals and articulating the bigger purpose of each task. This helps me re-focus on the bigger picture. It’s forcing me to examine what matters and to let go of what doesn’t.

Additionally, I regularly seek the perspectives of my manager and colleagues, to ensure I’m effectively channeling my detail-oriented side.

Weakness – I could use more experience in…

Choose a hard skill such as finance, analytics, PowerPoint, and so on, and then elaborate

Situation  –  Because my work has always been more on the creative side and involved minimal quantitative data, I didn’t focus much on data analysis.

Task  –  However, I recognized data analysis is in fact, quite important to understand how my content is performing on various online channels.

Action  –   I decided to set up monthly meetings with the SEO manager to discuss analytics and how our posts were performing. On her advice, I took up a Google Analytics course to get better at analyzing web data.

Result  –  Few months back, I received my Google Analytics certificate, and I make it a point to regularly analyze data related to our blog.

I’ve become much more comfortable with analyzing data through these efforts

Examples of identifying weaknesses in your essays and recommendation letters

One good way is to ask yourself

“What is a weakness that I have and how can this school’s MBA program help me address it?”

Here’s an example of a weakness that one of my clients identified from their post-MBA goals essay

“While managing marketing operations, I recognized I lack adequate understanding of a data-driven approach to derive actionable insights and real-time marketing decisions from complex data streams.

I sought my manager’s help for an opportunity to work with the data science team on a short-term cross-functional project. This gave me a good chance to understand the fundamentals of data analytics. I continue to build my knowledge about space by reading about it in my spare time.

ISB’s courses on marketing analytics will help me gain not just quantitative but also managerial critical thinking skills and consumer behavior knowledge to bridge my knowledge gaps in this area.”

The weakness identified was marketing analytics.

Likewise, your recommendation letters are also another good source you can use to identify weaknesses.

If you don’t have access to your recommendation letters, you can always request your recommender(s) to share their constructive feedback directly with you

And if you have access to your recommendation letters, then look for this question that your recommender would’ve responded to –

Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant.

Here’s an example of a weakness that one of my clients identified from their recommendation letters –

When we were working together for a distributor review meeting, I noticed that Sumit would sometimes take up many activities, affecting his efficiency.

To manage this issue and given that he managed a large territory, I advised him to adopt a systematic approach to pursue various leads and opportunities. I told him to assess, prioritize, analyze, and then act. I advised him to prioritize his important tasks, ask as many clarifying questions as possible to thoroughly understand the problem at hand, and then outline a solution. For the next few days, Sumit followed my approach and prioritized a number of accounts to work on and we made substantial progress with those accounts.

Since then, he has diligently practiced this approach. One time, he was given the responsibility to develop a new distributor. He was already managing one of the largest distributors along with 45-50 client accounts when he got this additional responsibility. He did an excellent job by focusing only on the 15-20 major accounts and devoted the rest of his time to the training and development of the new distributor.

The weakness identified was multitasking.

Here’s one more example where the weakness identified was a lack of cross-functional knowledge –

“Reena needs more exposure to the various internal business functions. Therefore, I suggested to her to explore the business side, by taking up specialized courses or going for an MBA. This way Reena will be able to contribute even more to our organization if she developed a more detailed understanding of the other functions. She has taken my feedback well and has increased her interactions with colleagues from the other functions in an attempt to understand more about the different functions and their challenges.”

To Conclude

There are many ways, including using a SWOT matrix , to zoom in on weaknesses that you use to talk about during your MBA interviews.

By following the tips and analyzing the examples shared in this post, you can see that if you prepare a complete response you are able to pre-empt further follow-up questions.

And why is that important? Because your interviewers can then move on to hopefully, easier questions 😊

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7 tips for writing a winning mba application essay.

Nervous about your MBA admissions essay? You’re not alone! Many applicants wonder how to put their best foot forward in a business school entrance essay.

In this article, I’ll tell you what admissions committees look for in application essays and offer MBA essay tips on how to make yours stand out. We’ll also take a look at the different kinds of business school essays and a few examples of MBA essay prompts.

Why Do Business Schools Ask for Essays? What Do They Look For?

Business schools ask for essays for several reasons, all of which help admissions committees determine whether you have the skills and traits to succeed in an MBA program.

First, MBA admissions committees want to see how you write. Communication skills—including concision, clarity, style, and fluency in English—will be essential to your success in business school. One way of discerning your level of writing ability is to require an original writing sample. In an MBA essay, you have to get your point across straightforwardly, elegantly, and concisely; being able to do this is a key element of succeeding in business school and the world of business in general.

Also, MBA admissions committees want to get a sense of who you are on a more personal level. MBA application essays tell admissions officials about you not only through what you say, but in how you say it. Are you self-aware, for example, and can you reflect on past challenges or mistakes in a thoughtful way? Do you demonstrate insight into who you are and your goals? How you answer questions about yourself, your career, and your journey can help MBA admissions officials discern your level of critical thinking and personal insight.

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You can have countless accomplishments, but to succeed in business school, you’ll also need to fit in with the campus climate, work well with your peers, and contribute to campus diversity in a meaningful way. The MBA essay is a place for you to talk about the background or experiences you have that are unique to you and that you believe could differentiate you from your colleagues and/or provide a fresh perspective to campus.

Finally, essays are a way for you to showcase the qualities that most MBA programs say they are looking for in applicants, such as leadership skills, community involvement, problem-solving skills, communication skills, clear goals, and a strong sense of ethics. Some of these traits might not be readily apparent from a resume alone, and an MBA essay can be a place for you to elaborate on how you’ve cultivated them in yourself.

MBA Entrance Essay Sample Prompts

Most MBA entrance essays ask you about one of several things. Many of them are variations on similar questions: the open-ended question, the leadership question, the personal growth question, questions on short- and long-term academic and career goals, and the diversity question. For each one, I’ll give an example of a real MBA essay prompt from 2016 or 2017.

#1: Open-Ended

The open-ended MBA application essay question is just that: open. It allows you to tell your own story, giving you quite a bit of freedom but also little to no guidance. For that reason, many applicants find it to be the most challenging MBA essay prompt.

Harvard Business School has only one essay for its MBA application, and it’s the quintessential open-ended MBA essay question. This is the prompt for 2017-2018 applicants.

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?

Note that, as in other open-ended MBA admission essay prompts, this question asks you to decide what you’ll write about. Successful Harvard applicants and HBS admissions counselors have advised applicants to use the prompt as a chance to demonstrate their past use of an especially desired trait, such as problem-solving skills. For example, many successful applicants use the prompt to describe a scenario in which they faced and overcame a challenge, especially as a leader or alongside a team.

Notably, Harvard also doesn’t list a word limit, so you can decide the appropriate length for your essay. However, most admissions counselors will advise you to keep it concise and straightforward.

#2: Leadership

Another common MBA essay prompt asks you to demonstrate your experience and skills as a leader. Leadership qualities are listed by nearly all MBA admissions counselors as fundamental to a career in business and, thus, to a successful business school application.

Let’s look at a sample leadership MBA essay prompt from Kellogg.

Leadership and teamwork are integral parts of the Kellogg experience. Describe a recent and meaningful time you were a leader. What challenges did you face, and what did you learn? (450 words)

In a response to this kind of prompt, you should be as specific as possible. Name the company you were working for or specifically describe the project you were heading. Who was on your team? What were your objectives? Did you meet them? How could you have done so more effectively?

While you shouldn’t be overly self-deprecating, don’t be afraid to address the challenges you met and how you overcame them (or would overcome them now, with more experience and knowledge). Remember that one important aspect of leadership is accountability, so if there were problems, don’t solely blame your team for them. Instead, reflect on how you successfully worked with your team to solve the problems, and/or on how you could have done so more effectively or efficiently.

#3: Personal Growth

The personal growth MBA admission essay prompt will ask you how you’ve changed in the past and how you want to grow in the future. Here’s one example from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Pursuing an MBA is a catalyst for personal and professional growth. How have you grown in the past? How do you intend to grow at Kellogg? (450 words)

Don’t be afraid to get a bit personal with these kinds of prompts . They’re meant to gauge something about your personality and who you are, rather than only what you’ve done.

Many successful MBA admission essays that respond to these kinds of questions follow a past/present/future format. Ask yourself what traits you’ve gathered over the years that have benefited you personally and professionally, how you’ve improved, and what you’ve learned. What experiences have shaped you? Be as specific as possible.

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Then, take stock of yourself now: your career, your education, and where you see yourself in the future. What do you need in order to get there?

Finally, most essay MBA prompts in this vein (like Kellogg’s) will ask you how they can help you move towards that personal or professional goal. Be as specific as you can, focusing on the particular strengths of the prospective MBA program and how they match up with what you want to improve about yourself as a person, colleague, and leader.

#4: Your Plan

Some MBA application essay prompts will ask you about your career goals and how attendance at a particular business school will help you to achieve them. Let’s look at one from the USC Marshall School of Business.

Essay #1 (Required) – What is your specific, immediate short-term career goal upon completion of your MBA? Please include an intended position, function, and industry in your response. (word limit: 100)

As you can see, questions like these often request brief responses. So get straight to the point, and give details. Name a specific job you’d like to hold, what you’d like to do there, and even particular companies if you can.

Questions like this one will require some research. Research alumni from your prospective business school who’ve ended up in positions comparable to ones you’d like to hold in the future, particular companies and positions that match up with your personal and professional goals, and specific coursework or industry experiences offered by your prospective business school that would help you get there.

#5: Diversity, Culture, and Community

Finally, some MBA essay prompts will ask you how your unique background and experiences would contribute to the overall diversity and collegial atmosphere of a school’s campus climate and community. Here’s one example from USC.

Essay #2 (Required) – At Marshall, we take pride in the fact that our students work collaboratively, both inside and outside the classroom, to create a culture, a community, and an environment that truly defines what we call the Trojan Family. Please describe the contributions you expect to make to your classmates during your time at USC. How will they benefit from your presence in the program? (word limit: 500)

You can respond to questions like this, depending on the wording of the original prompt, by discussing your cultural background, identity, and/or personal experiences that have given you particular insight into a given community or that have lent you a unique perspective that could be valuable to your colleagues as you collaborate.

You can also discuss past community service projects or issues you’re passionate about and how you plan to carry those experiences and passions into your work at your prospective MBA program.

7 MBA Essay Tips

Writing MBA essays takes a particular skill set. Let’s go over the top seven MBA essay tips for making your application essay shine.

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#1: Write Early and Often

Even though MBA entrance essays are brief, they take a lot of polishing. Writing MBA essays takes time.

Don’t expect to write yours at the last minute or knock out a quality essay in a day. Most students need several drafts to make sure they’re getting their points across as elegantly and clearly as possible.

Start your essay well before the application deadline, when you don’t yet feel any pressure. For several weeks, don’t try to write at all. Instead, before crafting your essay for MBA admission, take notes on your past, present, and future. What have you learned? What unique experiences have you had? What have been the most meaningful projects you’ve undertaken? Ask friends, family, and mentors to tell you what they value most about you or what they see as your greatest personal and professional assets.

Only once you’ve gathered this material should you begin your first draft of your MBA application essay. Start with an outline for each one that includes the story you want to tell and the main points you want to get across.

Once you have a clear outline, you can start drafting. Taking the writing process seriously from start to finish will give you a much better product in the end than trying to write something hastily right before the deadline.

#2: Show, Don’t Tell

MBA admissions committees want to be able to tell that you have the qualities that are necessary to succeed in business school, such as leadership skills and integrity.

Your MBA admissions essay can be a great place to showcase those qualities. However, remember to show, not tell. Saying “I have strong leadership skills” doesn’t tell an admissions committee much. Through an anecdote about, say, meeting a difficult deadline or overcoming an obstacle, a reader should be able to tell that you have the qualities of a strong leader without your having to say so explicitly.

#3: Research Your Goals

When describing your future goals, be as specific as possible. Business schools know that your goals may change in the future, but stating specific goals now will show that you’ve done your research and have an idea of what you want and how an MBA program can help you get there.

Before writing your essay for MBA admission, research the ins and outs of the industry you want to enter, the position you’d like to have, companies you might like to work for, and coursework and internships or fieldwork that could aid you on your way to those goals.

#4: Keep It Concise

Never, ever go over a stated word count limit when you’re writing your essay for MBA admission. It might be tempting, but business schools want to see that you can get your point across concisely and straightforwardly.This rule goes for MBA essay prompts that don’t have specific word counts, too: sometimes, less is more.

One of the biggest mistakes applicants make in writing an essay for MBA admission is to use too much flowery language to come across as more professional. If you do this, it can be distracting and cause the admissions committee to miss the main points you’re making.

Bottom line, trim anything extraneous from your essay —that is, anything that doesn’t actively support the main point(s) you’re trying to get across.

#5: Show Self-Awareness

It might feel tempting to use the MBA admission essay as a space to list all of your accomplishments (and since your resume is already part of your application, this is unnecessary), but MBA admissions committees would rather see that you have insight into both your strengths and weaknesses. No one is perfect, and in your essay for MBA admission, you shouldn’t try to come across as if you’ve never made a mistake or faced a challenge that you’ve had to learn from.

Also, in business school and the business world at large, bouncing back from failures, being flexible, and problem solving are all essential skills. All of them require a thick skin and awareness of what you could do better.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t showcase your achievements, but if you’re asked about personal growth or an obstacle you’ve overcome, be clear about what you could have done more effectively in the past (at a job or in your education, for example) and the steps you’ve taken or will take to sidestep that mistake in the future.

#6: Share Your Personal Journey

Many applicants would prefer to focus only on their professional backgrounds and goals in their MBA essays, but you shouldn’t be afraid to get personal in your essay. You don’t need to tell your whole life story, but especially in response to questions that ask about your growth over time, you should showcase your personality and give the admissions committee an idea of your personal background and experiences.

#7: Ask for Edits

It might seem obvious, but many applicants don’t do it: proofread your work! When writing MBA essays, revision is key. Turning in an MBA essay with typos and other errors will come off as thoughtless and unprofessional.

You should also get a second (and, perhaps, a third and fourth) pair of eyes on your essay to make sure it’s coming across as you want it to. Going through several rounds of drafts is a necessary part of the writing process to ensure that you’re putting your best foot forward in your MBA entrance essay.

What’s Next?

Worried about how your GMAT score matches up to other applicants’? Find out more in our list of average GMAT scores by school.

Concerned about your chances of getting into an MBA program? Our guide to business school acceptance rates will help.

Ready to apply to business school? Check out our top eight tips for applying to MBA programs here.

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Author: Laura Dorwart

Laura Dorwart is a Ph.D. student at UC San Diego. She has taught and tutored hundreds of students in standardized testing, literature, and writing. View all posts by Laura Dorwart

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MBA Essay Tips: The 4 Admissions Essays You’ll Likely Encounter When Applying to Business School

It can seem like there are an infinite variety of MBA admissions essays. With famous examples, like the Stanford GSB application’s “What Matters Most to You, and Why?” or the Duke Fuqua application’s “25 Random Things”, it is easy to get overwhelmed thinking that you will have to write a completely different essay with a different subject for every question on every one of your business school applications. While each type of MBA essay does need to be tailored to each b-school, you can simplify and streamline the process of essay writing by embracing the idea that most admission essay prompts can be categorized into core themes.

Let’s get to know them below:

MBA Application Essay #1: The Personal Statement

MBA admissions committees care about your core values, your moral character, and the passions that motivate you. For example, UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School has four stated defining principles :

• Question the Status Quo
• Confidence Without Attitude
• Students Always
• Beyond Yourself

Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business is interested in accepting genuinely nice people . Duke’s Fuqua School of Business is interested in people’s “ decency quotient .” These business schools look to recruit people with worldviews that are compatible with these values and it is your job, in this category of essay, to make sure that comes across.

Luckily, you can talk about almost anything in these personal essays. Applicants will often discuss relationships with friends and mentors. Others might talk about the hardships they overcame or difficult experiences. However, there are some things to avoid which we discus here: 4 Mistakes Applicants Make when Writing the Personal Essay .

At the core, your business school personal statement should serve to illuminate who you are as a person and demonstrate that you live according to a code that is in line with your target business school’s own approach to education.

Yaron Dahan on the Importance of Your Story:

Mba application essay #2: the career goals essay.

Business school admissions committees want you to have a good job when you graduate from their MBA program. This is for three reasons:

• Business schools want their employment report to look good! That means that a very high percentage of graduates receive job offers (currently 98.4% at Wharton , for example), and those jobs have high compensation.
• Business schools want you to get not just “a job”, but a job that you really want. Satisfied students who achieved their goals are likely to promote the school to other potential students and speak well of the program.
• Business schools hope for (some of) their graduates to make enough money to eventually become donors.

Even though getting a good job is important, this isn’t everything. In order to stand out from other candidates, the job needs to be a bit inspiring as well. If you are not ambitious enough in outlining your goals and the impact you want to make in your future career, it is possible to come across as a boring candidate who is more or less content to stay in their current position with slightly better pay. Business schools will likely take a hard pass on those applicants. That said, if you are not somewhat realistic with what you want to accomplish, you can end up sounding naïve or unserious.

The goal here is to walk the line between the two. It is your job to convince the school that you have goals which are meaningful, but also grounded in your past experiences and considered enough that your success is assured.

To hear more on this, check out: Career Goals for MBA Essay Writing and More .

Demonstrating School Fit

After you state your goals, you’ll also need to explain how the MBA is a necessary part of achieving those goals. This is a chance to show that not only do you need an MBA , but that the particular program you’re applying to is exactly the right fit with your development needs.

What MBA programs really want to know is that you have done your homework and researched the school in detail. Admissions officers DON’T want to see copy/paste from the course catalogue. It is important to network with schools beforehand and then use what you learned to show that only their institution really has the resources to make your goals a reality.

Rebecca Heath Anderson on Researching Career Goals:

Mba application essay #3: school participation essay.

Business schools are selfish! They want to know that you will add something to their institution by attending. Schools rely on students to run many programs, such as professional clubs, and want to know that you will be an active participant in the campus culture. In fact, MBA programs tend to do almost every class and activity in groups.

In order to answer questions like these effectively, you will need to map out the kinds of school-sponsored clubs, conferences, and activities in which you are interested in participating. Consider where you can make helpful contributions to campus life: how can you benefit your classmates as well as the school as a whole?

MBA Application Essay #4: Behavioral Essays

An MBA program might ask about your previous experiences, both to gauge whether you’re ready to benefit from the school’s leadership development programs and to know your moral values as a leader. These questions can come in a number of forms.

They might prompt you by saying “Tell us about a time when you led a team” or even “Tell us about a time when you failed.”

What schools really are looking for, in this instance, is some sign that you are self-reflective. They want to understand that you have experienced some leadership setbacks that have made you interested in and prepared to take in the knowledge they have to offer.

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MBA Leadership Essays and How to Write Them

What makes you a strong leader? This can be a difficult question to answer. If you have a lot of leadership experience, your challenge is to tell your story in a compelling and authentic way. And if you don’t have a lot of leadership experience, your task is to be creative about how you answer the prompt, so that you can demonstrate to admissions committees the type of leader you’ll be.

In both cases it’s important not to exaggerate the truth. As soon as you inflate what your actual experience was, you call into question not only your response to the leadership question, but also the truthfulness of the rest of your application.

When shaping a response to the leadership question, you should first think about all of the people you interact with at your job: your manager, colleagues, team members of other departments, office staff, and HR. Consider your role on this team, and what your contributions were.

If you truly had a leadership role, reflect upon your experiences—good and bad—in leading a team. Admissions committees want to see not just your successes, but also your resilience and ability to learn from mistakes. If you weren’t the leader, you can pull from examples of good leadership that you have encountered, and demonstrate how you embody those skills, perhaps by describing non-work-related leadership positions you have held.

Questions to Consider for Leadership Essays

When developing your response to the leadership question, it is important to provide as many specifics as possible—particularly in your earliest drafts. Here are some questions that can help you make your essay convincing and engaging. (You don’t necessarily need to answer all of them; they are just a starting point.)

• What did you do in your role to fix problems?
• How did you handle situations where you had to escalate the issue to management?
• How did you work with people who weren’t members of your team? How did you get what you needed, even from people who couldn’t care less about you?
• If everyone in the office was down, what did you do to perk people up?
• Did you ever informally mentor junior colleagues?
• What fears or problems did you overcome in order to lead successfully?

Writing about Difficulties, Failures and Weaknesses

A common question in MBA essay prompts concerns a failure or setback in your career. These are a few examples of essay prompts that top MBA programs have used to ask about this topic:

• Tell us three setbacks you have faced.
• Describe a situation taken from your personal or professional life where you failed. Discuss what you learned.
• Discuss a time when you faced a challenging interpersonal experience. How did you navigate the situation and what did you learn from it?

These can be unpleasant topics to write about. How should an applicant respond to questions like these?

Pick a Genuine Failure or Weakness

Although it may seem tempting to tell a story in which your own failures are minimized, this type of response is unlikely to be effective, because it does not give you the chance to show self-reflection and personal growth. Moreover, an example where you give a ‘faux failure’ is much less likely to engage the reader than one where you describe a genuine failure of setback.

For example, imagine that you decided to write about an important project that failed due to an error by someone in the team you supervised. You may be tempted to write that “the team member was unable to take the responsibility and should have been monitored more closely.” Although this may be part of the story, a better response would include some reflection on your personal contribution to the problem. Instead of giving the trite insight that you should have monitored the team more carefully, you could write about the shortcomings in your management style and ability to motivate the team. By doing this, you show that you are honest and able to to reflect on failures, and you give yourself the chance to go on to describe what you have learned.

Don’t Turn a Failure Essay Into an Achievement Essay

For instance, in the above example, do not draw the attention away from your failure in managing the team by pointing out how hard you worked on the project yourself. You do not want to give the application committee the impression that you only want to talk about your successes, but are reluctant to reflect on your weaknesses.

Describe What You Learned

End your essay by describing what you have learned from your failure or setback and give an example of how you used your new insight. This is an expected topic even if it is not mentioned in the text of the prompt.

An average essay draws trite lessons. Sticking again with the example above, you might write that “each team member has a unique style and should be motivated accordingly.” A better response includes more details: Why did you fail to connect with the problem team member? Were there warning signs that you could have seen? A great response includes an example where you put your fix into action: you can mention, for instance, how you worked successfully with the same team member on a later project or were able to spot a potential problem early on in another team you managed afterwards.

By taking the courage to write honestly and directly about your failures, and then showing how you have put your learnings into action after the failure, you will have tackled this difficult essay topic successfully.

Now that we have looked at the main categories of MBA essays, let’s talk about one of the persistent myths about the MBA application process: using example essays and templates.

MBA Essay Examples and Templates–A Bad Idea

It is tempting to think that you can model your business school essay off of someone else’s successful essay. People spend time and money searching for “the perfect MBA essay sample” to use as a guide. First, you may hope to avoid the effort of having to write the essay yourself. Second, this is the sort of cargo cult thinking that says: if I copy what a successful applicant did, then I will also be admitted.

The truth of the matter is that sample essays don’t work. People get admitted to MBA programs for many reasons. Menlo Coaching has bought and reviewed several editions of the Harbus Essay Guide , which contains a number of successful HBS essays… and some of the essays therein are absolutely terrible. One essay spent its entire length bragging about the writer’s vast family wealth and all the celebrities the writer knew. Clearly, that applicant did not get in on the merits of their essay-writing skills.

Former HBS director of admissions Dee Leopold famously said that “Applying to Harvard is not an essay writing contest.” As per our MBA applications and admissions guide , people are accepted to MBA programs not on the quality of the writing, but on the quality of the thinking that went into the essay. As a result, “the perfect essay” is actually the one that answers the question based on your perspective and experiences.

By focusing on these broad categories, you can avoid some of the pitfalls of the essay writing process. Try to keep in mind what your overall MBA story is and don’t get lost in some of the things that don’t matter, such as “sample essays” or figuring out the exact language you are going to use.

Remember, the best application essay is the one that addresses the question in a way that is tied in to your personal experience.

Discover what sets standout MBA application essays apart from the crowd with expert guidance from our experienced MBA admissions consulting team .

Read more on MBA essays

• Taking the Stress out of the MBA Essay Writing Process
• Best strategies for the Harvard MBA Essay
• What Matters Most: Conquering the Stanford GSB Essay A
• Give & Take in the Wharton MBA Essays

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20 Must-Read MBA Essay Tips

Business school admissions committees care about more than (just) your  GMAT scores and GPA —they want to know who you are and why you belong in their program . Your MBA essays are your best chance to sell the person behind the résumé. They should tie all the pieces of your business school application together and create a comprehensive picture of who you are, what you've done, and what you bring to the table.  Here's a roundup of our best MBA essay tips to keep in mind as you begin to write.

How to Write an Unforgettable B-School Essay

1. communicate that you are a proactive, can-do sort of person..

Business schools want leaders, not applicants content with following the herd.

2. Put yourself on ego-alert.

Stress what makes you unique, not what makes you number one.

3. Communicate specific reasons why you're great fit for each school.

Simply stating "I am the ideal candidate for your program" won't convince the admission committee to push you into the admit pile.

Read More: Find Your Business School

4. Bring passion to your writing.

Admissions officers want to know what excites you. And if you'll bring a similar enthusiasm to the classroom.

5. Break the mold.

Challenge perceptions with unexpected essays that say, "There's more to me than you think."

6. If you've taken an unorthodox path to business school, play it up.

Admissions officers appreciate risk-takers.

7. Talk about your gender, ethnicity, minority status or foreign background....

But only if it has affected your outlook or experiences.

8. Fill your essays with plenty of real-life examples.

Specific anecdotes and vivid details make a much greater impact than general claims and broad summaries.

9. Demonstrate a sense of humor or vulnerability.

You're a real person, and it's okay to show it!

BONUS: Don't Make These MBA Essay Mistakes

1. write about your high school glory days. .

Admissions committees don't care if you were editor of the yearbook or captain of the varsity team. They expect their candidates to have moved onto more current, professional achievements.

2. Submit essays that don't answer the questions.

An off-topic essay, or one that merely restates your résumé, will frustrate and bore the admissions committee. More importantly, it won't lead to any new insight about you.

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3. Fill essays with industry jargon.

Construct your essays with only enough detail about your job to frame your story and make your point.

4. Reveal half-baked reasons for wanting the MBA.

Admissions officers favor applicants who have well-defined goals. However unsure you are about your future, it's critical that you demonstrate that you have a plan.

5. Exceed the recommended word limits.

This suggests you don't know how to follow directions, operate within constraints or organize your thoughts.

6. Submit an application full of typos and grammatical errors.

A sloppy application suggests a sloppy attitude.

7. Send one school an essay intended for another—or forget to change the school name when using the same essay for several applications.

Admissions committees are (understandably) insulted when they see another school's name or forms.

8. Make excuses.

If your undergraduate experience was one long party, be honest. Discuss how you've matured, both personally and professionally.

9. Be impersonal in the personal statement.

Many applicants avoid the personal like the plague. Instead of talking about how putting themselves through school lowered their GPA, they talk about the rising cost of tuition in America. Admissions officers want to know about YOU.

Read More: How to Ace Your MBA Interview

10. Make too many generalizations.

An essay full of generalizations is a giveaway that you don't have anything to say.

11. Write in a vacuum.

Make sure that each of your essays reinforce and build on the others to present a consistent and compelling representation of who you are, what you've done, and what you bring to the table.

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INSEAD Essay 1 (Strengths & Weaknesses): Tips & Winning Essay/ Sample

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MBA Resources

Strengths and Weaknesses Unveiled: Navigating Your MBA Application Journey

MBA & Beyond Team

21/08/2023 | 10:21 pm

Welcome to our guide on addressing “Strengths and Weaknesses” in your MBA application. As you embark on this crucial journey towards your business school aspirations, it’s essential to master the art of presenting your strengths confidently while candidly addressing your areas for growth. In this article, we’ll delve into strategies and insights to help you navigate this aspect of your application process effectively. Let’s unlock the potential of your candidacy together.

Writing an application includes your GMAT scores or GPA; it tells who you are as a person. Your Strengths and Weaknesses in an MBA application serve as indicators of your credibility and accountability in unfamiliar and challenging situations, a common and signature element of the business field.

LIVE Q&A WITH ALUMS OF TOP B-SCHOOL

Condensing all the essential dimensions into a few paragraphs and showcasing the “best” in you for the cause may appear daunting and exhausting.

But fret not!

This article will cover all the pertinent details to include and avoid when addressing your strengths and weaknesses essay in detail during the drafting of your B-school application.

Our bullet spells will help you succeed with flying colors. 😉

So, here’s your key tip for crafting a high-quality strengths and weaknesses essay for your MBA application.

HERE ARE FEW TIPS TO ACE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS ESSAY FOR YOUR MBA APPLICATION

What are your strengths for an mba.

The question mentioned above is considered one of the most anticipated ones that nearly every MBA applicant needs to address, either within an essay or as a query for your recommenders.

“What are your strengths for an MBA?” may appear as a generic question, but the scope of knowing your “strengths for MBA application” and aligning them with the values that your target b-school holds can be a total game-changer!. World-class B-schools seek leaders, visionaries, and individuals capable of challenging established norms in the business world. It is crucial to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you embody these qualities by highlighting your strengths in your MBA application.

IDENTIFY THE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES OF YOUR PROFILE

Strengths for MBA are easy; most of the top B-schools are looking for candidates with leadership qualities. 

College administrations are aware that most candidates won’t have many significant accomplishments in terms of strengths for MBA early in their career. However, they seek qualities such as innovative vision, creativity, teamwork, and thoughtful curiosity in applicants.

Want to pursue an MBA but not sure if your profile fits?

Talk to our Profile Experts to know your chances for a top MBA Program.

Alongside implementing other general tips outlined in the article, ensuring that your strengths and weaknesses for MBA application complement each other effectively in your b-school essays is a strategic and wise move.

• Precision in your writing of Strengths and weaknesses essay 

Be precise while introducing yourself or providing valuable details such as your GMAT/GRE Scores in your strengths and weakness essays. 

Precision doesn’t entail portraying oneself as a ‘perfect candidate’; the objective should be to selectively highlight pertinent aspects, depicting oneself as a ‘credible candidate’ who pays attention to even minute details when conveying strengths and weaknesses for MBA applications.

RATE MY CHANCE FOR TOP B-SCHOOLS

• Creativity is the key to master strengths and weaknesses for MBA applications.

Well, it’s no secret that every B-school receives thousands of application letters every day so, what makes your letter unique among others? 

Beyond professional certificates and test scores, the method of expressing your strengths and weaknesses for MBA applications plays a pivotal role in your selection.

Why would they accept your candidature? Everyone talks about their leadership experiences, accomplishments, social impact, etc. What will make you stand out?

To tackle such questions, position yourself as the protagonist when detailing your strengths for MBA. Make yourself the focal point. Mould your actions and experiences into a narrative that showcases your involvement in managing difficult situations while addressing your strengths and weaknesses essay. Add a touch of personality to infuse depth and flavor into your essay.

• Be Professional in your Strengths for MBA essay.

Remember that you are creating an application for a professionally-oriented B-school. Therefore, emphasizing strengths in your professional experience should be your primary focus.

It’s vital to underscore strengths for MBA that highlight your personality, but that’s the second step to consider. Initially, you must link your strengths for MBA to your professional life, future goals, and aspirations.

WEAKNESS FOR MBA APPLICATION

When prompted to explore their weaknesses for MBA applications, candidates should ponder two fundamental questions before starting:

What should I avoid mentioning about my weakness for MBA interviews?

What is the college administration looking for in my strengths and weaknesses essays?

Answering these two questions clearly and earnestly will help you craft a thoughtful and compelling response that will enhance your strength and weakness for MBA application.

MAXIMIZE CHANCES FOR TOP B-SCHOOLS SCHOLARSHIPS

First, avoid mentioning weakness for MBA applications outside your academic or professional life as they aren’t relevant to your future career.

Crafting a weakness that logically aligns with your strengths is a strategic approach. It not only underscores your self-awareness but also showcases your leadership trait of recognizing areas for improvement. This method can be particularly valuable when addressing weaknesses for the MBA application and interview. The essence lies in establishing a connection between specific drawbacks and particular strengths in your weakness for the MBA application.

The college administration is seeking applicants with positive character traits such as self-awareness and self-assessment—someone who can interpret their shortcomings and improvise to develop them into potential growth areas. 

WHY IS WEAKNESS A STRENGTH?

To answer this above question, here are some tips to address your “ weakness for MBA application .”

• Personalize your weaknesses for MBA application:

Each candidate possesses their own set of shortcomings and weaknesses. Offering appropriate context for them in your strength and weakness essay enables the reader to comprehend the specific circumstances and envisage how you would handle similar situations as a student if admitted.

Leadership experience and potential are highly valued at business schools but may not be universally attainable. Instead, consider weaknesses for MBA as opportunities for growth and present them effectively in your strength and weakness essays.

APPLY WITH TOP B-SCHOOL EXPERTS

• Be Honest 

“The most crucial takeaway is to be honest.” Presenting specific flaws and addressing them sincerely in your weakness for MBA application essays will give you an advantage by allowing you to discuss the impact they’ve had on shaping who you are today. Every candidate has their own flaws, but not everyone will use them as an opportunity to reveal their true selves in their strengths and weaknesses for MBA application essays.

• Avoid counting too many weaknesses for MBA admission essays.    

Avoid delving into excessive weaknesses; one or two examples will suffice. Instead, concentrate on sharing a genuine weakness in your MBA application. You can emphasize a specific area of knowledge, skill, or type of experience that you wish you had acquired based on your previous work. Furthermore, be sure to elaborate on your plans for skill development in your strengths and weaknesses essays. This approach will convey to the college admissions committee that you are actively addressing your areas of improvement, demonstrating your commitment to personal growth while acknowledging that nobody is flawless.

• Focus on yourself in your strengths and weaknesses essays

Instead of attributing blame to colleagues and the work environment, it is crucial to present proof of your capacity to identify the skills needed. Discuss the strategies employed in addressing these challenges in your strengths and weaknesses essays. Demonstrating self-awareness and self-assessment is essential to depict yourself as an applicant who acknowledges areas for improvement.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES EXAMPLES

Leadership qualities, intellectual appetite, self-introspection, and personal accountability are some prime qualities every B-school is looking for. 

Feel free to narrate a success story! Sharing a success story is a fantastic method to highlight your decision-making and communication skills adeptly. Nevertheless, it is equally crucial to illustrate how you have actively enhanced these skills and your recognition of the necessity to incorporate additional skills into your skill set.

BEST-FIT B SCHOOLS FOR YOUR PROFILE

While discussing your strengths, always remember to follow a Problem, action, result approach!

• Mention the situation and your role
• Mention your action and how you utilize your skills to deal with the problem.
• Describe the result and how the situation turned out in favor of your company.
• Lessons you learned and how these skills will help you prosper in your future.

Lacking adequate knowledge in a specific domain can be a valid weakness. For instance, in your previous role as a Marketing Manager, limited exposure to the technical aspect of the business could be identified as an area for improvement. Subsequently, you can elaborate on your plans to enhance these skills.

The top B-school programs seek individuals with leadership qualities, visionary thinking, and an entrepreneurial spirit capable of challenging and shaping the future. It is crucial to convey to the admissions board that you embody these traits. With competition intensifying each day, securing a spot at the top business schools has become an increasingly challenging endeavor. Merely having good grades, certificates, and educational history is no longer sufficient for MBA applicants; they must possess additional qualities to gain admission.

While reviewing application essays, the admission committee seeks credible individuals poised for future impact. Hence, it is your responsibility to articulate your personal and professional narrative in a manner that engages the reader. You may think this means that you need to show them a history of spotless professional records, a flawless transcript, and a journey filled with success?

KNOW YOUR ADMISSION CHANCE

Of course not! If your story lacks failures or weaknesses, it may come across as lacking authenticity, and the admissions committee might perceive it as if you haven’t fully contemplated their application questions.

Every individual has experienced failure at some point, and such setbacks can serve as a dual advantage for your application. They not only showcase the capacity for self-introspection, a rare leadership trait, but also provide an opportunity to outline your action plan for future endeavors.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES FOR AN MBA INTERVIEW TO THE ADCOMS?

The first and foremost step is to be perfectly honest, don’t try to outplay the interviewer by marking your strengths as your weaknesses.

Ensure that any strength you highlight incorporates qualities that B-schools specifically value. Avoid presenting yourself as perfect, as it implies there’s nothing left to learn, and this impression may not be well-received by the Adcoms.

Self-introspection is valuable, but it doesn’t necessitate tearing yourself down. Limit your weaknesses to one or two at most. Simply stating your weaknesses is not sufficient; provide a logical foundation linked to your future goals. Question why you believe a particular aspect needs change and consider how this transformation can contribute to your personal growth.

If you’re still seeking further guidance on how to prepare your strengths and weaknesses for an MBA interview, join us for a call! Our 45-minute in-depth consultation will assist you in overcoming any challenges encountered during interview preparation. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I make my MBA application strong?

Rather than making your strengths and weaknesses for MBA application exhaustive detail-wise, try to make it more genuine by focusing on strengths for MBA relevant to your future goals and how admission to your dream school will help achieve them.

Precision, creativity, honesty, and professionalism are the major aspects of drafting a near-perfect strengths and weaknesses essay for an MBA application.  

How can you justify your strengths?

Ensure that your certificates, academic background, and prior work experience seamlessly align with the highlighted strengths for MBA. The college administration recognizes that noteworthy achievements at a young age are uncommon, making them particularly interested in individuals with vision, creativity, and strong leadership skills.

What should I write about my weaknesses in MBA?

Crafting weaknesses for MBA essays can be challenging, but to prevent misinterpretation, focus on offering logical weaknesses tied to your profession. However, refrain from listing too many in your MBA application essays; limit them to two or at most three. Additionally, keep in mind that the capacity for self-criticism and introspection is a valuable leadership trait, and it’s relatively rare among B-school applicants.

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Mba application weaknesses, get accepted speak with an admissions expert today.

Let's face it—nobody's perfect. Everyone has flaws (MBA applicants included!), but you shouldn’t passively let flaws ruin your candidacy.

Do you have a low GPA or a not-quite-high-enough GMAT score? Are you older or younger than the average applicant to your target program? Have you had a habit of frequent career switching in the past, or have you recently been laid off? Answering "yes" to any of these questions doesn't disqualify you from the MBA marathon—you just need the right techniques to help you mitigate these weaknesses.

Below you'll find numerous resources that will help you tackle your MBA application weaknesses head-on, so that despite your shortcomings, you present yourself as the confident, competent, and highly prized applicant that you are.

Tips for applicants with low stats:

Tips for applicants with other challenges:.

Other Challenges

• Linda Abraham on Overcoming Weaknesses
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• Disclosing a Learning Disability
• Explaining Frequent Job Switching
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• Flaws Make You Real
• How Do You Deal with Criticism? MBA Admissions Committees Want to Know
• 6 Tips for Talking About Your Weaknesses
• Writing About Resilience in the Face of Failure
• 3 Tips for Discussing Failure in Your MBA Application Essays
• 5 Ways to Optimize Your Online Presence Before Submitting Applications
• Can You Get Accepted After Doing Something Stupid?

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February 4, 2019

6 Tips for Talking About Your Weaknesses

How do you react when you read/hear the weakness question? With this question, schools are assessing how well you self evaluate. Like a business problem, they want to hear your plan of action, your implementation, and your success rate.

Here are some tips to help you a) think about and evaluate your weaknesses, and b) be prepared to write about them in an essay or discuss them in an interview .

1. Prepare answers in advance.

When an interviewer asks, “So Natalie, tell me about your weaknesses and what you did to overcome them?” you don’t want to be left silent drawing a blank, or worse – caught off guard and say something crazy like, “Gosh, there are so many, I don’t even know where to begin.” Ding!

2. Be honest.

If you have been let go from a position, you need to discuss the lessons learned from this negative experience and how you overcame the situation. If you have a procrastination problem, you need to talk about ways in which you’re working on boosting your time management skills.

3. Remain professionally focused.

Don’t discuss your addiction to video games or your weakness for chocolate. It’s also certainly not the time to talk about anything inappropriate. We’re talking about work-related, professional weaknesses.

4. Focus on your own weaknesses.

Don’t talk about your cousin’s attraction to arson or your mother-in-law’s conspiratorial behavior. Don’t discuss how your boss is a jerk or how you can’t stand your coworker’s habit of nail biting or how your desk is unorganized because the guy you share your cubicle with always throws his garbage your way. This question is about YOU and your weaknesses – don’t shift the attention or blame onto someone else.

5. Proactively address the issues.

If you have a quantitative weakness , take courses that address the weakness (accounting, statistics). Don’t wait for the admissions committee to ask you to take a course. If you are uncomfortably shy, getting involved with an organization like Toastmasters can help you and show the committee that you’re taking steps to overcome that challenge.

6. Avoid clichés.

“Gee, I guess I just work too hard sometimes” is a copout – the adcom/interviewer will know that deep down you’re proud of your intense work ethic. It is the life of a student to work hard – don’t use that as your “weakness . ”

If you need help drafting your essay or framing your answer for your interview , Accepted is here to help you.  Contact us for assistance.

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws To Avoid In Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide • 5 A’s for Your Low GPA , a podcast episode • How Personal is Too Personal?

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• MBA>Application Tips

Addressing Strengths and Weaknesses In Your MBA App

July 03, 2012 :: Admissionado Team

Here’s a question from B-School applicants that our team fields quite often:

“When the adcom asks about our strengths and weaknesses in an essay, how do we address that? Which weaknesses can be highlighted in such an essay? And how should be these presented to make a positive impact? What things should NOT be highlighted in this essay?”

Here’s an answer from our CEO, Jon Frank .

Strengths are easy

Focus on leadership if you can, because everybody (Not just HBS!) loves leadership.  Call yourself a natural leader, and prove it. That’s a surefire smart move.

As for your second strength, find something that allows you to tell a great STORY . Refer back to your greatest hits , and support your second or third greatest hit with a smart strength. Done.

Weaknesses, of course, are a touch harder

Why?  Well… why would anyone want to discuss something negative in their application? So, the trick is to pick weaknesses that somehow shed light on your strengths. Actual weaknesses, mind you.

You want to find stuff that shows that you are mature enough to recognize that you’re not perfect. Of course you’re not, and admitting it is a sign of strength.

So what kinds of weaknesses? Ones that shed light on your strengths. Ones that make sense, given your strengths. Here are some examples:

Strength :  “I am a great leader.”

Logical Weakness:   “Sometimes I overlook some of the details.”

Why does this make sense? Because that is a LOGICAL weakness, given the strength we have discussed. You’re a “big picture” gal or guy, a great speaker. So from time to time… a detail slips through the cracks. That makes sense. Better yet, it makes you seem even MORE like a leader. It makes your background seem even more strong, focused.

Another example:

Strength:   “I am a great communicator.”

Logical Weakness:   “Sometimes, I avoid confrontation.  I am afraid to make people hate me, afraid to say ‘no,’ to yell etc. “

Of course, sometimes to be a successful leader, we have to be able to come down on people, to be firm, etc. By admitting this, you not only reinforce your strength as a great communicator, but you show the ability to criticize and improve yourself , another great leadership trait.

So that is your goal: connect some weaknesses to some strengths. The best weaknesses will highlight your strengths, as we have indicated above. And of course, they will be actual weaknesses, and not cop outs. : )

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Balancing Weaknesses and Strengths: a Path to Personal Growth

This essay about personal growth explores the balance between strengths and weaknesses, likening it to a symphony where both elements contribute to self-awareness and resilience. It highlights the importance of recognizing and embracing weaknesses as opportunities for growth, while also valuing strengths as guides and tools for overcoming challenges. The essay emphasizes self-compassion, self-reflection, and the integration of both strengths and weaknesses to achieve authentic and holistic personal development.

How it works

In the intricate odyssey of personal growth, the dynamic interplay between our weaknesses and strengths creates a distinctive tapestry of evolution. Envision it as a grand symphony, where each note, whether resonant or subtle, contributes to the rich harmony of self-awareness and resilience. It’s a melody echoing through the corridors of our lives, guiding us toward profound insights into our capabilities and potential.

Contrary to popular belief, personal development isn’t just about amplifying strengths and ignoring weaknesses. Instead, it’s a delicate balancing act—a nuanced dance requiring finesse and introspection.

It’s about acknowledging our rough edges with gentle honesty, recognizing that they, too, play a crucial role in our journey.

Consider weaknesses as uncut gems nestled within the depths of our being—raw and unrefined, yet full of promise. They aren’t blemishes to be hidden but opportunities for growth, encouraging us to embrace vulnerability and its transformative power. It’s in these vulnerable moments that we uncover reservoirs of strength, resilience, and courage, paving new pathways toward self-mastery.

As we navigate our weaknesses, it’s crucial not to lose sight of our strengths—the beacons that illuminate our path. Like stars in the night sky, our strengths guide us through adversity, infusing our journey with purpose and significance. They are the tools in our toolbox, the secret ingredients that enable us to overcome obstacles and seize opportunities with confidence.

However, our strengths are more than just instruments for personal advancement; they’re also the keys to unlocking our latent potential. Think of them as mirrors reflecting our true selves, revealing aspects of our being we may have overlooked. By embracing our strengths, we gain clarity and insight, allowing us to navigate life’s challenges with greater wisdom and grace.

So, how do we achieve this delicate balance between weaknesses and strengths? It begins with a willingness to embrace our imperfections—to sit with them, learn from them, and grow from them. It’s a journey of self-discovery that requires delving into the depths of our being with curiosity and courage.

Practical strategies can aid us on this journey—strategies such as self-reflection, goal-setting, and seeking feedback from trusted mentors and peers. These tools act as compasses, guiding us toward our true north and helping us stay on course in the face of adversity.

Yet, perhaps the most powerful tool of all is self-compassion—the gentle art of accepting ourselves exactly as we are, flaws and all. It’s about extending kindness and understanding to ourselves, just as we would to a cherished friend in need. In the tender embrace of self-compassion, we find the strength to confront our weaknesses, knowing we are worthy of love and belonging despite our perceived shortcomings.

Ultimately, balancing weaknesses and strengths is not just about self-improvement; it’s about embracing the entirety of who we are, with all our quirks, imperfections, and idiosyncrasies. It’s about recognizing that our weaknesses are not obstacles but stepping stones to growth. And it’s about celebrating our strengths not as accolades to boast about but as gifts to share with the world.

Let us welcome the dance of personal growth with open arms, understanding that in the delicate interplay between weaknesses and strengths, we find not just transformation but liberation—a liberation that empowers us to live authentically, boldly, and unapologetically as ourselves.

Cite this page

Balancing Weaknesses and Strengths: A Path to Personal Growth. (2024, May 28). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/balancing-weaknesses-and-strengths-a-path-to-personal-growth/

"Balancing Weaknesses and Strengths: A Path to Personal Growth." PapersOwl.com , 28 May 2024, https://papersowl.com/examples/balancing-weaknesses-and-strengths-a-path-to-personal-growth/

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Balancing Weaknesses and Strengths: A Path to Personal Growth . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/balancing-weaknesses-and-strengths-a-path-to-personal-growth/ [Accessed: 1 Jun. 2024]

"Balancing Weaknesses and Strengths: A Path to Personal Growth." PapersOwl.com, May 28, 2024. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/balancing-weaknesses-and-strengths-a-path-to-personal-growth/

"Balancing Weaknesses and Strengths: A Path to Personal Growth," PapersOwl.com , 28-May-2024. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/balancing-weaknesses-and-strengths-a-path-to-personal-growth/. [Accessed: 1-Jun-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2024). Balancing Weaknesses and Strengths: A Path to Personal Growth . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/balancing-weaknesses-and-strengths-a-path-to-personal-growth/ [Accessed: 1-Jun-2024]

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