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?
Harvard’s prompt is returning for a seventh year. Good decision, HBS. An open-ended prompt forces applicants to draw on multiple resources and dig deep rather than provide a kneejerk response.
Prior to this version of the prompt, HBS asked applicants to introduce themselves. I’m guessing that prompt was considered a failure because it resulted in unenlightening “I was born” “I went” “I did” autobiographies. So this is basically the same as the “introduce yourself” prompt, but they’re making it clear that they want you to skip the autobiographical impulse and cut to the chase with a story that exemplifies who you are and what you care about. (They do not want to know why you want to attend Harvard, or how much it will change your life. Of course you want to go to HBS. Who wouldn’t?)
My key piece of advice for this essay: turn your focus outward, not inward. In this essay, Harvard wants to see how your voice, your actions, your beliefs have had an impact on the world around you. To be clear: this is a leadership essay, where leadership is broadly defined. Your focus needs to be on the impact you have had on the people/places/organizations around you, not the impact they made on you. In everything related to Harvard, you are the doer who charges ahead. You’re not waiting for life to happen.
What kind of leader are you? What forces and experiences have shaped your leadership style? What has your journey been like, so far? If you are early in your career, you may not have a management title, but you have undoubtedly had other opportunities to step up and make things happen. What drives you?
Harvard changed the rules this year by specifying a word count. I am grateful to them for removing one note of ambiguity. My prior advice was to aim for 1000 words, plus or minus 200, so this is on the low end of that recommendation and will require applicants to invest more thought into finetuning their story. From a practical perspective, I would recommend drafting this essay without regard to word count, then taking an objective look at what you’ve got and determining the key elements you want to incorporate
Remember: one of the goals of business school is to produce graduates who can convey ideas in a succinct yet powerful way. HBS is still giving applicants more room than almost any other school offers; lots of space to tell your story. You may be able to repurpose some of your Harvard essay for other programs, or vice versa, but don’t count on it.
I think of successful HBS applicants as shiny pennies. They’re the people you can pick out from the crowd, not because they’re smarter or harder working but because they consistently come up with good ideas, know how to persuade others to climb on board, and get the job done. They have encountered a few setbacks and bumps along the way and have persevered and prevailed. And they manage to pull it all off while remaining positive and pleasant, the kind of people you want on your team. Show admissions your mettle, and you can be among them.
