Long ago, I aspired to be a movie star, before acknowledging that despite my best efforts, I had neither the looks nor talent. Still, I remained fascinated by cinematic arts, and over the years have taken several screenwriting courses. Among other topics, I learned about the conventional three-act movie structure with setup, rising action, and resolution. It’s a simple concept that dates back to Aristotle.
I’ve taken much of that learning with me as I work with clients. How is an admissions essay like a movie?As with any movie, you need to capture your viewer’s interest, and once you’ve got their attention, then you can tell your story.
When you start on the admissions journey, it’s tempting to look for a template to follow, not just to save time but to feel confident that you’re on the right path. But, as with so many challenges in life, to get the results you want, you have to put in the work. MBA essay-writing requires that you engage in deep introspection and try to be as honest with yourself as possible. If, at any point, you find yourself asking “is this what admissions wants to read?” you’re on the wrong track. Second guessing your audience will almost assuredly not get you where you want to go. You have the prompts in hand. How do you, as your best and most authentic self, respond?
Normally, when I’m working with a client, we start the essay-writing process with a materials dump. That takes time, but if you try to shortcut this step, you’ll find yourself scrambling later on because you don’t have all the elements of your story. Once you’ve written out everything you need to say, then you (we) can take what you’ve written and shape it into a story, ie the essay. Ideally, as with any movie worth your popcorn money, you will open with a hook. You don’t want to go overboard here; just place your reader in the story so they can understand why you chose to write about whatever you’re writing about in the manner that you’re writing it. You’re not going to want too much context. (One of my screenwriting instructors was fond of saying “start in the middle” and “cut to the chase.” Too much back story and your readers will start to snooze. Don’t make them wait for the good stuff.)
In your essay’s second act, you directly address the prompt. Since some essays have limits of 200 words while others offer much more latitude, you’ll need to be strategic in what you choose to include. You can’t cover your life story in any essay. Much of the words you spin out in this phase will, as I often say, be left on the cutting room floor.
Finally, you will pull the pieces together and provide your takeaway in the third act. When your reader finishes the essay, they should feel as though they got to know you a lot better, and more importantly, that they like you. You have to be the hero of your essays — the best kind of hero: modest, smart, empathetic, compassionate.
If this process seems daunting, or if you feel as though you don’t have enough to say, here’s some advice from my favorite filmmaker: it’s not the story that matters. It’s how you tell it. Any story, if you convey it with belief and intensity, will feel compelling.
The filmmaking analogy doesn’t end there. Actors have auditions, MBA applicants have interviews. You think it’s hard to get into Stanford and Harvard? Thousands of actors will audition for each role in a small, low-budget movie. Your odds at Stanford are something like 1 in 16, and ordinary people get admitted every round. It’s way easier to get into an M7 than to land a part in any movie.
Which brings me to the third act of this post.
My favorite filmmaker, my son, is in the final stages of preparing to shoot his first feature film. It has been a journey, with moments that I wondered if we’d get to this point. But as I remind my clients, when they’re on their 20th rewrite of What Matters Most, it’s a process, and eventually you reach the culmination. (My son did many more than twenty rewrites of his script because it had to clock in at100%, whereas we’ll settle for 99.9% with MBA application essays.)
I am one of the executive producers of this small low-budget movie, and will be devoting a substantial amount of time over the next months to help it reach fruition. Because of that, I’ve limited the number of clients I will be working with for the 2026-27 admissions cycle. After that? I guess we’ll see. Meanwhile, it’s no small thrill to be resurrecting that childhood fantasy.
Your life may take some odd or unexpected twists in the years to come, and there may be times that you have to set your dreams aside. But don’t ever stop believing that you can get there. You can. You will.
