Breaking down the new (class of 2014) hbs essays

Breaking Down the New
(Class of 2014) HBS Essays

http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/

MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/


We tell clients all the time to sign up early because
the process starts earlier and earlier. There's no
greater proof of that fact than HBS releasing its
new essay questions during the second week of
May. One of our Round 3 clients literally just got
his acceptance letter and already we're talking
about next year.



This means we have to scramble the fighters and
update our How to Apply to HBS Guide in the
coming days, lest we send out dated advice to
the world. In the meantime, we figured we'd take
a stopgap measure by posting our thoughts on
the new questions here in the blog.

So here are comments and thoughts on the
new HBS Essays:


Essay 1: Tell us about three of your
accomplishments (600 words).

It's basically the same old famous Essay #1 - the
"accomplishments" essay. What is noteworthy
about the phrasing this year is that they have
taken out some of the "lead a horse to water"
language from last year. Gone is the requirement
that you include your *most significant*
accomplishments, as well as the instruction to
explain why they have meaning.


So ... do we think you should ditch last year's
instructions the way HBS has?

Yes and no. It seems as if taking away the
phrase *most significant* is a pretty clear signal
that HBS was getting too many down the middle
answers and not enough personality. When
you see *most significant,* you tend to think
"best" or "most impressive," and fail to explore
personal growth.


In our professional opinion, HBS wants to see
candidates be more intelligent in the way they
compose responses to this question - chose
accomplishments that create a thematic
progression or that take us chronologically
through your development.

Don't just pull the best three resume items you
have and write paragraphs about them.


On the flip side, we believe you should absolutely
still explain why they have meaning.

In fact, stating any accomplishment - on any
application - without including relevant meaning
means that you are probably wasting an
opportunity.


Here, we think HBS just wants to give more
diligent applicants an advantage - those who go
a level deeper and provide meaning will likely
have stronger essays than those who just bang
out formulaic responses.

In all, don't fear this essay. It's a chance to be
creative, to brag about yourself, and to really
show HBS what you can do.


Essay 2: Tell us three setbacks
you have faced (600 words).

HBS is going heavy on introspection! Harvard
has had a "mistake/failure" essay in place for
some time, but it was shorter and basically just
a diluted version of the Wharton mistake essay
(which asked for more developmental insights).


The placement stays the same - right after you
get done bragging, it's time to break out the
humility, but the increased word count and
mirroring "tell us three" device is a clear signal
that Harvard wants a little less boasting and a
little more thoughtfulness this time around.

(Note: Perhaps HBS is starting to see some
fallout from skewing young?


We don't feed into the hysteria that younger
generations have no social intelligence/EQ, but
we know that admissions officers worry about
that and we also know that no school admits a
younger class than Harvard. Perhaps Aldrich
Hall is just a little too full of people with a little
too much confidence and this is a course
correction. Or maybe we're just fanning a
flickering flame and yelling fire. Who knows.)


Essay 3: Why do you want an
MBA (400 words)?

This question is going to be maddening for
applicants, we have a feeling, but in reality, it
should be a pretty easy essay to handle. If you
look closely at Chicago Booth Essay #1 last
year, they asked for 300 words on Why an MBA
- separate from the defining of career goals and
separate from Why Chicago.


In much the same why, this is not HBS boiling
down the typical career goals essay ("What are
your short and long-term goals and how can an
MBA from School X help you achieve those
goals") into 400 words, but rather HBS asking
for a very specific part of a career goals
analysis - why the degree itself?

Surely if you are HBS material, opportunity
beckons from all corners.


So why business school?

The key to answering this question is to be
heavy on vision, on personal passion, and on
motivation. Don't bog them down with specifics
(Harvard, like MIT, does not seem to care much
about detailed career goals) and definitely don't
waste words bragging about your skills (you
already did that in Essay 1!) ... this is all about
WHY. Not WHAT, now HOW, not WHERE ...
WHY.


Again, this should be an easy question, but tons
of applicants will throw up a brick here, so if you
are reading this blog, be happy that you are
ahead of about 75% of your fellow candidates.


Essay 4: Answer a question you
wished we'd asked (400 words)?

Wow, what a wrinkle! Okay, listen carefully:

DO NOT TREAT THIS LIKE AN "ADDITIONAL
INFO" ESSAY AND APOLOGIZE FOR FLAWS
IN YOUR CANDIDACY.


I can only imagine what kind of whining we are
going to see people wedge into this space in
the coming year.

Remember that HBS - like chance - favors the
bold. Come with swagger and confidence (save
for Essay 2, of course) or don't come at all.
Please, as a favor to all consultants and HBS
admissions officers, don't create a prompt like "I
wish you had asked me to explain my GMAT
score." If you do, it's game over.


Okay, so what should you do?

You can start by looking to the very recent past
(last year) to cherry pick one of the "choice"
essays that HBS has done away with. Career
vision is out, obviously, as Why an MBA hits
close enough to that. We always hated last
year's new addition question of "introduce
yourself to your classmates," so probably best
to avoid that.


You can also look to other programs.

See a 400-word essay out there that you love?
Use that and tell HBS "I love this question that
Tuck asks" and then answer it. Trust us, HBS will
love that you have the guts to do that and, frankly,
it helps them hone in on good questions for the
future. Because clearly, they are at a bit of a loss
on this last question.


They've tried all kinds of cannon fodder at the
end of the app and the "invent a question"
strategy is an admission that they are getting
crap in return. I mean, sure, you could look at it
as HBS changing the game and encouraging
creative expression, but I guess we're just too
cynical to buy that one.

No, this is more test balloon than evolve the
process, we suspect.


But the main thing here is don't get cute and try to
show how you smart you are with the question.

Above and beyond everything else, make sure
you create a prompt that actually funnels toward
an answer of strength. It doesn't have to be so on
the nose as to be embarrassing (you are a conflict
resolution master so you write "Tell us about a
time you resolved a conflict" - that's a bit obvious),
but there are no points for esoterica either.


(If you are really stretched, go with "What was
the last great book you read?" This is pretty
much the most enjoyable answer to read in an
essay and can be surprisingly informative as
well. So if you are in a panic, feel free to use
that one!)

Overall, good luck on your HBS applications
this year!


If you are interested in a free initial consultation, please email
mba@amerasiaconsulting.com. Our boutique approach pairs
you with one of the principals of our company, meaning you
will be working with someone capable of walking you through
the above steps and perfecting your application. Finally, make
sure to download our free How to Apply to HBS guide.

http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/


Breaking down the new (class of 2014) hbs essays

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