2010-2011 MBA essay questions
| Q1. |
Accomplishments
(600 words)
|
| |
What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such?
|
| R) |
A good way to show that you have a well rounded personality is by answering this question with accomplishments spanning different areas e.g. professional, academic and non-work related such as community job etc. Explain briefly what your efforts were in each case and how they helped you achieve something notable. It's also useful to give a comparative idea of how substantial your achievements were ? perhaps the initiative which you took to help your neighbor created the ground for your career vision. What made these achievements personally satisfying ? example: gave you a bigger purpose, earned you some distinction or helped you improve your personality.
|
| Q2. |
Mistake
(400 words)
|
| |
What have you learned from a mistake?
|
| R) |
Quite straight forward - so briefly talk about why you made the mistake and emphasize on what you did after you realized the same. Were you able to accept the responsibility for it and what did this teach you? Did you learn something important about how to handle a situation of that nature? What did you learn about your own strengths and weaknesses? You may also give an example of how you corrected yourself subsequently. |
| Q3. |
Undergraduate experience
(400 words)
|
| |
A) What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
|
| R) |
If you have highlighted a significant academic achievement in the answer to essay 1, don?t mention it again here. Instead, bring out a different facet of your undergraduate study time, e.g. your involvement in a challenging research project, a major leadership role that you held, some substantial accomplishments in a sport or an extracurricular activity. It is a good idea to pick up one such significant experience rather than trying to bring out several aspects of your undergraduate experience. Re-visit the responses to all your essays and select the story selectively. |
| Q4. |
Career Vision
(400 words)
|
| |
B) What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
|
| R) |
You are applying to one of the world's most renowned MBA program - so be sure to explain how this MBA experience is a vital part of your career goals. What has your professional experience so far been and how has this shaped your future career vision?
Why is this career meaningful to you e.g. you are motivated by the idea of using your passion for engineering and your entrepreneurial flair to set up a cutting edge manufacturing company?
How will
HBS' curriculum,
renowned case method
or alumni network will help you to achieve this goal. |
| Q5. |
Professional experience
(400 words)
|
| |
C) Tell us about a time in your professional experience when you were frustrated or disappointed.
|
| R) |
This is to know more about your personality- what makes you disappointed and how do you handle such situations. Take an incident where you felt that the result was not in line with your efforts or performance and explain how this made you feel. What factors contributed to this - perhaps others in a team did not perform as per the required standard or something went unexpectedly wrong or you could have been more careful. Whatever the reason, be honest about how you were affected. More importantly, how did you come to terms with the frustration? What did you learn about managing your own response to such incidents? |
| Q6. |
Professional experience
(400 words)
|
| |
D) When you join the HBS Class of 2013, how will you introduce yourself to your new classmates?
|
| R) |
A brief background without going into too many biographical details is in order here to start off the essay. After this, tie in your background, professional experiences and interests with what you will therefore be able to bring to the class and to your peers. Keep the tone easy and balanced - do not be too presumptuous or too modest. Any unique experiences are best brought out in this essay -e.g. you served as a volunteer with a flood relief team-what does this say about your motivations and goals? |
