We hope the following is of help to applicants wondering how to get into Berkeley. The set of essays for admission to UC Berkeley Haas School of Business covers a variety of topics – from the song that expresses you to your quantitative skills. In approaching these varied questions it will be important to remain focused on what you want to communicate to the admissions committee. A clear understanding of your application strategy, particularly your career goals and strengths/weaknesses, will be key to put together a cohesive application. While challenging, this is also an opportunity to demonstrate several different aspects of your personality to the admissions committee. Remember when thinking about how to get into Berkeley, to not underestimate the importance of these essays in your application.

Remember to check your deadlines before you start your application.

1. If you could choose one song that expresses who you are, what is it and why? (250 word maximum)

This sort of essay can be intimidating because it calls for creativity, and the topic is entirely open ended. When approaching a question like this, consider what your personal qualities are that may be interesting to the Haas MBA program, and then consider a song you like that can express that quality. Try to focus on personal, rather than professional, aspects. Whatever song you choose,  make sure you do have an emotional connection with that song and can relate it to your own personal experiences. For example, perhaps you have a favorite song from childhood that your parents played for you, and it reminds you to believe in yourself.

2. What is your most significant accomplishment. (250 word maximum)

Your accomplishment can be big or small, but it should be significant to you. While you have limited space, this is an opportunity to demonstrate what matters to you and to showcase one of your proudest moments.

While you are asked only about the accomplishment, the best essays will use this limited space to demonstrate clearly what the accomplishment was (be specific!) as well as commenting upon the significance of the accomplishment.

3. Describe a time when you questioned an established practice or thought within an organization. How did your actions create positive change? (250 word maximum)

To answer this question effectively you will be revealing how you tend to approach conflict and accomplish change. While that’s an intense subject, you can use topics that are not necessarily huge in scope. For example, while you may not have changed recruiting practices at your investment bank, maybe you did change the way your volunteer alumni committee organized a recent reunion.

Questions like this one call for a specific situation that you can explain concisely while demonstrating how you tend to approach problem solving and working with others. This type of question is one that seeks to understand your future behavior by how you have behaved in the past, so make sure you use a concrete example and explain what you thought, felt and did during the situation so the reader is clear on your approach and behavior.

4. Describe a time when you were a student of your own failure. What specific insight from this experience has shaped your development? (250 word maximum)

This question asks you to think about a time you failed, and a time you learned from that failure. This essay is your opportunity to demonstrate your maturity, flexibility and leadership qualities. Leaders are not people who are always successful, rather they are people who are willing to admit to failure and learn from difficulty.

As you recount your failure it will be crucial to demonstrate what you have learned as concretely as possible. As a thought experiment, try thinking about a recent triumph. Trace your life events backwards until you find a failure, and think about how that failure directly led to your success. For example, perhaps you took a job immediately after college that was not a good fit for you. You may have felt like the job was a failure, but instead of despairing you took the time to think about what you really wanted, and subsequently found a job that led you success in your career. Perhaps your story isn’t career oriented but showcases learning from extracurricular or volunteer involvement.

5.a. What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How have your professional experiences prepared you to achieve these goals?
b. How will an MBA from Haas help you achieve these goals? (750 word maximum for 5a. and 5b.)

This is a fairly typical career goals essay that asks for both short- and long-term goals and the background that led you to this juncture in your career. Think about what you hope to achieve with your MBA and the career opportunities it will reveal for you. You don’t need to recite your resume here – rather highlight the key experiences that will be relevant in your future career.

Be specific about why the Haas School of Business is the right program to pursue your goals as well. As you consider your past experiences and your future goals you will be able to see what you want to gain from the Haas experience to fill any gaps. If you have an advertising background and want to become a brand manager you’ll likely need classes in operations and finance to understand the analytical side of brand management. Other goals will require other skills and your own unique background will inform how you take advantage of the Haas experience. Make sure you have determined exactly what courses make sense for your career goals and the programs and clubs that you will participate in to reach your personal and professional goals. To those wondering how to get into Berkeley, it is important to know how important each of these essays are to your application.

Optional Essays
Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that you haven’t addressed elsewhere. (500 word maximum)

This question is entirely open ended, so you can either use it to explain anything you need to in your application, or add another aspect to your overall profile. If you need to explain something in your application like a low GPA or a recommender that is not your current supervisor, keep the explanation brief and factual. Focus on explanations, not excuses. If you felt that there are stories in your work, extracurricular, or personal profile that you did not have the opportunity to express in the prior essays, this is an opportunity to add that information.

If not clearly evident, please discuss ways in which you have demonstrated strong quantitative abilities, or plan to strengthen quantitative abilities. You do not need to list courses that appear on your transcript. (250 word maximum)

If you have a strong quantitative background like an engineering or hard sciences degree, or you work in a quantitative field like finance, this may not be a necessary essay. Otherwise, you may want to take one or two examples to demonstrate that you have an analytical mind and can take a quantitative approach to problem solving and evaluating data. As the question specifically asks you not to focus on the grades on your transcript, use this space to describe projects at work, additional post-graduate coursework, or your plans to strengthen your quant skills before you enroll at Haas.

We hope the above is of help to those wondering how to get into Berkeley. Struggling with your UC Berkeley application? Contact us to learn how Stacy Blackman Consulting can help.

Approaching the new set of Haas Business School questions may be intimidating, as you are required to answer six questions that focus on a variety of attributes and accomplishments, while you are being judged upon “a strong cultural fit with our program and defining principles.” A clear understanding of your application strategy – particularly your career goals and strengths/weaknesses will be key to put together a cohesive application.

Haas Business School short answers require focus, at only 250 words you will need to answer concisely and clearly to make sure your point is communicated. While challenging, this is also an opportunity to demonstrate several different aspects of your personality to the admissions committee.

As Haas Business School asks for your career goals last, the admissions committee will be getting to know you as a person before they understand what you are planning to do with your future. Make sure your career goals aren’t a huge surprise at the end, and that they logically flow from your attitude, personality and experiences.

For more information on the question and deadlines, visit the blog post on the new Haas questions.

1. What brings you the greatest joy? How does this make you distinctive? (250 word maximum)
Similar to what matters most, and why, this question seeks to get at your core values. What do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about? (You may want to keep a pencil by your bed to get your creative thoughts flowing!) What common threads have been woven throughout your life, whether altruistic, artistic or personal?

Haas asked a similar question last year, and a new aspect is the second part where you are asked how your passion or joy makes your distinctive. Your passion is inherently distinctive because it reflects your unique core values, though it may appear standard on the surface. Delve deep into your own motivations for what gives you the greatest joy, and anything in your background that has shaped your feelings. For example, perhaps your greatest joy is something fairly typical like spending time with friends and family. Take the time to think about WHY this is your greatest joy – perhaps you are part of a tight knit family with unique values that you can discuss, or maybe you moved a lot as a kid and so your friendships feel precious. Whatever unique aspects of your background inform your joy can be relevant to the question.

2. What is your most significant accomplishment. (250 word maximum)
Your accomplishment can be big or small, but it should be significant to you. While you have limited space, this is an opportunity to demonstrate what matters to you and to showcase one of your proudest moments.

While you are asked only about the accomplishment, the best essays will use this limited space to demonstrate clearly what the accomplishment was (be specific!) as well as commenting upon the significance of the accomplishment.

3. Describe a time when you questioned an established practice or thought within an organization. How did your actions create positive change? (250 word maximum)
The situational question would like to see your values in action as part of the question. When approaching a situational essay like this it’s important to provide both a concrete example and to explain what you thought, felt and did during the situation.

4. Describe a time when you were a student of your own failure. What specific insight from this experience has shaped your development? (250 word maximum)
This question asks you to think about a time you failed, and a time you learned from that failure. This essay is your opportunity to demonstrate your maturity, flexibility and leadership qualities. Leaders are not people who are always successful, rather they are people who are willing to admit to failure and learn from difficulty.

As you recount your failure it will be crucial to demonstrate what you have learned as concretely as possible. As a thought experiment, try thinking about a recent triumph. Trace your life events backwards until you find a failure, and think about how that failure directly led to your success. For example, perhaps you took a job immediately after college that was not a good fit for you. You may have felt like the job was a failure, but instead of despairing you took the time to think about what you really wanted, and subsequently found a job that led you success in your career. Perhaps your story isn’t career oriented but showcases learning from extracurricular or volunteer involvement.

5. Describe a time when you led by inspiring or motivating others toward a shared goal. (250 word maximum)
In this essay you will want to think about a specific leadership experience and what you did, said, felt and accomplished. At the same time, you need to focus specifically on how you motivated your team and inspired a group of people to accomplish a shared goal. You may not have *done* a great deal in the situation, but the key aspect is how you helped your team to be stronger and better through inspiration and motivation.

Leadership can be expressed in many ways in your life. Perhaps you lead a team of people at work, or in a volunteer capacity. If you do not have a formal leadership role you might have led a project or contributed as a strong leader from a team perspective. Whichever type of leadership experience you had, make sure to provide specifics of the situation. Strong results always stand out!

6. a. What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How have your professional experiences prepared you to achieve these goals?
b. How will an MBA from Haas help you achieve these goals? (1000 word maximum for 6a. and 6b.)
This is a fairly typical career goals essay that asks for both short- and long-term goals and the background that led you to this juncture in your career. Think about what you hope to achieve with your MBA and the career opportunities it will reveal for you. You don’t need to recite your resume here – rather highlight the key experiences that will be relevant in your future career.
Be specific about why the Haas School of Business is the right program to pursue your goals as well. As you consider your past experiences and your future goals you will be able to see what you want to gain from the Haas experience to fill any gaps. If you have an advertising background and want to become a brand manager you’ll likely need classes in operations and finance to understand the analytical side of brand management. Other goals will require other skills and your own unique background will inform how you take advantage of the Haas experience. Make sure you have determined exactly what courses make sense for your career goals and the programs and clubs that you will participate in to reach your personal and professional goals.

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“What you should be doing now if you want to be an MBA” is the provocative title of a recent post on the Berkeley MBA Student Blogs. Amazed by the brilliance of his fellow classmates, Haas School of Business student blogger Brian Guenther offers the following thoughts on what it takes to be a Haas MBA, and what prospective students should be doing today to get ready.

• Be more than smart; be knowledgeable. Start getting to know your industries and areas of interest. “Knowing a lot about the areas you are truly interested in is going to show in your club activities, chats with classmates, and even your class discussions,” Guenther says.

• Read the Economist, Wall Street Journal and niche blogs dedicated to your areas of interest.

• Revel in the dynamics of business, learn more about business heroes like Warren Buffett, and come up with a list of companies you really respect, Guenther advises.

• Start getting comfortable commenting on vague or esoteric business questions, Guenther urges, because in a short amount of time, your boss is going to be looking to you for the answers.

The adage “know thyself” is particularly important when embarking on an MBA program since you won’t have time to take advantage of even a fraction of the great opportunities available to you, Guenther says, so figure out what your objectives are and how best to fulfill them.

“Be flexible and know your top two or three goals and how you want to meet them,” Guenther adds. “If you know yourself, you’re going to have a great time during your MBA and you’ll come out ahead on the other side.”

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Approaching the new set of Haas Business School questions may be intimidating, as you are required to answer six questions that focus on a variety of attributes and accomplishments. A clear understanding of your application strategy – particularly your career goals and strengths/weaknesses will be key to put together a cohesive application.
Haas Business School short answers require focus, at only 250 words you will need to answer concisely and clearly to make sure your point is communicated. While challenging, this is also an opportunity to demonstrate several different aspects of your personality to the admissions committee.
As Haas Business School asks for your career goals last, the admissions committee will be getting to know you as a person before they understand what you are planning to do with your future. Make sure your career goals aren’t a huge surprise at the end, and that they logically flow from your attitude, personality and experiences.

Short Answer:
1. What are you most passionate about? Why? (250 word maximum)
Similar to what matters most, and why, this question seeks to get at your core values. What do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about? (You may want to keep a pencil by your bed to get your creative thoughts flowing!) What common threads have been woven throughout your life, whether altruistic, artistic or personal?
Whatever your passion is, make sure you can draw a conclusion about why you are passionate, and preferably you are able to weave your passion through this entire set of essays.

2. Tell us about your most significant accomplishment. (250 word maximum)
Your accomplishment can be big or small, but it should be significant to you. While you have limited space, this is an opportunity to demonstrate what matters to you and to showcase one of your proudest moments.
While you are asked only about the accomplishment, the best essays will use this limited space to demonstrate clearly what the accomplishment was (be specific!) as well as commenting upon the significance of the accomplishment.

3. At the Haas Business School, our distinctive culture is defined by four key principles — question the status quo; confidence without attitude; students always; and beyond yourself. Give an example of when you have demonstrated one of these principles. (250 words maximum, Review Berkeley-Haas’ Defining Principles)
This is an ideal place to demonstrate fit with Haas by focusing on the values of the Haas Business School community. You are given the option to address several key attributes of the Haas Defining Principles and you will want to choose the attribute that both clearly demonstrates a strength for you, and has a clear supporting example you can cite. The situational question would like to see your values in action as part of the question. When approaching a situational essay like this it’s important to provide both a concrete example and to explain what you thought, felt and did during the situation.

4. There are many ways to learn about our program, what steps have you taken to learn about the Haas School of Business Program? (250-word maximum)
This is another great opportunity to demonstrate your fit and enthusiasm for the Haas School of Business. Basic research will certainly include a visit to the website and perusal of the course catalog. To really demonstrate fit you will benefit from visiting campus, attending an informational session or connecting with alumni or current students. The personal touch is often the most helpful, and will give you an opportunity to really understand how you can personally be connected to the school.

Required Essays:
Give us an example of a situation in which you displayed leadership. (500 word maximum)
Both required essays are the same as they were last year. In this essay you will want to think about a specific leadership experience and what you did, said, felt and accomplished. Leadership can be expressed in many ways. Perhaps you lead a team of people at work, or in a volunteer capacity. If you do not have a formal leadership role you might have led a project or contributed as a strong leader from a team perspective. Whichever type of leadership experience you had, make sure to provide specifics of the situation. Strong results always stand out!

What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How do your professional experiences relate to these goals? How will an MBA from the Haas School of Business help you achieve these specific career goals? (1000 word maximum)
This is a fairly typical career goals essay that asks for both short- and long-term goals and the background that led you to this juncture in your career. This year it will be especially important to logically connect your background and your future, as schools will be looking for candidates who can be successful in a challenging job market.
Be specific about why the Haas School of Business is the right program to pursue your goals as well. Make sure you have determined exactly what courses make sense for your career goals and the programs and clubs that you will participate in to reach your personal and professional goals.

Optional Essays:
(Optional) Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that you haven’t addressed elsewhere. (500 word maximum)
This optional essay can be used for any weakness you would like to address, or simply as an opportunity to end with some additional information that will help you stand out from the application pool. If there is an aspect of your background that was not illustrated in previous questions this can be a great opportunity.
If you have a weakness you would like to address here, focus on specifics. Describe what happened, why it is not representative of your potential, and provide specific examples of how you have performed better in your life since. Explanations and not excuses are always the best path.

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Haas has continued with the unusual format of asking several short answer questions and two longer required essays. The short answers are quite short, at only 250 words they are about the length of one of the three accomplishments you will outline for HBS. This challenge is an opportunity to provide a very concise and specific example for each, and to demonstrate several different aspects of your personality.

As Haas asks for your career goals last, the admissions committee will be getting to know you as a person before they understand what you are planning to do with your future. Make sure your career goals aren’t a huge surprise at the end, and that they logically flow from your attitude, personality and experiences.

Haas values leadership, teamwork and management potential as much as any other MBA program, yet specifically calls out innovation and creativity in essay 3. If you are a proactive, creative and innovative person this will be a great example for you to shine. While most of the new essay questions are quite similar to last year’s, there is a replacement for question 1, which was a mistake essay last year. This year you are being asked to describe what you are most passionate about, and why. It’s a good way to start the set of essays and should reflect a big picture passion in your life that may be reflected throughout the set of essays.

Short Answer:1. What are you most passionate about? Why? (250 word maximum)

Similar to what matters most, and why, this question seeks to get at your core values. What do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about? (You may want to keep a pencil by your bed to get your creative thoughts flowing!) What common threads have been woven throughout your life, whether altruistic, artistic or personal?

Whatever your passion is, make sure you can draw a conclusion about why you are passionate, and preferably you are able to weave your passion through this entire set of essays.

2. Tell us about your most significant accomplishment. (250 word maximum)

Your accomplishment can be big or small, but it should be significant to you. While you have limited space, this is an opportunity to demonstrate what matters to you and to showcase one of your proudest moments.

While you are asked only about the accomplishment, the best essays will use this limited space to demonstrate clearly what the accomplishment was (be specific!) as well as commenting upon the significance of the accomplishment.

3. At Haas, we value innovation and creativity. Describe a time when you created positive change in a group or an organization. (250 word maximum)

Your own innovative and creative efforts can shine in this essay. This is an ideal place to demonstrate fit with Haas. Even if you are not someone who constantly strives for a new way of doing things, you likely have an experience where you either innovated upon a process or creatively solved a problem. This is likely to be at work, though can certainly be a significant leadership position you have held in an extracurricular organization. The key aspect of this question is to concisely describe what you did, and to elucidate what the impact on the group or organization was.

4. What steps have you taken to learn about the Berkeley MBA program, and what factors have influenced your decision to apply? (250 word maximum)

This is another great opportunity to demonstrate your fit and enthusiasm for the Haas MBA program. Basic research will certainly include a visit to the website and perusal of the course catalog. To really demonstrate fit you will benefit from visiting campus, attending an informational session or connecting with alumni or current students. The personal touch is often the most helpful, and will give you an opportunity to really understand how you can personally be connected to the school.

Required Essays:
Give us an example of a situation in which you displayed leadership. (500 word maximum)
Both required essays are the same as they were last year. In this essay you will want to think about a specific leadership experience and what you did, said, felt and accomplished. Leadership can be expressed in many ways. Perhaps you lead a team of people at work, or in a volunteer capacity. If you do not have a formal leadership role you might have led a project or contributed as a strong leader from a team perspective. Whichever type of leadership experience you had, make sure to provide specifics of the situation. Strong results always stand out!

What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How do your professional experiences relate to these goals? How will an MBA from Berkeley help you achieve these specific career goals? (1000 word maximum)

This is a fairly typical career goals essay that asks for both short- and long-term goals and the background that led you to this juncture in your career. This year it will be especially important to logically connect your background and your future, as schools will be looking for candidates who can be successful in a challenging job market.

Be specific about why Haas is the right program to pursue your goals as well. Make sure you have determined exactly what courses make sense for your career goals and the programs and clubs that you will participate in to reach your personal and professional goals.

Optional Essays:
(Optional) Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that you haven’t addressed elsewhere. (500 word maximum)

This optional essay can be used for any weakness you would like to address, or simply as an opportunity to end with some additional information that will help you stand out from the application pool. If there is an aspect of your background that was not illustrated in previous questions this can be a great opportunity.

If you have a weakness you would like to address here, focus on specifics. Describe what happened, why it is not representative of your potential, and provide specific examples of how you have performed better in your life since. Explanations and not excuses are always the best path.

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Haas School of Business short answer essays are both an opportunity and a challenge. At 250 words, they make it challenging to communicate the range of your personal qualities and skills, yet the questions provide the opportunity for variety in what you communicate. Because of the brevity, you will want to be extremely specific and concise with your examples.

The last two essays, on leadership and career goals, offer more space to express yourself while demonstrating the emphasis the program places on well articulated career goals and leadership qualities.

The numerous essays required for the Haas Business School application allow you to be strategic in the topics you choose. Because your career goals essay is last, you will introduce your values and personal qualities first. Choose your examples carefully to show your breadth of experience and interests, both professionally and outside of work.

Short Answer:

1. If you could change one thing you’ve done in your life, what would it be, and how would you do it differently? (250 word maximum)

This question has elements of the standard “mistake” essay, which requires the applicant to describe and reflect on a misstep. As in a mistake essay, you will want to describe the event you would like to change, and reflect on why and how you would change it. This question also invites further introspection, and allows you to discuss a turning point in your life. There is an opportunity here to show a moment when you matured, changed your perspective, or decided to take a specific path in life.

2. Tell us about your most significant accomplishment. (250 word maximum)

This is a great opportunity to showcase an impressive accomplishment in your life, preferably one with a team or leadership component. You have very little space to describe the accomplishment, and will still want to describe your thought process and results, which will require discipline. The question does not limit you to professional accomplishments, and you have the opportunity to choose a significant accomplishment from an outside activity that is meaningful to you.

3. At the Haas School of Business, we value innovation and creativity. Describe an innovative solution you have created to address a specific challenge. (250 word maximum)

This question both addresses your “fit” with Haas (do you value innovation and creativity?) and allows the adcom to see how you work and think. Describe the challenge you needed to address very briefly, and then discuss the innovative solution. Your thought process throughout should be illustrated, and you may need to explain why your solution was considered innovative by yourself and/or others. If an innovative or creative idea doesn’t come immediately to mind, think about a time when you have approached a challenge differently from others, even if the situation itself does not immediately seem innovative.

4. What steps have you taken to learn about the Haas School of Business program, and what factors have influenced your decision to apply? (250 word maximum)

This is a straightforward inquiry into your interest in and fit with the Haas School of Business program. Because some applicants use Haas as a backup to Stanford or other programs, you will want to be thorough and specific in demonstrating your knowledge of the program. Going beyond basic research by visiting campus, speaking with students and alumni or even reading informal blogs can show your level of interest in the program. It is also important to describe the impact of your encounters with the Haas community on your decision to apply.

Required Essays:

1. Give us an example of a situation in which you displayed leadership. (500 word maximum)

Leadership is an important quality to all MBA programs, and the length of this essay compared to the short answers highlights its importance to Haas. When choosing an example, a professional situation is ideal, although you will want to consider whether you have made a greater leadership impact in a volunteer situation. Leadership can be demonstrated in many ways, and you did not have to be the official leaders in the situation. Think of a time when you influenced a group of people, when others followed your lead, and when you made a solid impact. Describe the details of the situation, along with your thoughts and actions. Focus on the lessons learned as well, to show that leadership is an ongoing part of your life.

2. What are your short-term and long-term career goals? How do your professional experiences relate to these goals? Why do you want an MBA from Berkeley at this point in your career? (1000 word maximum)

This is a standard career goals essay that most MBA programs require. In this essay, it will be important to describe your short-term and long-term goals, and also provide professional context for the goals in your past experience. Your MBA from Berkeley should fit in as a natural bridge between your past and future in this essay. Your short-term goals should be specific and realistic as a new MBA graduate. Your long-term goals will lead from the short-term goals and MBA, and will reveal what you value in life and your career. The long-term goals can be a bit more visionary, but should still be specific and considered.

As you research the Haas Business School community, some of the insights gained from alumni and applicants could help get the creative juices flowing!

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