Tuesday Tips: Harvard MBA Essay Advice for 2024-2025
After more than a decade with the same prompt, Harvard Business School has updated its essay requirement for the Class of 2027. The new Harvard MBA essay set has three questions focused on the following evaluation criteria: Business-Minded, Leadership-Focused, and Growth-Oriented.
These prompts clearly signal who Harvard Business School is looking for. Business-minded people want to solve problems to improve their organizations and are effective at doing so. Meanwhile, leadership-focused MBA applicants know that successful organizations run with effective teams. Finally, growth-oriented people have an innate curiosity and are always improving.
While these essay questions are new, the goal remains the same—proving you are a fit for HBS. Check out the incoming class profile for an idea of what constitutes the “typical” HBS student. A persuasive essay set can move you into the interview round for a closer look.
As a former HBS Admissions Officer on the SBC consulting team revealed, “The essay is make-or-break for HBS. So many candidates have acceptable credentials up to that point of the application, and the essay sets the overall application apart and earns it the interview.”
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of HBS expertise on our team:
When answering these questions, consider examples from your life that showcase these qualities. The goal remains to know yourself, know HBS, and know how to match the two.
First, evaluate all of the other aspects of your candidacy. What story does your resume tell? What will your recommenders say? How does your transcript communicate your skills, accomplishments, and interests? Next, consider how you can fill in the gaps through your essays.
“At the end of the essay, the AdCom reader should feel so moved they want to meet you immediately. They can’t wait to get to know you better, hear more of the story, ask specific questions, be inspired, etc,” shared another former HBS Admissions Officer on the SBC team.
Curious about your chances of getting into Harvard Business School? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
Harvard MBA Essay Set for 2024-2025
Applicants to the MBA Class of 2027 (matriculating fall 2025) need to respond to these three essay prompts:
Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)
This first Harvard MBA essay question is similar to a typical career goals essay. However, note that it focuses on impact. HBS seeks MBA students who will change their organizations and the world. You should think big, be ambitious, and show that you care.
In the past, we have seen successful HBS essays home in on a core driving passion. HBS students are ambitious, motivated, and never dull. Asking about how you plan to “serve” in your business career is intentional. This essay is not about your ambitions; it’s about what you will do to improve the organizations and world around you.
Business-minded people are also practical. When you review your plans and aspirations, make sure they can be realized. Passion and skill can lead to extraordinary outcomes. Your goal is to demonstrate a success trajectory to indicate upper management potential. Your path should show a passion for impact in both business and society.
Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)
HBS has always focused on leadership and loves candidates with a track record of impact. The next two essays ask for evidence of your leadership potential. For this essay, think of an example that shows an accomplishment. If your key achievements are not readily apparent in your resume or transcripts, you can use this essay to explain them.
It’s important to note that hardship can be a part of growth. If you have faced challenges in your life, embrace them in this essay and tell your story. Remember that focusing on the lessons learned from your setbacks can be inspiring and revealing.
Finally, make sure you focus on others in this Harvard MBA essay. Leadership is about the team and its people. In your story, focus on anything you learned about how you plan to lead people. The final part of the question asks about the kind of leader you want to become. Think about how you want your future team or company to view you. And what you hope to accomplish.
Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)
The final HBS MBA essay question is about growth and focuses on curiosity as a key quality. When you think about people who are lifelong learners, they are all curious about the world. Curious people want to understand how things work, solve problems, and work on developing themselves and their teams.
This essay asks for an example, which should be evidence that you are curious. Keep in mind that both personal and career-oriented topics can work for this essay. Think about a time when you were curious about a problem at work, school or an extracurricular. Describe why you were interested, what you did to learn more, and how your learning had impact. In conclusion, remember to be specific and let your personality shine through.
Joint Degree Essays
Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School must provide an additional essay: How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (up to 400 words)
Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences must provide an additional essay: The MS/MBA Engineering Sciences program is focused on entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. Describe your past experiences in these areas and your reasons for pursuing a program with this focus. (recommended length: 500 words).
Applicants will also be able to respond to an optional essay.
Both joint degree Harvard MBA essay questions are targeted at the reasons why you are pursuing both degrees. This is a place to demonstrate your research into each program and highlight relevant past experience.
For these essays, it’s vital to have clear goals and understand how the programs will help you achieve them. For your past experience, show that you are qualified for both the MBA program and the relevant joint degree program. Your career goals should also warrant the investment in both programs.
The first joint degree essay also asks about both the personal and professional development you expect. Some possibilities include the people in your program, unique academic opportunities, the caliber of speakers who visit the schools, and the incomparable alumni network.
The second joint degree essay focuses on your past experiences and why you want to focus on entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. There are many MBA career paths that require a strong engineering background, and this is a place to show that you are prepared academically for the education. Finally, show that you have a professional goal requiring the joint degree.
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The SBC team wishes you luck with your Harvard Business School application and would love to support your efforts. Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your HBS MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership and HBS interview Prep to hourly help with essay editing, resume review, and much more! Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
