Texas McCombs MBA Application Essays for the Class of 2029
The University of Texas McCombs School of Business has confirmed the McCombs MBA application essays for 2026-2027. Here’s the full set to know if the Texas MBA program is on your shortlist this admissions cycle, along with the MBA deadlines for the upcoming season.
What are the McCombs MBA application essays for the Class of 2029?
Essay One (250 words max.)
Imagine yourself at the completion of your MBA journey. Why was pursuing your MBA at Texas McCombs the right decision for your personal and professional growth? Reflect on how you made the most of your time in the program—academically, through hands-on learning opportunities, and within the McCombs community.
Highlight how you contributed to the McCombs community and used its resources to grow both professionally and personally.
Essay Two (250 words max.)
Reflect on a core value that defines you. Share a specific example of how it has guided your decisions and actions, and explain how it will shape your contributions and growth as a McCombs MBA student.
Highlight how this value has influenced your leadership style and life path, and how it will shape your MBA experience.
Optional Statement
Please explain any gaps in work experience, choice of recommender, and/or academic performance issues that may help the admission committee in reviewing your application. (Limit: 250 words)
Video Assessment
Texas McCombs has always been at the forefront of innovation and continuous improvement, consistently seeking new ways to enhance the application process for prospective MBA candidates. In line with our school mission and values, we are introducing a dynamic video assessment component, offering an alternative approach to a more traditional essay and interview format. Given all applicants will complete the video assessment, MBA candidates will have increased access to the Admissions Committee and the opportunity to share their stories with us in their own voice. Through the video assessment, the Admissions Committee will have a chance to experience the “real” you, beyond a resume, test scores, and transcripts. Lastly, the video assessment will enable Texas McCombs to reduce bias in the admissions process by providing all applicants with a structured and consistent assessment experience.
All applicants will be required to complete the Video Assessment shortly after submitting an application. Applicants have 7 days to complete the assessment upon receiving access to the video submission platform.
There will be 6 question prompts, and applicants will have 90 seconds to answer each prompt. Two questions will be viewed by the Admissions Committee, but will not be evaluated for a score.
For additional information on applying, please visit the McCombs admissions website. If you need guidance on your Texas McCombs MBA application or wish to discuss your MBA plans, reach out for a complimentary analysis of your candidacy. We’re here to help!
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 ...
×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 ...
×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 ...
×Davina
Davina received her MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB), with a certificate in Public Management, and her BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley. Davina is an experienced strategic planning leader, facilitator, and business case writer who spent more than 15 years building culture, entrepreneurship, and leadership initiatives across Stanford University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She designed ...
×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 ...
×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. ×
Dana
Dana served as Assistant Director of Admissions at Columbia Business School for the Full-Time MBA program and has over 10 years of experience working in higher education. Known as a scrupulous file reader, Dana reviewed countless applications and assisted in rendering final decisions for the Admissions Committee at CBS. While leading information sessions at Columbia and on the road, Dana met and advised myriad applicants� ...
×Holly
Holly worked as a member of the NYU Stern MBA Admissions team for seven years and holds an MBA from NYU Stern. In her tenure as Director of NYU MBA Admissions, Holly worked closely with admissions teams from Columbia, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Cornell Johnson, Berkeley Haas, Yale SOM, and Duke Fuqua on recruiting events domestically and internationally. On the NYU Stern admissions committee, Holly conducted interviews, planned and hosted events, and trained staff on reading and interviewi ...
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