MIT Sloan Application for the Class of 2028

 In this post, I analyze the MIT Sloan MBA application for Class of 2028.  I will discuss the Cover Letter, Video Questions 1 & 2, "The World that Shaped You" essay, Organization Chart, and Resume in this post.

My clients have been admitted to the MIT Sloan MBA almost every year since 2002. Since I started my own counseling service in 2007, I have had 52 clients admitted to MIT Sloan: 48 for MBA, 2 for EMBA, and 2 Sloan Masters. My clients' results and testimonials can be found here. The advice in this post reflects that experience.

 

MIT's motto, "Mens et Manus" (Mind and Hand) fosters an attitude of excellence that transforms a career path into a lifetime of exploration, innovation, and leadership.

 

MIT is well known for transforming theory into practice and this is certainly true of its business school. Amongst all the M7, MIT Sloan has long been the leader in experiential learning and the use of multiple classroom methods.  It has long been the anti-HBS (flexible, collaborative and not high pressure, practical not case-based). If anything, HBS is now trying to be more like MIT Sloan. The first year Field course at HBS is a total copy of the sort of experiential learning that MIT Sloan has been doing  for decades.

 

APPLYING TO MIT:  Application Timing & Difficulty of Admission

For anyone who has done some of the other M7 apps, MIT is usually easy to do because it mostly involves repurposing and reorganizing existing content. I think it is amongst the worst schools to do first because it is much better to have a portfolio of content to select from in order to put it together. By having stories about yourself from other essay sets, it will be relatively easy to apply them, albeit in briefer form and/or different interpretation. MIT Sloan has a very short initial essay set: a 300-word cover letter, a 250 word personal essay, and a one-minute video (that would be a script of around 100-120 words) self introduction to your future classmates. Applicants also have to answer one random video question and submit an  organization chart.  If you are offered an interview, you will need to write two additional 250-word essays, which would be the best problem to have. 

 

Given the late deadlines (R1: 9/29/25, R2: 1/13/26, and R3: 4/6/26) most applicants will have worked on other schools already. As with other top schools, R3 is never ideal unless one a college student applying for deferred admission. In general,  applying in R1 is better because MIT Sloan has a small size (Class of 2026 including LGO admits was 433) and low acceptance rate of 14%. For anyone applying to other schools in R1 whose test scores are in order, I would, in general, suggest applying in R1. Due to its ranking, reputation, and class size, MIT has always been the third hardest programs to gain admission to after GSB (7%) and HBS (12%)  respectively.  While many consider (not necessarily my opinion) Wharton as the 3rd best MBA program, it is always been much easier to get into than MIT. The acceptance rate at Wharton is 22%. Generally when a school has an acceptance rate of 20% or more, you can assume there is no major difference between R1 and R2.

 

THE APPLICATION: 

 

THE COVER LETTER: This is an argument based on specific high examples about why you fit Sloan's criteria, not why you want to go to Sloan.

Applicants often seem to miss this point because they are used to standard MBA goals essays where why the school fits the applicant's goals.  The prompt is long and both paragraphs are important:

 

"MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.

Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation)."

 

MIT has been using this cover letter concept for a very long time now. The first time I visited with MIT admissions in 2007, I asked about the cover letter. At the time I was told it was because MIT Sloan thought everyone should know how to write a formal cover letter as a standard piece of business correspondence. As the question has evolved it has become focused on showing why you meet the criteria that MIT Sloan is looking for.

 

Keep in mind that great cover letters result in getting an organizational entry (job/internship/fellowship/admission)  interviews. The purpose of a cover letter is to accompany a resume and get you an interview!    How will your cover letter standout?

-If you don't know how to do a US-style cover letter, you need to learn. For more about a standard job cover letters see here or just do an internet search.  The point here is to show why you are qualified to enter the MIT Sloan Class of 2028 by making an argument based on showing your fit to their admissions criteria.

Cover letter structure:  Beyond a brief 1st paragraph asking for admission and conclusion asking for an interview as per cover letter format, Make 2-3 such paragraphs showing your fit for MIT.

Paragraph structure for examples/criteria paragraphs: Relate one specific aspect of Sloan culture or values to something you have done to show your fit.  In the process of doing this include important details about your experience.

 

Understand MIT Sloan's fit criteria:

"MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic."

Adam: This is an overall statement indicating that MIT Sloan is looking for those who would make most of the opportunities in the MBA program. Given that MIT does look at past performance as a primary indicator for future performance, what you write about in the Cover Letter as well as what you communicate elsewhere in the application will be scrutinized from the perspective of how well you have utilized the opportunities in your academic, personal, and professional life.

"We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students."

Adam: Video Question 1 meant for your future classmates (see below) is a primary way to directly convey this point. It might also come out in the cover letter, resume, or "The World that Shaped" 250 word essay.  In terms of the cover letter, if you are writing about a situation where you enhance the experience of others, you could connect to this particular criteria in the cover letter.

"We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world."

Adam: MIT wants high EQ and IQ leaders who want to make impact.  I think it is very hard to write an effective cover letter to MIT if your examples don't highlight impact. The cover letter is a place to make the best possible argument based 1 or more examples that show you are impactful based on what you communicate, act, and/or think.

 

"We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers."

Adam: MIT is looking for exceptional people who go beyond what is defined, do something new, take risks, remain true to themselves ("authentic"), and take action.  As you can see so far, it is absolutely impossible to touch on all of MIT Sloan's criteria in this 300 word cover letter. The point is to focus on specific parts of the criteria where you really stand out.  One of the reasons that I consider MIT one of the worst schools to work on first is that you want to go into it with a portfolio of possible topics and the best way to do that is to have written essays for other schools first. Also given the short length of the cover letter, coming in with short well-edited stories from other schools' will make this easier.  If you are doing MIT Sloan first, you need to conduct an inventory of possible topics.

 

"We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas."

Adam:  They are looking for innovators and original thinkers. If you have an awesome example or examples that show you are such a person, great! If not, focus on other criteria. The point is to focus on the criteria where you really are strong so that you make the best possible argument for MIT Sloan.

 

"We demand integrity..."

Adam:  MIT Sloan wants highly ethical/honest people.  If you have a high impact story that highlights your integrity, it could be a good topic here. Otherwise integrity is something you might ask your recommender to mention.  At minimum, you want to make sure that there is nothing in your application that would make MIT Sloan question your integrity, such as writing a recommendation for yourself or having descriptions of what you professionally that don't align with the Organization Chart that MIT Sloan asks you to complete.

 

" and respect passion."

Adam:  I think it is interesting that MIT Sloan does not demand passion but respects it.  Passion is therefore something they appreciate, but unlike integrity, not a prerequisite. That said, I hope you, at minimum, use Video Question 1 as a way to show your passion and engagement with others.  Passion can be used in the cover letter effectively if you are passionate about the impactful actvity/activities that you are writing about in this cover letter.

 

Overall: If you can  provide a strong case based 2-4 key selling points based on the above criteria for why you belong at MIT Sloan, you will have done a good job. Assume one paragraph equals one way you fit at Sloan and highlights one or more selling points.  Assume in 300 words including a brief formal intro and brief formal conclusion you have about 200-250 words for these paragraphs. Most admits I have worked with highlight two stories.

 

You will notice that I have specifically not included post-MBA career goals in the above questions.  That is because your cover letter should not focus on such goals. MIT makes it clear in all their events that they don’t want that here. If you are sponsored by your company or come from a family business fine to mention that but DON'T WRITE WHY MIT SLOAN FITS ME ESSAY or discuss post-MBA goals.  The only time you should be prepared to answer any questions about why MIT relates to your goals and/or just your goals  is in an interview.

 

VIDEO QUESTION 1

"Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here’s your chance to put a face with a name, let your personality shine through, be conversational, be yourself. We can’t wait to meet you!

Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:

• No more than 1 minute (60 seconds) in length
• Single take (no editing)
• Speaking directly to the camera
• Do not include background music or subtitles

Note: While we ask you to introduce yourself to your future classmates in this video, the video will not be shared beyond the admissions committee and is for use in the application process only."

This video has a few different purposes:

1. It is a great way to get an overall first impression of an applicant.
2. The question itself is a very good way to see who is actually paying attention to who the intended hypothetical audience is. This is useful for getting rid of social idiots who cannot construct even a one-minute appealing statement to their future classmates.   What do future classmates want to know about you?  If these people will be your friends and teammates what are the first things they need to know about you?  If you think that would be your post-MBA career goals or a career summary (Covered by the resume by the way) or something purely professional, think again.
3. Since MIT Sloan does not require TOEFL, it is an easy way to get an impression of English ability from non-native speakers even prior to an interview.
4. It is a great way to gauge the communication and presentation skills of any applicant.

 

What all successful versions of this video do:

1. Help the hypothetical fellow student viewers understand why they would like the applicant as a person and as a classmate.  While the actual audience is adcom, you should assume they are watching this from the perspective of how a peer might think about you.
2. Highlight a few key characteristics about the applicant not covered elsewhere in the application.
3. Showcase what makes someone special.
4.  Provide a great first impression. This is speed dating.  FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE!!!!

 

How to make the video:

1. Write a script. It will mostly likely be too long. (Once you add in breathing, facial expressions, in acting you might do, and speaking a speed to heard effectively, your script should be 90-120 words long most likely).
2. Have your script reviewed by whoever you are sharing it with.
3. Make an initial video. If your script is too long at this point, edit it down again.
4. Have your video reviewed, taking feedback into consideration, alter the script as needed.
5. Record until you have an acceptable take.  Doing this last minute is not great. Doing this when you are tired and look exhausted is to be avoided.  Record under optimal conditions for purpose of making a strong positive impression. Practicing and taking multiple takes is likely the best way to get a good one minute.
6. As the instructions say, don’t edit it. They don’t want a well-produced TV commercial.

 

Other considerations:

1. Regardless of where you film this video, you should focus on how well the viewer can hear your voice  and see your face. Recording outside is fine as long as you have a mike good enough for a high quality audio recording.
2. Don't focus on props or location first, focus on content.  If you have props and/or location that complements your content, that is fine.
3. Humor or irony can be used effectively but you need to make sure that will work for your audience. If you are using humor, it is especially important that you test it out with people (admissions consultants, friends, alumni) who can fully consider what you are saying from the perspective of an American admissions officer.

 

VIDEO QUESTION 2

"All MBA applicants will be prompted to respond to a randomly generated, open-ended question. The question is designed to help us get to know you better; to see how you express yourself and to assess fit with the MIT Sloan culture. It does not require prior preparation. 

Video Question 2 is part of your required application materials and will appear as a page within the application, once the other parts of your application are completed. Applicants are given 10 seconds to prepare for a 60-second response.

The following are examples of questions that may be asked in the Video Question 2:

• What achievement are you most proud of and why?
• Tell us about a time a classmate or colleague wasn’t contributing to a group project. What did you do?"

This video question was added for the Class of 2027, so we have one year of reports for it. Many schools now use video essay questions like this to gauge an applicant's actual communication skills under pressure. This also is way to compare what is in the rest of the application to the way you are more naturally. It is also a way to gauge your fit for MIT Sloan.

 

Keep in mind that for the Class of 2027 I received reports from 9 clients and all had different questions. The actual range of questions is huge:

 

R2:

Talk about a conflict that you had at work and what did you do?

Tell us about a time when you had to manage multiple projects with similar deadlines. What was your approach and how did you deal with it?

What is your greatest fear?

Please tell us a time you were creative.

How do you deal with stress in your personal life?

 

 

R1:

Describe a situation where you motivated and inspired a team or individual. How did you do this?

What quality do you most like to see as a team member?

Tell us about a time you were part of a difficult decision that impacted other people. What would you have done differently?

What drives you to succeed?

 

My suggestion is to go over these questions but given the possible range, just understand that you will have to likely handle a question you have not seen before.  The system MIT is using seems to contain a vast number of possible questions.

 

General Advice:

1. When answering an unfamiliar question, focus on the following in the ten seconds given prior to recording: Understand the question and quickly formulate a topic.
2. In your 60-second response focus first on providing a direct answer to the question and then elaborate.  This is not a time for an initial high context response but for a rational clear short and direct answer. Use remaining time for elaborating on your answer.
3. Given that you will have very little time, focus just on the question and don't think about overall strategy or being particularly clever if that will undermine your ability to give an effective response.  Being mindful albeit at high speed is likely to result in a better answer.
4. While you can understand the range of possible questions to some extent, it is not inherently going to help that much.
5. Writing scripts based on what has been asked before is probably a total waste of time, better to use such questions or ones like it as a drill. See how quickly you can effectively answer these questions or ones like it.

 

 

The World That Shaped You

"The Admissions Committee is excited to learn more about you and your background. In 250 words, please respond to the following short-answer question:

How has the world you come from shaped who you are today? For example, your family, culture, and community all help to shape aspects of your life experiences and perspective. Please use this opportunity to share more about your background."

For those who have written essays and/or short answers for other schools about their background, values, education,  life story, or other personal aspects, this will be easy.  Essentially you are trying to highlight to MIT a few (say 2-4) key aspects about who you are that cannot be understood  (or fully understood) from the resume, cover letter, or video.

Some possible topics:

1. Academic/intellectual/cultural/political  interests that have shaped you.
2.  The personal significance of where you grew up. The impact of that place(s) on you.
3.  Context related to one or more of your essays.
4. Major positive or negative impacts of your family on you.
5.  Economic considerations that impacted your family life.
6. The ethnic, religious, or other identity of your family and its impact on you.
7. The culture or values of your family and its impact on you.
8.  Key personal challenges you have had to handle.

 

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART: ONLY MIT ASKS THIS. 

"To help us better understand your current role and the impact that you have on your team and department, please submit an organizational chart. We should be able to clearly understand the internal structure of your organization, where you sit in your organization, and your line of reporting.

Organizational charts should not be more than two pages and keep the following in mind:

• Give us as much detail as possible (names, titles, etc.) but it’s ok to redact names if you need to.
• Please circle your role in red so that your position is easily identifiable.
• Make sure we can easily identify where you are, to whom you report, and if applicable, who reports to you.
• If your recommender or references are on your organizational chart (they may not be, and that’s ok!), please highlight them for us.
• If you are a consultant, entrepreneur, or affiliated with the military review our FAQs for suggestions on how to approach the organizational chart.

Click here to view a sample organizational chart."

The organization chart is a unique part of the MIT Sloan application. The organization chart itself should not take an immense time to prepare and is not something I intend to discuss in any detail given that MIT provides sufficient advice on how to put it together. Instead, lets focus on why they ask this. As is clear from the first two sentences of their instructions, they want to accurately understand your role in the organization you are a part of.  As I mentioned above when discussing MIT Sloan admissions criteria, they demand integrity. Hence resume bullet points or essay content that seems overstated and/or dishonest based on your organizational role is a major potential problem. I have no doubt that overstated accomplishments clearly evident from an org chart have resulted in many rejections over the years. Hence my advice is that the rest of the application's professional content should be consistent with the org chart.

 

THE RESUME: MIT IS VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT THE WANT

"Please submit a one-page resume. This will help us easily track your academic and career path. Try to focus on your work results, not just your title or job description.

Here are some pointers on formatting: 

• One page limit
• Times New Roman font
• Size 10 font
• Word or PDF formats only

Provide the following information in reverse chronological order:

• Education: Please include relevant awards, scholarships and professional societies
• Work Experience: Please include company name, title, results-oriented bullets that demonstrate your skill set, and dates
• Additional information: Please include extracurricular activities/community service, technical skills/certifications, and special skills/interests, and languages spoken (if applicable)"

Fortunately for my clients, this is the way I recommend they make resumes. MIT wants a very standardized 3-section resume with very specific formatting information.  I highly recommend following their format as this is a test of your ability to follow instructions.

Finally given what I have mentioned about the Org. Chart, it is particularly important that the descriptions of your professional accomplishments are not overstated but are rather consistent with your Org Chart.

 

Best of luck with your MIT Sloan Application for the Class of 2028!

Kellogg MBA Essays for the Class of 2028

 In this post, I analyze Kellogg's MBA essay and video essays questions for admission to the MBA program for the Class of 2028. I have taken the written essay questions from Kellogg's website.  The deadlines for Kellogg are Round 1: Sept 10, 2025, Round 2: Jan 7, 2026, and R1: Apr 1, 2026.

PLEASE NOTE: I will update this June 17, 2025 blog post as needed once the Kellogg application opens.

 

 

My clients have been admitted to the Kellogg School of Business  every year since 2002. Since I started my own counseling service in 2007, I have had 88  (2Y, 1Y, MMM, and Deferred)  clients admitted to Kellogg. My clients' results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application consulting on Kellogg, I regularly help additional candidates with Kellogg interview preparation.

 

Kellogg's Teamwork Culture and its Campus Community
If you go to Kellogg, chances are extremely high that you will live in Evanston. Kellogg is filled with people who are great communicators, friendly, outgoing, and able to thrive in a socially intense environment. If you are not that kind of person, don't apply there. If you are, it will be heaven.

 

Along With Chicago Booth, Kellogg is the US business school I have visited the most (I did an Executive Masters at INSEAD, so it is the business school I have attended). The reason is very simple, my family moved from Los Angeles to Chicago when I was 18, so I have had many opportunities to visit when go back to the US to see my family. I visited briefly in 2024 and 2025. In fall 2022, when one of my former clients took around and also showed me the MMM student room.  In 2018,  AIGAC, the professional admissions consultants organization I am about to become Past President of, held our conference at the campus. Former Dean Sally Blount left a great impact on the school in many ways but surely the most lasting will be getting the new campus built. Kellogg went from having an overcrowded building that reminded me of a large US high school to one of the best campuses of any MBA program. Kellogg's campus right on Lake Michigan is a real gem. Sure, it  is freezing walking on campus during the winter but the rest of the year makes up for it.

 

Sometimes when I talk to applicants they don't quite understand that Evanston is really part of Chicago and not some distant cut-off college town.  The thing that is nice about Evanston is that it is both a college town and part of a major American city.  You can stay in a nice safe college town while simultaneously being able to enjoy one of America's most diverse cities.  Unlike Booth students who mostly commute to Hyde Park from downtown Chicago (In both locations safety concerns are valid),  Kellogg students typically reside in Evanston, which contributes to Kellogg's intense community focus.  The community aspect is something one should fully take into account when applying to Kellogg.

 

THE ESSAYS: SHOW THEM YOU ARE LEADER. 

The key word in both Essay 1 and Essay 2 is leader.  Kellogg is looking to admit those who have demonstrated leadership professionally and personally. In particular, Kellogg's application essays are designed, along with the rest of the application and interview, to help admissions determine whether you demonstrate that you meet the following criteria:

"Qualities we value in Kellogg candidates

Work experience, test scores and GPA are important parts of every application, but they aren’t everything. We take many more things into account, including your values, goals, interpersonal skills, leadership qualities and the impact you’ve had on your organization.

High IQ, high EQ

Business is always changing, and over time hard skills can become a commodity. This is why we value those who approach business challenges with a mix of technical skills and emotional intelligence.

Willingness to grow and adapt

Nothing in business stays the same. Kellogg leaders evolve as the business world shifts by staying curious and innovative.

The power of teams

No one can do it alone. We believe the best leaders rely on compassionate collaboration as a way to strengthen work, perspectives and outcomes.

A different perspective

Understanding the power of varying perspectives is a key part of being a Kellogg leader. We believe diversity in thought and lived-experience leads to the best ideas, solutions and opportunities."

 

REMEMBER: THERE IS NOT ONE TYPE OF LEADER THAT KELLOGG IS LOOKING FOR. The common characteristics of emotional and analytical intelligence, a growth/flexible mentality, an ability to work with others, and the ability to provide a distinct viewpoint can all be expressed in many ways. Your job is make these characteristics come out in your application.

 

 

I suggest you keep these criteria in mind when writing Essays 1 and 2 and preparing for the three Video Essays. While it could be challenging to provide comprehensive coverage on all four of these points when writing two 450-word essays, I would suggest making sure that each essay is at least fully addressing one of these topics and that you try make sure that your Video Essays are covering the rest of the topics that you don't have room to cover.

 

Peer Application Review at Kellogg
One of the chief functions of an MBA admissions committee is to select people who will be good classmates and having 2nd year students on that committee is one way for a school to make sure that happens. The director and the rest of the committee have done their job properly if they have selected students who can work well together, learn from each other, and if these students become alum who value the relationships they initially formed at business school. Students members of the committee bring a peer's perspective to the process. They are also are likely to be the first to read your file and will be looking to determine whether they want you in their community.  When writing essays for Kellogg, keep these student readers in mind.

 

 

Essay 1

"Intentionality is a key aspect of what makes our graduates successful Kellogg leaders. Help us understand your journey by articulating your motivations for pursuing an MBA, the specific goals you aim to achieve, and why you believe now is the right moment. Moreover, share why you feel Kellogg is best suited to serve as a catalyst for your career aspirations and what you will contribute to our community of lifelong learners during your time here."

 

 

WHEN THINKING ABOUT THE ABOVE ESSAY QUESTION, YOU MUST ALSO TAKE THE FOLLOWING 2 APP FORM QUESTIONS IN MIND:

 

(PLEASE NOTE  THE FOLLOWING APP FORM QUESTIONS HAVE YET TO BE CONFIRMED FOR 2026 AS THE APP HAS NOT OPENED YET AS OF JUNE 17, 2025. WILL ALTER AS NEEDED WHEN APP OPENS)
There is also goal short answers found in the application form:

 

"Career goals

Please tell us about your career goals. You'll also have the opportunity to expand on this in other parts of the evaluation process.

Industry desired after Kellogg

AccountingMarket ResearchMarketing and AdvertisingPublic Relations and CommunicationsAviation & AerospaceDefense & SpaceArchitecture & PlanningConstructionHealthcare ConsultingManagement ConsultingTechnology ConsultingOther ConsultingApparel & FashionCannabisConsumer ElectronicsConsumer GoodsCosmeticsFood & Beverage ProductionLuxury Goods & JewelrySporting GoodsTextilesEducation ManagementHigher EducationPrimary/Secondary EducationOil & EnergyUtilitiesCivil EngineeringEntertainmentEvents ServicesGambling & CasinosEnvironmental ServicesRenewables & EnvironmentCapital MarketsCommercial BankingDiversified Financial ServicesFinance Research & RatingsHedge FundsInsuranceInvestment BankingInvestment ManagementPrivate EquityPublic FinanceRetail BankingTaxTreasuryVenture CapitalOther FinanceGovernment AdministrationGovernment RelationsInternational AffairsLibrariesMilitaryPublic PolicyBiotechnologyHealth, Wellness and FitnessHospital & Health CareMedical DevicesPharmaceutical Distribution / WholesalePharmaceutical ManufacturersPharmaceutical OtherHospitalityLeisure, Travel & TourismRestaurantsHuman ResourcesStaffing and RecruitingImport and ExportInternational Trade and DevelopmentJudiciaryLaw EnforcementLaw PracticeLegal ServicesAutomotiveBuilding MaterialsBusiness Supplies and EquipmentChemicalsElectrical/Electronic ManufacturingIndustrial AutomationMachineryPackaging and ContainersPlasticsBroadcast MediaDesignGraphic DesignMedia ProductionPrintingPublishingWriting and EditingMining & MetalsPaper & Forest ProductsMuseums and InstitutionsNon-Profit Organization ManagementPhilanthropyReligious InstitutionsCivic & Social OrganizationConsumer ServicesFacilities ServicesFund-RaisingOutsourcing/OffshoringProfessional Training & CoachingPublic SafetyResearchSecurity and InvestigationsThink TanksTranslation and LocalizationVeterinaryWholesaleCommercial Real EstateReal EstateRetailSportsComputer & Network SecurityComputer GamesComputer HardwareComputer NetworkingComputer SoftwareE-CommerceEdTechFinTechHealthTechInformation Technology and ServicesInternet ServicesNanotechnologySemiconductorsTelecommunicationsWirelessLogistics and Supply ChainTransportation/Trucking/RailroadWarehousing

Functional area desired after Kellogg

Accounting/ControlAdministrationAdvertisingAsset ManagementBrand/Product ManagementBusiness DevelopmentBusiness Development/Strategy/ResearchConsultingCorporate FinanceDevelopmentEconomic AnalysisEntrepreneur/OwnerEntrepreneur/Small BusinessFin. - Accounting/ControlFin. - BankingFin. - Commercial BankingFin. - Corporate Finance/UnderwritingFin. - Financial AdvisoryFin. - Investment Banking/BrokerageFin. - Investment Portfolio ManagementFin. - ManagementFin. - Mergers and AcquisitionsFin. - Private Client ServicesFin. - Private EquityFin. - Public FinanceFin. - Research (Equity/Fixed Inc.)Fin. - Sales & TradingFin. - Treasury, AnalystFin. - Venture CapitalGeneral ManagementHealthcareHuman ResourcesInformation SystemsInformation TechnologyInternational DevelopmentInvestor Relations/PR/CommunicationsLaw/LegalLending/Relationship ManagementManagement ConsultingMarket ResearchMarketing - AdvertisingMarketing - Brand/Product ManagementMarketing - ResearchMarketing - SalesMergers and AcquisitionsOperations/LogisticsOperations/ProductionOtherPrivate Client ServicesProperty ManagementPublic FinancePublic RelationsReal EstateResearch & Development ManagementResearch (Buy Side)Research (Sell Side)SalesSales and TradingStrategic Planning (Internal)Treasury Analysis

Share with us the motivations behind your desired industry/function after graduating from Kellogg.

500 characters remaining

What does a successful career look like five years after you graduate from Kellogg?

500 characters remaining"

 

 

A MESS IN  4 PARTS

While intentionality is great, this essay combines two main different elements (WHY MBA/GOALS and CONTRIBUTIONS)  and also has a connection to two application form questions: MOTIVATION FOR DESIRED INDUSTRY/FUNCTION and WHAT WOULD CAREER SUCESS LOOK LIKE FOR YOU IN 2033 . So the key is to leverage each piece.

 

I will not be discussing goals analysis here as that is discussed in detail in other blog posts.  If you are having difficulty formulating goals, please see, amongst others, my CBS Essay Question 1 analysis  or GSB Essay B analysis.

USE Share with us the motivations behind your desired industry/function after graduating from Kellogg. TO explain what motivates your post-MBA short-term plan. Don't mention WHY MBA or KELLOGG HERE AT ALL. JUST WHAT YOUR MOTIVATION FOR YOUR PLAN  IS.  YOU DON'T NEED TO DISCUSS YOUR SPECIFIC GOALS HERE.INSTEAD FOCUS ON THE ROLE YOU WANT AND THE INDUSTRY.  For example, why you do want to be a product manager in consumer goods?

USE: What does a successful career look like five years after you graduate from Kellogg? AS WAY TO EXPLAIN WHAT YOU WILL HAVE ACHIEVED IN THE 1st 5 YEARS of your post-Kellogg career and possibly to connect to a longer term goal, but that is not necessary. At minimum make a clear statement about what you hope you will have achieved professionally by the summer of 2033.  Think about  the impact you have on others/organizations and what you hope to have achieved in terms of your role. Possibly write about how this puts you on the pathway to your longer-term goals

 

USE ESSAY 1 to answer: 

1. WHY do you want an MBA ?
2. WHAT are your specific career goals?
3. WHY apply for an MBA now?
4.  WHY Kellogg is best suited to serve as a catalyst for your career aspirations
5. WHAT you will contribute at Kellogg

I suggest explaining WHY MBA AND WHY KELLOGG IS BEST together as much as possible to save on word count.

"what you will contribute to our community of lifelong learners during your time here"

One of the chief functions of an MBA admissions committee is to select people who will add value to the community.  The director and the rest of the committee have done their job properly if they have selected students who can work well together, learn from each other, and if these students become alumni who value the relationships they initially formed at business school. Your contribution(s) need to clearly connected to the community. Maybe it will be through the way you work with others, the knowledge you share, or the activities you organize but make sure the reader can fully understand how this be a contribution at  Kellogg.  You should know enough about the Kellogg community to show specific ways you might contribute.

Within the context of the Kellogg application, Essay 1 is really one of the important places to show why you will add value to Kellogg based on your personal and professional experiences.  One way, I like to think about contribution questions is to use a table like the following:

CONTRIBUTIONS	Is it a personal, professional or academic experience?	What skill, value, or unique experience is being showcased?	So what will you contribute  to the Wharton community?	Is this special? Why?
Story 1:
Story 2:
adammarkus@gmail.com. Free to use, contact me if you republish it.

I use the above table for all types of contribution questions, modifying the categories to fit the question.  What this kind of table does is force you to think about exactly how something from your background is meaningful enough to add value at Kellogg

ADVICE:

1. Tell your best story or stories that highlight how you will add value at Kellogg.  Help the reader understand what is special about you, about the story you tell, and the contribution you make.
2. Learn a lot about Kellogg so that you can write about really meaningful contributions.  Talk to alumni and current students, attend online chats, and dig through the website and otherwise.  Google and network your way into Kellogg expertise in order to be able to have really deep contributions.
3. With respect to the kind of contributions you make, don't fall into the "Obvious Knowledge Trap."  What do I mean? Here is an example: "As my work on the Tesla/McDonalds Merger and Acquisition shows, I have deep knowledge of  finance and accounting which I will use to help my classmates without a finance background." This topic is bad for a number of reasons. First, that you have such knowledge will be obvious from your resume, application form and/or transcripts, so it is better to focus on something that the reader will not already know about you. Second just sharing knowledge is not enough, better to focus on how you would do that. For example, instead of writing about your knowledge of a topic, write about how you helped others learn something and how you will use that to make a contribution at Kellogg. Then specify the Kellogg specific context (Classes, clubs, activities, Learning Teams) where you will make that contribution.
4. Think strategically. Given Kellogg's criteria of High IQ, high EQ, Willingness to grow and adapt, The power of teams, and A different perspective, how do your contributions highlight one or more of those criteria?  Moreover consider Essay 2 and the extent to which it is covering these criteria. Hence you want both essays to work together to highlight how you fit all 4 criteria. See more about this issue in my Essay 2 analysis.

 

 

Essay 2

Kellogg leaders are primed to tackle challenges everywhere, from the boardroom to their neighborhoods. Describe a specific professional experience where you had to make a difficult decision. Reflecting on this experience, identify the values that guided your decision-making process and how it impacted your leadership style. 

 

 

A difficult professional decision is one that has more than one possible choice.  You might have good (which one is better)  or bad options (which one is the least worse) to choose from. The range of possible topics here is extremely wide. The one thing that this critical is that the decision involve your values and reflect on your leadership ability and be a professional experience.

 

KEEP IN MIND:  You should be focused on telling a difficult decision story that highlights how you fit Kellogg's admissions criteria: High IQ, high EQ, Willingness to grow and adapt, The power of teams, and A different perspective.  

The essay might not focus equally or on all of these criteria, but...

..making a difficult decision will involve EQ and/or IQ.  When writing about EQ and IQ consider both actions taken and your own thinking. Hence your ability to reflect on what you did and why you did it can highlight EQ and/or IQ as much as writing about what actions you took. Given that you are writing about values, these values are likely to highlight EQ and/or IQ.

...a difficult decision is likely something that requires growth or adaptation because it would not be a challenge if  it required no alteration in ones actions/ideas/statements.  A real difficult decision is not routine and hence is likely to require the ability to change ones actions/thinking and/or the actions/thinking of others.  It is likely that your values are clashing because the decision is not easy. Hence you are likely required to restate, alter, reflect on, otherwise modify your thinking to handle a situation where there is a real choice to be made and not an easy one.

...is likely to involve teamwork. If the story really does not focus on or include teamwork, you should make sure that Essay 1 contributions highlight that. Teamwork is critical at Kellogg and you want to make sure that the reader can see your strength in that area.  Given the topic of a difficult decision, many team related decisions  such as around firing someone, conflict in a team, other problems in a team, including a bad team leader you need to decide whether to confront are all possible topics. Just make sure it was an actual difficult decision.

My suggestion is that once you have a final or near final version of this essay done, ask yourself what aspects of Kellogg's criteria need to be better shown in Essay 1 so that the reader of both essays comes away with the impression that you are strong in all four criteria.

 

 

STRUCTURE FOR AN EFFECTIVE ANSWER:

1. State the difficult decision.  What was the challenge/problem you encountered?  What was the situation? What was your responsibility/role?

2.   What  action's did you take? What value(s) informed your actions?

3. Connect your decision to the result.

4. Reflect on how making this decision impacted your leadership style.

 

The challenge/problem should be complex. A weak answer would focus on a routine problem/challenge and not one that required much effort to solve. The point is to discuss something every challenging because it is complex.

 

Regardless of the the story you tell, just keep in mind that you need to be introspective as well, so write what you thought as well as what you did. Don’t just present “the facts” but actively interpret your actions. There is really nothing overly complicated about this as long as you understand that you need to tell a detailed story. Pure abstractions disconnected from a concrete set of action steps are highly likely to result in a weak answer. Similarly, grand actions not told in any depth are also likely to be weak. Identify specific actions that contributed to the decision  so as to establish a clear link between cause and effect. Help your reader understand your thinking behind the way you made your decision. 

 

When selecting your topic, you should ask yourself “What does this essay reveal about me?” If you can’t answer that clearly, you need to clarify your message. When asking this question, think about both what you intend the reader to think and what you might also be revealing. Control for the possibility of sending out unintended signals. One of the best ways of handling this issue is to have a very careful and intelligent reader review these essays. If you are working with an admissions consultant, they should be able to do this. Getting multiple perspectives on what you wrote will help you better understand your likely impact on an admissions' reader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Reapplicants: Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (250 words)"
Reapplicants should read my posts on reapplication. Use this space to specifically explain what has improved about you since you last applied. You can certainly mention improved test scores, but I would not use very much of your word count for that. Typical topics include: development of a new skill, promotions that demonstrate your potential for future success, involvement in an extracurricular activity, learning significantly more about Kellogg, and why your goals now are better/different than the ones you presented last time.

 

"All applicants have the opportunity to provide explanations or clarification in Additional Information. Use this section if you think the person reviewing your application might have a few questions about one or more of your responses. This could include:

• Unexplained gaps in work experience
• Academic, GMAT or GRE performance
• Extenuating circumstances that we should be aware of when reviewing your application"

As with other school's optional questions, do not put an obvious essay for another school here. If you read the above, it should be clear enough that this is the place to explain anything negative or potentially negative in your background. If you have no explanation for something negative, don't bother writing about it. For example if your GPA is 2.9 and you have no good explanation for why it is 2.9, don't bother writing something that looks like a lame excuse. This is more likely to hurt than help you. In the same vein, don't waste the committee's time telling them that your GMAT is a much better indicator than your GPA (the opposite is also true). They have heard it before and they will look at both scores and can draw their own conclusions without you stating the obvious. That said, if you have a good explanation for a bad GPA, you should most certainly write about it.

In addition to GMAT/GRE, TOEFL, and GPA problems, other possible topics include issues related to recommendations, serious gaps in your resume, concerns related to a near total lack of extracurricular activities, and  major issues in your personal/professional life that you really think the admissions office needs to know about.You can certainly write on something positive here if you think its omission will be negative for you, but before you do, ask yourself these questions:

1. If they did not ask it, do they really need to know it?

2. Will the topic I want to discuss significantly improve my overall essay set?

3. Is the topic one that would not be covered from looking at other parts of my application?

4. Is the essay likely to be read as being a specific answer for Kellogg and not an obvious essay for another school?

If you can answer "Yes!" to all four questions, it might be a good topic to write about.

 

 

 

THE VIDEO ESSAYS: Three One Minute Wonders!

You have 1 minute to answer each of the video questions.

 

These video essays have a few different purposes:

1. It is a great way to get an overall first impression of an applicant. It is a way for everyone on the admissions committee to know who the actual person is and not rely only an interviewer's report.
2. It is an easy way to gauge someone's communication skills. This is especially important with respect to non-native English speakers because TOEFL and IELTS test scores don't always reveal actual English ability.
3. Explain why Kellogg beyond what is covered in the Essays and application form, specially Question 2 is asking what degree you want at Kellogg and why. This question is not really asked elsewhere in the application.
4.  Assess how the applicant handles a question that they will not have in advance (Question 3). Can they effectively do that in one minute?  This is a way to gauge how quickly someone thinks and can communicate.  It is a kind of way to gauge how someone might perform in a spontaneous class situation.

 

What all successful videos do:

1. Help the viewer understand why they would like the applicant as a person.
2. Highlight something positive about the applicant.
3.  Show the applicant's passion for Kellogg .
4. Show the applicant's ability to communicate effectively.
5.  

How to prepare for the videos

1. Write scripts.  They will mostly likely be too long. Once you add in breathing, facial expressions, in acting you might do, and speaking a speed to heard effectively, your script should be 90-120 words long most likely.
2. Have your scripts reviewed by whoever you are sharing it with.

 

How I help my clients with their video scripts:

1.  I ask them to write scripts for Questions 1 and 2. We refine those scripts through spoken and/or written feedback. In some cases, they make sample videos, which I give feedback on.

2.  For question 3, I ask them to prepare outlines for possible challenge topics that have been covered in the past. (Sorry but I don't discuss those topics here, only with my clients.) Since  we can't know for sure what the topic of Question 3 will be, I try to make sure that they have enough possible topics to cover what will be asked.

 

Question specific comments:

 

PLEASE NOTE: I AM NOT SURE WHETHER KELLOGG WILL BE USING THESE QUESTIONS FOR THE CLASS OF 2026.  ONCE I KNOW I WILL ALTER THIS ACCORDINGLY.

• Video essay 1: Please introduce yourself to the admissions committee.– Consider this your opportunity to share what you would want your future Kellogg classmates and our admissions committee to know about you. What makes you, you?

This is useful way of  getting rid of social idiots who cannot construct even a one-minute appealing statement about themselves. It is your elevator pitch about you!  While your answer should be consistent with what you have in the rest of your application, this is a chance to showcase your personality. What are 2-3 key things someone should know about you that they can't find out from just looking at your resume and reading your application?

 

• Video essay 2: What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?– This is an intentionally broad question so you can answer honestly and meaningfully. We want to know why you’re pursuing an MBA and why you’re choosing a particular Kellogg Full-Time Program.

Kellogg has multiple MBA programs, so specify which one you intend to attend and why.  Link your answer to the goals mentioned in the application form.  Try to mention 2-3 reasons why the program is right for you. Don't get overwhelmed with mentioning too many Kellogg specific details but keep the focus on explaining your needs and how Kellogg will meet them.

 

• Video essay 3: This question will be based on a challenge you've faced and what you've learned from it.

Some possible topics for a challenge include:

• A time you convinced someone or some group.
• A time you led others.
• A time you demonstrated courage.
• A time you made a difficult decision.
• A time you were innovative.
• A time you formulated and executed a strategy or tactics.
• A time you turned around a situation, overcame an obstacle.
• A time reformed something.
• A time you changed something.
• A time you effectively negotiated with someone.
• A time you managed up, down, or across an organization.
• A time you were wrong.
• A time you failed or had a setback and overcame it.
• A time you changed your opinion.
• A time your values were challenged by others.

I provide my own clients with past questions but also encourage them to take a flexible approach to this topic as new questions may arise. Hence the above list is good for brainstorming purposes.

Best of luck with your application to Kellogg Class of 2027!

 

Columbia Business School MBA Essays for January and August 2026 Entry

 The most important thing I can tell you about gaining admission to Columbia Business School, aside from my essay analysis below, is to apply in Round 1 for either January (Deadline: June 17)  or August (Deadline September 3).  Based on what has occurred in prior years, Round 1 is best to maximize admission because the rate of waitlisting and outright dings goes up significantly in subsequent rounds. Given that CBS takes the Executive Assessment  (Try to get at least a 150, 155 is better and 160 or over is good) in lieu of GMAT or GRE,  it is along with other schools that take the EA (NYU, Duke, Darden, Stanford MSx), an easy place to apply to R1. Even if you are applying everywhere else in R2, apply to CBS in R1 if you want to maximize your shot.

 

 

The second most important thing I can tell you, aside from my essay analysis, is that you need to learn about a lot about CBS.  It is one of the schools that requires knowing a lot about it through networking with current students and alumni.  CBS wants to be loved.  Comparatively speaking, the amount of engagement you should have with this school is very high compared to the rest of the M7 because they ask in their application forms for your student, alumni, and adcom contact.  For more about this issue, see my post from last year, How much do I really need to know about an MBA program to prepare a strong application for it? It varies!  It provides a comprehensive guide to this issue for CBS, the rest of the M7, and many other top schools.

 

Along with Stanford, and INSEAD, I think CBS is one of the best first applications to work on. In the case of CBS, Essay 1 requires more of a focus on goals than any other school, so doing it gives applicants all the content they need for any school's goals essays.  Also Essay 3, provides a perfect length for explaining why you want to attend a specific MBA program. Make that argument right for CBS and it will help you with other schools that require similar essay content.

You can find testimonials from my clients admitted for Columbia Business School here.  Since 2007, when I established my own consultancy (I have been an MBA admissions consultant since 2001), I have been fortunate to work with 95 clients admitted to Columbia Business School for Fall term,  J-Term, and Deferred Admission. 

For my post on reapplication to Columbia, see here. For my analysis of recommendations , please see here. For my analysis of Columbia Business School application interviews, please see here.

Before discussing the essays, for those applying or considering applying for January entry (Class of 2027), please see the next section.  If you are applying for August entry (Class of 2028), you can ignore this section.

 

J-Term

The Accelerated MBA, J-Term, can be a great program for those who don't need an internship and don't need a Merit Fellowship.  J-term is not for career changers, it is those looking to enhance their position within their present career trajectory and/or entrepreneurs. The program is designed for those students who do not want or need a full-time internship and don't require Merit Fellowships. The principal advantage of the 16-month program is its accelerated format, which allows members of the smaller January class to network quickly and effectively and return to the workplace sooner. You need to make the case in Essay 1 and/or Essay 3 and/or the Optional Essay that you meet the special criteria for this program and that an internship is not something critical for you. For those who don't need a summer internship, this is really a great program. Internships for J-Term? Based on what former clients tell me, it is common for J-Termers to do part-time internships in NYC while studying.  Actually, this is often true for those attending the August Term as well.   These are not the same as summer internships but such part-time internships can surely serve the same function.

 

Here are some common issues that arise when considering J-term:

 

Is J-term easier to get into than August entry?  I have always thought so.  The lack of Merit Fellowships, an internship, and the nature of who the program is designed for, clearly indicate that it is going to attract fewer applicants, so my assumption is that it is surely easier.  Happy to proven wrong if CBS admissions provides data showing otherwise (They don't).  All I know for sure is that relatively late application to J-term  never prevented my clients from being admitted. Late application for August is a real problem simply from a seat availability perspective. In one way, J-term is clearly easier: Unlike an August entry applicant, someone applying to Columbia J-term can really be assumed to prefer Columbia over all alternatives. This can make interviews a bit easier in the sense that August entry Columbia alumni interviewers are notorious for being particularly aggressive at determining whether the interviewee's first choice is really Columbia. Since J-term has no real US rival, this topic can be easily dispensed with in an interview.

 

Program Alternatives to J-term:   There are no US alternatives to J-term worth mentioning if someone wants a January 2025 start.  Cornell Tech, Kellogg and NYU Stern (Tech and Fashion & Luxury) offer one year MBAs, but none start their programs in January, Cornell Tech and NYU are specialized degrees, and  Kellogg  is an accelerated program in terms of the number of courses taken. Only J-term makes it possible to do two years of courses on such an expedited basis. In addition, the Kellogg program is extremely restrictive, since one has to have taken many core business courses or come from a consulting firm that has established a relationship to apply to it.   There are a number of European programs with a January starts but really only INSEAD could be said to be at a similar rank, at least as perceived by my clients.  I have had clients who apply to J-term and  INSEAD  and, less often, IMD, as both have January entry. Still J-term is an incredibly different program in terms of length and content from either of these top non-US programs. LBS, which does not have a January start, would also be another alternative to CBS in the sense that it can be completed on an accelerated basis, but it has no January start. There are many other programs in the Europe that can be completed in around 16 months or less, such as HEC.

 

Can an August entry applicant reapply to J-term? Yes! You could be rejected from ED or RD for 2024 entry and reapply for J-term 2025 entry. If you entered in J-term 2025, you would graduate in the Class of 2026 with those who entered in Fall 2024. I have worked with  a number of reapplicants who were admitted to J-term after being dinged from the August entry for the same graduating class. In that situation, the key issues for the reapplicant essay are explaining why J-term is now a better choice and you are a better candidate.  

 

 

The Three Essay Questions and the Two Short Statements

The questions are taken from the website.

SHORT QUESTION 1: 

What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)

Examples of possible responses:
“Work in business development for a media company.”
“Join a strategy consulting firm.”
“Launch a data-management start-up.”

 

Remember this is 50 characters, not words! This would be about 5-10 words. The question itself, fortunately, includes the above examples to make it clear what Columbia is looking for here. Given the length, you can't possibly expect to explain what you want to do short-term.  That is what Essay 1 is for. In fact, it is best to simply write this little statement after you have a good working version of Essay 1.  CBS is looking for a short, but a very clear statement of what you intend to do after your MBA. If you have difficulty explaining your immediate post-MBA plans in the space given, I think that is likely an indication that your plans are too complex, vague, or otherwise not well thought out. What you state here should be backed up by what you discuss in Essay 1 and 2 (or the reapplicant essay for reapplicants).

If you can be clever or catchy in formulating this response that is fine, but it is a completely secondary consideration to simply stating something that is very clear and that is completely consistent with what you write in Essay 1 and 2. Being clever is not critical here, being clear is.

 

Short Answer Question 2: for JANUARY ENTRY: Why do you prefer the January-entry term? (50 characters maximum)

This is an opportunity to explain why J-term. You might need to expand on this further in the application, but here is a chance to give a very direct and fact-based answer.

Short Answer Question 2 for AUGUST ENTRY: How do you plan to spend the summer after the first year of the MBA? If in an internship, please include target industry(ies) and/or function(s). If you plan to work on your own venture, please indicate a focus of business. (50 characters maximum)

This is an opportunity to show you really have a plan for the summer between your first and second year at CBS. The more specific you can be, the better.  The answer should align completely with Short Answer 1 and Essays 1 and 3 to show that you have a fully worked out plan for CBS. See more about formulating that plan in my discussion of Essay 1.

 

 

Essay #1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Since I have found it necessary to make this clear to clients:  THIS ESSAY IS COMPLETELY FUTURE FOCUSED. That is why they say they "have a clear sense of your professional path to date."  Any statements you make about your past experience should be analytical rather than descriptive and for the sole purpose of explaining what you want to do in the future and why. Discuss your past to help establish your motivation for your goals. If they wanted a detailed past history, they would not have worded the question the way they do. 

A BAD CBS Essay 1 will typically consist of extended discussion of past experience, lack of explanation of post-MBA goals, and inability to distinguish between long-term goals as typically required by other schools and a long-term dream job.  Here is what you can do to avoid that:

 

Using your 500 words

I think a good essay will consist of the following components

-A first paragraph that begins to the answer directly (briefly states either or both goals or an overall mission relating to both so the reader does not have to guess what the subject of the essay is) and that VERY BRIEFLY explains whatever aspects of background and/or personal motivation that are necessary to help the reader understand your answers to the two questions CBS is asking here.

- A clear short-term 3-5 year plan. Explain motivation and past experience if it has not already been discussed sufficiently.

- A clear dream job, not just a long-term goal or vision but an actual imagined highly aspirational role. Explain motivation and past experience if it has not already been discussed sufficiently.

- Since Essay 3 is focused on why CBS, you should not write about that here. However you may need to explain why you need an MBA in general to achieve your goals.

 

 

"What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years"

 

CBS wants to know exactly what you want to do after your MBA and why.  You need to have a clear plan.  Explain not only what you want to do, but why you want to do it. Some questions you want to answer here:

How does the post MBA role you will have relate to your longer term career objectives? 

How does it relate to your past experience?

What kind of firms do you want to work for? 

What is the intended role?

Don't hedge more than is absolutely necessary because you want provide a clear believable, achievable story. 

 

 

You want want to explain why need an MBA now to get into that role but only briefly as you have an entire essay for explaining why CBS.  The point of mentioning MBA here would be if it is not obvious why an MBA is needed to achieve this goal or if you cannot get the topic into Essay 3. 

 

 

This is a reality based question so provide a well-researched reality based answer.  See https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/recruiters/employmentreport to figure out where CBS graduates go.  If you are mentioning a role, industry, or company that does not recruit at CBS and your post-MBA goals are not entrepreneurial or in a family business, you have a problem. Make CBS adcom believe in your short-term plan.  This is not a good school for confused people, it is one for those who know what they want and have an initial plan for how to achieve it.  If you need a lot of hand holding and want to be part of a highly collaborative intense community this is not the best school for you. It is a commuter school (now more than ever because no lives around the Manhattanville campus)

 

 

 

what would be your long-term dream job?

 

IT IS A DREAM! Tell them a story about the future, not just mentioning a role but painting a picture.  CBS is inviting you to showcase your ambition and future potential.  What is your vision?  What kind of impact do you want make in your life?  Assume you succeed and don't just become another middle management type.

 

 

Consider illustrious CBS alumni:  See https://www.businessbecause.com/news/notable-alumni/7134/columbia-business-school-notable-alumni and https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-columbia-business-school-alumni-and-students/reference.  For my post on Warren Buffet, CBS's most famous alumnus, see here.  How will you reach their level?

 

 

Think about the future. Imagine not on how the world is now, but on how it might be in10, 20, 30 years from now. Describe that future and how you see yourself in it.  The future you present might be 10 years from now or 20 or 30 or more years.  The point is to showcase your ambition and vision. 

 

 

 

What makes your vision of the future different? Consider the following when formulating a vision:

 

- Is your vision based on a problem you want to solve?  If you are are merely providing a solution that already exists and just saying you want to be in charge of implementing it, your vision is dull if the problem is a well known one. You need have a unique proposed solution and/or a unique problem to be solved.

 

 

-Is your vision based on a future opportunity that you are forecasting? You don't need a business plan but you need to be able to articulate what the  opportunity is and hypothesize how you might address it.

 

 

-Is your vision based on a coming technology?  That is say, are you predicting the future and making a bet on what technology will enable and you can do with it? Avoid fake futures:  A fake future is merely the present expressed as a future desire but without anything that actually sounds like the future.  Imagine future tech platforms and technologies. Think like an inventor, a science fiction writer, or a futurologist.

 

 

-Is your vision based on a specific value or focus that differentiates it from others? Your vision can be informed by a value that is a source of motivation and can help to distinguish your way of discussing your role in the future from others.

 

 

-Is your vision based on a specific organizational role you see yourself in?  For example, such as head of your family business or being a CEO?  Such roles seem generic but can become specific if you tell the right story about why you want the role and what you would do with it.

 

-While your vision of your long-term should be a dream, I think it should not be a total fantasy but rather a dream that, while potentially hard to achieve is not outside the realm of what a reader could be believe.

 

 

When I work with clients on their long term vision, I  typically ask them to come up with a few different initial answers if they don't already have a good one in place. We use these as the basis for a conversation that then leads to the creation of a specific future vision.

 

 

GOALS AND WHY MBA ANALYSIS FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT

If you are having problems clearly articulating your goals either in Essay 1 or in the 50 character statement,  I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. The following table will help you with both Essay 1 and Essay 3. 

 

 

The following image may not work for all browsers. If so, see here.

(A Google Docs version of this matrix can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WobczFFLHBzQRxUeuwBRNmGQ3q-RKP_94iGHuLlXXEs/edit?usp=sharing)

 

 

Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Career." What roles and responsibilities have you had in clubs, part-time jobs, internships, volunteer activities, etc.? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?
Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?
Next, analyze your situation in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

 

 

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-MBA" future after you have earned your graduate degree. If you cannot complete this step you need to do more research and need to think more about it. I frequently help clients with this issue through a process of brainstorming.

 

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, then you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?  THIS IS WILL HELP YOU ANSWER ESSSAY 3.

 

 

 

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4, then you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

 

The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals?

 

Be informed about your goals. Columbia Admissions needs to believe you know what you are talking about. If you are changing careers, no one expects you to be an expert, but you should come across as having a clear plan based on real research into your future. If you are planning on staying in your present industry, you should be well informed not only about the companies you have worked for but about the industry as a whole. If you are not already doing so, read industry related publications and network.

 

Those applicants who are changing fields should most certainly read industry related publications in their intended field. Additionally, I suggest conducting informational interviews with at least one peer level and one senior level person in that field. Conduct a peer level interview to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually work in that industry. Conduct a senior level interview to get the perspective of someone who can see the big picture and all the little details as well. Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center. No matter whether you are changing fields or not, learn what is hot now and try to figure out what will be hot by the time you graduate. Now, of course, this is just a plan and chances are that what is hot in your industry or field now may very well be cold in the future.

 

 

The point is to come across to Columbia Adcom as someone who is not only well informed but has CUTTING-EDGE knowledge. Look at CBS Insights. Some other great general sources for learning what is hot: Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review,  Stanford Social Innovation Review, Knowledge @ Wharton, and the Aspen Institute.  Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books  and listen/watch podcasts/lectures that relate to your intended field.

 

If at the end of the above process you feel as though you are uncertain about whether you need an MBA, please see Do You Really Need an MBA?

 

Essay 2. Please share a specific example of how you made a team more collaborative, more inclusive or fostered a greater sense of community within an organization. (250 words)

 

What is nice about this question is that can be used for a wide variety of answers in a personal, academic, professional, or extracurricular content.  The actual question itself is behavioral and really fits the STAR (Situation, Task, Action(s), Result) approach to such questions.  While CBS does not mention the task (your role), I think it is important that you keep that in mind.  A good answer will efficiently explain the situation (and given the length of the essay, cannot be context heavy), explain your role in the situation, explain what you did, and clearly state the result.  The word breakdown might be:  Situation/Task (~50 words), Action(s) ~150 words consisting of 1-3 actions, Outcome (~50 words).

 

You should have succeeded in whatever team organizational situation you choose.Whether the team  was at work, school, or extracurricular does not matter. Focus on how impactful you were.  That said I would not recommend selecting something prior to university.  For those who have been out of school for more than 3 years, I would also recommend trying to use either a professional or post-college extracurricular activity.

 

Making a team more collaborative would imply that there was a problem in the team.  Define the team. Explain what the problem was. Explain what action(s) you took to overcome the problem.  This is a test of your teamwork skills. The harder the problem, the more likely it is that you will be able to highlight your impact.  Likely collaborative problems in teams include: lack of a shared sense of purpose (mission), miscommunication, improper delegation of tasks, underperforming member or members, over dominant members,  and lack of clarity about what the team's output should be.

 

Making a team more inclusive would imply that there was a problem in the team. Based on a definition of an inclusive  found here, I define an inclusive team as follows: A team where every person feel valued while also acknowledging their differences and how these differences contribute to a group/team/organization’s culture and  outcomes.  Hence an effective answer would highlight the way(s) in which you made (or attempted to make)  a professional/academic/extracurricular/personal environment open to and benefitting from person(s)/perspective(s)/group(s) that had not previously been valued. I will give a personal example, during my first year of college (1986), I joined a student quarterly with a mostly male staff.  Soon thereafter, as co-editor, I helped introduce a women's section to the paper in order to get women involved in the newspaper, to get their perspectives effectively included, and to increase our staff. The biggest challenges involved overcoming the perspectives of older male staff members who did not understand why there needed to be a women's section and to convince female students that we were earnest in our objectives to include and empower them. We benefited from a greatly expanded gender balanced team, went on to win Columbia Student Journalism awards, and my eventual replacement as editor -in-chief was a woman.

 

Fostering a greater sense of community within an organization, while certainly a problem that could exist at any time and place, seems particularly relevant during the Covid years.  Going remote put an immense strain on creating a sense of community for many organizations. While Zoom and WhatsApp groups helped us all during the bad years, they often did not fully replace what had been lost by no in-person contact.  Overcoming the challenges of the Covid years is likely to be a topic in some applicants essays.  Additionally restoring a full sense community to an organization after remote ended and in-person began again is equally challenging.  Whatever the case, whether Covid related or not, creating a sense of community requires a range of actions that bring people together and bond them. If you have contributed to building community in an organization, this is an ideal topic.

 

 

ESSAY 3: WHY CBS? We believe Columbia Business School is a special place with a collaborative learning environment in which students feel a sense of belonging, agency, and partnership--academically, culturally, and professionally.How would you co-create your optimal MBA experience at CBS? Please be specific. (250 words)

 

Keep in mind that this question is focused on why Columbia Business School is the right MBA program for you. That is to say what does its curriculum, community, and network offer you that will help you reach the professional objectives you have mentioned in Essay 1? And beyond, professional objectives who does CBS fit you as a person from an academic and cultural perspective.   For a more general discussion about the whole issue of academic fit, see here. If you are unclear about why you need from an MBA program, see the GAP, SWOT, and ROI table above.

I think there are two aspects to the question:  (1) Why CBS is right for you and (2) Co-creation.   

 

WHY CBS IS RIGHT FOR YOU

Balance and integrate Goals and Why Columbia?

A good version of Essay 3 will connect goals with Columbia. If you use the GAP/SWOT table above, Step 3 relates directly to the content of this essay. That is to say, the objective is not merely to explain why  Columbia fits you, but why it aligns with the goals discussed in Essay 1.  Your objective is to write an essay that shows Columbia why it is the best possible place for you to achieve your career goals. If your goals are not showing themselves to be particularly well supported by Columbia, you may need to either change your goals or decide to apply elsewhere.

 

Beyond  Goals

Beyond direct goals reasons for why Columbia is right for you, consider what aspects of its curriculum or community support your personal and professional interests. This might be a club or activity that you want to engage in. For more about CBS clubs, see here.

 

The resources available at CBS and Columbia University are vast, so figure out specifically what you want from the school as you will need to discuss that. The program is flexible, so identify your needs from Columbia as specifically as possible. After all, you want to show them you love and need them For learning about what is hot at Columbia, I suggest taking a look at their  Ideas and Insights Homepage.  You will likely want to write about taking a Master Class. I also recommend learning about the Cluster system as it core part of the CBS experience.  Japanese applicants should most certainly visit https://www.jbacolumbia.com/.  All applicants should attend online chats and reach out to alumni and current students if they have not done so.  Feel free to visit campus if you want, but the most important thing to do is connect with students and alumni because you will need to mention that in the application form.  

 

 

 

Explaining your learning needs: 

 

 

WHAT NOT TO DO

An example of circular (tautological) reasoning:  "I want to take Capital Markets & Investments because I am interested in learning about capital market investing."

This kind of circular reasoning is so common. Usually it takes place within a paragraph consisting of many such sentences. They actually convey nothing about the applicant.  They are just abstract needs and will have limited impact on your reader.  The admissions reader wants to learn about you, not about their own program.

 

 

WHAT TO DO

An example of an explanation for why:  "While I have been exposed to finance through my work at MegaBank of Joy, I presently lack the kind of comprehensive understanding of capital market investing that I will need to succeed as an investment analyst and I know I can gain at Columbia."  A more complete explanation would include additional details about the kind of issues that the applicant is interested in learning about and/or specific ways the applicant intended to apply what he or she would learn at Columbia.  By focusing on very specific learning needs and explaining those needs in relationship to one's goals and/or past experience, the admissions reader will be learning about you.

 

While in recent years, the school emphasized its New York City location in Essay 3 it no longer does. You need only discuss that if it is especially useful for making the best possible argument for why CBS fits you. In general, such arguments are often dumb cliches and since they are not what the question is focused, don't waste words on the topic.

Co-creation

The use of "co-create" is new this year and indicates that they are looking for answer that includes how you will actively optimize on your CBS experience.  CBS is not a hand-holding kind of place. It is a commuter school with a core curriculum but with extensive opportunities for defining your curricular and extracurricular experience that is specific to you. Think about what you really want to focus your time on and contribute to.

WHAT NOT TO DO: Don't write an essay consisting of a laundry list of activities you want to engage in.

WHAT TO DO: Make highly personalized intelligent choices in the form of a learning plan specific to you. In 250 words, you can highlight like 3-4 specific topics.  Say something meaningful.   Show how you be an engaged member of the CBS community.

If you wish to provide the Admissions Committee with further information or additional context about your application, please include it here. You may write an essay or submit bullet points. (Maximum 500 Words)

 

 

As with other school's optional questions, do not put an obvious essay for another school here.  

 

It is not necessary to write anything here. Many admits I have worked with had nothing to mention. Some have.  THIS IS NOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT ESSAY OR TO DISCUSS  SOMETHING THAT IS NOT NECESSARY TO INCLUDE.

 

Additional context can relate to something positive or negative.

 

You can certainly write on something positive here if you think its omission will be negative for you, but before you do, ask yourself these questions:

1. If they did not ask it, do they really need to know it?
2. Will the topic I want to discuss significantly improve my overall essay set?
3. Is the topic one that would not be covered from looking at other parts of my application?
4. Is the essay likely to be read as being a specific answer for Columbia and not an obvious essay for another school?
If you can answer "Yes!" to all four questions, it might be a good topic to write about.

-Likely possible topics would include issues related to personal background (ethnicity, financial issues, other family or personal background issues) that you think admissions needs to know about.

-Other possible positive topics would be some aspect of your past experience that you could not sufficiently highlight that is key to understanding who you are. Again, the focus should be on an explanation, not a narrative essay.  Please no GSB what matters most essays!

-Choice of recommenders is another possible topic here if that requires explanation.

-In some cases issues related to MBA company sponsorship and family business related issues might require explanation.

-If you own/ lead a business and would be temporarily leaving  it, explaining who will be running it in your absence would be another topic that could be discussed here.

 

 

Negative topics: In addition to GMAT/GRE, TOEFL, and GPA problems, other possible topics include issues related to recommendations, serious gaps in your resume, concerns related to a near total lack of extracurricular activities, and major issues in your personal/professional life that you really think the admissions office needs to know about.

 

 

Columbia Loves to Be Loved

One thing that is consistent about Columbia Business School is that they want to know that their school is your first choice. If you have an alumni interview you can be expected to be asked about that very directly. See here for my advice on Columbia interviews. Best of luck for gaining admission to Columbia Business School!