MBA Essay

Guide 2023
How To Write A Successful
Application Essay
MBA Essay Guide 2023

Contents
Introduction 02
Why Is The MBA Essay Important 04
Types Of MBA Essay Questions 06
8 Tips To A Winning MBA Essay 12
In our BusinessBecause MBA Essay Template 24
Essay Guide 2023 – How To
Write A Successful Application
Essay, Business schools and
Admissions experts reveal the
eight steps you should follow
to write a successful
MBA application essay.

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of information and inspiration for
Content: Lili Cariou, Laura Wise
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Publication: November 15th 2022
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01
 MBA Essay Guide 2023

Find Out How To Write A Winning The MBA Essay

MBA Application Essay In Numbers
Applying for an MBA is no small feat; it takes many months of
preparation. You’ll need to shortlist your target schools, study for
and ace tests such as the GMAT, craft a solid MBA resume, and write 8-10 weeks 400
an MBA essay that will win over your chosen schools. is the average length of time is the average word
INSEAD MBA admissions count for MBA essays
suggest that candidates
This guide gives you all the tips and tricks for BusinessBecause has created this MBA essay
take to prepare their
writing that winning MBA essay to help you guide to help prepare you to write an essay
on your way to a successful MBA application. that will stand out in a pile of applications. application essay.

The MBA essay is a vital stage in the We’ve spoken to business schools, admissions

9,973 6
application process and is where you can let experts, and alums to discover the eight tips
your individuality shine, demonstrate your that will help you ensure yours is a winning
passion for your chosen school’s program, and MBA essay.
why you are the best candidate for an MBA. is the average number of drafts on average are
MBA applicants Harvard needed to craft a
receives each year. winning essay.

2-3 months 2-4

months is the wait time essay-type questions are
for the result of your usually asked on MBA
MBA application. applications

Sources:
Essay Writing Tips for Your MBA Application | InTheKnow (insead.edu)
MBA Application Guide 2022-23 | How To Ace Your Application (businessbecause.com)

02 03
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
MBA Application Essays 2023
How Important Is The MBA Essay,
And When Should You Submit?
The MBA essay is a great way to highlight to
your preferred school’s admissions team the
added value you will bring to its program and
community. It is an essential component of
your application, as the essay can count for up
to 15% of a total MBA application score.
MBA essays give you the opportunity to
highlight your life experiences, skills you’ve
learnt, and your career aspirations—which
may not be evident in your CV or MBA
resume.
In short, your essay is your chance to
become a great storyteller.
“The essay could be the starting
point of a meaningful conversation
between you and the panel members
during an admissions interview.”
Stephen Shih, associate dean of MBA programs at HKUST
04
“Essays are really helpful to the admission
committee because they allow the candidate
to add important detail and context to their
story. It is one of the key ways we get to know
a candidate,” says Melissa Rapp, associate
dean of admissions at Emory Goizueta.
Writing the MBA essay can, however, be a
daunting task for prospective business school
students. It requires a lot of preparation and
you must make sure you have enough time to
write, re-write, and proofread your essay.
“While the MBA essay writing process
is complex and multifaceted, the best
approach is to leave ample time for
brainstorming, outlining, drafting, editing,
and proofreading,” says Scott Edinburgh,
Personal MBA Coach.
Your MBA essay
can weigh up to
15% of your total
MBA application
weighage
05
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
Types Of Essay Questions
There are several different essay questions asked by
MBA programs around the world.
“Some top programs have a very narrow focus to their
MBA essays while others ask much broader open-ended
questions,” says Scott Edinburgh, Personal MBA Coach.
Scott says that there are three common themes which
appear in all MBA essay questions: the “Personal Story”
essays, “Why MBA”, and “Leadership Experience” essays.
06
Personal Story Essays
The personal story essay helps the admissions team SAMPLE QUESTIONS
understand what is unique about you, what drives you, and
Nazarbayev University Graduate
what sets you apart from the rest.
School of Business:
Business schools may get creative with these and ask Describe three things others
do not know about you.
unexpected questions. They want to see the diversity in their
candidates and the different personalities.
ESMT Berlin:
It’s a great opportunity to stand out from the crowd! You can invite one guest for
dinner, be they living, dead,
fictional, or other. Who would
you invite and why?
“Students can showcase their personality
and life experiences, share hopes and dreams,
and demonstrate to us that they know why
an ESMT Berlin MBA is right for them.”
Rebecca Loades, director of career accelerator programs at ESMT Berlin.
07
 MBA Essay Guide 2023

Why MBA Essays Leadership Experience

Also known as the “goals essay”, this essay is career focused. SAMPLE QUESTIONS
It requires you to be specific and clear about what you want
Nazarbayev University Graduate
to achieve after the MBA. School of Business:
Think about the transferrable skills you’ve developed and Describe how your education,
how the program will directly help you land your dream job. work, and life experience will
contribute to your classmates’
These questions are often phrased in the same way. Make MBA experience.
sure you brainstorm the short- and long-term goals you
want to achieve and mention these throughout your ESMT Berlin:
application essay. Describe your specific career
aspirations and your reason
for pursuing an MBA at
ESMT Berlin.
HKUST:
Tell us your mid-term and
long-term post-MBA career
goals and explain how you
will achieve them through
HKUST’s MBA program.
The applicant here must reflect on previous experience and SAMPLE QUESTIONS
provide examples that directly support the essay question.
ESMT Berlin:
These essays will relate to leadership skills and your diversity, The values of ESMT Berlin are
equity, and inclusion (DEI) motivations. community, curiosity, courage,
and rigor: which of these
“Schools like Columbia and Tuck specifically allow applicants to values resonates most with
speak about their DEI motivations in how they see themselves you and why?
contributing to the community,” says Susan Berishaj, founder
of Sia Admissions. HKUST:
How do you plan to enrich the
HKUST MBA community during
and after the MBA program?
Please share an example in
the past when you failed to
achieve a goal. What was
your subsequent plan to
eventually realize your goals
or how did you adapt and
pursue “option B”? What was
your thought process and
what was the result?

“When preparing to write a goals essay, be “Schools like GSB value passion, innovation, and
sure to develop specific and ownable goals. impact and have an essay dedicated to “what
Do your research to see what positions are matters most” to the applicant. Through these essay
realistic for you and look into specific classes prompts, b-schools allow applicants to share how
and clubs on campus that will help you they embody the school’s values,”
achieve these goals,” Susan Berishaj, founder of Sia Admissions.

Scott Edinburgh, Founder of Personal MBA Coach

08 09
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
Different Types of
MBA Application Essays
MBA essays come in all shapes and sizes. The questions, format, lengths, and
deadline for essay submission varies between business schools. However, knowing
the common themes can help you prepare for all types of MBA essays:
Formats
The number of questions asked will depend
on individual business schools.
However, most schools may ask between two
and four questions. So be prepared to answer
all the different types of MBA essay topics.
You may be required to write a personal
statement, such as at Imperial College
Business School, yet it will be accompanied by
several prompts you will have to answer.
On average each MBA
question will have a word
count limit between 250 to 500
10
Condition
Most MBA essays are not under timed
conditions.
They are often part of the overall application
and to be submitted by the application
deadline with other supporting documents
such as transcripts, recommendation letters,
standardized test scores, and resumes.
But there may be some exceptions. For
example, at HKUST, only once candidates
submit their applications and are shortlisted
are they given a week to submit their essays.
Always remember to do some research behind
your chosen b-schools’ application process to
make sure you have set yourself enough time
before the deadline.
Stage of Application
The stage at which the MBA essays comes
into the application process is specific to
the business school.
It’s important that you know exactly when
the essay deadline is, to avoid missing your
chance to stand out!
The most common theme is for schools to
include the MBA essay along with other
documents to be given during the final
deadline.
But some schools, such as HKUST, choose to
shortlist candidates from their application
form prior to providing the MBA essay
questions.
Length
On average each MBA question will have
a word count limit between 250 to 500.
Make sure you are succinct and answer the
question directly within the set limit.
Schools such as EMLyon may request a
personal statement of 2,000 characters, which
is about 350-400 words.
Other b-schools, such as GBSB Global Business
School, ask candidates to write a motivation
letter. This will be a longer form answer of
about 1,500 words.
A motivation essay may seem daunting but
is likely to include a number of prompts,
determined by the individual schools.
11
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
8 Tips To A Successful
MBA Application Essay
1 5
Research into the values
and USPs of your target
business school understand what is unique about the program.
2 6
Start your MBA
application essay as
early as possible
3 7
Always bring your essay
back to your goals proofreader
4 8
Make sure you’ve
answered all parts of
the question
12
1 Research into the values and USPs
of the business school
Before beginning your MBA essay, research This research may increase your chances of
the values of your target school to make writing a winning MBA essay.
Be authentic sure it’s a good fit for you. It will help you
“Aside from the goals, the other questions are
typically connected to what the school values
“Prior to writing my MBA essay I did research most in the community and wants to know
on different schools to identify the values of how applicants emulate that value,” says
Imperial and the main differences it had with Susan Barishaj.
Communicate your
other schools that offered the same program,”
personal brand She adds: “For example, Wharton values
says Maria Merino, Imperial College Business
teamwork and community engagement and
School MBA student.
has an entire essay question dedicated to
You can find its values through the school’s that.”
webpage, brochure, going to an open day,
Find a reliable or by speaking with alums.
Meet the deadline
“Prior to writing my MBA essay I did research
on different schools to identify the values of
Imperial and the main differences it had with
other schools that offered the same program”
Maria Merino, Imperial College Business School MBA student.
13
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
2 Start your MBA application
essay early
Writing an MBA essay can be a slow
and progressive process that requires a
sizeable amount of self-reflection. Start by
brainstorming all the things you’ve done, the
skills you’ve learnt, and your aspirations.
Stephen Shih, associate dean of MBA programs
at HKUST advises students to have a good
balance of their vision and a pragmatic plan.
“This helps demonstrate your ability to think
long-term and also the ability to translate it
into immediate action steps.”
Starting your MBA essay early means you
can make career and extracurricular decisions
to strengthen your MBA essay, for example
add some experiential learning to bolster
your application.
“This helps demonstrate your
ability to think long-term and
also the ability to translate it
into immediate action steps”
Stephen Shih, associate dean of MBA
programs at HKUST
14
You also need to leave enough time to be
critiqued throughout the process of drafting
your essay—on average candidates write
about six drafts before submitting.
“A winning essay requires research, reflection,
crafting, and recrafting (on average, about six
edits/drafts) until the essay contains enough
details, leverages every word effectively,
and ensures clarity to capture an adequate
response,” says Susan Berishaj, founder of
Sia Admissions.
Why You Should Start Your
Essay Early:
• It requires self-reflection and examination
• It gives time to brainstorm your answers
and add experiences if necessary
• It will take you on average six drafts
before writing a winning essay
You will write on
average 6 drafts
before having a
winning MBA essay
15
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
3 Always bring it back to
your goals…
In your essay, your long-term goal
should encapsulate your ultimate career
aspirations. How you reach that goal, should
be explained via your current short-term
goals—and how the pursuit of an MBA will
be a key part of your plans.
Include the hard and soft skills you want
to hone, and the transferrable skills you’ve
acquired.
“I expect to read structured answers to
understand the backgrounds, experiences,
and short-term/ longer-term career goals,”
says Matteo Pedriglieri IMBA Recruitment
Manager, at EMLyon Business School.”
“I expect to read structured
answers to understand the
backgrounds, experiences,
and short-term/ longer-term
career goals”
Matteo Pedriglieri, IMBA, Recruitment Manager
16
4 … and make sure you’ve answered
all parts of the question
The most common MBA essay questions want A common mistake candidates make is Melissa Rapp, dean of admissions at Emory
you to speak directly about these goals. But no forgetting to answer or refer to the question Goizueta concurs.
matter the essay, aim to always bring it back to throughout their MBA essay.
“Answer the question being asked and be
your goals.
The trick is to be succinct within the word genuine in your response.”
“I ensured to state my goals and aims count provided by the business school.
So, instead of writing what you think the
explaining why I needed this degree
“There’s a reason we ask the questions we admissions team want to read, answer the
to progress further in my professional
do and limit the word count. Ignoring the question.
development,” says Alberto Vettore, MBA
prompt makes you stand out for the wrong
class of 2022 at GBSB Global Business School.
reasons,” says Rebecca Loades, director of
Remember to do research on post-MBA career accelerator programs at ESMT Berlin.
opportunities and mention it in your essays.
“I did deep research on post-MBA career
opportunities, first I went to the brochure
and looked for companies that hire Imperial
students and that were interesting for me
and then I went to the webpage of these
companies to look for job opportunities,”
explains Maria Merino, Imperial College of
Business MBA student.
“Answer the question being
asked and be genuine in your
response”
Melissa Rapp, dean of admissions at Emory Goizueta
17
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
5 Be authentic
As much as it’s tempting to embellish your
MBA essay to give yourself the best chance of
getting into your dream school, it’s important
to remember not to oversell yourself.
Avoid writing what you think the admissions
team wants to read and instead be truthful
about why you want to study an MBA and go
to that particular school.
“No matter how qualified you may be on
paper, authenticity counts. The biggest
mistake we see is when applicants tell us
what they think we want to hear, rather
than showing us who they actually are,”
says Rebecca Loades.
Around 2-4 essay-type
questions are usually
asked on MBA
applications
18
Communicating your individuality is what
can make you stand out from the rest of the
crowd of 700 GMAT scores.
“Do not write what you think admissions
committee members want to read. There is
no one perfect candidate profile. Instead,
your uniqueness will be one of your greatest
selling points,” Scott Edinburgh says.
Top tips when you’re planning
your essay:
•W
 rite down all your short and
long-term goals
•T
 hink about the question and use
the key terms in your essay
• Make sure you sound authentic
•C
 ommunicate who you are – find terms
that define you
“The biggest mistake we see is
when applicants tell us what
they think we want to hear,
rather than showing us who
they actually are”
Rebecca Loades, Director of Career Accelerator Programs,
ESMT Berlin
19
 MBA Essay Guide 2023

6 Communicate your
personal brand

While staying authentic, it’s essential to show
the admissions team what makes you unique
and the particular brand only you can bring to
the table.
“I often see applicants with very quantitative
roles struggle to demonstrate their X-factor
because they rely on data. While data is
important, we find commonality through
stories,” Susan Berishaj, Sia Admissions, says.
Finding your X-factor will separate you
from the herd and elevate your application.
Professor Stephen Shih, discusses an example
of a time a candidate from the Netherlands
effectively communicated her X-Factor.
“There was a student from The Netherlands
who demonstrated her exceptional leadership
potential by showing us a concrete example
of how she turned inspiration into a strategic
plan. By carrying out her plans systematically,
she achieved her goals and also benefited
society as a whole.”
This student told the story of how she realized
she wanted to positively impact society, first
by getting a job advising the government
on policy development and NGOs and then
by broadening her international reach by
applying for the HKUST MBA.

9,973 is the average

“I often see applicants with very number of MBA
quantitative roles struggle to demonstrate
their X-factor because they rely on
applicants Harvard
data. While data is important, we find receives each year.
commonality through stories”
Susan Berishaj, founder of Sia Admissions.

20 21
 MBA Essay Guide 2023
7 Find a reliable proofreader
Proofreading is one of the most essential parts
of the MBA essay writing process. Without
a good proofreader, your writing can seem
sloppy, and the attention to detail is lost.
One of the most common mistakes in
admissions essays is leaving another school’s
name in. This looks unprofessional and takes
away the singular interest you are trying to
communicate.
“You would be surprised how frequently
candidates forget to edit essays and remove
a reference to ANOTHER University they are
applying to. An error like that does not result
in an automatic denial. Still, it does show a lack
of attention to detail,” says Patrick Latimer,
associate director of graduate admissions at
UC Riverside.
Melissa Rapp, associate dean of admissions
at Emory Goizueta, suggests some tricks to
help you avoid this.
22
“Essay question topics can be similar, so
you might reuse parts of an essay. If you do
that, be sure to double-check references
to the school. Every year, we read essays
that mention another school. So, be sure to
proofread; read your essay aloud and ask
someone else to read it.”
Proofreading tips:
• Look out for spelling and
grammar mistakes
• Make sure you’ve referred to the
correct school
• Remove all jargon
• Triple-check you’ve answered the
question!
8 Meet the deadline
Getting your essay in by the deadline is As much as it might be tempting, don’t put off
undeniably the critical step for ensuring you writing the essay. You’ll thank yourself when
are in the best place for a spot at your chosen you have it sorted three weeks early and can
MBA. focus on the rest of the application while
others are rushing through the process the
More than just meeting the deadline, Scott
night before.
Edinburgh, personal MBA coach, advises clients
to complete their essays at least three to four
weeks before the deadline to leave some
breathing room.
“Last-minute changes are rarely for the better,
and you will need the time to focus on other
application elements.”
“Last-minute changes are rarely for the
better, and you will need the time to
focus on other application elements”
Scott Edinburgh, Founder of Personal MBA Coach
23
 MBA Essay Guide 2023

Sample successful MBA essay

Business
Q
Explain a significant event and/or
BB
experience outside your home country
or in an international context. Because FT
rank
US
news
rank
QS
rank

BusinessBecause is a trusted source of

(Please limit your response to 2000 characters).
“Running my own business in France is an ongoing international experience,
and the richest I have had to date. I have hired British, French, Hungarian and
Spanish staff, and have collaborated with individuals hailing from all nations,
including India, Indonesia, Columbia, Venezuela, Italy, USA, UK, and Ireland.
As an entrepreneur and small business owner, it has been rewarding to make
my mark on a small town, where few in-person opportunities exist for my kind
of business. I am grateful to have had the chance to create something out of
nothing, a unique service that breathes from my sweat, and serves the town in
a way that the locals could not do themselves, and in a way markedly different
from their cultural tendencies.
At the same time, in terms of sales, marketing, and partnering with local
businesses, I have consistently found myself at a profound disadvantage, partly
because I’m not a native speaker and thus cannot speak directly to my target
audience. It is frustrating. Time and time again I have partnered with native
French speakers in an attempt to bridge the gap, and I am generally dissatisfied
with the resulting message.
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Since I’ve long been comfortable operating among different cultures,

beliefs and political backgrounds, it generally goes smoothly, but it is always
fascinating, often enriching and sometimes challenging.”

24 25
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