Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed I Have No Real Options!

Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed I Have No Real Options! A few years ago, Harvard Business School (HBS) made a change to its application essay questions that surprised many. Its previously mandatory “long- and short-term goals” essay question changed its focus more broadly to “career vision” and became one of four essay topic choices from which applicants select two. Immediately, MBA candidates tried to read between the lines and decipher HBS’s hidden agenda behind such a change. As a result, many an applicant called us, perplexed, asking, “Every other school asks about goals, so HBS must want to know about them, too.   I must answer that essay question option about career vision, right?” Although this may seem obvious to some, we nonetheless ask rhetorically … Why would HBS make a question an option if the admissions committee absolutely wanted you to answer it? If it did, why wouldn’t the question be designated as mandatory, as it had been previously? The answer is, of course, that HBS made this question an option because the admissions committee does not feel that you must have a definite vision for your career for you to be admitted to the program. Essentially, HBS is saying, “If you have a well-defined career vision that would help us better understand who you are as an MBA candidate, then tell us about it. But if you don’t, we would love to hear something else that is interesting about you.” Essay options are just thatâ€"options. There is no “right” selection to make among HBS’s choices, Kellogg’s choices, the Yale School of Management’s choices or those of any other MBA program. The admissions committees are not trying to trick you, and there is no special essay question to choose or secret answer to give that will guarantee you will be accepted. The MBA programs offer multiple essay question options because they know that each applicant is different, and they want to provide an opportunity for each candidate to tell his or her unique story. So, as you approach your essays, think about what you want to sayâ€"not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed I Have No Real Options! In the late 2000s, Harvard Business School (HBS) made a change to its application essay questions that surprised many. Its previously mandatory “long- and short-term goals” essay prompt changed its focus more broadly to “career vision” and became one of four topic choices from which applicants could select two. Immediately, MBA candidates tried to read between the lines and decipher HBS’s hidden agenda behind the change. As a result, many applicants called us, perplexed, asking, “Every other school asks about goals, so HBS must want to know about them, too. I need to answer the essay question option about career vision, right?” This question, in turn, compelled us to ask rhetorically:  Why would HBS make a question an option if the admissions committee expected you to answer it? If it did, why would the school not simply designate the question as mandatory, as it had been previously? We believe that in this case, HBS made the question an option because the admissions committee did not feel that applicants must have a definite career vision to be admitted. Essentially, HBS was saying, “If you have a well-defined career vision that would help us better understand who you are as a candidate, tell us about it. If not, we would love to hear something else that is interesting about you.” Note that HBS no longer poses this particular essay question, but we offer it here as a way of illustrating how candidates can sometimes overthink or misinterpret the “optional” elements of a school’s application. Essay options are just that:  options. None of HBS’s essay choicesâ€"or those of any other MBA programâ€"are necessarily “right” or “wrong.” The admissions committees are not trying to trick you, nor does a secret answer exist that will guarantee your acceptance. The programs offer multiple essay question options because they know that each applicant is different, and they want to provide an opportunity for each candidate to tell his/her unique story. So, as you approach your essays, focus on what you want to sayâ€"not  what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed I Have No Real Options! In the late 2000s, Harvard Business School (HBS) made a change to its application essay questions that surprised many. Its previously mandatory “long- and short-term goals” essay prompt changed its focus more broadly to “career vision” and became one of four topic choices from which applicants could select two. Immediately, MBA candidates tried to read between the lines and decipher HBS’s hidden agenda behind the change. As a result, many applicants called us, perplexed, asking, “Every other school asks about goals, so HBS must want to know about them, too. I need to answer the essay question option about career vision, right?” This question in turn compelled us to ask rhetorically:  Why would HBS make a question an option if the admissions committee absolutely wanted and expected you to answer it? If it did, why would the school not simply designate the question as mandatory, as it had been previously? We believe that in this case, HBS made the question an option because the admissions committee did not feel that applicants must have a definite career vision to be admitted. Essentially, HBS was saying, “If you have a well-defined career vision that would help us better understand who you are as a candidate, tell us about it. If not, we would love to hear something else that is interesting about you.” Note that HBS no longer poses this particular essay question, but we offer it here as a way of illustrating how candidates can sometimes overthink or misinterpret the “optional” elements of a school’s application. Essay options are just that: options. None of HBS’s essay choicesâ€"or those of any other MBA programâ€"are necessarily “right” or “wrong.” The admissions committees are not trying to trick you, and no secret answer exists that will guarantee that you will be accepted. The MBA programs offer multiple essay question options because they know that each applicant is different, and they want to provide an opportunity for each candidate to tell his/her unique story. So, as you approach your essays, focus on what you want to sayâ€"not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Harvard University (Harvard Business School) Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed I Have No Real Options! In the late 2000s, Harvard Business School (HBS) made a change to its application essay questions that surprised many. Its previously mandatory “long- and short-term goals” essay prompt changed its focus more broadly to “career vision” and became one of four topic choices from which applicants could select two. Immediately, MBA candidates tried to read between the lines and decipher HBS’s hidden agenda behind the change. As a result, many perplexed applicants called us, asking, “Every other school asks about goals, so HBS must want to know about them, too. I need to answer the essay question option about career vision, right?” This question, in turn, compelled us to ask rhetorically:  Why would HBS make a question an option if the admissions committee expected you to answer it? If it did, why would the school not simply designate the question as mandatory, as it had been previously? We believe that in this case, HBS made the question an option because the admissions committee did not feel that applicants must have a definite career vision to be admitted. Essentially, HBS was saying, “If you have a well-defined career vision that would help us better understand who you are as a candidate, tell us about it. If not, we would love to hear something else that is interesting about you.” Note that HBS no longer poses this particular essay question, but we offer it here as a way of illustrating how candidates can sometimes overthink or misinterpret the “optional” elements of a school’s application. Essay options are just that:  options. None of HBS’s essay choicesâ€"or those of any other MBA programâ€"are necessarily “right” or “wrong.” The admissions committees are not trying to trick you, nor does a secret answer exist that will guarantee your acceptance. The programs offer multiple essay question options because they know that each applicant is different, and they want to provide an opportunity for each candidate to tell his/her unique story. So, as you approach your essays, focus on what you want to sayâ€"not  what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed