The Harvard MS MBA program is one of the most prestigious and competitive MBA programs in the world. With acceptance rates hovering around 10%, it is crucial for applicants to craft thoughtful, compelling essays that showcase their unique strengths and experiences. The essays are the opportunity for applicants to tell their story and convey their motivation for pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School.
There are two required essays for the Harvard MS MBA application:
Essay 1: A brief autobiographical sketch including significant accomplishments, honors, work experience, major responsibilities and contributions to teams or organizations since high school graduation. (1000 words or less)
This essay gives applicants the chance to introduce themselves and their background. It should highlight achievements, responsibilities and experiences that demonstrate character strengths like leadership, initiative, resilience, collaboration and community impact. Applicants need to judiciously select what to include based on relevance to the program. Rather than listing everything, the focus should be on a few impactful examples that reveal something about their personality, values and potential as a student.
Details about job roles and responsibilities should emphasize scope of impact, skills developed, and achievements/results rather than just listing tasks and duties. Descriptions of extracurricular activities, community service or student involvement should convey leadership roles and contributions made. Any awards, honors or distinctions received should be clearly explained in the context of demonstrated ability or impact. Transformative personal experiences that shaped character or professional direction can also be compelling to include.
The autobiographical sketch is essentially an introduction to the applicant’s story and provides context for Essay 2. It establishes credibility and presents a balanced yet inspiring narrative through carefully selected examples and incidents from the applicant’s past. Overall consistency and credibility are important as adcoms seek to understand applicants as whole, complex individuals rather than just a resume.
Essay 2: What are your reasons for seeking an MBA from Harvard Business School at this time? What do you hope to accomplish during your HBS experience and after graduation? (500 words)
This essay is essentially an statement of purpose or motivation letter for the Harvard MS MBA program. It allows applicants to directly address “why Harvard” and “why now” in a compelling narrative. Successful essays clearly convey sincere passion for the HBS experience and thoughtfulness about post-MBA career goals and their relationship to that experience.
Applicants should avoid generic responses about ranking or prestige and instead focus on connecting their own unique experiences and interests to specific aspects of the Harvard curriculum, culture or opportunities that make HBS the best choice. References to courses, centers, student activities, case method pedagogy or other distinguishing features demonstrate deeper knowledge about what HBS offers and how it fits their objectives.
The essay also provides an opportunity to thoughtfully outline post-MBA goals and how applicants plan to leverage their HBS experience and network to achieve those goals. Rather than vague aspirations, successful essays convey a clear direction or focus area and specific next steps after graduation, whether that means a new job/industry, starting their own company, joining a non-profit, taking on a leadership role etc. Adcoms want to see a genuine vision and feasible plan for using the HBS education.
Relevant work, extracurricular or volunteer experiences in the autobiographical sketch can be linked back to to support the fit and passion expressed in this essay. But applicants should avoid repetition and instead use the space to further develop their message. Overall the essay should leave readers feeling they understand not just the applicant’s future ambitions but also their present enthusiasm, suitability and fit for the Harvard MBA experience.
In terms of structure, these essays do not require complex multi-paragraph organization but a clear flow of ideas is important. An engaging introductory paragraph sets the context before expanding on key points in the body. Transitions between ideas and a concluding paragraph that ties it all together strengthens cohesion. Proofreading is also essential given word limits. Overall the aim is to use eloquent yet concise writing to artfully craft a compelling narrative within the constraints.
Additional tips for the Harvard MS MBA essays include having others review drafts to provide an outside perspective, being authentic rather addressing what you think admissions wants to hear, keeping a positive tone, and using specific examples and anecdotes throughout to bring ideas to life. Following instructions precisely on length, formatting etc. also sends a message about attention to detail.
The essay demonstrates an applicant’s communication skills, character, fit for HBS and post-MBA goals. Thus, they warrant as much time, thought and care in the application process as the rest of the application components. With successful essays, applicants can highlight what makes them stand out from the pool of other high-achieving candidates and strengthen their candidacy for admission to one of the world’s top MBA programs.
Andrew Stroud