The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan is consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the United States. Admission to the highly selective MBA program is extremely competitive. One of the main components of the Ross application is answering two essay questions. These essays are critical for allowing admission officers to get to know applicants as individuals beyond just their resumes and standardized test scores. With the intense competition for spots in the program, it is important for applicants to thoroughly understand the Ross essay topics and craft compelling, unique responses.
The two required Ross essays provide applicants the opportunity to discuss their professional background, leadership experiences, interests, and career goals. The first essay prompt is phrased as follows: “The Ross MBA is intended to prepare students for influential leadership roles. Please describe your background and experiences – including specific examples – that demonstrate your leadership capabilities and potential for positive impact.” This open-ended question gives applicants freedom in how they choose to highlight their leadership aptitude. Successful responses tend to weave a cohesive narrative discussing meaningful accomplishments and an evolution as a leader over time.
Applicants may draw upon examples from various aspects of their lives, including past or current work experiences, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, or leadership roles within student organizations. Specific examples that convey leadership skills such as setting and achieving goals, inspiring and motivating others, managing teams, overcoming difficulties, or effecting positive change within an organization are highly impactful. Quantifying achievements or outcomes where possible lends credibility. Discussion of leadership styles, techniques learned from mentors, or lessons from failures also demonstrates an understanding of leadership. Responses tend to be most effective when they showcase perseverance, initiative, and a growth mindset in developing leadership abilities over time through various experiences and challenges.
The second Ross essay prompt states: “Describe your short-term and long-term career goals and explain how pursuing an MBA at Ross will help you achieve these goals.” This question evaluates an applicant’s clarity of purpose for pursuing a Ross MBA and dedication to a career path. A strong response clearly articulates realistic short-term post-MBA goals, such as a targeted role or industry, and long-term career aspirations five or more years into the future. Goals should be ambitious yet attainable with an MBA from Ross specifically. Discussing how Ross coursework, extracurricular offerings, alumni networks, or other school resources will help achieve goals demonstrates thoughtful research and fit between the applicant and program. Concrete examples are more compelling than vague aspirations.
Beyond discussing career objectives, this essay is an opportunity to sell why Ross is the ideal program choice. Emphasizing experiences unique to Ross such as the Action Learning Consulting program, concentrations, or cutting-edge research centers highlights a specific reason why Ross out of all business schools is the best fit. One could also reference interacting with current students or alumni and learning how their experiences informed specific career goals. Convincing admissions officers requires thoroughly explaining how an MBA from Ross is necessary rather than just preferable for achieving ambitions. The essay ties together an applicant’s motivation, preparedness, and placement fit within the Ross program.
Due to COVID-19, the Ross application in recent years has included an additional optional essay prompt: “Please share how the pandemic has impacted you personally and/or professionally and discuss what you have learned from your experiences.” For those choosing to respond, this essay allows expanding on hardships faced such as health issues, job changes, or balancing multiple responsibilities during periods of isolation and uncertainty. Lessons learned around adaptability, resilience, leveraging technology, or maintaining connections at a distance during challenging times showcase strength of character. The pandemic has also catalyzed new opportunities or perspectives for some applicants that can be discussed.
Overall, crafting compelling responses to the Ross essay questions requires diligent reflection on experiences, goals, and fit. Having multiple reviewers evaluate early drafts allows refining narratives and examples into well-polished 300-500 word discussions of leadership accomplishments, career ambitions, and reasons for specifically selecting Ross. With practice, applicants can distinguish themselves and demonstrate the qualities employers seek such as dedication, empathy, communication skills, and problem-solving potential through their powerful essays. Selecting meaningful examples, weaving a cohesive storyline, and tying purposefully back to aspirations for the future gives admissions officers memorable insights into who applicants are beyond academics or work titles. Well-written essays have undoubtedly strengthened many applications to one of the most prestigious MBA programs in the world.