As an MBA student, you are guaranteed to work in student teams composed of individuals from different backgrounds (professions, nationalities, cultures, orientations, etc.). For this reason, business schools want to ensure that you are equipped to collaborate effectively with people who might hold perspectives different from your own. During the past few admissions cycles, several programs have evaluated applicants’ ability to work across backgrounds by posing an essay question that asks about the candidate’s experience with diversity and inclusion, how they have created or promoted an inclusive environment, and/or how they expect to be an inclusive leader at the MBA program and after graduation.
Here are our tips on how to approach responding to an MBA diversity essay question:
- First, to identify your essay topic, think about times when you have worked with a diverse group of people, whether on the job or as part of an extracurricular activity or personal pursuit. When some people hear the word “diversity,” they automatically associate it with race, gender, and ethnicity. Although those dimensions certainly are major aspects of diversity, you need to think about the definition of diversity—and about your experiences—more broadly. For example, maybe you worked on a team with members from across functions and/or with varying levels of seniority. Or perhaps you worked on recruiting new employees from a more comprehensive list of universities than you firm has considered in previous years.
- Next, consider your actions as they relate to diversity. In which of your experiences did you actively cultivate diversity, such as by encouraging more people to participate in an initiative and to share their viewpoints during discussions? Simply writing about a time when you worked within a diverse group is not enough; you have to show that in that situation, you purposefully harnessed the advantages of having different perspectives by inviting the members of that group to express themselves, genuinely listening to them, and taking their views and ideas into account. If you encountered any challenges along the way, acknowledge them. Showing how you worked effectively to reconcile different points of view will lead to a more meaningful narrative.
- Then, reflect on the result. Based on your actions—including fostering participation and dialogue—how did you and your team successfully accomplish the mission at hand? For example, maybe you won a sales pitch because you were able to tailor your message more closely to your audience. Or perhaps your company’s once-homogenous internship program now represents a blend of students from a range of backgrounds. In addition to explaining the outcome, address what you learned from the experience. Business school admissions committees like to see that applicants are capable of growing as the result of being exposed to different perspectives.
- Finally, look to the future. If the essay question asks how you will promote diversity and inclusion on campus and in your post-graduate career, describe in specific terms how you aspire to be a leader in this space. Identify a student organization at your target MBA program that you would want to join based on your interests, and explain how exactly you would encourage the cultivation of a diverse membership and the voicing of different perspectives as a way of enhancing the club’s activities and impact. As for your post-MBA ideas, think about diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts you would want to be involved in at work or as a leader in a community organization that aims to foster diversity. Keep in mind that less is more—you will come across as more genuine if you focus on one or two ways that you will be an inclusive leader rather than providing a laundry list of activities you want to be involved in.
Releasing Essay Tips for 15 Schools | 2022-2023 Application Cycle
Often the hardest part of this process is simply taking the first step. What makes for a good topic? Which details can be skipped, and which should be emphasized? What are adcoms looking for? With big questions like these looming over the process, it can be intimidating to set fingers to the keyboard and start that first sentence. And to some extent, it should be! We see plenty of folks with the opposite problem: overconfident in their approach, veering off in the wrong direction from the start based on bad information and hearsay. There are smart ways to develop essay strategies before you ever commit pen to paper.
Your business school essays are about bringing your story to life and providing context to your application by connecting the dots.
You’ll want to capture an admissions reviewer’s attention with your story and authenticity, persuading them to learn more by inviting you to interview. To get there, your essays should convey a strong sense of who you are as a person and what makes you tick, up and beyond what the admissions team will glean from your academic record and work history.
If the prospect of distilling your essence into essay form makes your stomach seize (especially the quant-leaning among us), get some perspective: This isn’t an essay writing competition and you’re not trying to win the Pulitzer Prize (although admission to a top 10 program can feel that competitive). Schools care more about the substance and messages than the style.
The worst thing you can do is play it safe and write something you think admissions wants to hear (yawn). This is a medium to be courageous, although memorable cuts both ways – how well you walk the line between original (good!) and weird (lamentable) reflects your judgment.
Below are the List of 15 Schools and Essay Tips for 2022 – 2023 Application Cycle
| School | World Ranking | Releasing Essay Tips |
| Columbia Business School | #2 | Essay Tips |
| HEC Paris | #3 | Essay Tips |
| INSEAD | #3 | Essay Tips |
| Chicago Booth | #7 | Essay Tips |
| Kellogg Business School | #5 | Essay Tips |
| London Business School | #8 | Essay Tips |
| Yale | #9 | Essay Tips |
| NYU Stern | #10 | Essay Tips |
| Berkeley Haas | #11 | Essay Tips |
| Michigan Ross | #12 | Essay Tips |
| Duke Fuqua | #12 | Essay Tips |
| Cambridge Judge Business School | #16 | Essay Tips |
| UCLA Anderson | #17 | Essay Tips |
| UVA Darden | #20 | Essay Tips |
| ISB (Indian School of Business) | #38 | Essay Tips |
Here are our top four tips for writing more with fewer words.
- Resist the urge to include unrelated details
Business applicants are accomplished. Naturally, it can be tempting to try to include as many of these accomplishments as possible in your application essays. However, it is crucial that you avoid this urge.
For each application essay, think about what the question asks and why the admissions committee is asking this question. Do not include any detail that does not cover this what or why. For example, a question asking how an MBA will help does not require hundreds of words on your past professional success, however impressive it may be. Similarly, a question on career goals does not require you to explain the industry dynamics in detail or the reasons behind your perspective on the industry. With each sentence you add to your essays, consider the question you are actually answering. If it is not related to the question asked, cut it!
- Avoid repetition
With limited words available to sell yourself, there is rarely a need to say anything twice. Regardless of how successful you might have been in your role, admissions committee members do not need to read about it multiple times. Whether you founded a non-profit, were the first in your class to be promoted, or were a Division I athlete, tell each story one time. While naturally you can (and should) touch on a broad theme or aspect of your personal story from multiple angles, this is not the same as repeating the same story.
- Leverage all aspects of the application
As a natural extension of point 3, use all aspects of your application to your advantage. Even for schools requiring very short essays, there are countless other aspects of the application to pay attention to. Ensure every piece counts! Take the time to carefully craft answers to your short-answer questions. Prepare your recommenders to ensure their stories complement (but do not reiterate) yours. Use every line in your resume as efficiently as possible to show your leadership and success. In addition, video essays and pre/post interview essays provide other ways to sell yourself.
Leave plenty of time for these application extras.
- Look for every opportunity to trim words
As we have said countless times, edit, edit, edit. Ensure every word counts. If there is a way to say it more succinctly, do! Cutting excess words will lead to stronger writing while giving you extra space to cover details that really set you apart. You’d be surprised how a trained eye can cut 50-100+ words from a 400-word essay without deleting a single piece of true content.
Releasing Leap Quest’s STAR Framework For Excellent Story Essays
Leap Quest MBA/MS Admission service includes all elements of applications that consist of:
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- Guidance in building MBA/MS application essay/SOP’s write-ups (how to draft essays for MBA application)
- MBA/MS essay editing and guidance in organizing any other aspect of MBA/MS application.
- Guidance in preparing CV/Resume
- MBA/MS Interview preparation service in the event an MBA/MS applicant gets an interview call from a shortlisted B-School
- Any other related part that is inside the scope of B-School application process
- Social Media Consulting
- LinkedIn Assistance
- Drafting Scholarship letters
- Application Form Guidance
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