The NEW HBS Essays: Why They Changed & How to Answer Them
Read an expert MBA admissions consultant's deconstruction of Harvard Business School's three new essay prompts for the 2024-2025 application cycle, including what the school is looking for and how to write the best possible HBS essays.
Posted October 5, 2024
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Years ago, when I first started working as an admissions coach, business schools were in the habit of changing their essay questions regularly, as in every year. Oftentimes they would tweak their questions ever so slightly to nudge them one way or another, but it wasn’t uncommon for the schools to completely revamp what they were asking. Coaches like us took it in our strides and advised our clients accordingly.
It wasn’t until Stanford created their “What matters most to you and why?” and stuck to it, that schools started to see the value of having (some) consistency in their essay questions. However, consistency allowed applicants to game the system; there were always examples out there that worked, giving those who had them and read them an advantage. So it was always a tricky path (for the schools) to tread between consistency and offering a fresh challenge to would-be students.
HBS created brand new essays for those applying in 2024/25. It remains to be seen if these questions will stick, but it is helpful to see how we got here, to truly understand what the school is looking for. The following retrospect gives us a sense of what the school is about and will offer you guidance in the absence of existing winning examples.
HBS Essays 2011-2012
Coming in at a total of 2000 words, this was what you had to contend with if you were applying in 2011:
- Tell us about three of your accomplishments (600 words)
- Tell us three setbacks you have faced (600 words)
- Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)
- Answer a question you wish we’d asked (400 words)
These caused a lot of heartache for applicants, especially the first two questions because you had to cram each example into an average of two hundred words, which wasn’t a lot of space. The final question was also a head-scratcher, and ended up being an opportunity for applicants to shamelessly boast about something they had done, something that wasn’t already covered in essay one.
Despite this, it was clear what HBS was looking for – evidence of leadership, grit, and ingenuity. Maybe the questions weren’t the best way to gauge those qualities, but I think on the whole they got the work done.
HBS Essays 2012-2013
In 2012, brand new essays appeared:
- Tell us about something you did well (400 words)
- Tell us something you wish you had done better (400 words)
- How does pursuing an MBA support your choices above? (500 characters)
Clearly, 2011 resulted in a lot of verbiage for the AdCom to read. It couldn’t have been fun, which was probably why the total of 2000 words got slashed to 800 plus 500 characters (equivalent to approximately 100 words). This resulted in a less onerous task for the gatekeepers, but it meant applicants had fewer words to distinguish themselves. Sure, instead of getting only 200 words per example, they were now allowed 400 words. But it was quite the challenge.
Still, what HBS was looking for hadn’t changed – they still wanted evidence of leadership, grit, and ingenuity.
HBS Essays 2013-2024
Again, a change. This time only one prompt:
- You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?
No word limit was given, and this was as open-ended as it could get. Further, it wasn’t clear what HBS was looking for, other than, “What else would you like us to know?”
This caused much grievance at the time. Applicants were up in arms, not knowing what they should write or how long the essay needed to be. Coaches like us were somewhat blindsided too. But knowing what HBS had been up to prior to this, I advised accordingly. I told my clients: highlight leadership examples, showcase evidence of grit and ingenuity, and maybe throw in a failure as well, showing what you learned. Essays written using my prompt ended up being around 1000 words, which I thought was optimal for Harvard to make a determination.
Of course, I knew of applicants who either wrote too much or merely cut and pasted their essays from Stanford. Clearly, these resulted in dings. On the other hand, there were candidates who wrote very little or (apparently) nothing and got through. How did this happen? Well, the truth was that this time, it wasn’t just about the content. HBS was also gauging how much ingenuity the candidate was exercising by choosing how they approached the question. You get the picture.
This essay question stuck around for a long time, with little tweaks along the way. Compare the above to the question for 2023:
- “As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?”
Clearly HBS was getting what they wanted. Of course, as the years went by, admissions coaching became ubiquitous, and undoubtedly some (good) candidates started to get bad advice from bad coaches. The feeling was building up at adcom that they needed to offer more guidance to applicants.
In truth, it wasn’t too difficult to cobble together an HBS essay from other schools’ essays – copy the “why MBA” and “what’s your career goal” bits from, well, take your pick of any number of schools, include some leadership examples, and if you were feeling a little touch-feely, add a soupcon of Stanford’s “what matters most” and you were there. On the whole, these franken-essays weren’t that bad. But did HBS really wanted to review the equivalent of warmed-up seconds that were often just lukewarm?
HBS Essays 2024: NEW Prompts
So, a change:
- Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)
- Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)
- Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)
The second and third questions reflect what HBS has always been interested in: examples of leadership bolstered by claims of grit and ingenuity. But the first question is something quite different.
While couched as a “business-minded” essay, it enquires about “your experiences” and the “communities you plan to serve.” Note the use of the word “communities;” it isn’t “market segment” or “industry” or some such. I think, post-BLM and post-DEI, seeing where global business is headed and underscoring the importance of diversity, HBS is acknowledging it has a social conscience after all. But, and this is a big “but,” the essay has to be written from a “business-minded” angle. HBS wants to have its cake and eat it too, and why not?
In a sense, with this essay question, HBS is moving closer to Stanford’s “What matters most to you, and why?”, even with the “business-minded” caveat. I think it is a good thing, for the school and applicants alike. Candidates can now write unabashedly about their passion, as long as it is done with a business mindset.
The key to success for this question is threefold. First, outline how your life experiences have given rise to a passion for a specific business initiative. Secondly, show how that business serve one or more communities you belong to or have true insights into; and thirdly, underscore the likely impact you will make. This impact has to be substantive and must make adcom excited about your prospects (read my article about Stanford for more discussion of “impact”).
It is trite to say HBS is looking for people who wish to change the world for the better, but they do. Modesty won’t get you anywhere; but a vision, supported by passion and tempered by economic realities (or not) will take you a long way.
What is HBS Looking for in its Essays?
As mentioned, the second and third essay questions reinforce what Harvard Business School has always been looking for – leadership as evidenced by grit and ingenuity. But the first essay (with the highest word count) seeks, explicitly for the first time, to understand how your passion aligns with any future business impact you will make. HBS is asking for a lot, all within a total word limit of 800.
It is not an easy task. And having worked with clients who have already applied, I have seen how these essays have tripped up even the best applicants. Whatever you do, seek help. HBS has set the challenge. It is now up to you to meet the challenge and show them your true colors.
For personalized coaching on your MBA essays and the rest of your application, you can book a free intro on my coach profile here. I’d love to help you present the most authentic, unique, and high-potential version of yourself.
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