mba video essays

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How to Create a Winning MBA Application Video Essay

M BA application video essays are becoming a popular tool; MBA programs can use them to learn far more about candidates than the traditional application permits.

MBA Application Video Essay Tips

MBA admissions committees are relying more and more on technology to help them evaluate and manage their growing applicant pools. In recent years, leading MBA programs including Kellogg Northwestern , MIT Sloan , and Chicago Booth have incorporated a video component into their evaluation process. Video essays are excellent screening tools that allow admissions officers to assess candidates’ professional presence and communication skills.

Many applicants are unnerved by the MBA video essays. They certainly can be an anxiety-inducing step in the business school application process. However, we urge you to consider the benefits presented by video essays. We wrote this article to help you take full advantage of video essays and video interview questions.

Done well, a video response allows you to jump off the application page. Your goal is to impress the admissions committee so that they can’t wait to meet you in a face-to-face admissions interview. Let’s face it; the video essay is here to stay. So read on to learn how to ace this step in the admissions process!

While more business schools are utilizing video essays, the formats and styles can vary. We will discuss the two most common formats, reveal what admissions officers are really looking for in a video response, and share tips on how to produce an outstanding video essay.

MBA Video Essay Tips #1: Randomized, Timed Video Essays

Some MBA programs, including Kellogg, use a timed video essay format. In this video essay style, you will be presented a question on your computer screen, have a short amount of time (20 seconds or so) to organize your thoughts, and then have 60-90 seconds to answer. Your video will be recorded directly into your application via online software. Though you may be granted opportunities to practice, you will only have one opportunity to record your final response to each question once you leave the practice mode.

The number and type of questions you will be asked in this MBA application video essay and interviews is up to each school. Some schools ask a single question, whereas others ask three or four. In some cases, you will know the video essay prompts in advance and have time to design your response and practice your delivery.

However, most business schools expect an impromptu performance. They want to see if you can think on your feet. The good news is that you can prepare for some of the most common questions. Below we discuss three question types of video essay questions and provide a few examples of each one.

MBA Video Essay Sample Questions

Introduction questions video interview questions.

• Please introduce yourself to the admissions committee.
• Introduce yourself to your future classmates.
• Who are you? Tell us about yourself?

Career Goals Video Interview Questions

• What career are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?
• What are your short-term and long-term career goals? How will our program help you achieve them?

Ice-breaker Video Interview Questions

• What is your favorite book/travel destination/holiday?
• What adjective describes you best and why?
• What is the most meaningful thing anyone has done for you in your life?

Behavioral Video Interview Questions

• Talk about how you handled a disagreement with a team member.
• Tell us about a time you were not going to be able to meet a deadline. How did you handle the situation?
• Tell us about a time you helped someone in need.

MBA Video Essay Tips #2: Pre-Recorded, Open-Ended Video Essays

In contrast to the timed, random video questions, other MBA programs provide you with the opportunity to pre-record your response to a more open-ended prompt. MIT Sloan is perhaps best-known for employing this type of video essay.

MIT Sloan interviews often end with the final question, “Is there anything else I should know about you?” When admissions officers realized that the information applicants shared all kinds of interesting information at the conclusion of their interview, the MIT video essay question was born. The required 1-minute video MIT at the time of this writing is worded as follows:

“Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here’s your chance to put a face with a name, let your personality shine through, be conversational, be yourself.”

What do Admissions Committees look for in MBA application video essay responses?

While MBA application video essay questions come in many shapes and sizes, they are designed by admissions boards with some common goals in mind. First, the admissions officers use these videos as a new way to get to know applicants better. MBA admissions officers genuinely want to learn what makes you, you. Most video essay questions are open-ended, which will allow you the flexibility to choose what you want to share. This video essay gives you a whole new way to differentiate yourself, share unique personal interests, and grab the Admissions Committee’s attention.

Secondarily, the video essay enables an admissions committee to evaluate your communication skills. If English is your second language, they can judge your level of fluency. If you are a native speaker, the video interview will provide insight into how well you express yourself and your executive presence.

To a large degree, your Admissions reviewer will care more about how you present yourself than about the content of your responses. They are trying to figure out if you will be able to participate in class discussions and get a sense of how you might perform in front of recruiters. Additionally, they can evaluate how your personality will “fit” within the school’s culture. Are you timid, aggressive, confident, bubbly, or anxious? Don’t worry if you aren’t a person who is comfortable on camera or at ease with public speaking. MBA programs don’t expect or want everyone to sound and act the same. There is room in the MBA community for reserved and thoughtful students as well as for charismatic dynamos.

The randomized question format also tests your ability to think on your feet. Can you remain calm when faced with an unexpected question? Are you able to quickly organize your thoughts and deliver an answer on the spot? MBA essays can’t measure those abilities. An MBA application video interview is one of the admissions committee’s best tools for predicting if prospective students can handle the dynamic and unpredictable world we live in.

How to Prepare for Your MBA Essay Video

To prepare for both types of MBA video essays, you will want to begin by learning about the school’s fit qualities, determining which of your qualities or experiences best align with those value points, and practicing until you can deliver your responses in a polished, authentic way.

First, keep in mind that your video is not intended to be a summary of your application. The Admissions Committee has your application resume , cover letter, and letters of recommendation to learn about your professional history. The least successful videos are those in which applicants recite their employment history.

Treat your video essay as an opportunity to show another side of yourself beyond your professional persona. In a relatively lean application, this is key. Applicants often worry that if they fall into a particularly overrepresented applicant group (say, “consultants”) that they won’t be able to stand out . Find a way to use the video to differentiate yourself!

Do Your Research BEFORE You Create Your MBA Video Essay

To excel in the MBA video essays, you need to do your research to determine each program’s fit qualities . This is a two-part question: what is each school looking for when evaluating applicants, and which of your stories or experiences best exemplify what the school values?

During the brainstorming phase of this project, consider what your target school values and how your interests, personality, and values align. MBA programs certainly think about “fit” when evaluating candidates, and the video is a perfect way to demonstrate how your priorities match those of the school.

In the case of MIT Sloan, you might begin with the school’s mission: to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice. This mission statement and Sloan’s culture more broadly emphasize the value the institution places on leadership, integrity, inquisitiveness, outside-the-box thinking, problem-solving, and “doing good.” Knowing this, you might opt to film yourself doing something creative, highlight a community service experience in which you impacted others, or showcase a product you built.

Another source of inspiration is MIT’s motto: mens et manus , or “mind and hand.” MIT Sloan believes that theories must be tested, and knowledge must be applied. Action learning is a core component of the curriculum, and the Admissions Committee seeks action-oriented, purposeful students. You might integrate action into your video by “showing” rather than “telling;” for example, you could shoot the video of you participating in a hobby you enjoy rather than simply explaining it.

Lastly, a common phrase shared within the MIT Sloan community is “Sloanies helping Sloanies.” The school prioritizes collaboration and inclusion among its students and across its programs, so you might highlight stories that involve you teaming up with friends or colleagues. Do any of your points of difference or personal interests exemplify these values?

Lastly, make a connection between the personal and professional aspects of your message. For example, suppose you want to focus on renewable energy after your MBA. In that case, you might consider filming your video while hiking a nature trail, sharing a story about your experience as an environmental volunteer, and highlighting Sloan’s sustainability certificate as a defining piece of your MBA plan.

Similarly, endeavor to connect your intended career path to classes, clubs, and resources that will further your career aspirations. Although you won’t know what random question you will receive, knowing the school’s “fit qualities” and your key differentiators can help you brainstorm building blocks for effective answers. For example, Kellogg offers students a wide array of global opportunities. This might lead you to talk about language lessons or a project you work on overseas.

Don’t Repeat Your MBA Application Resume

Repeating stories in the videos that you previously shared in your essays is a bad idea. The Admissions Committee wants the video essays to add dimension to the picture they already have of you based upon your MBA application. We urge you to draw upon fresh examples from your resume bullet points or introduce personal interests you haven’t discussed elsewhere.

As your next step, review your application package to determine if you neglected to showcase any of your points of difference or critical attributes that the program values. Look for connections between your personal interests and the school’s priorities. For example, Kellogg is known for its collaborative culture; therefore, you might want to key on a team-based experience in your response to add evidence that you fit with Kellogg’s culture.

Additionally, because effective essays focus on your recent past (within the past three years or so), you probably did not have a chance to mention formative experiences. Suppose you have overcome personal obstacles or are passionate about a topic unrelated to your career. If so, use your video essay to showcase activities that matter most to you and brief stories that exemplify who you really are.

Take Notes, But Don’t Memorize a Script

Having a video prompt in advance provides the opportunity to write out your thoughts. Nevertheless, you want to be prepared – but not scripted. Your notes should serve as a guide only and should not be referred to during the recording session. (Admissions officers will almost always be able to tell if you are reading notes.) In the case of randomized video questions, it may be helpful to have a notepad next to you to jot down ideas during the short preparation period. Writing notes may put you at ease, but aim not to look at them while the camera is on.

Practice, Practice, Practice for Your MBA Video Essay

Practice delivering answers to develop a sense of the pacing required to fit them within the time you are granted. Ask a friend (or admissions consultant) to ask you a few random questions or listen to your prepared statement with a stopwatch handy to time your responses. Be sure to stay on topic to complete entire responses in the given time. For timed response, practice enough times until you have a good sense of how long one minute is. Once the camera is rolling, it goes by faster than you think!

Tips for Recording Your MBA Video Essay

Once you’ve brainstormed and practiced, it’s time for lights, camera, and action. Whether you are sitting for a timed, on-the-spot question or recording your prepared response, shooting your video requires careful thought and patient preparation. Here are some logistical tips to make sure you have the technical details sorted out:

Location, Location, Location

Be mindful of your surroundings. Choose a location to record videos where you know you won’t be interrupted. For videos like MIT Sloan’s that allow for personal flair, applicants often choose to shoot their video in a meaningful location that ties into the story they plan to tell. This is an excellent idea in theory but can undermine your work if background movement or noise distract viewers from your presentation. Avoid any pedestrians or coworkers walking through your shot or traffic sounds in the background. For example, an applicant recorded her video in front of her favorite coffee shop, but the noise and foot traffic made it very difficult for the Admissions Committee to focus on the applicant herself.

Test the lighting and sound to make sure you will be seen and heard clearly. You want to ensure that, wherever you are, your camera microphone clearly picks up your voice. Showing your passion for environmentalism by recording yourself on a nature trail is an interesting idea, but not if the wind washes out your words.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, some applicants don’t put ENOUGH thought into their location. Check the camera frame to ensure that no distractions appear (such as a pile of dirty laundry or an empty beer bottle). If you plan to record yourself in your home or apartment, clear away the dirty dishes and compost your dead houseplant first! Show the Admissions Committee that you care about your final product. Finally, check the strength of your Internet connection for timed videos to reduce the risk that you are disconnected during the video recording session.

Dress to Impress?

How you present yourself is just as important as your location choice. For timed videos like Kellogg’s, you should dress for success– at least from the waist up. Because the frame will only capture your face and shoulders, you are free to rock those sweatpants! Admissions officers prefer to see you dressed in business casual. Double-check your hair and makeup just as you would before an actual admissions interview.

If the school’s video prompt lends itself to showcasing a more personal side, dressing in business formal is not necessary. You have the freedom to use clothing as a means of expression. In the past, MIT Sloan applicants have worn their favorite sports team’s apparel, traditional clothing that reflects their culture, or just whatever makes them feel comfortable.

However, remember that while this video is personal, it is ALSO a professional application. Our former admissions officers have seen applicants who looked like they rolled out of bed five minutes before recording their video and once had an applicant submit a video of themselves in their bathing suit like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Use good judgment in selecting what you wear.

Make Eye Contact

Look at the camera, especially when recording timed video essays on your computer. This can be a challenge because people naturally tend to look at their image on the screen rather than the camera lens. When you focus your gaze on the camera, you make “eye contact” with your viewer. Some applicants put a post-it note over their image on the screen to avoid being distracted by their own faces.

Timing is Everything

Time management is key to success in the overall application process, and the video essay component is no different.

Figure out the best time of day to record your video. Is your voice raspy in the morning? Are you tired and sluggish by the end of the day? You can practice recording your voice on other devices and play it back to compare. You might even consider a few vocal exercises to warm up your voice.

Don’t put the video essay off until the last minute. Don’t wait until minutes before the deadline. The pressure will be too intense. Additionally, video servers have been known to crash when too many procrastinators try to upload their videos simultaneously. We recommend you set aside about 20-30 minutes to complete the recording process, so you don’t feel rushed.

For timed essays, be aware of the time bar that shows how long you have been talking and how many seconds are remaining for your response. When you sense your time is almost up, quickly check the time bar so you can wrap up your statement without being cut off at the end.

Don’t panic if something goes wrong. As they say in the theater, the show must go on. Unexpected disruptions or technical difficulties may happen, so you need to display poise under pressure. Brush off mistakes rather than calling attention to them. If you lose your train of thought, pause to give your brain time to catch up with your mouth. If you need to answer multiple timed questions, don’t carry stress or mistakes from one question to the next. What will hurt you is cursing on camera when you make a mistake (I’m a former admissions officer, and I have seen it happen!).

Follow the Rules

Last but not least, stick to the guidelines the Admissions Committee has set forth. Keeping your video within the timeframe allowed (e.g., 60 seconds for MIT Sloan) shows you respect the committee’s time. MIT Sloan also stipulates that the video should be a single take of you speaking directly to the camera with no editing or production work. If it becomes evident that you hired a Hollywood-caliber video production company to help create your video, then you might win an Oscar but won’t be admitted to MIT Sloan. If there are too many people on your crew, it becomes impossible to identify the real talent, the applicant, or their production team. Not following the parameters may indicate a sense of self-importance or the mistaken belief that the rules don’t apply to you. While MIT Sloan is a school that admires people who challenge the status quo, they also expect applicants to play fair in the admissions process. So, play by the rules and find ways to be original within the constraints of this exercise– that is how you will demonstrate true creativity.

What Succeeds, What Fails

Having viewed thousands of video essays during their time in multiple admissions offices, MBA Prep School consultants have seen some video strategies work exceptionally well, and others fall flat.

Show and Tell

The benefit of a video, especially one in which you have some creative license, is your ability to communicate by showing in addition to telling. Whether showcasing a hidden talent like singing, a hobby like cooking, or an athletic interest like basketball, actions speak louder than words. In some cases, applicants choose to participate in an activity on-camera that they enjoy. One memorable applicant parasailed into the frame of his video. Before he even began speaking, an admissions officer could infer some information about him: he liked water sports, he was adventurous, perhaps he was even a risk-taker. It was a great use of action to convey something about him and allowed him more time to speak about other topics.

If you choose to “perform” during your video, be sure you are doing something you are actually GOOD at! Previous applicants have written and performed parodies of songs, changing the lyrics to reflect their stories and affinity for MIT Sloan. However, the videos were painful to watch if the applicants weren’t talented singers!

Other applicants have utilized a “show and tell” format. A candidate on a Peace Corp mission chose three items to tell the admissions committee about himself, one being the pot he used to cook food in daily while in his village. His creative framing succeeded because he had to pack light; therefore, each object had a special meaning. It’s important to make your “show and tell” unique. Too many applicants used a tablet computer to show photos of their travels, family, and hobbies. Often, there was nothing special or memorable presented in these videos.

Creativity Counts When It Serves a Purpose

Innovation is MIT’s lifeblood, so it is no surprise that applicants often use their video essays to illustrate their creativity. The risk is that your clever framing device takes over and comes across as a gimmick that distracts the viewer; remember, the purpose of the video essay is for the Admissions Committee to get to know you. One applicant sent a video of herself lip-syncing to a popular song intermixed with a time-lapse video of a pie baking in the oven. It wasn’t possible to infer what these images meant, so the video detracted from her application instead of enriching it.

Nothing Beats Authenticity

You don’t have to learn to parasail to capture the Admissions Committee’s attention. In fact, while creativity has its place in a video essay, it never can beat authenticity. An MIT Sloan applicant passionate about ending human trafficking simply spoke to the camera about her volunteer work in that area. Viewers could clearly sense her drive to find a solution to this problem. An engaged speaker sharing a personal story always wins against props or schtick. Presenting an authentic representation of yourself always wins over special effects.

Final Thoughts

Video essays give MBA applicants a chance to showcase their true selves, which is extremely valuable when competing with so many exceptional candidates for a select few spots. By putting thought and effort into this aspect of the application, you will meet the actual measure of success in this assignment: an invitation to meet the Admissions Committee for a real, live MBA admission interview !

Do Your Video Essays Stand Out?

Whether you need help outlining your video , want us to review your pre-recorded video , or want to practice live video questions , we have you covered!

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MBA Video Essay Samples

Featured Expert: Aali Malik, MBA

Are you curious about the MBA video interview questions/MBA video essay? You're not the only one. This relatively new application component has become a part of the admissions process for several top business schools, including some  Ivy League schools  like Yale University's school of management and other prestigious institutions like MIT . MBA video interviews or essays can be challenging for applicants, mainly because most applicants are unsure how to prepare for them. Much like with other interview formats and essays, the key to success is practice! In this blog, we will share some common MBA video essay prompts so that you have some questions to practice with, and we will also provide some sample answers to those questions to help you prepare.

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Article Contents 6 min read

What are mba video interview questions/video essays.

MBA video interviews and MBA video essays are short, self-recorded videos where candidates answer questions given by the admission committee in a video instead of writing. This application component has simply been added to the admission process of some business schools; it does not replace any other written MBA admission essay or the final interview for admission. 

It's also important to note that because this concept is relatively new in the MBA application process, business schools refer to it by different names. For example, Kellogg Business School and London Business School both call it a video essay, while INSEAD refers to it as Video Interview, and MIT refers to it as a Video Statement. Ultimately, these are all the same thing. The only thing that may vary is the format of the video essay. 

There are two main types of MBA video essays:

This format asks candidates to record a short video answering a specific question or prompt given by the admission committee. The timeframe and questions or topics are usually provided beforehand, thus giving you more time to think through your answers and ensure that your video essay is of the best quality. ","label":"Pre-recorded video essays","title":"Pre-recorded video essays"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

Kellogg Business School

Kellogg business school  is one of the pioneers of the MBA video essay. This component was added to their already thorough application process in 2013 and is here to stay. Kellogg no longer publishes their admission statistics, but in previous years, the acceptance rate was roughly 20%, making it one of the most selective business schools in the world. To apply to Kellogg’s MBA programs, applicants must submit two written  MBA admission essays , and answer 3 MBA video essay questions.

Kellogg Business School's acceptance rate

The Kellogg MBA video essay comprises three essay prompts. Applicants have 20 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to answer each question. The first two questions are predefined, and the third question is usually randomized. It should be noted that this is subject to change. For example, not too long ago, the admissions committee was specifically asking students about their experience with COVID as a third question instead of using a random prompt. So, it is always best to verify the school’s website for the most up-to-date information.

My name is Angela Faye, and I am a corporate lawyer from New York City. I was born in Normandy, France, but I moved to the United States at the age of eighteen to attend university. I quickly fell in love with the melting pot of cultures found in New York and the different aspects of American culture. So, I decided to stay and make a life for myself here. I am a wife and mother to two beautiful children who look up to me and for whom I'd like to set a good example by doing what it takes to accomplish my goals. One of those goals is to open a law firm of my own, and I believe that the next step for me on my journey to making that happen is to gain more knowledge and experience in business administration and management. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab2" template="BlogArticle">

I aim to own and operate an affordable, sustainable clothing brand that caters to women of all sizes and body types. I have been working towards this goal for the past five years. I own a personal shopping business, and I have noticed how limited the options are for ethically made clothes, especially for women with different body shapes. In the past five years, I have taken the time to research and learn about the logistics of the clothing industry, study the market and begin gathering funds for this project. The next step for me is to gain even more knowledge about what it takes to successfully and ethically run a business while networking with some of the best business minds in the world. Based on my research, the best place for me to do that is at Kellogg business school. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab3" template="BlogArticle">

This is the power that the main character of the sci-fi show Heroes possesses. This power allows you to learn and replicate the abilities of those in close proximity to you. This means that you would be able to learn a wide array of abilities, including flight, invisibility, and anything else that exists. To succeed, you need to be prepared and have multiple tools at your disposal. This superpower definitely gives you that. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab4" template="BlogArticle">

Be sure to read some Kellogg MBA essay examples for inspiration! Here are a 10 additional common Kellogg MBA video essay questions that you can use to practice:

• What piece of technology could you not live without and why?
• Who do you approach when you have a problem for advice and why?
• What accomplishment are you really proud of?
• What's the best piece of advice you have ever received?
• If you were given a chance to meet anyone, current or historical, who would you meet and why?
• What was the most interesting class you took at university? 
• How have you changed in the last five years?
• What risk have you taken, and what did you learn?
• What impact do you have on your co-workers?
• What inspires you?

The  University of Toronto  is not only one of the best  universities of Ontario , but it attracts candidates from all over the world yearly. So it is not surprising that Rotman school of management is an increasingly popular choice for MBA hopefuls. To get into Rotman, you need to ace the MBA video interview/MBA admission essay. 

The university uses the  Kira talent  platform, which uses both video and text. Applicants will answer two different questions on video and one question in writing. For the video portion of this MBA video interview, candidates will hear the question, have 30 seconds to think, and then 90 seconds to answer. The questions used during the interview will vary, but we looked at a few past prompts so that we can share sample answers and questions for you to practice with.

I decided to cut back on my hours at the tutoring center, and I enlisted the help of a different student so that I could delegate some tasks and have more time to study. That experience taught me a lot about time management. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab5" template="BlogArticle">

I would much rather be good and on time than perfect and late. Nothing is perfect. We can try to get as close to perfect as possible, but there comes the point where chasing perfection becomes a waste of time, and time is far too valuable to be wasted. If something is good and on time, then it will stand out, and you may even have a chance to improve on it and \"perfect\" it while it is already operational. For example, recently, I was assigned to design the logo for a new client, and when the deadline came, I found that the product was not perfect. I wanted to fix it up a little more, but I realized that it would be best to give my clients something good on time and get their feedback so that we can work together to perfect it. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab6" template="BlogArticle">

Here are a 10 additional MBA video essay questions from Rotman that you can use to practice:

• Who is your mentor outside your family, and why?
• Apart from money, what else would keep you in your current organization?
• What is one good habit, and what is one bad habit of yours?
• If you had to delete all apps but three from my phone, which ones would I keep and why?
• If you got a chance, what subject would you teach?
• Out of the four seasons, which do you like the most and why?
• What is one good habit and one bad habit that you have?
• If you had no financial downsides from quitting your job, what job would you prefer to be doing?
• Which of the following aspects of your life are you most in touch with: emotional, spiritual, or physical?
• If you could have anyone over for dinner, who would it be?

Yale University  is an Ivy League institution with a worldwide reputation and a highly selective admissions process. The video interview component for Yale School of Management uses a set of randomized, previously recorded questions. This means that applicants will likely not have the same set of questions in one interview cycle. The school's website states that the questions asked are similar to typical interview questions. In other words, while the video essay may not have "trick questions," it will have some tricky ones. One tip we can give you is to  prepare for your MBA interview  early. This will not only improve your chances of doing well during your MBA interview, but it will also help you with your performance on this MBA video essay component. 

Yale video essay comprises three questions. Applicants will have 20 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to answer the first two questions. For the third question, applicants will have 30 seconds of preparation time and 90 seconds to answer. Let's take a look at some of the prompts that have been used for Yale MBA video essays in the past:

I have wanted to pursue a Master's in Business Administration for a few years now, but I needed to accomplish a few things before embarking on this journey. First, I needed to get a few years of practical experience after spending most of my undergraduate years learning business theories. Secondly, I wanted enough savings to cover most of the tuition fees and expenses. I plan on giving my studies my full attention for the next two years, and I find that the best way to do that is to pace yourself and remove as many distractions as possible. Having enough money to ensure that my tuition is paid gives me more choices and allows me to focus on that instead of anything else. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab7" template="BlogArticle">

As a business owner, I often find myself in a position where I have to make difficult decisions or handle challenging situations. Recently, I had to decide whether it was time to let go of our office building and become a fully remote company or for a hybrid model for my employees. Everyone, from the senior management staff to the part-workers, had a different opinion. In the end, even though I listened to what they had to say, I had to compare what they were saying to what the numbers showed. Our statistics showed that most of the team was actually performing better from home and that we would save considerable money if we kept working online and spent some money on communication networks that would allow us to communicate better as a team. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab8" template="BlogArticle">

\"Without Arts, an education can not be accomplished.\" I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. People learn in different ways, and many of those ways include various pieces of art. For example, I am a visual learner. So Whenever a presentation, poster, or textbook includes images, I tend to remember it better. Furthermore, because artists and the world of arts, in general, are a big part of our culture, one cannot claim to be educated about the world without at least understanding some of it. ","label":"Sample answer","title":"Sample answer"}]" code="tab9" template="BlogArticle">

Here are a 10 additional Yale SOM MBA video essay questions that you can use to practice:

• What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?
• Tell us about a creative solution you designed
• Please respond to the following statement: "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." Do you agree or disagree? why?
• Do you agree or disagree with the notion that the chief executive's first priority should be a profit for shareholders?
• What accomplishment are you most proud of?
• Tell us about a shortcut you and a team could have taken, but decided not to
• If we asked your colleagues about your weaknesses and strengths, what would they say ?
• How will you resolve a conflict with your future classmates at the program?
• Tell us about a difficult decision and how you handled it?
• "The People who we remember most are the people who break the rules." Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

MBA video essays should not be underestimated. While the questions and format used by the business schools are not designed to trick you, they are definitely intended to challenge you. This means that it gives you a chance to rise to the challenge and the admissions committee a chance to find out which candidates took the time to research and prepare for this application component. If you're reading this blog, then you have already taken a step in the right direction by looking at common video essay prompts and sample answers. To prepare further, we recommend using the questions we listed to practice. Remember that these video essays are timed, so familiarize yourself with the time limits by using a timer while practicing. You should also take the time to set up and test your equipment before your interview, to make sure it is stable and that your background is appropriate. If you truly want to maximize your chances of success, you should consider working with an  MBA essay consultant  or participating in  MBA mock interviews. 

The level of competition will depend on the specific school you're applying to, but MBA programs are generally quite selective.

This is a relatively new application component used by a few business schools. Essentially, they are short videos during which candidates answer essay questions given by the admission committee.

The admission committee typically provides questions or prompts for your video essay. You should verify the admissions information of the school you are applying to, as some schools make the questions to the video essay available in advance.

No, not all of them do. Video essays and Video interviews are still a relatively new practice. They are only used by a few business schools in the world, but the practice is rising in popularity, so it is best to be prepared.

There are a few schools around the globe that require MBA video essays, including Yale, Kellogg, MIT, Rotman, London Business School, INSEAD, etc.

Yes. Most business schools ask for both written essays and video essays. Some schools also include a written essay in their MBA video interview process, like Rotman, for example.

The video essay serves a similar purpose as the  MBA personal statement  or  MBA diversity essay . If you meet the standards set by the admission committee, you may still get called for an in-person or virtual interview.

You can prepare by planning or structuring your answers in advance, timing yourself when you rehearse, participating in mock interviews, and investing in  MBA admissions consulting.

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• MBA Admissions
• ISB Admissions
• MBA Application Tips
• MBA Essay Tips
• Business Schools

Video Essays for MBA Admissions: 15 Expert Tips to Create an Impressive Essay

Admit expert.

• September 18, 2023

In this day and age, video is everywhere. We watch videos on our phones, computers, and televisions. It’s no surprise that business schools are asking applicants to submit video essays as part of their application process. Why? Because video is a powerful medium that can be used to convey a lot of information in a short amount of time, including non-verbal communication which is usually not possible in the case of a written essay.

In this blog post, we will discuss what video essays are, why they matter, and how to create one that will impress the admissions committee.

What are video essays?

Why do business schools require video essays, record and submit the video on the business school’s platform, record offline and submit the video, tips for creating an outstanding video essay for mba admissions.

A video essay is a short (usually one to two minutes long) video that applicants are asked to submit as part of their MBA application.

The purpose of the video essay is to give the admissions committee a chance to get to know the applicant on a personal level and learn more about their motivation for pursuing an MBA.

It also gives the admissions committee a chance to evaluate the non-verbal aspects as well as the verbal communication skills of the candidate, which hitherto was only possible to evaluate in an interview.

Business schools included video essays in the MBA application because they wanted more genuine responses from applicants, without the direct involvement of admissions consultants or other professionals. The admission committees of Rotman, Kellogg, and INSEAD have responded to why business schools require Video Essays as part of their application process.

According to the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, which pioneered the video essay as part of the application process, the video essay allows the admissions team to screen for different aptitudes and competencies in the admissions process.

“The video essay provides students with an additional opportunity to demonstrate what they will bring to our vibrant Kellogg community — in an interactive way,” says the Kellogg MBA Admissions committee.

According to the Admissions Committee at INSEAD, the video should provide students with a unique opportunity to share their passions, motivations, and who they are. The Admissions Committee is looking for an authentic view of the applicant as a person, to see how a student thinks on their feet and communicates ideas.

Typically, the school will provide one or more questions and some time to think about them (around 30 – 60 seconds per question), after which the student is expected to provide a recorded answer to the school.

Types of MBA Video Essays

As part of the MBA application, applicants may be asked to submit two types of videos.

Following application submission, the school will send an e-mail with a link to record the video on an online platform. Applicants should use their personal computers to record their responses to specific questions. You may be asked one of two types of questions:

Specific questions from the school’s application instructions: In such cases, you will have the opportunity to prepare for the question ahead of time. The question can range from inquiring about your career to introducing yourself to the admissions committee.

Random Questions: Each student will be asked a random question by the school. You will be given a time limit in which to think about and respond to the questions. You should prepare some personal situational stories that are relevant to various topics.

Schools such as MIT Sloan require applicants to submit a video statement on the topic specified in the application instructions. The majority of the school prefers single-take (no editing) videos that are no longer than one minute long.

Some business schools do not compulsorily require a video essay as part of the application process. However, as a best practice, you should ideally try to complete an optional video essay. If you are given the option of submitting a video essay as part of your application, you should do so. The optional video essay allows you to showcase your personality as well as your motivation to pursue an MBA program.

Business School Specific Video essays

The adcom has read your essays and resumes, and now they want you to put it all together in a video . Show them who is behind all of those carefully crafted words. The video will include three questions, each designed to help you showcase your personality and share some of the experiences that led you here today.

Here are some things to think about as you prepare to finish this section:

• Video essays must be submitted 96 hours after the deadline.
• After you submit your application and payment, a link to your video essay will appear on your application status page.
• An internet-connected computer with a webcam and microphone is required.
• The video should take about 20-25 minutes to complete, including setup time.

Video essay 1: Please introduce yourself to the admissions committee.

– Consider this your opportunity to share what you would want your future Kellogg classmates and our admissions committee to know about you. What makes you, you? What leadership qualities, personality traits, and accomplishments have you displayed in your personal and professional life that define you as the person you are?

Video essay 2: What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?

– This is an intentionally broad question so you can answer honestly and meaningfully. We want to know why you’re pursuing an MBA and why you want to pursue it from Kellogg? You have to 

• Give a brief overview of your current experience, skills, and qualities 
• Mention your post MBA short term, medium-term and long-term career goals which should be aligned with your experience, skills, and qualities 
• Mention specific courses, clubs, competitions, placements, etc., or any other thing unique to Kellog that would help you achieve your post MBA career goals.

Video essay 3: This question will be based on a challenge you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from it.

Here, Kellog ad-com wants to get deeper insights into the personality traits and leadership qualities you have that will help you become a future leader. Hence, you should mention the challenge, how you overcame the challenge, what are the leadership qualities that helped you navigate the challenge, and finally what you learned and how you implemented the learning in another situation where you created a significant impact, which should be quantified if possible. 

Kellogg adcom tips

• There are practice questions that you can answer as many times as you want to become acquainted with the format and technology. The practice questions and experience are intended to simulate the actual video essay experience, so this is a useful tool to help you feel prepared.
• We encourage you to practice so that you are familiar with the format when it comes time to answer the official questions. You will not be able to redo your answers to the official video essay questions.

You will have 20 seconds to consider the question and up to one minute to respond.

Do you want to impress the MBA Adcom with your video essay?

At Admit Expert, we have helped hundreds of students get into top MBA programs around the world. We would be happy to help you too. Schedule a free call with us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your goals.

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After completing your online application, the admissions committee will send you an email with a unique link to complete the video essay sectio n. Each applicant will be asked to record their responses to four questions. The questions could be about your interest in INSEAD, teamwork, diversity, culture, or anything else. You will have 45 seconds to prepare each answer and 1 minute to record your answer after getting the question.

Before recording your answers, you can practice on the INSEAD online platform. There will be several questions available during the practice session, and you can practice as many as you need to feel comfortable. You can make an account on the internet platform and return at any time, with no limit on how many practice sessions you can do.

Advice from INSEAD’s adcom

• We recommend recording your Kira videos with Microsoft Edge or Chrome for the best user experience.
• You can practice as much as you want to prepare yourself. This will allow you to give sincere and authentic responses. The Admissions Committee is not informed about the practice questions.
• Test your camera and microphone, then look at the camera as if you were speaking to the Admissions Committee.
• Despite the fact that we require you to dress professionally or in business casual attire, the Admissions Committee will not pass judgement on your appearance or background.
• You might wish to keep a notebook nearby to jot down your main points. You’ll have 45 seconds to prepare each response, followed by 60 seconds to share your response.

After submitting your application and paying your application fee, you will be given access to the video questions . The video questions are not a replacement for the interview; rather, they are part of your MBA application.

Every candidate will be given a set of randomized, previously recorded questions asked by a member of the admissions team. No two applicants will be asked the same questions.

Yale SOM tips

Kristen Mercuri, Deputy Director of Admissions, shares a few tips with applicants:

• First, know you’re going to be great! This is not a deal-breaker or maker. It doesn’t require any preparation beyond the practice tool you can access before you start your recordings. Don’t stress; we aim to set you up for success. 
• One piece of advice for the recorded responses is to familiarize yourself with the 60-90 second time frame. You don’t want to feel rushed in your answer, and you also don’t want to only utilize 10 seconds. 
• And finally, be sure you have a good internet connection and a quiet, private space. You’d be surprised how many ‘bloopers’ we see in the video questions due to an unexpected colleague, partner, or pet joining your session.

You must submit a video statement along with other documents as part of your MIT Sloan application. Unlike other schools, where you record the video in the admission portal, you can record and upload the video at your leisure on the MIT Sloan video statement portal.

The prompt is as follows:

Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here’s your chance to put a face with a name, let your personality shine through, be conversational, and be yourself. We can’t wait to meet you!

Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:

• No more than 60 seconds in length
• Single take (no editing) 
• Speaking directly to the camera
• Do not include background music or subtitles

MBA video essays are a great way to showcase your personality and MBA video essay tips can help you put your best foot forward. Here are the top 15 MBA video essay tips:

• Be natural and be yourself. The MBA video essay is an opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you on a personal level, so it is important to be genuine and authentic in your responses. Don’t try to memorize answers or regurgitate information from your resume; instead, focus on sharing stories and experiences that will give the admissions committee insight into who you are as a person. Writing pointers and then expanding them naturally while speaking would be a better technique than writing the entire answer and reading it verbally.
• Keep it short and sweet. The MBA video essay is not the time to give a long-winded speech; instead, focus on delivering a few key points in a clear and concise manner. The admissions committee wants to see that you can communicate effectively and efficiently, so don’t try to cram too much information into your MBA video essay.
• Practice, practice, practice. Before hitting “record,” take some time to practice your MBA video essay so that you feel comfortable and confident on camera. Record a few practice takes so that you can get used to the format and format of the questions
• Highlight your accomplishments: Share your successes and experiences that have helped shape who you are today. This is your chance to shine and show the admissions committee what you’re capable of.
• Tell a story: A well-told story will capture the attention of the admissions committee and give them a glimpse into who you are as a person. Share a personal experience or an anecdote that highlights your unique personality and perspective.
• Choose a quiet and well-lit location: Make sure you choose a location with enough light on your face and no background noise. There should be no background noise while recording the video. If at all possible, ask a friend or family member to keep an eye on the area while you conduct the interview.
• Recording accessories: Although most schools do not specify video output, it is recommended that you use a high-quality webcam and microphone when recording your video essay. If you believe your laptop’s webcam output is inadequate, use an external webcam to record the video. When selecting a microphone, ensure that your voice is clearly audible. You must record a sample video and evaluate its quality.
• Choose a simple background: When recording, it is best to use a single colour background. If there are too many elements behind you, the viewer’s attention will be diverted away from your presentation.
• Keep a notepad and a pen handy: Most essay questions will give you less than one minute to structure your thoughts before delivering your answer. Keep a notepad and a pen at the table to jot down the main points and supporting examples you want to deliver while answering.
• Dress for Success: The video essay is a professional video that serves as a “pre-interview” communication with the Admissions Committee. Dressing professionally is also important for the same reason.
• Avoid excessive movement: The video should be conversational, similar to a speech. As a result, you should avoid excessive gesturing and movement while recording your video essay.
• Speak clearly and with proper enunciation: Do not narrate the entire essay expressionlessly. Take enough pauses between sentences to emphasize your words and thoughts and persuade the admissions committee that you are a serious applicant. You must respond with a fluid tone and pitch that conveys your conviction and passion. Try practicing voice modulation which will prevent your speech from becoming monotonous and boring.
• Body language: It is an important aspect to consider during your video essay. Remember to sit up straight throughout the recording. The best way to identify issues with your body language is to film yourself answering some of the questions on your list and analyzing the results. Before sitting down for the final take, practice while correcting such errors to remove nervousness and nervous ticks.
• Position the camera: Avoid leaning forward or lowering your head to face the camera. Position the webcam at eye level so that you can answer with your head straight. When responding, always keep your gaze fixed on the camera. Film yourself answering a few of the questions on your list with a camera. Make sure your background, lighting, and outfit all look good.
• Smile for the camera: You aced the GMAT, crafted an impressive resume, obtained letters of recommendation, completed your entire application, and double-checked it. You completed all of the difficult checkpoints. There is only one mantra for video essays: be your best self. Allow yourself to relax and enjoy the experience. Keep a smile on your face as you respond to the questions.

By following these tips, you can create a strong video essay that will help you stand out from the rest of the applicants and improve your chances of being admitted to your dream business school.

If you’re looking for more help with your MBA application, be sure to check out our other blog posts on the topic. We cover everything from how to choose the right business school to what kind of experience you need to have in order to get admitted.

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Homepage > MBA Admissions > How to make an impressive MBA Application Video Essay

How to make an impressive MBA Application Video Essay

Posted by Nayeem Noor | Oct 4, 2022 | MBA Admissions , MBA Application Process

Video essays are an integral part of the MBA application process for many business schools. They are also an excellent opportunity for the admission committee to evaluate your interpersonal skills.

Through the video essay, the admissions committee gets a more direct understanding of who you are, and you get a chance to substantiate the authenticity of your story and offer a glimpse into your personality.

Here is a brief outline of this article:

• What is a video essay?

Types of MBA Video Essays

• Top B-Schools which ask for video essays and common questions

Tip #1 – Plan your answers

• Tip #2 – Create an ideal set-up for video recording
• Tip #3 – Importance of practice
• Tip #4 – Present yourself well

Tip #5 – Don’t get tensed

Instead, you can also watch this video on expert advice from admissions officers and consultants on how to create a video essay.

What is an MBA video essay?

The reason business schools made video essays a part of the MBA application was that they were looking for more genuine responses from applicants, without any direct involvement of admissions consultants or other professionals. Below are the responses of admission committees of Rotman, Kellogg, and INSEAD on why business schools ask Video Essays as a part of their application process?

• University of Toronto’s Rotman School, the B-School, which pioneered the video essay as a part of the application process, says that the video essay allows the admissions team to screen for different aptitudes and competencies in the admissions process.
• Kellogg MBA Admissions committee, says, “the video essay provides students with an added opportunity to demonstrate what they will bring to our vibrant Kellogg community — in an interactive way.”
• According to INSEAD’s Admissions committee , the video should be a unique opportunity for students to share their passions, their motivations, and who they are. The Admissions Committee is interested in finding an authentic view of the applicant as a person, to see how a student thinks on your feet and how he/she convey ideas.

Typically, the school will provide one or more questions, and some time to think about them (around 30 – 60 seconds per question) and is then expected to provide the school with a recorded answer.

Learn the importance of MBA Essays in Business School applications

There are two types of videos an applicant may be asked to submit as a part of the MBA application.

• Questions specified in the school’s application instruction: In such questions, you will get an opportunity to prepare for the question prior. The question can vary from asking about your career path to introducing yourself to the admission committee.
• Random Questions: School will ask a random question to each student. You will be provided a time frame to think and answer the questions. You must prepare yourself with some personal situational stories that are relevant to diverse topics.
• Record offline and submit the video : Schools like MIT Sloan asks applicants to provide a video statement on the topic specified in the application instruction. Most of the school as for single take (no editing) videos not lasting more than one minute.

For some business schools such as Texas McCombs, the video essay is not mandatory to submit during application. But the student gets an optional video essay as a part of the application. If you get an optional video essay as part of the application, it is better to take it. The optional video essay is an opportunity for you to showcase your personality and the motivation to pursue an MBA program.

A video essay is one of the 5 types of MBA essays typically asked in a business school application.

Top B-Schools which ask for Video essays and common questions

Below are some of the top business schools which ask applicants to submit a video essay as a part of their admission process:

INSEAD Video Essay

After finishing your online application , you will receive an e-mail from the admission committee with a unique link to complete the video essay portion. Each applicant will be asked to record answers to 4 questions. The questions can be related to your interest in INSEAD, teamwork, diversity & culture, etc. After receiving the question, you will have 45 seconds to prepare each answer and 1 minute to record your answer.

You can practice on the INSEAD online platform before recording your answers. The practice session will have multiple questions available, and you practice as many questions as you need to feel comfortable. You can create an account on the online platform and come back later without any limit on the number of practice sessions.

Northwestern Kellogg Video Essay

Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management is the first amongst the M7 B-Schools, which popularized the video essay in the MBA admission process . After submitting your application and payment, you can access the video essay portal from your Kellogg application status page.

You will be asked to answer 3 questions. You will be given 20 seconds to think about the question and up to 1 minute to give your response. Out of 3 questions, Kellogg provides questions upfront in their application instructions for two, and one will be randomly selected question.

For the intake of 2020, the static questions given by the admission committee are, ‘Please introduce yourself to the admission committee’ and ‘What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?’.

The third question will be a behavioral type question that asks about how you handled a challenging situation in your professional or personal life. You can answer as many practice questions as required to get comfortable with format and technology in the application portal.

Yale SoM Video Essay

After submission of your application, you will receive access to the video questions portal. You will get three basic behavior-based questions as a part of the admission process . You will get 30 seconds to structure your thought and 90 seconds to respond to the questions. Like Kellogg and INSEAD, you can utilize Yale’s Video question practice tool to get familiarised with the technology.

MIT Sloan Video Essay

As a part of the MIT Sloan application , you must submit a video statement along with other documents. Unlike the other schools, where you record the video in the admission portal, in MIT Sloan video statement, you can record and upload the video at your convenience on their portal.

The video prompt is – ‘Introduce yourself to your future classmates’. The video statement must be a single take (no editing) with a duration of fewer than 60 seconds. The admission committee recommends delivering a response that includes a bit on your experience and why you chose MIT Sloan to pursue your MBA. Upload instructions are provided with the application.

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How to prepare for video essays?

Video essays allow MBA admissions to evaluate your confidence, language skills, and capability to think on your feet. A video essay is one opportunity you can leverage to leave a long-lasting effect upon the admissions committee. The following are the top 5 tips that will help you create a better video essay for your MBA application.

Many applicants wobble when they hear ‘you have to think on your feet while facing video questions’. However, you will not feel like you’re being thrown under a bus when you see a question prompt on the screen if you create and a question bank and use a framework for your responses.

Identify personal and professional stories: You will get many practice questions from your target school’s website. You can find a part of questions school asks on the application instruction. A few business schools also mention the category under which the random question will fall into.

Many of the video essay questions fall under the why MBA/career goals, or behavioral type questions. Based on the category, you should create a repository of personal/career experiences and jot down your answers around it. When you get the opportunity, talk about why that B-School is an excellent match for your career ambition. Talk about your exact goals and how you will accomplish them through this specific program.

Learn to answer succinctly : Most of the schools ask applicants to think and answer the questions in less a minute. Try to answer questions in Situation, Action, Result (SAR) method. Answer the essay questions by using one of your personal or professional examples of a situation that you were in; the action that you took; and the result. Approaching questions in the SAR method will help you to answer concisely.

Choose words wisely : One key aspect of communication is vocabulary. You should keep your vocabulary on a professional level and choose words carefully. Avoid the usage of colloquial words, and although you are required to be formal, you should avoid the frivolous use of formality in the video essay.

Tip #2 – Create a set-up for video recording

While preparing your set-up for your video essay recording, make sure to follow the given instructions.

Choose quite and well-lit area : Make sure you choose a space where there is enough light on your face and no background noise. You should have any noise distractions while recording the video. If possible, ask a friend or family member to surveillance the area to avoid any voice distraction while you take the interview.

Recording accessories : Even though most of the schools don’t mention about the video output, it is advisable to use good quality webcam and microphone for recording your video essay. If you feel your laptop webcam output is substandard, connect an external webcam to record the video. When you choose the microphone, make sure your voice is audible properly. You must record a sample video and test the quality of the video, audio output, and the lighting.

Make sure your devices don’t take away your attention : Before starting the interview, make sure your mobile phone is on Do not disturb mode and close all unnecessary computer applications and browser tabs.

Chose plain background : While recording, it is advisable to choose a single color background. If there are too many elements behind you, the viewer may lose focus away from your presentation.

Keep a notepad and pen handy : In most of the essay questions, you will get less one minute to structure your thought before delivering the answer. You may need to keep a notepad and a pen ready in the table to jot down the main points and supporting examples you want to deliver while answering.

Tip #3 – Practice makes perfect

Once you have the question bank, learned how to respond in a crisp & clear manner, and set up your recording area, it is now time to practice and perfect your responses.

Using a camera, film yourself giving the response to the questions you have on your list. Filming the responses will help to introspect the style in which you respond. Start evaluating the video after at least a few hours have passed. While evaluating, make sure you are not saying fillers like “like..” and “umm…”. Hemming and hawing create the impression of being unprepared.

Check your posture and facial expressions while answering the questions. If you are not satisfied with the first take, do retakes, till you get the desired output. Send your final production to people you trust for critique. It is the best way to figure out what kind of judgments a person will make while evaluating your video essay.

Another way to practice is to get the help of a friend and replicate the video essay set-up at your home. Provide your question bank to your friend and connect for a video call through applications like Skype with your friend. Make sure he/she switches off the video. This mock video essay activity is an excellent exercise for you to get rid of camera shyness and improve your confidence.

Some B-Schools have portals where an applicant can practice video essay questions before starting the official attempt of essay questions. Using this portal is the best way to get a hold on the type of questions asked and get familiarised with B-School’s video essay recording platform.

During your final recording, you may get a situational question, choose whether one of your stories can help you answer the question. Also, be ready to think swiftly because some questions are genuinely random. The best response is to be authentic, so be yourself and don’t overthink things. While practicing with your friend, you can instruct him to ask a question that is out of your question bank to get used to such random questions.

Tip #4 – Present yourself well

Dress Professionally : The video essay is a professional video, and it is considered as a ‘pre-interview’ communication with the Admissions Committee. Because of the same reason, it is important to dress professionally.

Avoid excess motion : The video should be conversational like a speech. So, you should avoid excessive gesturing and movement throughout the recording of your video essay.

Speak Clearly with proper enunciation :  Make sure you do not narrate the whole essay expressionlessly. You should take enough pauses in between to emphasize your words and thoughts to encourage the admissions committee to accept you as a serious applicant. You must deliver the response in a fluid tone and pitch that carries your conviction and passion.

Mind your body language : It is a vital aspect to pay attention to during your video essay. You should keep in mind to sit straight throughout the recording. The best way to identify issues with your body language is by filming yourself, giving the response to some of the questions in your list, and analyzing them. Practicing while correcting such errors will remove nervousness and nervous ticks before sitting down for the final take.

Position the camera : Make sure you do not lean forward or put your head down to face the camera. Position the webcam to your eye level to deliver the answer with your head straight. Always make sure you look into the camera while responding.

Using a camera, film yourself responding to a few questions on your list. Evaluate your background, lighting, and outfit to make sure they look good.

You aced the GMAT, curated an impressive resume, got your letters of recommendation, filled out your entire application, and checked it thrice. You crossed all the hard checkpoints. For video essay, it is just one mantra – be your best self. When it’s showtime, let yourself relax and enjoy the experience. As you respond to the questions to the questions, don’t forget to smile.

Avoid these MBA application mistakes and make it to your dream business school.

Key Takeaways | How to Prepare for MBA Video Essays

• Video Essays are an opportunity for the admission committee to evaluate your interpersonal skills and determine your ‘fit’ for an MBA program.
• Video essay questions can be related to your personal and career experience, your post-MBA goals, and Why MBA?
• Prepare for your Video Essays by creating a framework and identifying stories from your personal and professional life that relate to the above topics.
• Many business schools offer the option to practice video essays and familiarise yourself with the process. Take advantage of this opportunity.

An increasing number of B-Schools have started to integrate video essays into their MBA applications. In a video essay, you are not expected to be scripted. You are expected to be prepared. The admission committee hopes applicants who are not great on paper will have a chance to shine and exhibit their personality that is not seen elsewhere in a traditional application. With structured preparation, you can make an outstanding video essay without it getting on your nerves.

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• Video Essay for MBA Admissions – Tips that work
• MBA Admissions

Have you ever wondered what questions are asked in an MBA video interview or what an MBA video essay looks like? If you haven’t, that’s okay; you’re not alone. Numerous leading business schools, including Yale School of Management and MIT’s Sloan School of Management, use this application component. MBA video essays can be hard for applicants, mostly because of the impromptu nature that they have where you may have just a few seconds to prepare a response to a prompt you receive. The key to success in this interview format, as in other interview formats and essays, is practice!

What are video essays, why do they matter, and how can I create a video essay that will create a positive impact in the minds of admissions officers? We will answer these questions and more in this blog post.

Why do video essays exist?

What are mba video interview questions / video essays, types of mba video essays, kellogg school of management, rotman school of management, london business school, 11 mba video essay tips that work, final thoughts.

Video is all around us these days. We watch videos on our smartphones, computers, and TVs. It’s hardly shocking that many MBA programs need video essays as part of the application. Why? Because video can transmit a lot of information quickly, including nonverbal communication that just isn’t possible in a written essay.

According to the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, which was the first to use video essays as part of the application process, the video essay lets the admissions team look for different skills and abilities as part of the evaluation process.

INSEAD’s admissions committee says that the video essay gives students a unique chance to talk about what they love, what drives them, and who they are. The Admissions Committee wants to get a true picture of the applicant as a person. They want to know how a student thinks on his or her feet and how he or she communicates ideas.

Both the MBA video interview and the MBA video essay are brief, self-recorded, or platform-recorded videos in which applicants respond to questions posed by the admissions committee via video rather than in written form. Some business schools have only recently added this criterion to their application process. It’s important to note that video essays don’t replace the written MBA admission essay or the final interview for admission.

It’s also important to know that business schools have different names for this essay because it’s new to the MBA application process. Kellogg and London Business School both call it a video essay, while INSEAD and MIT call it a video interview and a video statement, respectively. Every business school has certain unique nuances to video essays.

So, what types of video essays exist? Let’s find out.

There are two types of video essays asked:

• Impromptu video Essays

Pre-recorded video essays

Impromptu video essays.

In this approach, applicants answer interview questions and record a video on the spot. Candidates generally have 30 to 60 seconds to prepare replies and 60 to 90 seconds to record video essays. The time limit may vary from school to school, but the format essentially remains the same, depending on the school’s admissions policies. In this setting, applicants are not given a second chance to answer questions, therefore it’s important to be well-prepared.

In this format, candidates are asked to record a short video answering a specific question or prompt from the admissions committee. The time limit and questions or topics are usually given to you ahead of time, giving you more time to think about your answers and make sure your video essay is the best it can be.

So, which business schools ask for a video essay, and what are their specific guidelines? Let’s understand these in the next section.

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MBA Video Essay Questions of Business Schools

To apply to Kellogg’s MBA programs, applicants must send in one program-specific essay, two written MBA admission essays, and answers to three MBA video essays. There are three essay prompts as part of Kellogg’s MBA video essay evaluation process. Applicants have 20 seconds to think about the response to each question and 60 seconds to answer it. The first two questions are set, but the third one is usually chosen at random.

The video essay evaluation process has three questions, each of which is meant to help you show who you are and talk about some of the things that led you to where you are now.

As you get ready to finish this section, here are some things to think about:

• Video essays have to be turned in 96 hours after application submission.
• After you send in your application and payment, you will see a link to your video essay on the page that shows the status of your application.
• You need a computer that can connect to the internet and has a webcam and a microphone.
• Including the time it takes to set up, making the video should take between 20 and 25 minutes. (This does not include preparation time)

Video essay 1: Please tell the people in charge of admissions about yourself.

Think of this as your chance to tell Kellogg’s admissions committee what you want them to know about you. What makes you, you? To what extent do your personal and professional experiences demonstrate your leadership potential, character traits, and other distinguishing characteristics?

Video essay 2: What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?

This question was designed to be quite open-ended so that you may respond in a straightforward and relevant way. Kellogg’s admissions committee wants to know why you want to get an MBA and why you want it from Kellogg. To answer this question well, you must:

• Mention your short-term and long-term career goals after getting your MBA. 
• Mention certain Kellogg offerings such as classes, clubs, competitions, student names, professors, etc., as well as anything else that is exclusive to Kellogg and could assist you in achieving your post-MBA career goals.

Video essay 3: This question will be based on a challenge you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from it.

Kellogg’s admissions committee wants to learn more about your leadership and personality traits. Ideally, we recommend using the STAR framework to frame your response. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. So, you should talk about the challenge, how you overcame it, and what actions helped you overcome the obstacle. You should also talk about what you learned and how you created a big impact, which you should try to quantify if you can.

Tips from Kellogg’s Admissions Committee

Kellogg’s admissions committee has also shared a few tips to help applicants navigate the video essay section. Here is what they recommend:

• You can answer practice questions as often as you want to get used to the format and technology. The practice questions and experience are meant to be like the real video essay, so this is a good way to help you feel ready.
• They strongly recommend you practice so that when it’s time to answer the real questions, you already know how they are set up. This is important because the answers you give in the actual video essay questions cannot be changed.

Here is how the Rotman MBA video essay works. After submitting your application, a company called Kira Talent will send you an email. This email will have a link that gives you access to the video essay platform. Two questions will be asked aloud, one at a time, after you have logged in and begun the session. You will have 30 seconds to think about each question and 90 seconds to answer it. You can’t redo the question, and you only get one chance to answer.

Then, one written question will be sent to you. You’ll be given a question and given 10 minutes to answer it. You should write between 250 and 500 words. The question for the written answer is meant to find out how you would write in a business or school setting.

Questions are chosen at random.

No matter when you send in your application, you need to send in your response to the video essay within two weeks. This can happen no later than two weeks after your target round’s deadline. But you should try to send in the video essay as soon as possible since your application won’t be looked at until the video essay is done.

As part of your application to MIT Sloan, you must send in a video statement along with other documents. Once you have recorded the video you can upload it on the MIT Sloan video statement portal, which is different from how the video essay works at other schools.

Here’s the MIT Sloan video essay prompt: Introduce yourself to your future classmates

Here’s your chance to put a face to a name, show who you are, talk to people, and just be yourself.

Videos should follow these guidelines:

• No more than one minute (60 seconds)
• Single take (no editing)
• Speaking directly into the camera.
• Don’t add background music or captions.

After you send in your application and pay the fee, you’ll be able to see the video essay questions . The video questions are part of your MBA application, not a replacement for the interview.

A member of the admissions team will ask each candidate a set of random questions that have already been recorded.

The Deputy Director of Admissions, Kristen Mercuri, gives applicants a few tips:

• Video essays are not a deal-breaker or deal-maker. You can rehearse with the available tool before beginning your recordings, but other than that, no prior preparation is necessary.
• For the recorded responses, one piece of advice is to get used to the 60-90 second time frame. You don’t want to feel rushed or like you only have 10 seconds to say something.
• Lastly, make sure you have a good internet connection and a private, quiet place to work. 

After you send in your application and are chosen for an interview, the LBS admissions team will send you an email. This email will have a link that lets you get to the platform for video essays. What sets apart LBS’s video essays from many others is that, for LBS, you share it after you are invited for the interview.

After you sign in and start the session, you’ll be asked two questions, one at a time. You’ll have 40 seconds to think about each question and then 90 seconds to answer.

You can’t redo the responses, which means you only get one chance to speak and give your answer.

The first question is chosen at random, and the second is a fixed question: “What will you gain from the London Business School MBA program that you won’t get from another MBA program?”

Kira Talent on behalf of INSEAD will notify you via email with a link to 4 video interviews shortly after you submit your online application to the INSEAD MBA program. The application system dashboard will also display your link.

The video is a one-of-a-kind chance to show the INSEAD admissions committee what drives you, what inspires you, and who you really are. The MBA Admissions Committee wants to observe how you respond to unexpected situations and express yourself in your own words.

Please note that the video interviews are a supplement to in-person interviews with Alumni, not a replacement for them.

INSEAD will not consider your application complete until they have received your responses to the video interviews. Video interviews should be sent as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours after the application deadline.

Here are 11 tips that will help you prepare well and consequently do well on your MBA video essay.

You can also take a look at this video for more helpful tips:

Gather anecdotes, both personal and professional

Most schools ask applicants to think about the questions and answer them in less than a minute. Use the Situation, Task, Action, and Result (STAR) method to answer the questions. Answer the essay questions by talking about a situation you’ve been in, what you did about it, and what happened as a result. Using the STAR method to answer a question will help you say what you need to say quickly and in an impactful manner.

Answer to the point

Many of the video essay questions are about why you want to get an MBA or what your career goals are. Depending on the category, you should make a list of your professional experiences and write your answers around them. Talk about why that business school is a great fit for your career goals when you have the chance. Talk about what your exact goals are and how this program will help you reach them.

Choose a place that is quiet and well-lit

While you’re making the video, there shouldn’t be any noise that gets in your way. To avoid verbal distractions during the interview, ask a friend or family member to monitor the area.

Use good recording equipment

Even though most schools don’t say anything about the video output, it’s best to use a high-quality webcam and microphone to record your video essay. You can use an external webcam to record video if you’re unhappy with the quality captured by your laptop’s internal camera. Make sure the microphone you select allows for clear speech. You must record a test video and check the video quality, audio output, and lighting.

Don’t let your gadgets steal your focus

Before the interview, make sure your phone is set to “Do Not Disturb” mode and close any programs or browser tabs that you don’t need.

Choose a solid color background

It’s best to record in front of a solid color background, so go with something simple if you can. If there are too many things going on behind you, the viewer may not be able to pay attention to what you are saying.

Keep a pen and notepad ready

Have a notepad and pen ready, as most essay questions will give you less than a minute to organize your thoughts before you have to give your answer. You may need a notepad and pen at the table to write down your main points and supporting examples while answering.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Take the help of a question bank available online and shared by business schools to practice as many questions as possible. Remember, always practice in the setting that you are going to be in while answering the real video essay prompts.

Record yourself answering the questions on your list using a camera. Having the answers recorded will help you think about how you sound. Start judging the video only after at least a couple of hours have passed as it will give you a fresh perspective. While evaluating, make sure you are not saying fillers like “like..” and “umm…”. Hemming and hawing give the impression that you are unprepared.

Check your posture and facial expressions as you answer the questions. If you don’t like the first try, keep trying until you get the result that you want. Send your final production to people you trust for critique. It’s the best way to figure out what kind of opinions someone will have when evaluating your video essay.

Dress professionally

It is important to dress appropriately for the video essay because it is viewed as a “pre-interview” with the admissions committee.

Maintain a good body language

Body language is a very important thing to keep in mind during your video essay. Make sure to sit up straight during the whole recording and have a smile on your face. The best way to figure out what’s wrong with your body language is to record yourself answering some of the questions on your list and then looking at the video. By practicing while fixing these kinds of mistakes, you can get rid of any nervous ticks before the final take.

Position the camera accordingly to be able to sit in an upright posture

Adjust the webcam so that it is at eye level so that you can answer while maintaining a straight posture. Never answer without first looking directly into the camera.

A video essay is not meant to be scripted but prepared. It’s a way for business schools to check your level of preparedness and awareness with your application. With some organized planning, you can make a great video essay. 

We can help you craft an outstanding video essay. Get in touch with us to know more about our MBA application services.

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December 12, 2022

How to Make a Stand-Out MBA Application Video

Presenting yourself effectively on video has become an essential part of the MBA application process. Admissions officers expect you to be able to capture their attention on the small screen. It’s an opportunity for them to see you think on your feet and speak ‘unscripted.’

What MBA programs want to see

• Kellogg says their optional video essay is an opportunity for you “to showcase your personality.”
• INSEAD sees the video essay as a method for you to “share your passions, your motivations and who you truly are.”
• Yale says the video questions “provide a unique way for us to assess your communication skills” and to view a candidate’s “multi-dimensional” profile. 

These are just a few of several schools that also include a video component in the application. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all schools allow candidates to select a video interview. Video essays are required or optional among top schools like Kellogg, INSEAD, Yale, MIT, Rotman, and more.

For these schools (and for the rest of your career), your ability to command attention on a video format will become an integral part of your success – and could hold even more weight than the interview!

Types of MBA video essays

Research each program’s application requirements to understand what you should expect when you sit down to record your video essay.

For the most part, schools will provide you with a link to a web-based platform where you can record your video using the webcam on your laptop or smartphone. 

Video essays are due 96 hours after the application deadline. 

A video essay link will appear on your application status page after you submit your application and payment and take you to the Kira platform. 

You receive three questions, one at a time. You will have 20 seconds to think about the question and up to one minute to give your response.

INSEAD also uses the Kira platform. 

You will receive four questions that come one at a time. 

After each question, you will have 45 seconds to prepare and 1 minute to respond. You cannot redo your answer. It must be recorded in one take. 

(See here for requirements for Yale , Rotman )

MIT Sloan is an exception.

You get to prepare and deliver a video statement to introduce yourself to your future classmates. It must conform to the following criteria:

• No more than 1 minute (60 seconds) in length
• Single take (no editing)
• Speak directly to the camera
• Do not include background music or subtitles

How to prepare for your MBA video essay

While the prospect of a single-take video essay may be alarming, don’t worry, here are some suggestions to make sure you’re confident and prepared ! They are also useful if it’s not a one-take video.

• Check the details Before you start, read over any provided materials from your school. Know the deadline for when your video response must be completed, what program you’re applying to, and if they have any special requests. Many programs even have admissions blog posts about what they’re looking for to help you strategize the key points you want to strike in your response. This may sound redundant, but if you have multiple schools requiring video essays, knowing exactly what each program expects is very important.
• Set the scene for your video essay Find a well-lit setting and turn on your webcam and adjust your location to ensure you have a clear backdrop behind you. Windows, mirrors, or cluttered walls or shelves are best avoided if possible. Adjust your lighting and position to find an arrangement that shines light on your face, rather than backlighting you.  There’s no set uniform for video essays, but I recommend comfortable, clean, business casual attire. Play it safe with solid colors and comfortable materials so the viewer can focus on the content of your responses. Once you’ve established your environment, let anyone whom you share a household or office with know not to disturb you. Put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on your door if you must!
• Prepare your device Picture this: You’re in the middle of your response and a pesky pop-up notification appears on your screen and creates a distraction. Or better yet, you ignore the notification and your computer restarts before you’ve completed all of the questions!  So before you start recording, close any programs that might prompt you with push notifications or pop-ups and ensure your software is up-to-date. Check to see if you have at least an hour of battery life or, better yet, plug into a power source.
• “Tell us about yourself.”
• “Why do you want to attend our program?”
• “Describe one of your favorite hobbies and why it is important to you?”
• Notetaking During the time you have to prep your answer, it can be helpful to draw simple pictures on your notepad that symbolize what you want to say, rather than words. That can help guide you and are ‘stickier’ in your brain. Then put the notepad to the side, AND DO NOT LOOK AT IT while you respond. You need to look directly at the camera.
• Keep calm and crush this video Get a glass of water. Remember to pause and catch your breath. Do a stretch. Listen to your cheesiest pump up song ( Eye of the Tiger , anyone?) Whatever you need to do to get in the zone. Remember to take your time with your response, be yourself, and speak from the heart, and you’ll do great.

If you would like help with your video essay, Accepted’s experienced  MBA admissions experts , who have been prepping and critiquing MBA applicants for almost twenty years, are more than  happy to help you .

Michelle Stockman is a professional journalist, former Columbia Business School admissions insider, and experienced MBA admissions consultant.  Want Michelle to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Molly McCracken is a Career Advisor & Internship Facilitator at Western University, previously an admissions editor & higher ed consultant at  Kira Talent , an education technology company that builds holistic admissions solutions in Toronto, Canada.

Related resources:

• Preparing to Ace Your MBA Interview , a free guide
• Seven Tips for MBA Interview Prep
• Preparing for Your MBA Interview Questions

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MBA Video Essay Tips + Sample Video Questions

The video component in MBA applications has become more common among top MBA programs over the last several years. Just this month, Texas McCombs reduced its written essays to a single required question and debuted a seven-question video assessment.

After more than two years of pandemic-imposed Zoom meetings, most of us are well-practiced at talking into our computer screens. But if you think the MBA video questions are an easy win, think again. Says veteran Fortuna Admissions coach  Cassandra Pittman , a Columbia MBA and former member of the admissions teams at both INSEAD and London Business School: “You may be surprised at just how much easier and more natural talking to a computer feels when you know there’s a human listening at the other end and a clock isn’t ticking down every single second.”

The MBA admissions committee wants a peek into who you are in an unscripted way – your motivations, your personality, your communication style. They want to know how you think on your feet (a vital skill in the MBA classroom). For non-native speakers, it’s also an assessment of your verbal communication skills. But the video questions are also a great opportunity for candidates – it gives you another way to express yourself and let your personality shine (some people struggle to bring their story to life in written essays).

3 Tips on How to Prepare for the MBA Video Questions

Cassandra, who has successfully rehearsed MBA candidates since the video questions debuted, distills her best advice into three key tips:

1.  Don’t just rehearse. Dress rehearse.

Video questions vary slightly school by school. Some schools, like London Business School and Kellogg , let you know some or all of the questions in advance. Others, like Rotman and INSEAD, select them entirely at random. Texas McCombs may be a mix of both – with five randomly generated prompts plus two every candidate will answer. Meanwhile, MIT Stern asks you to ‘introduce yourself’ in no more than 60 seconds.

No matter which schools you are applying to, match your practice as close to what your real-life experience will be. This means recording yourself in a single take, to time, with no one else on the other end of the line.

For questions you know you are going to get in advance, you can practice many times until you feel you’ve got your answers down. To practice randomized questions, research a list of sample questions and answer three at a time. Do not allow yourself to re-record if you don’t like your answers. Instead, send them to someone for feedback — an admissions coach if you are working with one, or a trusted friend or mentor if you aren’t. (If you can’t find a feedback buddy, evaluate yourself, but it’s best to watch them at least a day after recording in that case). Do this as many times as is necessary until you feel comfortable, not only answering the questions you practice but thinking on your feet to answer any question that may come up within the allotted time.

2. Set the stage.

A common question applicants have is, ‘do I need to wear a suit?’ The answer is no (although you are welcome to) but appearance does matter (view this related article by Fortuna’s Karen Hamou, What to Wear on Video ). Recommended dress is business casual, but on video, your appearance doesn’t stop there; it’s everything that the camera and microphone pick up.

So, before you record, set the stage. Pick a spot to record where your background is uncluttered (a bare wall behind you is often best). Check that you are well-lit (if lighting is an issue, consider purchasing an inexpensive USB ring light). And, finally, make sure your voice is clear and easy to hear. In most cases, this will mean using an external microphone or headset, as inbuilt microphones on even the best computers can be insufficient.

3. Smile like you mean it.

Unless you are already a TikTok star, you are likely to find it a little weird talking to a computer with no one connected on the other end. It’s a situation that naturally lends itself to a somewhat robotic style of communication – after all, you’re talking to a machine. As admissions committees are looking to get a sense of warmth and personality that they cannot glean from your written essays, it’s vital that you convey enthusiasm and emotive impact. The very best way to do this is with appropriate smiling. Your feedback buddy should tell you if you’re going overboard, but in my experience, applicants are much more likely to underdo it than to overdo it, so when in doubt, err on the side of great, big smiles.

Sample Video Questions

View this video strategy session with Fortuna’s experts hosted by the GMAT Club. And as a starting point, here are 10 practice questions to work with:

1. How would your boss describe you?

2. What risks have you taken in your life and what did you learn from them?

3. Did you ever get negative feedback, and if so, how did you react?

4. If you knew you could not fail, what would you do?

5. Who has had the greatest impact on you and why?

6. What is your favorite book and why?

7. What will your classmates be surprised to learn about you?

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?

9. What is the most meaningful thing you have done for anyone else?

10. Tell us which project in your work has been a key milestone in your career and why?

What Success Looks Like

Be yourself, be authentic, and avoid being overly scripted or rehearsed. While practice is essential for conveying your story powerfully and concisely, you’ll want to maintain a conversational tone.

Also, convey confident body language. While most candidates overfocus on what to say, in reality, it is how to say it – along with other non-verbal cues ­– that can have an even greater influence on the impression you give in a video. If you’re using a laptop, I suggest standing it on a shoebox or a pile of books so that the camera is level with your eyes – you don’t want to be peering down at the viewer (and it’s rarely a flattering angle).

Fortuna’s Sharon Joyce is a big fan of adding two minutes of ‘ power-posing ’ to your prep ritual. Not only is it a set-up for a more effective interview experience, but research shows it boosts your internal state by making you feel more powerful. As you practice, inventory your visual rapport – from your posture and expression down to your breathing, gestures, and energy. As you do, visualize success.

Before going on camera, ask yourself these five questions:

1. Do I sound natural and can I hear myself well?

2. Am I ready to offer concise, interesting, and genuine responses?

3. Is the background uncluttered, pleasant, and absent of distractions?

4. Is my face well illuminated?

5. Are my non-verbals consistent with how I’d show up for an in-person interview (e.g. posture, attire, and general presentation)?

Mistakes to Avoid for Your MBA Video Questions

1. Not managing your time. It can be stressful when you know the clock is ticking down: for example, with INSEAD you have just 60 seconds to respond to the question. I’ve seen candidates take half that time for their preamble, so inevitably they don’t manage to convey their full response. Get straight to the point, and don’t try to cram in too much – you have to keep things short and sweet.

2. Speaking mechanically. This is all too common when you’re talking to a screen without a person on the other end. While it’s awkward and somewhat artificial not having the real-time feedback of watching someone react to what you are saying, make the effort to be lively. You won’t have the benefit of seeing an interviewer’s eyes glaze over when you go off track, or light up when your response to their question resonates with them — and this lack of interaction can be disorientating.

3. Repeating your written narrative. Finally, avoid regurgitating what you’ve already said in your MBA essays – admissions reviewers want to learn something new. Your entire application should convey a coherent narrative and avoid duplication.

When you enjoy yourself, it shines through and makes a connection with the viewer. It’s remarkable how a smile can animate your whole being – your face, your voice, and your message. Using your hands while you talk may also help you inject some liveliness into your delivery. We tend to speak in more of a monotone when we are still.

Lastly, keep some perspective. The video component is just one piece of the MBA application puzzle that helps the admissions committee assemble a picture of who you are and what you would bring to the school. So, while your video responses matter, remember that they doesn’t carry more weight than the other application elements, such as your MBA essays , letters of recommendation , or MBA interview . Try to think of the videos not as just another hoop you have to jump through, but as another opportunity to shine, and to communicate to the admissions committee that you’re someone they want to know better by inviting you to interview.

Let’s Get You In.

Fortuna Admissions is a dream team of former MBA admissions directors and officers from 18 of the top 20 business schools. With our unparalleled collective expertise, we can coach you to develop a clear vision of your goals for business school and beyond. We work closely with you throughout the application process and provide expert guidance at every stage to maximize your chances of admission to a top school.

Our free consultations are consistently rated as the best in the industry. To learn more about Fortuna and assess your chances of admission to Wharton and other top programs, request a  free consultation .

Fortuna Admissions Co-Director Caroline Diarte Edwards  is the former INSEAD director of admissions, marketing and financial aid. She is also an alumna of INSEAD’s MBA program. For a candid assessment of your chances of admission success at a top MBA program, sign up for  a free consultation .

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• By Brittany Maschal

Just as MIT Sloan eschews the M7 convention throughout its MBA application process  (requiring a cover letter and org chart in lieu of traditional written essays), its MIT Sloan video component is unlike the others.

Instead of seeing how you’ll field a series of randomly selected questions, MIT Sloan wants a one-take video statement in which you “introduce yourself to your future classmates.” And the kicker is that you get just 60 seconds to deliver a response that’s meaningful, memorable, and coherent.

A growing number of business schools have introduced a video component of the MBA application in recent years, including INSEAD, Kellogg, Yale, Rotman, and MIT Sloan. In addition to seeing you in action, the video component allows MBA admissions to assess your confidence, presentation style, language skills, and ability to think on your feet. My Fortuna Admissions colleagues have offered great advice on acing the MBA video essay , including tips on set-up, presentation, and fielding sample questions. Each of those great insights are still valuable and applicable to MIT Sloan.

One of my clients delivered a 60-second MIT Sloan video statement  that knocked it out of the park.

The secret to his success was to focus on just one story from his life, which revealed a distinctive aspect of his personality. Frankly, it was an anecdote that might easily be overlooked, if it weren’t for the artful way he used his story to illuminate the personal values and attributes that made him a great fit for the MIT Sloan MBA program .

His MIT Sloan video statement didn’t showcase any remarkable technical skill, nor attempt to deliver his elevator pitch. He appeared to be sitting at his desk in a small, tidy corner that might have been a bedroom or office. Then he launched straight into a story that evoked a specific moment in time, and suddenly I could picture the scene. I felt myself get curious and attentive. What he achieved was a winsome glimpse into what made him unique, and it exuded warmth, sincerity, and authenticity. He even managed to convey a personal “ah-ha” that was both profound and relevant. And what he chose to omit was so intentional and well-tuned that you couldn’t watch his video statement without wanting to meet him. Slam dunk.

While the content is your own, there are several key characteristics you can take to heart in creating your standout video.

Here are six top tips to keep in mind for your MIT Sloan video statement .

1. Consider elaborating on one, specific experience. A single story that conveys something meaningful allows you to offer more depth about who you are beyond a shimmering track record of management and professional  excellence. Think of something that won’t be found in the rest of your application – what will add value to your overall narrative?

2. Avoid a monologue of your professional accomplishments. This means sidestepping what my Fortuna colleague Karla Cohen refers to as the “resume to prose” essay (and while a video isn’t prose, this translates to scripting a story of successes and achievements). “It’s a common mistake, and it robs your story of the potential for making an emotional connection,” says Karla in her recent article on what HBS really wants . “When you take the risk to be vulnerable, it inspires a human connection, and it’s so much more appealing.”

3. Take the risk to reveal something personal . Focusing too heavily on work-work-work makes you seem less human. Or like you’re trying to give the admissions team what you think they want to hear. The best MIT MBA video statement is about giving them a genuine glimpse of who you are.

4. Emphasize quality over quantity. A minute can feel impossibly short, and there isn’t a lot of room for sharing. Dig deep to explore a specific story that says a lot about you, and allows you to make a connection to the values that MIT holds dear.

5. Connect your values to those of MIT Sloan. MIT’s MBA program  is looking for brilliant, imaginative doers who are having an impact in the communities in which they exist. Think about anecdotes and stories that show when you’ve gone beyond yourself, demonstrated leadership and/or created a positive impact.

6. Strike a tone that’s humble yet confident. The applicant pool at any M7 business school is teeming with overachieving students. So, while you’ll want to convey your poise and authenticity, be sure to release any shred of entitlement or arrogance. (This isn’t politics, and boasting won’t win you favors.) Being likable is a huge part of admissions success.

To cite an enduring maxim from the late author and poet Maya Angelou:

“ At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel. ”

The MIT Sloan video essay is an opportunity to make the admissions committee feel something powerful. And, ultimately, leave them feeling a desire to interview and meet you in person.

Want more advice?

For more insider information, check out our related articles on MIT Sloan below. You can also view Fortuna’s Business School Profile on MIT Sloan or request a copy of our Insider Tips Report  on MIT Sloan.

• MIT Sloan MBA Strategy: How to Tackle the Application 
• MIT Sloan Org Chart: How to Tackle It

Fortuna Admissions Expert Coach Brittany Maschal  is a former member of admissions teams at Wharton, Princeton & Johns Hopkins. For a candid assessment of your chances of admission success at a top MBA program, sign up for  a free consultation .

• Posted on September 18, 2020

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MBA Video Essays: What You Need to Know Before You Hit ‘Record’

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, MBA video essays are a requirement for many modern business school applications. While not all schools include them in their admissions process (yet), top programs such as Rotman, Yale, and Kellogg are using video essays as a tool to get a sneak peek at how their candidates fare off-paper.

MBA video essays can take on different forms but the most common is in the form of a filmed interview. Once you begin, you will be provided with a list of questions that require a timed response. 

While this format slightly resembles that of an in-person interview, the experience of a video essay is much different. When engaging with another person, you have the opportunity to direct your answer based on subtle cues provided by your interviewer (i.e. an understanding nod, verbal affirmations… a look of extreme boredom). Unfortunately, video cameras give no such feedback. 

Many people find video essays to be more challenging than interviews or even written essays. Because there is little time to prepare your answer and no cues to indicate how you’re performing, they require quick thinking and leave no room for second guessing.

If the prospect of recording your MBA application video essay is totally stressing you out, we come bearing good news. While the idea of being on camera is a nerve racking prospect for many MBA hopefuls, your video essay is more likely to be a positive contribution to your application than a deal breaker. 

Be Prepared.

As with interviews, the key to a successful MBA video essay is getting in plenty of practice. Because there is no such thing as a right or wrong answer when it comes to this part of your MBA application, the best answers are those delivered with confidence and authenticity. 

Key things to consider when preparing for your MBA video essay:

1. Responses to the video essay questions are timed so you must be succinct! Set a stopwatch and time your responses to some sample questions. Afterward, gather your thoughts and plan a way to deliver them in a concise and thorough manner. Then, answer again with a timer set for one minute. You may be surprised to discover how much you can actually communicate in 60 seconds.

2. Film yourself while practicing so you become comfortable with speaking into a camera. When you watch the footage, be aware of your body language, eye contact, vocal cadence, tone, and hand gestures. The key is to come across as thoughtfully natural. Be deliberate, not sloppy!

3. Most schools don’t provide their applicants with the questions they’ll be asked during their video essay... so while you may not know exactly how you’ll answer, keep in mind that all schools are looking for students with a clear understanding of their goals and positive assets. To prepare, make sure you can easily explain why you want to get your MBA and know the unique contributions you can make to their school. Use your responses to support the content in your application as you exhibit enthusiasm and earnesty.

Sample MBA video essay questions to answer while you practice:

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Who has had a powerful influence on your life and why?

Set the Scene.

Pro Tip: Don’t wait until the day of to determine where and when you want to do your MBA video essay. Nothing will throw your game off more than being interrupted by a roommate or a barking dog. Be sure you set yourself up for success simply by planning ahead.

Plan ahead using these tips:

1. Straighten up. This should go without saying but an unmade bed or a sink full of dirty dishes in the background will come across as careless and unprofessional. We aren’t suggesting you spend an entire day cleaning house, but an hour-long tidy will make a dramatic difference. Better yet, save some time and film against a blank wall.

2. If you want to wow the admissions committee with your charming personality, they need to be able to see your face. Be sure to record your video essay in a well lit room. Avoid backlighting or filming at night. If possible, choose a seat where you will be illuminated by a window.

3. The most critical element of all video essays is that you use an effective microphone. Test yours out beforehand to ensure you are speaking clearly and loudly. With all the effort you’re going to put into practicing and setting up, it would be a shame if the admissions committee were unable hear a word you say!

Don’t Worry.

Above all, relax. The MBA video essay is a relatively small part of your application so try not to let your nerves take over. Remember that this is your opportunity to let your personality really shine so don’t get so wrapped up in what you say that you forget to demonstrate who you are. Set aside the time to properly prepare, put on a suit and a smile, and let the camera roll!

Admit.me Expert Staff

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Lights, Camera, Acceptance: Crafting Compelling Video/Kira Essays for MBA Admissions

By Arvind Kumar

23 September 2023

In recent years, the MBA admissions process has evolved to incorporate various innovative elements, and one such element gaining prominence is the video essay.

While traditional written essays and standardized test scores remain significant factors in the application, many top-tier business schools have started asking applicants to submit video essays.

Video essays allow candidates to showcase their personality, communication skills, and suitability for the MBA program. 

In this article, we will delve into the why and how of video essays for MBA admissions, examining their significance, the qualities admissions committees seek, and tips for acing video essays at some of the top business schools.

We’ve also compiled the list of video essay questions for B-schools that include this component in their application process: Northwestern Kellogg, INSEAD, Rotman, Yale SOM, MIT Sloan, Oxford Saïd, IESE and IE.

Why Business Schools Ask for a Video Essay

What do mba video essays entail, types of video essays, northwestern kellogg, rotman school of management, oxford saïd, iese business school, ie business school, creating video/ kira essays for mba admissions: tips for pre-recorded and impromptu versions, final thoughts.

Business schools request video essays as part of the MBA admissions process for various reasons. These video essays offer a unique opportunity to assess applicants beyond traditional written materials. 

Here’s a list of 10 key qualities that business schools are looking for in applicants and how different aspects of the video essay can help assess these qualities:

Communication Skills

• Quality Demonstrated: Clarity of Expression
• Video Essay Component: The ability to articulate thoughts coherently and persuasively in the video.

Authenticity

• Quality Demonstrated: Genuine Self-Presentation
• Video Essay Component: Authenticity is revealed through unscripted, spontaneous responses that show the real personality of the applicant.

Confidence and Poise

• Quality Demonstrated: Ability to Handle Pressure
• Video Essay Component: Maintaining confidence and composure while responding to unexpected questions or prompts.
• Quality Demonstrated: Ability to Capture Attention
• Video Essay Component: Keeping the viewer engaged by using storytelling techniques and compelling anecdotes.

Cultural Fit

• Quality Demonstrated: Alignment with School Values
• Video Essay Component: Demonstrating enthusiasm for the school and its culture through genuine expressions of interest.

Problem-Solving Skills

• Quality Demonstrated: Analytical Thinking
• Video Essay Component: Responding effectively to complex or challenging questions, showcasing problem-solving abilities.

Leadership Potential

• Quality Demonstrated: Presence and Influence
• Video Essay Component: Portraying oneself as a confident and impactful leader who inspires and motivates others.

Teamwork and Collaboration

• Quality Demonstrated: Ability to Work Well with Others
• Video Essay Component: Sharing experiences highlighting teamwork, cooperation, and the ability to collaborate effectively.

Adaptability

• Quality Demonstrated: Flexibility and Resilience
• Video Essay Component: Adapting to unexpected prompts and situations, demonstrating the ability to think on one’s feet.

Passion and Drive

• Quality Demonstrated: Enthusiasm and Commitment
• Video Essay Component: Conveying genuine passion for one’s goals and showcasing the drive to make a meaningful impact.

These qualities are essential for success in an MBA program and in the business world. The video essay serves as a valuable tool for admissions committees to assess these qualities in applicants, allowing them to make more informed decisions about who would thrive in their academic environment and contribute positively to their MBA community. 

As an applicant, you should use the video essay as an opportunity to showcase your unique strengths and qualities that set you apart from the competition.

MBA video essays involve candidates responding to prompts from the admissions committee through self-recorded videos instead of relying on written responses.

This component has been introduced as an additional element in the application process for select business schools, without replacing traditional written MBA admission essays or the final admission interview.

It’s worth highlighting that due to the relatively recent incorporation of this concept into the MBA application process, different business schools may use varying terminology.

For instance, Kellogg Business School may label it as a video essay, while INSEAD may term it a Video Interview, and MIT may refer to it as a Video Statement. Despite the nomenclature differences, they all essentially entail the same process, with the only potential variation being the video essay’s format.

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There are generally two types of video essays asked in MBA admissions: Live/Impromptu and Pre-recorded. Each type serves a unique purpose and presents its own set of challenges and advantages.

Live/Impromptu Video Essays

Live or impromptu video essays require MBA applicants to respond to questions or prompts in real time.

Candidates are typically given a limited amount of time to prepare their thoughts, often ranging from 30 seconds to a few minutes. Once the preparation time is up, they must begin recording their response immediately. 

This format aims to assess an applicant’s ability to think on their feet, communicate clearly, and maintain composure under pressure. Admissions committees use live video essays to gauge an individual’s spontaneity, poise, and how effectively they can address unexpected topics or situations.

Pre-recorded Video Essays

Pre-recorded video essays, on the other hand, allow MBA applicants more control over the timing of their responses.

In this format, candidates receive a set of questions or prompts in advance and are allotted a specific amount of time to record their answers. This time frame typically ranges from a few hours to several days, depending on the business school’s requirements. 

Pre-recorded video essays allow applicants to carefully craft and rehearse their responses, emphasizing their communication skills, creativity, and thoughtfulness in addressing the given prompts. This format allows for a more polished presentation but still evaluates an applicant’s ability to convey their ideas effectively through video.

Which business schools ask to submit a video essay?

Applicants are required to complete three video essay questions as part of their application.

These questions provide a valuable opportunity for candidates to showcase their personality, communication skills, and alignment with Kellogg’s values. The video essays are due 96 hours after the application deadline, so plan your application timeline accordingly. 

Remember that you have a 20-second preparation period and up to one minute to respond. Use the prep time wisely to outline your answer mentally, and then deliver a clear and concise response within the allotted minute.

Let’s delve into each of the three video essay questions:

Question 1: Please introduce yourself to the admissions committee.

The introduction sets the tone for your application.

Be concise, authentic, and memorable. Start with a brief overview of your background, highlighting key experiences that have shaped your journey.

Mention your name, current profession, and what drives your passion for pursuing an MBA at Kellogg. Use this opportunity to provide a glimpse of your unique personality and values.

Question 2: What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get there, and why is this program right for you?

Tip: This question demands a strategic approach.

Clearly articulate your career goals, emphasizing both short-term and long-term objectives.

Explain why Kellogg is your ideal platform for achieving these goals. Mention specific resources, courses, or aspects of the Kellogg program that align with your aspirations.

Your response should reflect a deep understanding of Kellogg’s offerings and a strong connection between your goals and the school’s unique advantages.

Question 3: This question will be based on a challenge you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from it.

Tip: Use this question to highlight your resilience and growth. Choose a challenge, either personal or professional, that showcases your ability to overcome adversity and learn from the experience.

Describe the challenge briefly, focusing more on the lessons learned and how it has influenced your character and decision-making.

Conclude by explaining how these lessons will contribute to your success as an MBA candidate at Kellogg.

Compilation of Kellogg Video Essay questions (2023) 

• Introduce yourself outside of your CV.
• Tell us something about yourself that we won’t know from your resume
• There are many MBA schools. What’s so unique about Kellogg?
• How long have you been considering an MBA and what have you learned about your goals in this time?
• Whose leadership style do you admire the most and you wish to adopt?
• Tell us about a time you were uncomfortable. How did you feel?
• What is one misconception coworkers have about you and how do you plan to change that?
• Tell us about the best piece of advice you have received, how you utilized it and how it impacted you?
• Tell us about a time you received harsh feedback. What was your reaction and how did you proceed to act on it?
• Tell us about one time when you received feedback that changed your perspective about something
• Tell us about  time you received feedback that you didn’t agree with
• Tell us about a time when you helped improved a process in your company, organization or community
• When and how did you resolve a conflict?
• Tell us about a time when you faced unforeseen or unexpected challenges
• Tell us about a time you failed and used an unconventional approach the next time. What happened?
• Tell us about a time when a conflict affected the productivity of the team? How did you handle it? What did you learn from it?
• Tell us about a time where an unexpected situation arose? Why did it arise? What did you do to pivot and why?
• Tell us about a time where you used a unique or creative way to solve a problem. What did you do and what was the outcome?
• What is one value or quality that you bring to the Kellogg community and how will it help others?
• Tell us about an experience outside school and outside office that motivated you to pursue a postgraduate education?
• Tell us about a time you leveraged a professional relationship to achieve your goals
• Tell us how you created an environment where differences and diverse ideas are respected. What was the outcome?
• Tell us about a time you added value in a professional capacity 
• Tell us about a time when you had to ask for help. What did you learn?

Note: Please consider this list indicative and not exhaustive

After you’ve successfully submitted your INSEAD MBA online application, an email notification from Kira Talent will swiftly arrive in your inbox, containing a unique link for you to embark on four video interviews. 

These interviews entail answering four distinct questions, and it’s essential to note that the questions presented to you may differ from those posed to other applicants. You’ll have a brief 45 seconds to prepare for each question and a minute to articulate your response.

These video interviews present a distinct opportunity for you to unveil your passions, motivations, and your true essence. The MBA Admissions Committee seeks an authentic portrayal of you as an individual, eager to witness your ability to think on your feet and effectively communicate your thoughts.

It’s important to emphasize that these video interviews do not replace face-to-face/online interviews with Alumni, which will still be a part of the assessment process. The video essay has to be submitted within 48 hours after the deadline of the Round in which you apply to INSEAD.

Tips for INSEAD Video Essay

• To ensure a seamless experience, INSEAD recommends using either Microsoft Edge or Chrome for recording your Kira videos. Preparing extensively by practicing is encouraged, as it allows you to convey authentic and genuine responses, even though the practice questions and your responses won’t be disclosed to the Admissions Committee.
• Before you begin recording, conduct a brief technology check by testing your camera and microphone. Once satisfied with the technical aspects, shift your focus to the camera, envisioning that you are addressing the Admissions Committee directly.
• Wear Business or Business Casual Attire.
• Lastly, consider keeping a notebook handy during the interviews to jot down key ideas. Remember, you’ll have just 45 seconds to prepare for each answer, followed by 60 seconds to deliver your response to the Admissions Committee.

Compilation of INSEAD MBA Video Essay questions (2023) 

• What keeps you engaged and motivated at work?
• How will INSEAD help you achieve your professional objectives?
• Describe a time when you saw someone else doing something differently. How did you react?
• Describe a time when you received negative feedback. How did you feel?
• Do you consider yourself to be creative?
• What do you think is the biggest challenge in leading a global team?
• If you look back 10 years into your life, what would success mean to you?
• Who or what inspires you the most?
• What is the leadership quality you admire? Why?
• How do you handle frustration at work and give constructive criticism?
• How can INSEAD help you to contribute to the community?
• What skills do you think you are missing that you want to work on while at INSEAD?
• Tell us about something that your family or company borrowed from someone else, its advantages and its disadvantages
• Why should we select you?
• Tell us about the most pressing climate concern today and how you will tackle it?
• How do you handle frustration at work? How do you openly communicate to resolve the frustration?
• Are you aware of your biases? How does that affect your thoughts?
• If you were given unlimited resources, which product or services would you offer to community and why?
• What are your guiding principles or involvement in Coporate and Social Responsibility
• How is diversity handled at your organization?
• Tell us about a new app that was released in the past 3 and has resonated with you.
• What do you think are the qualities of a good friend.
• How do you generate ideas
• What would you do if a new boss was acting in a surprising or offensive way to the local culture
• A teammate of yours is shy of speaking out. How would you help them?
• Most challenging decision you have taken?
• Has your family or company adopted anything from other culture? What impact (positive or negative) it has had on you?
• If you won 10 billion dollars, what would you do?
• What is the most difficult aspect of working with you?
• What do you think people often misunderstand about you?

Applying to INSEAD? Learn from Adhiraj’s successful journey to the INSEAD MBA with scholarships

Once you’ve submitted your application, expect an email from Kira Talent, a designated service provider. Within this email, you will discover a link granting access to the video essay platform, a crucial component of Rotman’s application process, which comprises two video questions.

Upon accessing the platform and initiating the session, you will be presented with a total of two spoken questions, delivered sequentially, one after the other.

Once you receive the question, you will be granted a 30-second window for contemplation, followed by a 90-second timeframe for your response. It’s essential to note that there are no opportunities for revisiting or reattempting the question; you have just one opportunity to express your thoughts and provide your answer.

Regardless of when you initially submit your application, remember that the clock starts ticking once you access the video essay platform. You must submit your video essay response within two weeks of submitting your application to complete this vital step in the Rotman admissions process.

Once you’ve successfully submitted your application, expect an email notification from Kira Talent, the designated company for Yale’s video essay component. Inside this email, you’ll find a link that grants access to the video essay platform.

Upon logging in and commencing the session, you’ll encounter a total of three Yale video essay questions, presented one at a time. These questions are randomly generated but fall into distinct categories, each with its own focus.

The Yale video essay questions are thoughtfully categorized into three groups:

• MBA Motivations (Group 1) : The initial question in the Yale SOM video essay will center on your motivations, specifically regarding your interest in Yale or the rationale behind pursuing an MBA.
• Behavioral Questions (Group 2) : Yale values individuals who embody purpose-driven adaptability, teamwork, and strong communication skills. Therefore, they often pose questions aimed at assessing your ability to collaborate effectively and your potential to contribute positively to the Yale community.
• The Thinking Question (Group 3) : In addition to traditional interview queries, you will be tasked with responding to a “thinking question,” akin to a case study, during the Yale video essay. This question serves to evaluate your ability to think on your feet, a crucial aspect tested in Yale’s raw case method.

As you approach these questions, keep in mind that for the first and third, you’ll have 20 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to provide your response. However, for the second question, you’ll be granted 30 seconds of preparation time and 90 seconds to articulate your answer.

Regardless of when you submit your initial application, remember that it’s imperative to complete and submit your responses to the Yale video essay questions within a maximum of 48 hours following the round’s application deadline. This ensures your application remains complete and on schedule.

Compilation of Yale SOM Video Essay questions (2023) 

• Why are you doing an MBA now?
• What motivates you to get an MBA at this point?
• Tell us about a time when a team member was not doing his share of work and how you handled it
• Tell us about a time you or your team fixed a critical problem at work
• Tell us about a problem that you solved by breaking down into its pieces
• Tell us about a time when there was a potential problem at work and how did you prevent it?
•  Mention a vague problem that was given to you and how did you solve it?
• Tell us about a teacher who has impacted you in life?
•  Yale School of Drama has produced many world renowned artists (e.g. Meryl Streep). Which artist do you admire most and why?
• Which type of art holds significance to you among the various arts across Yale Center for European arts, Yale Center for Natural arts and Yale Center for British arts?
• New Haven has great architectural significance ( something along these lines ). What piece of architecture has the greatest significance to you in your hometown or region? Why? 
• What is a tradition you hold dear to yourself?

Question: “Please take a minute to introduce yourself to your future classmates.”

This is your opportunity to introduce yourself and make a personal connection. Unveil your true self, let your personality sparkle, and have a genuine conversation – this is your moment to shine.

Keep the following criteria in mind when creating your videos for MIT:

• Keep it under 60 seconds, no more!
• Record it all in a single take, no editing allowed.
• Speak directly into the camera.
• Avoid adding background music or subtitles to your video.

In order to learn more about applicants and assess their ability to think quickly, Oxford Saïd’s MBA application process includes an online assessment.

Once the MBA application is submitted, you will find a link in the application status portal. This link allows you to register with Kira Talent, the online assessment platform, and complete the assessment. The assessment can be done anytime before the application deadline for the desired stage, for instance, Round 1 applicants must complete the assessment by the Round 1 deadline.

The online assessment consists of three parts:

• Two motivation-based questions that all candidates must answer. These questions aim to let you explain your reasons for pursuing an MBA and why you believe the Oxford MBA is the best fit for you. Each applicant receives the same two questions.

Example: “Why do you think pursuing an MBA is the next step in your career?”

• One competency-based question chosen randomly from a pool of available questions. This question allows you to demonstrate skills and qualities such as decision-making, problem-solving, leadership, teamwork, influencing, change management, and communication.

Example: “Could you share an experience where you successfully handled a challenging situation, either in your professional or personal life? How did you approach resolving it?”

• A written response (essay), which will be randomized and light-hearted to display how you can think on your feet and write.

Example: “What was your favorite book as a child and why?”

For each motivation-based question, you have 60 seconds to prepare and 90 seconds to respond. For each competency-based question, there is 45 seconds of preparation time followed by 60 seconds to provide an answer.

It’s important to note that there are no opportunities to redo the questions, and you have only one chance to respond and share your answers during the assessment. The entire online assessment should take about 30 minutes to complete, so plan accordingly.

Compilation of Oxford Saïd MBA Video Essay questions (2023) 

• Since how long have you wanted to do your MBA? Why now is the right time and what skills do you hope to gain?
• Students apply to many programmes and B schools. According to you, what makes Oxford unique?
• Tell us about a time you were overloaded with work, how did you handle it?
• Tell us about a time you asked for help and how did it go?
• Tell us about a time you led a diverse team, what specific skill did you use and why?
• Tell us a time when you had an idea and had to convince your project team.
• What is the most significant personal weakness that you have identified, what did you do about it and what was the result?
• Imagine you are proposing a business innovation idea for a class project and the audience is not interested. What would you do?
• How would you convince a team about your idea if you were sure of its positive outcome?
• How do you describe the color red to someone who can only see in black and white? 
• Do you prefer cats or dogs? Explain why.

IESE Business School has introduced Video Essays as part of the application process this year, replacing the previous personal essay requirement.

The purpose of this change is to gain a deeper and more authentic understanding of applicants. It allows the Admissions Committee to get insights into the thought process and communication style of each candidate.

After submitting the written application and paying the required fees, you will receive a Kira Video Essay link within 24 hours, to be completed by the Application Round Deadline. This link will expire 48 hours after receipt. You will receive detailed instructions along with the link. Upon clicking the link, you can create a Kira account and practice before recording your video essay.

Each applicant will need to respond to two video essay questions. For each question, there will be a preparation time before recording the response.

Applicants are encouraged to be concise, as they have a limited time of 1.5 minutes to provide each answer. The Admissions Committee values authenticity and is interested in getting to know the real applicant, rather than hearing what they think the committee wants to hear.

It’s important to note that the application will be considered complete and ready for review only after all components, including the video essays, have been submitted.

Compilation of IESE MBA Video Essay questions (2023) 

• How do we pronounce your name?
• Tell us something about you not in your resume.
• Tell us something that’s unique about you – traits and attributes uniquely you.
• What is the one feedback you received that you didn’t agree with? How did you react and what was the outcome?
• Every team has a certain archetype: architect, analyst etc. Which archetype are you when you play in a team? And why?
•  Tell us one thing you like and one thing you don’t like about your current job.
• Give a background of yourself and what abilities you can bring to the IESE MBA.
• When was the last time you were creative.

Check out our interview with IESE MBA Adcom including insights on the application process, interviews, careers and more here

This year, IE Business School has introduced a video essay to get to know you better. The online assessment is quick and won’t take more than 30 minutes.

IE Business School has added this to its admissions process because they believe in innovation. This part of the process helps them understand your personality and how you respond in real time. 

You’ll need a computer with an internet connection, a microphone, and a webcam. You’ll answer three live questions – two in video format and one in writing. You can practice several times, but remember, once you officially start the assessment, you only have one chance to respond. You have one week from when you submitted your online admissions application to complete this online assessment.

Video essays have become a vital component of the MBA admissions process, offering applicants a unique platform to showcase their personality and communication skills. Whether it’s a pre-recorded or impromptu video essay, here are ten tips to help you excel in this aspect of your application:

Understand the Purpose

• Pre-Recorded: Pre-recorded video essays often have prompts that allow for structured responses. Understand the specific question and ensure your video essay directly addresses it.
• Impromptu: In impromptu video essays, you may not know the questions in advance. Focus on providing insightful, concise answers to the given prompts.
• Pre-Recorded: Use your allotted time efficiently. Be concise in your response while ensuring you provide a complete and well-structured answer.
• Impromptu: Stay on point and avoid rambling. Use the given preparation time to outline your response and make your points concisely during the recording.

Prepare Thoroughly

• Pre-Recorded: Take time to brainstorm ideas, outline your response, and rehearse multiple times. Ensure your message is clear and compelling.
• Impromptu: Since you may have limited time to prepare, practice answering diverse types of questions to build your ability to think on your feet. Doing Mock Interviews can particularly help.

Showcase Your Personality

• Pre-Recorded: Your video should provide a glimpse of your character and values. Let your authenticity shine through by being yourself.
• Impromptu: Be genuine in your responses. Authenticity is highly valued in impromptu video essays.

Maintain Eye Contact

• Pre-Recorded: Look directly into the camera to establish a connection with the viewer. This creates a sense of engagement and sincerity.
• Impromptu: Even when you don’t know the questions in advance, maintain eye contact with the camera during your responses to appear confident and composed.

Have a Strong Opening and Closing

• Pre-Recorded: Begin with a compelling introduction and end with a memorable conclusion that reinforces your main points.
• Impromptu: Use the initial seconds to frame your response and conclude succinctly by summarizing your key message.

Eliminate Distractions

• Pre-Recorded: Choose a quiet, well-lit location with minimal distractions for your recording. Ensure your background is professional.
• Impromptu: Find a quiet spot where you can focus solely on your response without interruptions.

Manage your Time Well

• Pre-Recorded: Allocate sufficient time for recording, reviewing, and editing if necessary. Avoid rushing the process.
• Impromptu: Manage your time wisely during preparation and response. Stick to the given time limits.

Rehearse Video Recording Technology

• Pre-Recorded: Familiarize yourself with the recording equipment and software. Ensure your audio and video quality are top-notch.
• Impromptu: Check your internet connection, camera, and microphone in advance to avoid technical glitches.

Seek Feedback

• Pre-Recorded: Share your video with mentors, advisors or trusted friends to gather constructive feedback and make improvements.
• Impromptu: After practicing impromptu responses, seek feedback on your communication skills and clarity.

In both pre-recorded and impromptu video essays, the key is effectively communicating your message while showcasing your suitability for the MBA program. With preparation, practice, and attention to these tips, you can create impressive video essays that enhance your MBA application.

In an increasingly competitive MBA admissions landscape, video essays offer you a chance to stand out and convey your unique value to the business school of your choice.

Use this opportunity to not only address the questions asked but also to paint a vivid picture of your aspirations, experiences, and character. It’s a tool that, when used effectively, can elevate your application and set you on the path to success in your MBA journey. So, embrace the challenge, be yourself, and make your video essay a compelling testament to your candidacy.

If you would like our support on your B-school applications, feel free to reach out!

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How to Successfully Complete the Kellogg Video Essay

Sep 14, 2023

Why does Kellogg require a video essay?

How does the kellogg video essay work, which types of questions are asked, the difference between a good and great video essay, make sure you get into kellogg.

UPDATE : This article was originally posted on September 16, 2019. It has been updated with new information and tips below! 

With its Global Hub, Kellogg of Management at Northwestern University has reinforced itself as a haven for collaboratively-minded leaders. However, if you want to experience the Global Hub for yourself, you’ve got quite the road ahead, as Kellogg is one of the world’s most elite, competitive business schools.

Despite this fact, many applicants dedicate countless hours to writing Kellogg’s admissions essays and then rush through the video essay component. 

This is a huge mistake. 

In addition to giving the admissions committee the chance to “put a face with a name,” the video essay is an essential part of the Kellogg application, as it allows committee members to determine if your communication style and values are a good fit with the Kellogg community. 

In fact, in our experience helping our Kellogg applicants secure a place at the school, we have noticed that the video essay can be as influential in an applicant’s admissions decision as the admissions interview . 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you understand how the Kellogg video essay works and have shared a list of Kellogg video essay questions to ensure you put your best foot forward! 

When we first started working with Kellogg applicants many years ago, the video essay component had not yet been introduced. However, since its launch in 2013, the video essay has quickly become a critical part of the application. 

That’s because it gives the admissions committee the chance to truly “meet” candidates — as well as identify red flags in potential members of the Kellogg community. 

According to Kellogg’s admissions committee, 

“The Video Essays provide applicants with an additional opportunity to demonstrate what they will bring to our vibrant Kellogg community – in an interactive way. Each applicant will complete two short video essay questions. The questions are designed to bring to life the person we have learned about on paper.” 

They also give applicants this advice:

With that in mind, it’s extremely important to make sure you fully understand this component of the application. 

The way the video essay works is very simple. 

After submitting your application, you will receive an email from a company called Kira Talent. This email will contain a link that allows you to access the video essay platform. 

After signing in and starting the session, you will get three Kellogg video essay questions in total, one at a time. After receiving the questions, you will have 20 seconds to think and then 1 minute to answer. There are no opportunities to redo the question, and you only get one chance to speak and provide your answer.

Unlike previous years, where some of the questions applicants received were random, Kellogg has pre-announced the three questions you will need to answer this year. We’ll go more into detail about the types of questions you can expect below. 

If you’ve taken the TOEFL exam , you’ve already practiced for the type of format you can expect in the Kellogg video essay! 

After signing in and “starting” the session, a video will appear on the screen. This video will show a member of the Kellogg community, who will read the question you are tasked with answering. The question will also appear in written form under the video. 

After the time runs out, the screen video will disappear and your image will be visible on the screen. At this point, your 20 seconds to think will automatically appear. 

After the preparation time runs out, the clock to answer (60 seconds!) will start, and you will need to give your answer during this period of time. Remember: you cannot redo any of the questions.

After you answer the question, the system will upload your answer to the server (depending on your connection this can take a while) and will present you with the next question. 

DO NOT leave your computer during the upload time , even if it’s taking a while. You cannot pause the process, and you may end up missing questions!

Technical requirements

Given past applicants’ issues with iPad and mobile versions of the application, we strongly suggest you record your answer on a computer . 

If you do end up experiencing technical issues, access the support page here . 

Regardless of when you submit your application, you need to submit your video essay response no more than 96 hours after the round’s deadline . Find Kellogg’s most current application deadlines here . 

If you submit your application early, you can submit your responses to Kellogg’s video essay questions at any time, as long as you make the final deadline.  

The Kellogg video essay questions are grouped into three different categories, each with a different focus. 

Question 1: Introduce Yourself

The first question Kellogg asks gives you the chance to share who you are beyond your CV and admissions essays. 

“ Please introduce yourself and tell us something that is not on your CV that you want us to know about you.” Consider this your opportunity to share what you would want your future Kellogg classmates and our admissions committee to know about you. What makes you, you?”

Despite the innocent-seeming question, be careful about what you choose to show here. Keep in mind that Kellogg prefers community-focused, growth-minded leaders, so don’t miss an opportunity to reinforce your personal brand and your fit with the school’s values. You should also focus on reinforcing elements of your profile that you might not have had a chance to explain elsewhere, such as volunteer work or a special skill you possess. 

You do not need to speak about your goals or why you want to attend Kellogg. 

Questions 2 & 3: Randomized interview-type questions

For this question, there won’t be a specific prompt you can answer in advance. Instead, you’re going to receive a random behavioral-based question. This question may be focused on your characteristics, or it may allow you to share a professional example that highlights your personality traits. 

The best advice for this section is to think about what it’s asking you and what you can show about yourself, your achievements, and your values.

If the question asks about your favorite book, the admissions committee will get a certain impression of you based on what you choose. If you choose a book that’s all about adventure, we’ll assume that’s important to you. If you choose a book about economics, we’ll assume that’s a key part of your life. 

So think about how you want the admissions committee to learn about you beyond what you’ve already shared in your application. 

If you get a question that’s more like a traditional behavioral interview question, try to draw on examples. Furthermore, make sure to show your human side and demonstrate that you genuinely care for others and want teams you join to succeed. It can be easy to answer in a very conversational way, but doing so can often lead to an answer without a point, so make sure you use your planning time to structure the key elements of your answer. 

Regardless, be careful about what you choose to show here. Keep in mind that Kellogg prefers globally-minded leaders who embrace diversity, so don’t miss an opportunity to reinforce your personal brand and your fit with the school’s values. 

Here is a list of the types of questions you can expect.

• Tell us about a time you took a risk. What did you learn?
• If you were a team leader and you had a member of your team who constantly under-delivered, what would you do?
• Tell us about a time you experienced a professional failure. What did you learn from it?
• Tell me about a time you worked with a dysfunctional team. How did you manage the situation?
• Tell us about a conflict you have had with your boss/with a team at work. How did you manage to resolve it?
• What accomplishment are you proudest of?
• Tell us about an organization or activity to which you have devoted a significant amount of time. Why was it meaningful to you?
• What will your classmates be most surprised to learn about you?
• What is the most challenging aspect of working in an internationally diverse environment?
• What do you like to do in your free time?
• Tell us about a time a team member did not “pull his weight” in the team.
• Who is someone you deeply admire and why?
• What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received that you also shared with other people?
• When you have a problem, who do you approach for advice and why?
• How would your teammates describe you?
• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?
• Tell us about a time you worked with diversity in the workplace.
• Tell us about a time you contributed to improving a process in your organization.
• Tell us about a time you solved a problem in a creative way. 
• Tell us about a time when you faced a conflict on a team that affected its productivity. How did you face it?
• Tell us about a positive impact that you made. Why was it important to you?
• Whose leadership style do you admire and why?

TOP TIP : Remember that Kellogg values teamwork-oriented, collaborative individuals. 

Given the importance of the video essay in your Kellogg application, it’s crucial to make sure you don’t just have a good video essay, but that you have a great video essay. 

Now that you’ve learned how the video essay will work, we’ve gathered our top 5 tips here to ensure your video essay performance brings you one step closer to reaching your goal of attending Kellogg. 

You have stressed about every aspect of your Kellogg application, and now you are ready to record your video essay! With the right preparation, this can be your chance to shine and get a highly-coveted spot at Kellogg. 

However, maybe you don’t know where to start in preparing, or maybe you ramble on and lose your focus while answering. Maybe you’ve even downloaded the sample questions and written out your answers. The problem is, when you try to apply these templates to your own story, it doesn’t quite work.

Our video essay prep focuses on helping you determine how to present yourself to Kellogg while using appropriate, impact-driven language without being artificial, or worse, robotic.

Regardless of where you’re from or what type of experience you have, we are focused on helping you do your best. 

Want to put the Ellin Lolis advantage to work for you? Schedule your preparation session with our team of interview experts today! 

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Which program is right for you?

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How to Apply to the MBA Program

What’s your story? What experiences have shaped who you are today? We want to know. We are on a quest to find curious, passionate, analytical candidates who will enhance the collaborative community here at MIT. Our goal is to create a vibrant learning environment rich in diverse ideas and life experiences. That's why we welcome applicants from all over the globe, and from all areas of study, including the humanities, the social and physical sciences, business, and engineering. Above all, we seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities, determined to make their mark in the world—people who value dignity and respect. Here’s how to get started!

Register your Interest

Application Deadlines for August 2025 Entry

The Admissions Committee reviews all applications and will notify applicants of their decision on or before these deadlines. Please note that in the interest of confidentiality, we will only deliver official decisions via your online application.

All applications should be received by 3:00 p.m. EST on the deadline date. The Admissions Committee will release decisions on the dates listed above, however, decisions will be released early for candidates who have been denied admission without an interview. Reapplicants may submit an application in any round.

The MBA application will open in mid-July. LGO applicants must apply in an LGO Round .

READ RECENT UPDATES FROM ADMISSIONS

MIT Sloan MBA Application Tips

A complete 2025 application entry requires:

Cover letter.

MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.

Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation).

Please submit a  one-page  resume. This will help us easily track your academic and career path. Try to focus on your work results, not just your title or job description. Here are some pointers on formatting: 

• One page limit
• Times New Roman font
• Size 10 font
• Word or PDF formats only

Provide the following information in reverse chronological order:

Education: Please include relevant awards, scholarships and professional societies

Work Experience: Please include company name, title, results-oriented bullets that demonstrate your skill set, and dates

Additional information: Please include extracurricular activities/community service, technical skills/certifications, and special skills/interests, and languages spoken (if applicable)

Video Question 1

Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here’s your chance to put a face with a name, let your personality shine through, be conversational, be yourself. We can’t wait to meet you! Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:

• No more than 1 minute (60 second) in length
• Single take (no editing) 
• Speaking directly to the camera
• Do not include background music or subtitles

Note: While we ask you to introduce yourself to your future classmates in this video, the video will not be shared beyond the admissions committee and is for use in the application process only.

Video Question 2

All MBA applicants will be prompted to respond to a randomly generated, open-ended question. The question is designed to help us get to know you better; to see how you express yourself and to assess fit with the MIT Sloan culture. It does not require prior preparation. 

Video Essay 2 is part of your required application materials and will appear as a page within the application, once the other parts of your application are completed. Applicants are given 5 seconds to prepare for a 60-second response.

One Letter of Recommendation

A detailed recommendation can tell us a lot about you. Make sure you select an individual qualified to speak about your results as a professional and your potential as a leader. Some important details:

• MBA applicants must submit one letter of recommendation .
• A recommendation from a professional contact is preferred, ideally a manager or supervisor.
• We do not accept recommendations from family members.
• Your letter of recommendation must be received by the deadline date for the round you are applying (see above for our deadlines.) It is your responsibility to remind your recommender to make sure it is submitted on time.

You will be instructed to add your recommender's contact information and they will be sent instructions on how to submit their letter. You should choose a recommender who can answer the following questions:

• How long and in what capacity have you known the applicant?
• How does the applicant stand out from others in a similar capacity?
• Please give an example of the applicant's impact on a person, group, or organization.
• Please give a representative example of how the applicant interacts with other people.
• Please tell us anything else you think we should know about this applicant.
• Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response.

Additional References

We want to make sure we give you the best chance to show us your strengths, so please provide us with contact information for two additional professional references. If we still have questions after reading your application, we might reach out to one or both of these references. Similar to your recommender, these additional references should be able to speak to your professional and/or academic background. These two individuals should be different from your recommender.

Organizational Chart

To help us better understand your current role and the impact that you have on your team and department, please submit an organizational chart. We should be able to clearly understand the internal structure of your organization, where you sit in your organization, and your line of reporting.

Organizational charts should not be more than two pages and keep the following in mind:

• Give us as much detail as possible (names, titles, etc.) but it’s ok to redact names if you need to.
• Please circle your role in red so that your position is easily identifiable.
• Make sure we can easily identify where you are, to whom you report, and if applicable, who reports to you.
• If your recommender or references are on your organizational chart (they may not be, and that’s ok!), please highlight them for us.
• If you are a consultant, entrepreneur, or affiliated with the military review our FAQs for suggestions on how to approach the organizational chart.

Click here to view a sample organizational chart.

Transcripts

Please scan and upload your transcript(s) from all colleges and universities you attended or are currently attending. If you are currently earning a degree, please upload your most up-to-date transcript. We review transcripts carefully, please double check that what you have uploaded is legible; if you can’t read it, neither can we!

Some important details:

• All applicants to the program must hold a four-year undergraduate degree or three-year equivalent undergraduate degree from outside of the U.S, by time of matriculation.
• Do not mail any hard copies of official academic records or transcripts.  
• If you received an undergraduate degree as part of a Master's program, please include an undergraduate entry in addition to your Master's degree.
• If your transcripts are not in English, please scan and upload both the original and the certified translation.
• We cannot accept “digitally signed” or encrypted transcripts. If you’re having difficulty uploading your document, this may be the reason. Print out your transcript, scan it, and upload the PDF.
• We do not accept transfer credits. Any MIT classes taken pre-matriculation cannot be counted toward your degree at MIT Sloan

Once admitted to the program you will be required to provide an official signed and sealed transcript from all schools attended. Any discrepancies between the scanned transcripts and official transcripts may result in a candidate’s rejection or a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

Test Scores

Standardized tests, specifically the GMAT (Focus Edition and 10 th Edition) and GRE are a critical component of the application process and play an important role in our holistic evaluation process. The MIT Sloan Admissions Committee expects that you will submit a GMAT (Focus Edition and 10 th Edition) or GRE score to be reviewed as part of your application. Both the remote and in-person versions of these exams are accepted with no preference. If your current situation prevents you from being able to submit a test score, you may request a test waiver explaining the situation; the Admissions Committee will take your request under advisement and let you know if the waiver has been approved. If the waiver is approved, and you are later admitted, the Admissions Committee reserves the right to offer conditional admission such as, but not limited to, receiving a certain score on the GMAT or GRE or taking a supplemental class.The test waiver request form is not intended to be a Statement of Academic Readiness and should focus only on the circumstances surrounding your inability to take a GMAT or GRE.

We will accept self-reported test scores by the application deadline, and welcome either the traditional or online version of exams. Test scores must be valid by the application deadline. Official scores should also be sent using the following school codes:

• To share your GMAT (Focus Edition and 10 th Edition) score, please enter Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - MIT Sloan School of Management
• GRE School Code: 3791

For the 2024-25 admission cycle, we will accept all versions of the GMAT (Focus Edition and 10 th Edition) or GRE, including remote or in-person.

Relevant Coursework & Professional Certifications

We welcome applicants from many types of academic backgrounds and do not have any academic prerequisites. That being said, we want to understand what relevant coursework you have already completed in order to assess how prepared you are for our core MBA courses.

In the application, we ask you to tell us which courses (if any) in the following subject areas you have taken. We’ll also ask what grade you received in each course.

• Communications
• Linear Algebra
• Microeconomics
• Organizational Behavior
• Probability

Additionally, if you earned special certifications or took professional development courses in your spare time, please tell us about them! Feel free to submit academic evidence not already on your transcripts, such as: professional certifications CFA, CPA, ACCA, among others; non-degree coursework such as MITx MicroMasters, CORe, edX, MBA Math, or any other non-degree coursework you completed.

Short Answer Question

The Admissions Committee is excited to learn more about you and your background. In 250 words, please respond to the following short answer question:

How has the world you come from shaped who you are today? For example, your family, culture, community, all help to shape aspects of your life experiences and perspective. Please use this opportunity to share more about your background.

Application Fee

The non-refundable application fee of $250.00 USD must be paid online prior to submitting your application.

In addition to the list below, attendees of some recruitment events and conferences where MIT Sloan is present may qualify for an application fee waiver. If you are in attendance at one of these events, you will be notified at the conclusion of the event and the payment section of your application will reflect the waiver automatically.

Please note that we cannot grant retroactive fee waivers if the application fee has already been paid online. If you are submitting a request, please wait to hear back from us.

You may be eligible for a fee waiver if any of the following apply:

• Current Peace Corps Members
• Current Teach for America Members or Alumni
• Forte MBA Launch Participants
• Veteran or Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel
• Paying the application fee will result in insurmountable financial hardship

Participants from the following list of programs, conferences, and fellowships are also eligible for an application fee waiver:

MIT Sponsored Programs

• MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP General)
• MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP Biology/BCS/CBMM)
• On-Campus MIT ACCESS Program
• MIT Media Lab Open House Travel Grant Recipients
• MIT OME Laureates and Leaders
• MIT OME The Standard
• MIT Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS)
• Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) Summer Institute

Fellowship Programs

• APSA Diversity Fellowship Program (APSA DFP)
• Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems Research Experience for Undergraduates (EBICS REU)
• Gates Millenium Scholars Program
• Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP)
• Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
• Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC)
• McNair Scholars Program
• Mellon Mays Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF)
• Morehouse College Dr. John H. Hopps Jr. Defense Research Scholars Program Hopps (HOPPS)
• National Association of African American Honors Programs (NAAAHP)
• Questbridge
• Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI)
• Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement Program (RISE)
• The National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM)
• University of Baltimore Maryland County Meyerhoff Scholars Program
• Woods Hole Partnership Education Program

Events and Conferences

• ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
• Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS)
• California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education
• Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM (ERN)
• FIU McNair Scholars Research Conference
• Georgia Tech Virtual Graduate Showcase
• Grace Hopper Celebration Conference
• Howard University Research Month
• Institute on Teaching and Mentoring (SREB)
• Ivy Plus Puerto Rico
• MC-STEMP Graduating Engineering Minorities (GEM) GRADLab
• National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
• National Organization of Minority Architects
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)
• Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
• Spelman College Research Day
• The National GEM Consortium

Instructions for Dual Degree Applicants & Reapplicants

Lgo applicants.

The LGO program at MIT Sloan allows you to pursue two degrees from the MIT School of Engineering (SoE) and the MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. To learn more about the LGO program and read about the application requirements please visit the LGO website .

LGO Applicants are automatically considered for LGO and MBA. You may not submit separate applications to LGO and MBA. If you are unsuccessful in gaining admission to LGO, you will still be considered for the MBA program.

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Applicants

The MIT Sloan MBA program and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS) offer a dual-degree program that can be completed in three years:

• One year in residence at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government
• A second year in residence at the MIT Sloan School of Management
• A third year with one semester at each school

Applicants who wish to pursue the dual degree option must receive:

• Concurrent admission to the MIT Sloan MBA program and the Harvard Kennedy School; and
• Permission from MIT Sloan to pursue the dual degree option in three years

Applicants intending to pursue the dual degree option with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS) should follow the MBA applicant instructions above. All applicants intending to apply for the dual degree program must be applying concurrently to HKS and MIT Sloan and submit their application to MIT Sloan in Round 2.

Concurrent applicants to MIT Sloan and HKS must notify MIT Sloan immediately if accepted into HKS so that we can review and approve you to pursue the dual degree program.

Reapplicants

For applicants who applied for entry in a previous year, we require that you complete and submit a new and complete application. We strongly encourage you to submit new application materials and emphasize what has changed since you last applied. Reapplicants may submit their applications in any round, and will have an opportunity to highlight changes since their previous application in a short-answer question. LGO reapplicants must submit their applications by the LGO deadline. You can find more information in our FAQs .

MIT Department of Urban Studies (DUSP) Applicants

This program allows students to pursue an MBA and a Master in City Planning (MCP) in three academic years.

• Concurrent admission to the MIT Sloan MBA program and DUSP; and

All applicants intending to apply for the dual degree program must be applying concurrently to DUSP and MIT Sloan and submit their application to MIT Sloan in Round 2.

The Interview Process

Interviews are by invitation only. They are a required step in the process. An invitation to interview signals that your application has reached an advanced stage of consideration, but it does not guarantee admission. Those invited to the interview will be asked to respond to two additional questions prior to the interview. Details for submitting your essay will be included in the interview invitation.

Interviews will be conducted virtually and will be scheduled in local Boston time. Please adjust your calendar to reflect the correct time if you are located outside of the Eastern Time Zone.

Interview Tips with Dawna Levenson, Assistant Dean of Admissions

In this video, Dawna Levenson, Assistant Dean of Admissions, walks you through the interview process and shares some tips to help you prepare.

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MBA Application Video Essays: Managing Yourself Through Disruption

By Lance Bennett, Director of Diversity Admissions

Hello, my name is Lance Bennett and I’m the director of diversity admissions at Kellogg and work with our full portfolio of programs. I’ve worked at Kellogg for almost seven years and am gratified in working to make an impact in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion space. I join my colleagues in being very excited about your application!

Kellogg is dedicated to building a community of students who are creative, who seek out diverse teams to lead, and who meet challenges with innovation. Never has it been more important to be a Kellogg leader. And it is with this in mind that I want to talk to you about our video essay questions this year.

What you need to know about our video essay questions

Our video essays have long been a way for us to get to know you beyond what we see on paper in your application. They are the last thing we view after having read all about your background, accomplishments and dreams, and they are a great way for us to get to know you further as a person.

The first two video essay questions will remain the same. The first is asking you to introduce yourself while the second will ask you to share the path you intend to pursue and how Kellogg can help you get there. Both of these questions help us to tie together everything else we’ve seen in your application. We aren’t looking for overly rehearsed answers. Rather, we’re looking to meet you and get to know you in a more authentic way.

A deeper dive into video essay question #3

In past years, the third question was a randomized question that would ask more broadly about a challenge that you’ve faced. But this year, everyone will answer the same question:  2020 has been a year of seismic disruption—fighting the global COVID-19 pandemic, tragic deaths that have brought systemic racism and social justice issues to the forefront of long overdue conversations, and economic and political divides that are growing deeper and deeper. How has this unprecedented year challenged you and how have you faced that challenge?

We thought it was critical for us to first acknowledge and then understand how the challenges of this moment have affected you and how you’re leading yourself through these challenges. This moment is challenging for us all, but it is a moment that is challenging us in different ways. Personally, COVID-19 has challenged me to do my work very differently, especially when engaging with and growing the Kellogg community. And as a Black person, I am angry, frustrated and sometimes exhausted at so much of what’s happening in the world. But when that feels overwhelming, I look at what I can do personally to ground myself and affect change. Being a director of admissions at a graduate business program is one way, because I firmly believe that education can be integral in addressing the issues of inequality we see and face on a daily basis. Leading conversations and formal sessions on DEI are also ways to advance the work. Really leaning on those things that are most important…faith and family (with an occasional round of golf!). And finally, continuing to educate myself on all difference helps me manage this moment.

I’m sharing my personal story to stress that no one person has experienced this year in the same way. So, I urge you to speak about how you’ve been specifically challenged and how you’re managing yourself through it. At Kellogg, so much of leadership is actually about how you lead yourself . And your answer will help us get a better understanding of who that leader is.

So be yourself and speak from your authentic voice. And keep in mind that this is one of our favorite parts of reviewing applications — because we’re getting to know you . I look forward to reviewing your video essays soon.

Harvard Business School New MBA Essay Prompts (2024-2025)

Your essential guide to the latest HBS MBA essay prompts, featuring expert advice, strategic insights, and additional resources to help you craft standout essays for your Harvard Business School application.

Posted July 1, 2024

Featuring Avi L.

How an AdCom Evaluates an MBA Application

Starting tuesday, july 2.

5:00 PM UTC · 60 minutes

Table of Contents

Harvard Business School (HBS) has once again set the stage for aspiring leaders to showcase their potential with the release of its new MBA essay prompts for the 2024-2025 application cycle. This extremely rare update presents both a challenge and an opportunity for applicants to showcase their unique experiences and perspectives. In this article, we’ll explore these new prompts, provide strategic advice on how to approach them, and offer tips to help you craft top-of-the-barrel essays that can enhance your application.

New Harvard MBA Essay Prompts (2024)

The old HBS essay prompt was, "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?" Instead of one, longer essay, aspiring candidates of the class of 2027 have three, shorter essay prompts to respond to:

• 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)

Prompt 1: 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. (300 words)

Breakdown: The main goal of this prompt is to connect your past experiences with your future career goals. That said, it’s an opportunity to show how your journey has shaped your professional ambitions and commitment to making a positive impact. HBS wants to see that you know where you've been and where you're going and that there is a narrative that ties it all together. Here’s how to approach it:

• Identify Core Motivations: Start by reflecting on 3-4 pivotal experiences that you feel significantly influenced your career choices. These could be professional roles, projects, volunteer work, or personal challenges. Then, consider how your interests, passions, and motivations have evolved over time because of these experiences.
• Connect Past to Future: Clearly explain how the experience(s) you selected helped shape your career goals. How did you navigate those experiences as you did? Why did you make the decisions you made? Be specific about what you aim to achieve and why these goals are important to you.
• Make Your Essay Forward-Looking: Create a forward-looking narrative that ties your past experiences to your future goals. Show how these experiences have prepared you to make an impact on businesses, organizations, and communities. As a bonus point, use this moment as a chance to show your awareness of broader social and economic movement and demonstrate your overall desire to contribute meaningfully to your anticipated industry. Note: When looking at your application, AdComs want to see proof that you will do and accomplish what you say you will. Having a cohesive theme and clear goals will help you make a persuasive argument.
• Keep It Professional: Remember that the prompt specifically asks to see how your past experiences have impacted your career choices and how you see yourself fitting into the professional world in the next several years. With that in mind, make sure you stick to talking about your future job prospects in this essay.

Prompt 2: Leadership-Focused Essay

What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (250 words)

Breakdown: This prompt asks you to explain your personal development and leadership philosophy. It’s all about introspection and understanding how your experiences have molded your approach to leadership.

• Examine Your Leadership Journey: Reflect on the various stages of your leadership journey. Identify key moments where you had to step up, make decisions, or influence others, and think about how these experiences have shaped your leadership style.
• Use Personal Anecdotes: Use personal anecdotes to illustrate your points. Stories about how you have invested in others, facilitated a strong work environment, or even reached a breakthrough while working as a team can be very powerful in showing your leadership potential. With each example you provide, make sure to explain what you’ve learned from those interactions using the STAR Method.
• Show Investment in Others: As you’re outlining your response, an example of how you have supported and developed others will likely come to mind (i.e. mentoring, team leadership, community involvement, etc). Remember, however, that you’ll also need to show how you want to continue acting as a leader and investing in others.
• Define Your Leadership Style: Clearly describe the type of leader you aspire to be. Highlight qualities like empathy, resilience, innovation, or inclusivity, and explain how your experiences have reinforced these traits.

Pro Tip: If you’re having trouble nailing down or putting words to your particular brand of leadership, try taking a leadership style quiz. Lucky for you, Harvard has its own page for this exact dilemma! Using the resources provided here by HBS – and perhaps even mentioning them in your essays or interviews – will help you stand out as an applicant familiar with the resources HBS has to offer.

Prompt 3: 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. (250 words)

Breakdown: HBS is using this prompt to see how the gears turn in your head. They want to know if you have intellectual curiosity and if so, how it drives your personal and professional growth. Treat this prompt as an invitation to highlight a specific instance where your curiosity led to significant learning or development.

• Identify a Defining Moment of Curiosity: Reflect on a time when your curiosity led you to explore new ideas or opportunities. Think about moments of genuine interest when you went beyond the surface to deeply investigate a topic, problem, or question.
• Describe Your Process: Explain what sparked your curiosity and how you pursued it. Detail the steps you took, the questions you asked, and the challenges you faced.
• Highlight the Impact: Discuss the outcomes of your efforts. What did you learn? How did it change your perspective or abilities? How has it influenced your approach to other situations?
• Show Benefits: Highlight the long-term and tangible benefits of your curiosity. Discuss how this experience has influenced your growth, changed your perspective, or contributed to your success in other areas.

HBS Essay Tips for Success

1. be specific and concrete.

Avoid vague generalizations and instead focus on giving specific examples that illustrate your points. Use detailed anecdotes to bring your experiences to life. Whether you’re discussing a professional achievement, a leadership challenge, or a moment of curiosity, specificity will make your essay more engaging and memorablee. Writing descriptive stories with clear points and imagery allow the admissions committee to better visualize your experiences and understand your unique journey, and will ultimately benefit your application in the long run.

2. Focus on Leadership and Growth

Leadership and growth are central themes in the HBS essays. Highlight instances where you’ve demonstrated leadership, invested in others, and pursued personal and professional growth. Reflect on how these experiences have shaped your leadership style and growth mindset. By letting your leadership potential and commitment to continuous improvement shine through to the admissions committee, you’ll prove that you’re a perfect match with HBS’s core values.

3. Maintain Professionalism

While it’s important to be authentic and personal, make sure your essays maintain a professional tone. Especially for the business-minded essay, focus on professional experiences and how they have influenced your career choices. Striking the right balance between personal insight and professional achievement is crucial for a compelling narrative.

4. Seek Feedback

Once you’ve drafted your essays, seek feedback from trusted mentors, peers, or professional advisors. Fresh perspectives can help provide valuable insights and help you refine your narrative. Be open to constructive criticism and use it to enhance the clarity, coherence, and impact of your essays.

5. Edit and Proofread

Keeping any given feedback in mind, carefully edit and proofread your essays to ensure they are free from any grammatical errors and typos. Clear, error-free writing tells the admissions committee that you have a strong attention to detail and commitment to excellence. Reading your essays aloud or using text-to-speech tools can help catch errors you might miss while reading silently. A polished essay enhances your professionalism and credibility.

By following these tips, you’ll be on the right track to write essays that not only meet the HBS application requirements but also perfectly embody your unique strengths, experiences, and aspirations. Good luck with your application process!

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At Leland, we have a broad network of world-class coaches who can help with any part of the MBA application. Many of them are experts in essay writing, browse them here. Want to work with an HBS alum who has first-hand experience with the Harvard application process? As for some of our highest-rated MBA admissions coaches, you can browse them all here .

HBS New Essays FAQs

How do Harvard’s new essay prompts differ from last year?

• The essay prompts for the 2024-2025 application cycle differ drastically from the previous year. Instead of HBS' traditional one essay requirement - "Is there anything else we should know about you?" - applicants now have three, shorter prompts to respond to, all targeting a different characteristic (business, leadership, and growth).

How many essays are required for the HBS application?

• For many years, HBS required only one main essay. Starting in 2024, applicants now have three essays.

What is the word limit for HBS essays?

• The word limit for the new HBS essays is as follows: 300 words for the business-minded prompt and 250 words each for the leadership-focused and growth-oriented prompts. As you’re writing your essay, remember to stick to this limit to keep your essay concise and focused. Being able to stay within the word limit while still writing a strong essay is the best way to demonstrate your ability to communicate effectively.

Can I reuse essays from other applications?

• While it may be easy to draw inspiration from essays written for other applications, each response should be tailored specifically to HBS’s prompts. Doing this helps you better present yourself as the kind of hard-working, dedicated student HBS is looking for and highlights why you are a good fit for their program. Likewise, admissions officers can quickly spot when someone is using a fill-in-the-blank style of essay, so always make sure your essay is original and direct.

How important are the essays compared to other application components?

• Essays are a critical part of the HBS application as they offer the only opportunity for you to trusly share your voice with the admissions committee. Because of this, the essays represent your chance to showcase your personality, values, and potential fit with the HBS community. While other components of your application such as test scores, resumes, and recommendations are also important, the essays help provide personal context and depth to your overall application.

When is the deadline for the HBS application?

• Deadlines for this year’s application cycle are September 4th, 2024 for Round 1 and January 6th, 2025 for Round 2. Admissions decisions will be released by December 10 and January 6 for each respective round.

For more expert advice on writing your essay and other critical components of your MBA program applications, take a look through the following articles:

• Harvard Business School: MBA Program & Application Overview
• How to Write a Powerful MBA Essay
• A Comprehensive MBA Timeline–With Chart
• How to Ace the HBS MBA Interview
• The HBS Waitlist Strategy
• Harvard Business School MBA Application Deadlines
• How I Got Into Harvard Business School With Low Test Scores

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Revealed: Harvard Business School’s New MBA Essays For Applicants

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Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.

With just 10 weeks before its first application deadline on Sept. 4th, Harvard Business School today (June 25) revealed a newly revised application for MBA candidates, including a new set of three short essays along with a refresh on how it will evaluate applicants for future classes.

The new prompts?

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)

NEW HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAYS PUT THROUGH BY NEW MBA ADMISSIONS CHIEF

Eagerly awaited by thousands of prospective students and admission consultants, you can bet that the admissions pages of the HBS website were continually refreshed all morning for a glimpse at the new essay. The Harvard Business School essay prompt for the Class of 2027 was posted at 10:30 a.m. with the opening of the 2024-2025 application online.

This year’s change was put through by Rupal Gadhia , who joined the school as managing director of admissions and financial aid last October. A 2004 Harvard MBA, Gadhia came to the school with no previous admissions experience, having been the global head of marketing for SharkNinja robots.

In explaining the change in a blog post , Gadhia noted that “we have refreshed the criteria on which we evaluate candidates. We are looking for applicants who are business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented…This is your opportunity to discuss meaningful or formative experiences that are important to you that you haven’t had a chance to fully explore elsewhere in your application…Be authentic, be yourself.”

WHAT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL IS REALLY LOOKING FOR IN THE NEW ESSAYS

The school added some context to its new criteria for admission, more clearly defining what it means by business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented.

Business-Minded

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about using business as a force for good – who strive to improve and transform companies, industries, and the world. We are seeking those who are eager to solve today’s biggest problems and shape the future through creative and integrated thinking. Being business-minded is about the interest to help organizations succeed, whether in the private, public, or non-profit sector. This business inclination can be found in individuals with a variety of professional and educational experiences, not just those who come from traditional business backgrounds.

In Your Application: We will look for evidence of your interpersonal skills, quantitative abilities, and the ways in which you plan to create impact through business in the future.

Leadership-Focused

We are looking for individuals who aspire to lead others toward making a difference in the world, and those who recognize that to build and sustain successful organizations, they must develop and nurture diverse teams. Leadership takes many forms in many contexts – you do not have to have a formal leadership role to make a difference. We deliberately create a class that includes different kinds of leaders, from the front-line manager to the startup founder to the behind-the-scenes thought leader.

In Your Application: Your leadership impact may be most evident in extracurriculars, community initiatives, or your professional work.

Growth-Oriented

We are looking for individuals who desire to broaden their perspectives through creative problem solving, active listening, and lively discussion. At HBS you will be surrounded by future leaders from around the world who will make you think more expansively about what impact you might have. Our case and field-based learning methods depend on the active participation of curious students who are excited to listen and learn from faculty and classmates, as well as contribute their own ideas and perspectives.

In Your Application: We will look for the ways in which you have grown, developed, and how you engage with the world around you.

TIGHTER TIMEFRAME FOR ROUND ONE APPLICANTS

The new essay prompts come  nearly two months after candidates to the school’s MBA program would more typically know what was expected of them. Some admission consultants say the delay over the prompt’s release, along with nearly a month’s slow down in releasing application deadlines, is “wildly insensitive” to applicants who will have less time than normal to prepare for the round one deadline of Sept. 4th.

That’s especially true because the most successful applicants to HBS have highly demanding jobs that consume the vast majority of their time. Many candidates go through multiple drafts of their essays to get them as close to perfection as humanly possible. MBA admission consultants are expecting a lot of up-to-the-deadline work this year to help prep candidates for Harvard and other top business schools.

The new application still preserves the post-interview reflection for applicants who are invited to a 30-minute admissions interview. Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to submit a written reflection through the school’s online application system.

REACTION TO THE NEW CHANGE IS MIXED

Early reaction to the change suggests the likelihood of mixed reviews. “This is an uninspired and odd set of questions,” says Sandy Kreisberg, founder of HBSGuru.com and an MBA admissions consultant who closely reads the tea leaves of Harvard’s admissions process. “I don’t know how it’s different from what else do you want us to know about you, frankly,” he adds in a reference to last year’s single essay prompt.

“HBS has certainly moved from the abstract to the concrete,” believes Jeremy Shinewald, founder and CEO of mbaMission, a leading MBA admissions consulting firm. “Some applicants previously felt like they didn’t know where to start and some weren’t sure if they had answered the question, even when they were done. Now, the questions are quite straightforward and all have a cause and effect relationship — one where the applicant discusses the past to reveal the present or future. Smart applicants will understand how to share their experiences and, more importantly, how to relay their values. Some will mistakenly try to whack HBS over the head with stories of their epic feats, but the key isn’t to brag or embellish – the key is to simply create a clear relationship, via narrative, between past experience and true motivations.”

Shinewald found it astonishing that Harvard could not have made the change earlier. “It is, of course, surprising that HBS left applicants on edge until the last minute, all to create very traditional essays,” he adds. “As applicants learn in MBA classrooms, change can be hard and take time. The bottom line here is that these essays are somewhat of an applicant’s dream – they allow the savvy applicant to play to their strengths and draw on their best anecdotes and experiences to create a complete story. Some applicants will lament the absence of a ‘Why HBS?’ prompt, but my guess is that the admissions committee recognized that they would get an almost homogenous collection of essays touting the case method and other well known features. HBS gets some kudos for keeping the focus on the applicant.”

Adds Petia Whitmore of My MBA Path: “I think they reflect one of the traits of this new generation of candidates which is that they don’t handle ambiguity well. So it seems like Harvard had to spell out what they’re looking for way more prescriptively than in the past.”

Some, however, find the new essays a return to the past. “To me, the prompts feel quite regressive, and a return to the more formulaic approach that pervaded MBA applications two decades ago,” believes Justin Marshall, a New York-based MBA admissions consultant. “Because the previous prompt was so open ended, it forced applicants to be introspective and self-aware. You couldn’t just ramble for 900 words; you had to identify themes in your life to show how your personal experiences shaped your values, your leadership style, and your goals. Comparatively, these new prompts are much more paint-by-numbers. Applicants will likely cover the same ground in terms of topic, but there’s very little room for nuance and self-expression. I think it will be harder for applicants with less conventional backgrounds and experiences to differentiate themselves. I’m sure HBS grew tired of reading so many painfully earnest ‘life story’ essays, but I suspect they’ll soon find themselves yearning for essays that have a heartbeat and personality. 250 words just doesn’t allow for that unless you’re a very crafty writer.”

Whatever the case, getting into Harvard’s MBA program is still a daunting exercise. Last year, 1,076 of the 8,264 candidates who applied for admission to Harvard Business School gained admission, an acceptance rate of 13.2%, making HBS the second most selective prestige MBA program in the country after Stanford Graduate School of Business which had an admit rate of 8.4%. Harvard saw a 15.4% drop in MBA applications from the 9,773 it received a year-earlier.

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School must provide an additional essay: How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (up to 400 words)

BIGGEST CHANGE IN HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAY IN NEARLY A DECADE

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences must provide an additional essay: The MS/MBA Engineering Sciences program is focused on entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. Describe your past experiences in these areas and your reasons for pursuing a program with this focus. (recommended length: 500 words). Applicants will also be able to respond to an optional essay.

In any case, it’s the biggest change in Harvard Business School’s application in nearly a decade. The last time HBS made a major switch, moving to the essay prompt it just eliminated, was in 2016. That change to just one essay with no word limit and a post-interview reflection was made by then admissions chief Dee Leopold.

When Leopold applied to Harvard as an MBA candidate in 1978, she had to write eight essays. Over her years as managing director of admissions, she first cut the essays down to four and then one, making it optional, and finally the one last prompt with a post-interview reflection, saying that applying to HBS should not be a writing contest .

OUR BUSINESS CASUAL PODCAST: The New HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA Application:   Fortuna Admissions’ Caroline Diarte-Edwards and ApplicantLab’s Maria Wich-Vila join P&Q’s John A. Byrne to offer applicant advice on how to answer the new HBS essay prompts

DON’T MISS: 2024-2024 MBA APPLICATION DEADLINES or  HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL WILL NOW UPDATE ITS MBA ESSAY 

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The Olin MBA admissions essay: Focusing on what makes your experience and values unique

• June 10, 2024
• By WashU Olin Business School
• 3 minute read

Every student applying to an MBA program wants to be seen as exceptional in some way.

Without appearing as a vain Hercules on paper, there are methods to convey value as a prospective student without resorting to worn clichés or unsubstantiated claims.   

Olin Business School places a high value on equity, diversity, and inclusion. They believe a diverse student body is beneficial to all MBA students. A student's life experiences can make them a valuable member of Olin's student body and the way they communicate their experience matters. Here are four MBA application essay tips that have helped prospective students get accepted into Olin Business School.

They don't use AI

It might sound tempting to use AI to make essays sound professional; however, let's discuss how AI operates. AI functions by mining the internet for content, which it then repurposes into (supposedly) new forms. If this seems a lot like plagiarism, that's because it's a legal gray area that has not yet been fully reconciled with existing legal definitions of plagiarism.

Since AI uses existing content as a model, the essay it produces may sound bland and uninspired. A student's voice and personality may not shine through as much. If a student wants to stand out in the MBA admission process, they will need to sound wholly original to themselves.

They show (rather than tell) their story

Besides ensuring the MBA admission essay communicates how a student prevents errors from slipping by undetected, this is an opportunity for them to narrate their life and be creative.

An essay prompt is presented in the online application, giving prospective students an opportunity to share their values, strengths and weaknesses. The essay is their time to provide the committee with a narrative and showcase their creativity and the impact they hope to have on those around them. They should use this opportunity to tell their story, allowing the committee to see the person they are and the person they hope to become. Students should demonstrate how they are living out their values with real-life examples. They must ask themselves, "What can I bring to Olin that no one else can?" and communicate this with confidence.

They demonstrate why they chose Olin

When a prospective student is writing, they should focus on why the MBA program at Olin can help them achieve their goals and how Olin Business School can help them make the impact they're aiming to make on the world. Every student should take time to reflect on what they hope to get out of an MBA degree and determine what factors are most important to the program they intend to pursue.

They don't use generic templates

No matter how many MBA programs a student may wish to apply to, they should write a new essay for each program from scratch. They shouldn't rely on a generic template and simply change a few words.

Students should slow down and spend ample time writing something unique—it makes a big difference. The evaluators of MBA admission essays can easily detect a generic essay, as it often lacks relevance and focus.

It's easy to discern whether prospective students have thoroughly contemplated their MBA admission essay or merely checked it off their to-do list. If they are unsure whether their essay reads well or aligns with the prompt, they should ask someone they trust to read their essay. Then, they should ask this person to tell them what they assumed the prompt was. Their response will help the student determine if their essay is aligned with the prompt or if adjustments are needed.   

About the Author

WashU Olin Business School

Firmly established at the Gateway to the West, Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis stands as the gateway to something far grander in scale. The education we deliver prepares our students to thoughtfully make difficult decisions—the kind that can change the world.

For assistance in finding faculty experts, please contact Washington University Public Affairs.

Monday–Friday, 8:30 to 5 p.m.

Sara Savat, Senior News Director, Business and Social Sciences 314-935-9615 [email protected]

Kurt Greenbaum, Communications Director 314-935-7196 [email protected]

Twitter: WUSTLnews

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Harvard business school announces 3 new application essays.

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Harvard Business School.

Harvard Business School announced a surprising departure from its single, open-ended application essay to three short essays with specific prompts. The HBS website sums up the kind of applicant the school is seeking: “We are looking for future leaders who are passionate about business, leadership, and growth.”

The prompts for the class that will begin in fall 2025 instruct applicants to address each topic in turn.

• 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 prompts ask applicants to go beyond simply asserting their allegiance to the ideals of business, leadership and growth. Each of the three questions asks for evidence: “experiences,” “experiences” and “an example,” respectively.

The prompts do not expect a straightforward list of what happened in the past. Rather, they encourage reflection on how these experiences affected present realities and future goals.

Applicants are asked to reflect on past, present and future as an ongoing process of becoming who they are now and who they wish to become. Even the “Business-Minded Essay” is about past choices and future impact; it also assumes you “plan to serve.” The “Leadership-Focused Essay” does not ask applicants to recite a list of titles, but to discuss who they are and how they relate to others; not what title they aspire to, but “what kind of leader you wish to become.”

Perhaps the most surprising essay prompt is No. 3, which asks about curiosity. It opens the door for applicants to discuss a more personal aspect of their candidacies. The prompt asks not about end result, but about the process of change. Once again, the emphasis is on “growth.”

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In short, the prompts ask about person and process.

How The 3 New Prompts Differ From Last Year’s Single Question

This year’s prompts give applicants more direction than the previous open-ended instruction, which was: “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?”

Applicants may find it easier to follow these more detailed instructions and to stay on topic. They no longer need to face an open question and a blank page.

Another aid is the shorter word limit. The essay on being business-minded has a limit of 300 words, and the essays on leadership and growth through curiosity are limited to 250 words each.

A third difference is the specific inquiry about business. Last year’s prompt allowed candidates to choose anything they thought would be important for HBS to consider. Some applicants struggled to decide whether to focus on business or something beyond work. While the “Business-Minded Essay” is still personal, it does ask applicants to reflect on their careers.

One might also speculate that the new, more directive prompts makes it easier for the admissions committee to compare essays across applications, while still leaving room for considerable variation in how applicants choose to address the essay prompts.

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Guest Essay

I Know What America’s Leading C.E.O.s Really Think of Donald Trump

By Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld

Dr. Sonnenfeld is the president of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.

Recent headlines suggest that our nation’s business leaders are embracing the presidential candidate Donald Trump. His campaign would have you believe that our nation’s top chief executives are returning to support Mr. Trump for president, touting declarations of support from some prominent financiers like Steve Schwarzman and David Sacks.

That is far from the truth. They didn’t flock to him before , and they certainly aren’t flocking to him now. Mr. Trump continues to suffer from the lowest level of corporate support in the history of the Republican Party.

I know this because I work with roughly 1,000 chief executives a year, running a school for them, which I started 35 years ago, and I speak with business leaders almost every day. Our surveys show that 60 to 70 percent of them are registered Republicans .

The reality is that the top corporate leaders working today, like many Americans, aren’t entirely comfortable with either Mr. Trump or President Biden. But they largely like — or at least can tolerate — one of them. They truly fear the other.

If you want the most telling data point on corporate America’s lack of enthusiasm for Mr. Trump, look where they are investing their money. Not a single Fortune 100 chief executive has donated to the candidate so far this year, which indicates a major break from overwhelming business and executive support for Republican presidential candidates dating back over a century, to the days of Taft and stretching through Coolidge and the Bushes, all of whom had dozens of major company heads donating to their campaigns.

Mr. Trump secured the White House partly by tapping into the anticorporate, populist messaging of Bernie Sanders, who was then a candidate, a move that Mr. Trump discussed with me when I met him in 2015. The strategy might have won voters but did little to enhance Mr. Trump’s image with the business community. And while a number of chief executives tried to work with Mr. Trump as they would with any incumbent president and many celebrated his move to cut the corporate tax rate, wariness persisted.

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