Transitioning from the military to Harvard MBA is not a dream of many when there is close to 20% unemployment rate among American Military veterans.  Such ambitious goals are feasible only for a select few who have understood how to structure their Harvard MBA application, including essays and recommendation letters.

There is no harm in mentioning your entrepreneurial father/mother running the department store or small business. In the Harvard MBA Essay, one of the commonly cited narratives is around values that Asian parents pass on.

While editing Harvard MBA Essays, a common challenge I faced as an editor was the transition from the personal to the action part of the essay.

A common mistake I have seen while collaborating with applicants with background in contracts or someone whose job is to do due diligence is the focus on perfecting the MBA essay right from the start.

What happens is that the story elements become weaker, and the essay is a perfect version with no unique voice.

Schools have tried disrupting the application process with tweet essay, video essay, and image-based questions. From the many disruptions, the video essay has become a supplemental essay for many top MBA. Harvard Business School has continued with this one question:

I have obsessively ingrained the idea of Structure in all my MBA Application Essay Guides. Some applicants take this idea to the extreme and reach out with special requests.

A few years back, a client asked for edit help with one condition: the opening lines of the four paragraphs shouldn’t be touched. Rest all, she was open to editing comments.

Those who have applied to master’s or undergraduate degrees in the US are aware of the Statement of Purpose or Purpose statement. It is a 250-500 word essay citing why a program and the degree is right for an applicant.

In MBA programs, the purpose statement is known as the Goals Essay.

All MBA applicants have a purpose. Some are scared; some are embarrassed; some are not sure if such deep introspection is required, but all of them would love to share their core story when the right person asks them.

This is one of the common reasons why a GMAT 750 or someone with an excellent GPA gets dinged. They don’t ask themselves, “What is my Purpose?”