M7 and Top 50 MBA - Essay Questions (2027 Entering Class)

We at F1GMAT have collected the application essays of the top 50 MBA programs for the 2026-27 admissions cycle (the Class of 2029, matriculating in fall 2027).

This breakdown of the top 50 MBA applications covers:

Themes covered in MBA Application Essays

The questions carry several broad essay themes. The themes that recur across most schools this cycle are:

1) Goals is the theme the most schools ask about. The short-term goal appears in almost every application and the mid-term goal in fewer, and this cycle it moved into video and character-limited short answers at Chicago Booth (300 characters), Columbia (50 characters), Tepper, McCombs, Haas, and Merage.

2) Inclusion, how you collaborate across differences and build a team where people belong, lost the most ground since last year.

USC Marshall removed its teamwork essay, and Berkeley Haas renamed its diversity prompt as "distance traveled," a softer positioning that was the result of the 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling.

Rochester Simon still asks the question without any change because of its demographic focus.

3) Career choices, the experiences that shaped the direction of your career, continues to be a prominent theme.

Harvard's business-minded essay asks how your choices shaped your path, and Vanderbilt Owen added a career-journey reflection to its first question.

4) Curiosity is a common theme now, led by Harvard's growth-oriented essay that asks for one example of curiosity, a prompt that is tough to phrase with AI as there are several introspecting questions that leads to that moment.

5) Values, the principles you commit to and act on, appears in more applications this cycle.

Texas McCombs added a core-value essay, and UNC Kenan-Flagler asks which of its four core values fits your professional path.

6) Community, your contribution to the school and your record of investing in others, stays for top schools explicitly and expected in the goals essay if there are no dedicated section for your potential contributions.

Kellogg's second essay part asks how you will contribute to classmates, and UCLA Anderson asks how your classmates will describe you by graduation.

7) Leadership, a theme across top MBA programs, has several contexts. The most memorable are around circumventing tough circumstances and taking agency to change your reality.

ISB reworded its first essay around the kind of leader you want to become, and Harvard's leadership essay asks how you invest in others.

8) Uniqueness, the traits and experiences that set you apart, lost a prominent supporter as Rotman have retired its 1,000-word essay. London Business School still asks what makes you unique but only in 200 words.

9) Impact appears mostly as themes within the goals essay.

Yale has a challenge essay that asks how you overcame your most significant challenge and how it shaped you. This is the most direct IMPACT essay question.

The essay theme covered by most top MBA programs

Goals is the theme that the largest number of 2026-27 applications ask about.

Almost every school asks for the short-term post-MBA goal, and many pair it with a mid-term or long-term goal.

Harvard opens with a business-minded essay on how the applicant's choices shaped their career path.

Wharton asks for the immediate post-MBA goal in 50 words.

Chicago Booth splits the goal into two 300-character short answers, one for the immediate plan and one for the long-term plan.

Columbia caps the immediate goal at 50 characters.

Cornell asks the applicant to name the role, company, and industry for two time horizons.

The goals theme is the foundation of all your application essays.

Understand placement trends before sharing realistic goals.

The theme that lost ground since last year in MBA Application

Inclusion is the theme that lost the most ground since last year.

USC Marshall removed the teamwork essay that carried its collaboration prompt.

Berkeley Haas renamed its diversity question as "distance traveled" and framed it around the circumstances that shaped the applicant.

Several schools now fold the topic into a broad background or community essay in place of a direct diversity question.

The theme an MBA applicant could game most easily with AI

Goals is also the theme an applicant could most easily fabricate with a chatbot.

A model produces a coherent short-term and long-term career arc for almost any profile from public information.

A goals essay drafted by AI reads as fluent and on-topic even when the applicant did little of the thinking.

The why-school essay is the next easiest to fake, because a model can name the courses and clubs on a school's public pages without the applicant having spoken to a single student or alumnus.

An experienced reviewer or an admissions person recognizes the voice of an AI-generated essay. They are fluent and unrealistically symmetrical in structure. Humans pivot in an unsymmetric way.

The second tell is the lack of connection between the essay, the resume and the recommendation letter. Although not foolproof in detecting AI, the lack of similar context in the recommendation letter is now proof that the essay was fabricated or embellished with AI.

It is even more important now to brainstorm with the recommender before finalizing the essay. We streamline the process with the guideline document.

Another way to detect AI-written essays is the dramatic shift in voice between the polished written essay and the video essay. The interview performance is another red flag.

Schools increasingly use video assessments and timed writing prompts (like MIT Sloan's pop-up video or Kira assessments used by IESE, Oxford, IE, and Ivey). A person who writes in fluent prose will not struggle with storytelling in interviews.

Keep the performance consistent across the deliverable.

Chicago Booth shortened the goals essay to 300 characters and Columbia to 50.

Carnegie Mellon Tepper, Texas McCombs, Berkeley Haas, and UC Irvine Merage moved the goals statement into a recorded video, where the applicant answers on camera with little time to prepare.

The most-covered theme and the most gameable theme are the same, which is why goals now appears more often in video and in character-limited short answers than in a full essay.

What changed for 2026-27 MBA Application

Several programs rewrote their applications for the Class of 2029. The schools with the largest changes:

• Chicago Booth replaced its 250-word goals essay and photo essay with four short-answer prompts of 300 characters each (two goals prompts, an image prompt, and a fun-fact prompt).
• Kellogg shortened its two written essays and short-answer goals questions into one 550-word essay in two parts and expanded the video component from three questions to five.
• NYU Stern retired the "Change: ___ it" essay and lengthened its career-goals essay to a 500-word Professional Aspirations essay. The Pick Six visual essay remains.
• Darden trimmed to two 200-word essays and added a new video component.
• UCLA Anderson replaced its prior prompts with three new short essays of 250, 200, and 50 words.
• Ross reworded Essay 1 around leveraging "the Ross MBA and its program offerings" and introduced three new Part 2 options.
• Berkeley Haas turned its signature prompt into a video with a self-introduction and added an adaptability narrative to the goals essay.
• Columbia kept its three essays and added a new short answer for international applicants.
• Stanford updated Essay B to "Why Stanford for you?" and Wharton reworded the second short-answer goal.

Schools that added video or timed video essay formats in MBA Application

Berkeley Haas turned its signature "what makes you feel alive" prompt into a one-to-two-minute video.

Texas McCombs added a four-question video assessment that the applicant completes within seven days of submission.

Carnegie Mellon Tepper moved its career-goals statement into a two-minute video.

Georgetown McDonough added a one-minute video on what recently brought the applicant joy.

IESE, Oxford Saïd, IE, and Ivey each added a Kira Talent video assessment that the applicant records after submitting the written application.

Vanderbilt Owen, NUS, Notre Dame Mendoza, and Emory Goizueta each added a video alongside their essays.

Darden added a video to its two short written essays.

BU Questrom now lets the applicant replace the written essay with three recorded video answers.

The common thread across this group is a shift toward answers the applicant has to give live.

Top MBA programs that shortened or rewrote the essay prompts

Chicago Booth replaced its 250-word goals essay and its photo essay with four short answers of 300 characters each.

Columbia added a 50-character short answer for international applicants.

UCLA Anderson set three short essays of 250, 200, and 50 words.

UNC Kenan-Flagler moved from two 500-word essays to three of 250 words.

Georgia Tech Scheller reworded its goals essay to ask for the short-term goal only.

NYU Stern retired its abstract "Change: ___ it" essay and put a concrete 500-word professional-aspirations essay in its place.

UC Irvine Merage dropped its emerging-trend essay, and asks for a background essay instead.

ISB reworded its first essay around leadership.

USC Marshall removed its teamwork essay and kept a single career-goals essay.

Schools that re-framed its prompt according to the job market and visa environment

Berkeley Haas added a clause that asks how the applicant will stay adaptable as the career evolves, which hints at a less predictable hiring market post-MBA.

Columbia's new short answer asks international applicants why they want to study in the United States, a question that reflects current visa uncertainty.

UW Foster replaced its resilience essay with a prompt that asks the applicant to choose one part of the Foster mission statement and connect it to their own life.

Kellogg's second essay part now asks what the applicant will contribute to classmates, a move away from what the applicant will gain with Kellogg MBA.

Smaller changes in MBA Essays

ESADE widened its four main essays to 3,000 characters each, and HEC Paris restated its limits in characters.

IMD replaced its single story essay with two 400-word essays, one on the experiences that shaped the applicant and one on the development they hope to explore at IMD.

Rice Jones, Rochester Simon, WashU Olin, and Indiana Kelley each added or clarified an optional essay.

Michigan Ross reworded its first essay around the Ross program offerings and added in three new second-essay options.

Top MBA Programs that kept the Essay the Same

Harvard, MIT Sloan, Yale, Cambridge Judge, SDA Bocconi, HKUST, and WHU kept the prompt unchanged.

MBA Essay Questions of the M7 and Global Top 50 MBA programs (2026-27)

Harvard

Harvard Business School confirmed the same three prompts as the prior year for the Class of 2029 (matriculating fall 2027). Round 1 closes on September 9, 2026, and Round 2 on January 5, 2027.

Full-Time MBA

Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your choices have influenced your career path and aspirations. (300 words)

Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead? (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. (250 words)

Joint Degree Essays

Joint degree applicants for 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)

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), with an optional essay also available.

Deferred MBA (2+2)

2+2 applicants respond to three prompts: What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead? (approximately 300 words); Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (approximately 300 words); How do the plans you shared in the Career section of the application fit into your current long-term career vision? What skills and/or professional experiences do you hope to obtain in the deferral period that will help build the foundation for your post-MBA career? (approximately 300 words)

Related: Harvard MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

Stanford

Stanford GSB posted the same two required essays for the 2026-27 cycle, with the second prompt updated to "Why Stanford for you?"

Full-Time MBA

Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (up to 650 words)

Essay B: Why Stanford for you? Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will help you realize them. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use this essay to address your interest in both programs. (up to 350 words)

Optional short answer: Think about a time in the last five years when you've created a significant positive impact, whether in professional, extracurricular, civic, or academic settings. What was the situation, what did you do, and what was the impact?

Joint Degree

How will you enhance the MSx community? (required only if you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs)

Related: Stanford MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

Wharton

Wharton kept its two-essay structure for the Class of 2029 and reworded the second short-answer goal.

Full-Time MBA

Essay 1, two short-answer questions: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 words) Describe your medium- and long-term professional goals after your Wharton MBA. (150 words)

Essay 2: Taking into consideration your background, personal, professional, and/or academic, how do you plan to add meaningful value to the Wharton community? (350 words)

Reapplicant: Please use this space to share with the Admissions Committee how you have reflected and grown since your previous application and discuss any relevant updates to your candidacy. (250 words)

Additional information: up to 500 words.

Related: Wharton MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

Chicago Booth

Chicago Booth overhauled its essays for 2026-27. Every candidate now submits four short-answer prompts of 300 characters each instead of the previous 250-word goals essay and photo essay. Round 1 closes on September 15, 2026.

Short-answer prompts, 300 characters each:

• What is your immediate post-MBA career goal?
• What is your long-term post-MBA career goal?
• Upload an image and explain its significance to you.
• Share a fun fact or something unique about yourself.

Optional: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation or additional details you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (Maximum 300 words.)

Reapplicant: Upon reflection, how has your perspective regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (Maximum 300 words.)

Related: Chicago Booth MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

Columbia

Columbia held its three essays steady for 2026-27 and added a short-answer question for international applicants. The two short answers are limited to 50 characters each.

Short Answer 1: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)

Short Answer 2 (August entry): How do you plan to spend the summer after the first year of the MBA? If in an internship, please include target industry(ies) and/or function(s). If you plan to work on your own venture, please indicate a focus of business. (50 characters maximum)

Short Answer 2 (January entry): Why do you prefer the January-entry term? (50 characters maximum)

Short Answer for international applicants only, meaning those who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents: Why do you want to study in the United States? (50 characters maximum)

Essay 1: Through your resume and recommendation, we have a clear sense of your professional path to date. What are your career goals over the next three to five years and what is your long-term dream job? (500 words)

Essay 2: Please share a specific example of how you made a team more collaborative, more inclusive or fostered a greater sense of community within an organization. (250 words)

Essay 3: We believe Columbia Business School is a special place with a collaborative learning environment in which students feel a sense of belonging, agency, and partnership, academically, culturally, and professionally. How would you co-create your optimal MBA experience at CBS? Please be specific. (250 words)

Kellogg

Kellogg rebuilt its application for 2026-27. It replaced its two written essays and short-answer goals questions with one 550-word essay in two parts and grew the video component to five questions.

Written essay, one essay in two parts, 550 words maximum total:

Part I: An MBA is a significant investment of time, energy, and resources, and the decision to pursue one deserves serious reflection. Tell us about the pivotal experiences and decisions that have brought you to this moment in your career, how they have shaped your ambitions, and why now is the right time to take this next step.

Part II: Now turn the lens outward: beyond what you hope to gain, what do you hope to contribute to the students who will learn alongside you?

Video essays: five questions, each with a short preparation window and up to a one-minute response.

Reapplicant: How have you grown or changed personally and professionally since you previously applied and what steps have you taken to become the strongest candidate you can be? (250 words)

Related: Kellogg MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

MIT Sloan

MIT Sloan keeps its cover-letter format for 2026-27, with the "World That Shaped You" short essay required and the video and organizational chart retained.

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

Short-Answer Essay: The World That Shaped You

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 identity. Please use this opportunity if you would like to share more about your background. (250 words or fewer)

Video Questions

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.

Video Question 2: A randomly generated, open-ended question that requires no prior preparation. Applicants are given 10 seconds to prepare for a 60-second response.

Duke Fuqua

Duke Fuqua carries its long-running prompts into 2026-27.

Required short-answer question, 100 words: What are your post-MBA career goals? Share with us your first-choice career plan and your alternate plan.

Question 1, 25 Random Things: The 'Team Fuqua' spirit and community is one of the things that sets the MBA experience apart, and it is a concept that extends beyond the student body to include faculty, staff, and administration. Please share with us "25 Random Things" about you. Share with us important life experiences, your hobbies, achievements, fun facts, or anything that helps us understand what makes you who you are. (2 pages, 750 words maximum, presented as a numbered list 1 to 25)

Question 2, The Fuqua community and you: Based on your understanding of the Fuqua culture, what are 3 ways you expect to contribute at Fuqua? (1 page, 500 words maximum)

London Business School

Essay 1 (500 words): What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these?

Essay 2 (200 words): What makes you unique?

Essay 3 (optional, 500 words): Is there any other information you believe the Admissions Committee should know about you and your application to London Business School?

INSEAD

Job Essays

Question 1: Provide a summary of your career since graduating from university, explaining the rationale behind your key decisions and career progression. Include a description of your current (or most recent) role, covering the scope of your work, major responsibilities, employees under your supervision, budget size, clients/products, and any notable results achieved. (500 words)

Question 2: Describe your short and long-term career aspirations, including your target geography, industry, and function. How do you plan to bridge the gap between your current position and these goals, and how will INSEAD help you achieve them? (300 words)

Motivation Essays

Question 1: Give a candid description of yourself as a person and a leader, emphasising the strengths and weaknesses you recognise in yourself. Explain how you are actively working on your development, sharing key experiences that have shaped you, providing specific examples where relevant. (500 words)

Question 2: Describe a highly stressful situation you faced and how you managed it. What did this experience teach you about yourself and your interactions with others? (400 words)

Question 3: Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (maximum 300 words)

Tuck

Tuck refined its essays for the Class of 2029 and states length in characters. Applicants also give short-term and long-term goals of 300 characters each in the Application Specifics section.

Question 1: Why are you pursuing an MBA and why now? How will the distinct Tuck MBA contribute to achieving your goals and aspirations? What particular aspects of Tuck will be instrumental in your growth? (2,000 characters)

Question 2: Tell us who you are. How have your values and experiences shaped your identity and character? How will your unique background contribute to Tuck and/or enhance the experience of your classmates? (2,000 characters)

Question 3: Describe a time when you meaningfully invested in someone else's success without immediate benefit to yourself. What motivated you, and what was the impact? (2,000 characters)

Reapplicant: How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally and how your understanding of Tuck has developed. (2,000 characters)

Related: Tuck MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

Yale

Yale SOM asks for one required essay in 2026-27 and offers a choice of three prompts with a 500-word maximum. An optional information essay is also available.

Option 1: Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. Why is this commitment meaningful to you and what actions have you taken to support it?

Option 2: Describe the community that has been most meaningful to you. What is the most valuable thing you have gained from being a part of this community and what is the most important thing you have contributed to this community?

Option 3: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced. How have you confronted this challenge and how has it shaped you as a person?

Related: Yale MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

Darden

Darden trimmed its written essays to two short prompts of 200 words each for 2026-27 and added a new video component. Full video details are released when the application opens.

Relationships Matter Here (200 words): What would you want your classmates to know about you that is not on your resume?

Careers With Purpose (200 words): At this time, how would you describe your short-term, post-MBA goal in terms of industry, function, geography, company size and/or mission and how does it align with the long-term vision you have for your career?

Video Essay: a new component this year.

Optional (250 words): If there is further information you believe would be helpful to the Admissions Committee, please provide it.

Related: UVA Darden MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

Haas

Berkeley Haas turned its signature prompt into a video that opens with a self-introduction and added an adaptability clause to the goals essay.

Video Essay: Briefly introduce yourself, then tell us what makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? (video should last 1 to 2 minutes and may not exceed 2 minutes; two recording attempts)

Essay (300 words maximum): What are your post-MBA career goals, and how will the resources at UC Berkeley Haas help you achieve them? How do you plan to remain adaptable as your career evolves?

Distance Traveled (300 words maximum): At Berkeley Haas, we consider "distance traveled" as the contextual information that helps us understand the unique circumstances, challenges, or influences that have shaped your personal and professional journey. Please tell us how these experiences have influenced your perspectives, decisions, and aspirations, and how they contribute to the person you are becoming.

Optional (300 words maximum): additional information for the Admissions Committee.

Related: Berkeley Haas MBA: Essay Analysis and Tips

Ross

Michigan Ross reworded Essay 1 for 2026-27 and replaced its Part 2 options.

Part 1: Career Aspirations (300 words)

What is your short-term career goal, and how do you plan to leverage the Ross MBA and its program offerings in your first role after graduation? Please be specific and answer both parts of this question.

Part 2: Choose one (200 words)

Michigan Ross is proud to support a community of leaders and impact makers who value growth. Choose one of the following prompts and list the prompt you are answering at the top of your response:

• Think of a time something important did not go as planned. What did you do next?
• What is something you worked on for an extended period of time (over six months) that ultimately resulted in a positive outcome? What kept you committed?
• Share an example of a specific situation when your actions created a positive impact on your community or an individual.

Related: Michigan Ross MBA: Essay Tips, Analysis, and Strategies

NYU Stern

NYU Stern retired the "Change: ___ it" essay for 2026-27 and lengthened its career essay to 500 words. The Pick Six visual essay remains.

Essay 1, Professional Aspirations (500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font): What are your short-term career goals? Why is the Stern MBA the necessary next chapter in your professional story? Please be specific.

Essay 2, Personal Expression, also known as "Pick Six": Introduce yourself to the Admissions Committee and to your future classmates using six images and corresponding captions. Your uploaded PDF should contain a brief introduction or overview (no more than 3 sentences), six images that help illustrate your interests, values, motivations, perspective and/or personality, and a one-sentence caption for each image explaining why it was selected.

Additional Information (optional): Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee and/or give context to your application.

UCLA Anderson

UCLA Anderson introduced three new short essays for 2026-27, required for first-time applicants.

Essay 1 (250 words): Describe your short- and long-term post-MBA goals, including your desired role, industry, and examples of target companies. How will an MBA support your path to achieving your goals, and which UCLA Anderson resources do you expect to rely on most to reach them?

Essay 2 (200 words): How do you hope your UCLA Anderson classmates will describe you by the time you graduate? What qualities and/or values do you want to be known for, and how will you demonstrate them as a student leader and community member?

Essay 3 (50 words): What is the first thing you would tell your classmates about yourself upon arriving at Anderson?

Optional Essay: Are there any extenuating circumstances or additional context you would like to share with the Admissions committee?

Cornell

Cornell Johnson released its 2026-27 essays. Confirm the exact wording on Johnson's admissions page before submitting.

Goals Statement Essay (350 words maximum)

Complete the following sentences and answer the short-answer question. Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] within [Industry]. In 5 to 10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) [Role] at [Company] within [Industry]. How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals?

Impact Essay (350 words maximum)

At Cornell, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. How do you intend to make a meaningful impact on the Johnson community?

OR

The Unique Trait that Defines Me (350 words maximum)

What is something unique about you that others will remember you by, and how will this trait help you contribute and engage with the Cornell MBA community?

Park Leadership Fellows Program Essay (500 words)

Describe a past formal or informal leadership experience and how it informs your goals for growth as a leader. How would the Park Leadership Fellowship assist with these goals?

McCombs

McCombs refreshed its essays and now asks for two required responses of 250 words each, an optional statement, and a video assessment. The Fall 2027 application opens in August 2026, with Round 1 due October 15, 2026 ^[19].

Essay 1 (250 words): Imagine yourself at the completion of your MBA journey. Why was pursuing your MBA at Texas McCombs the right decision for your personal and professional growth? Reflect on how you made the most of your time in the program, academically, through hands-on learning opportunities, and within the McCombs community. Full-Time MBA applicants should highlight how they contributed to the McCombs community and used its resources to grow professionally and personally.

Essay 2 (250 words): Reflect on a core value that defines you. Share a specific example of how it has guided your decisions and actions, and explain how it will shape your contributions and growth as a McCombs MBA student. Highlight how this value has influenced your leadership style and life path, and how it will shape your MBA experience.

Optional Statement (250 words): Please explain any gaps in work experience, choice of recommender, and/or academic performance issues that may help the admission committee in reviewing your application.

Video Assessment: all applicants complete a video assessment of four question prompts, with 90 seconds to answer each, within seven days of submitting the application.

IESE

IESE requires two mandatory essays and a video assessment for the September 2026 intake, the Class of 2028, whose application is open ^[23].

Essay 1 (450 words): What are your immediate career goals after graduation and your mid-term career goals five to ten years after graduation? How will the IESE MBA program help you achieve them?

Essay 2 (300 words): What aspects of IESE's program, values, and community resonate most with your personal and professional goals? Please provide specific examples that illustrate why you believe IESE is the best fit for you.

Video assessment: after you submit the written application and pay the fee, you receive a link to answer three questions, with one minute to prepare and one minute and thirty seconds to record each response. The link stays valid for 48 hours.

Oxford

Oxford Saïd keeps one short written essay and pairs it with a required online video assessment through Kira Talent, a recorded-response platform. Reapplicant and 1+1 applicants answer additional prompts ^[24].

Essay (maximum 250 words): Tell us something that is not covered in your application which you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you.

Reapplicants (maximum 250 words): What improvements have you made in your candidacy since you last applied to the Oxford MBA?

1+1 applicants: explain why the additional, non-MBA master's degree is necessary for you and how it fits your career.

Video assessment (Kira Talent): after you submit the written application, you complete an online assessment of three recorded video responses and one written response to questions shown on screen with short preparation time. The assessment is required, and the application is incomplete without it.

Cambridge

Cambridge Judge carries the same four essays into the MBA 2026 intake, whose application is open ^[25].

Essay 1 (up to 500 words): Please provide details of your post-MBA career plans. What are your short and long-term career objectives? How will the Cambridge MBA equip you to achieve these? Looking at your short-term career goal, describe the research you have done to understand how this industry/role/location recruits MBA talent and what they are looking for in a candidate. How confident do you feel about meeting your short-term career goal, what skills/characteristics do you already have, and what preparation are you doing now?

Essay 2 (up to 200 words): Tell us about a time when you made a professional mistake. How could it have ended differently?

Essay 3 (up to 200 words): Tell us about the best team you worked with. What made the team successful?

Essay 4 (up to 200 words): Provide an example of when someone else positively impacted your life. What did you learn from this experience?

HEC Paris

HEC Paris keeps the same five questions and states its limits in characters on the application. HEC runs rolling admissions with monthly deadlines for the September and January intakes ^[26].

Question 1 (3,500 characters): Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective?

Question 2 (2,000 characters): What do you consider your most significant life achievement?

Question 3 (2,000 characters): Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you.

Question 4: Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead. What would it be?

Question 5: Please choose one of the following essays: (a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why? (b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it. (c) What figure do you most admire and why?

SDA Bocconi

SDA Bocconi keeps the same set of eleven short-answer questions, each capped at 280 words, and pairs the written application with a pre-interview video ^[32]. Each answer should not exceed 280 words.

Question 1: What interests and occupations do you pursue in your free time?

Question 2: What do you think you gained from your university studies? Conversely, what important things do you think your studies lacked?

Question 3: Explain the most significant goals you think you have achieved so far and the reasons for their importance in your personal growth.

Question 4: Describe your strong points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.

Question 5: Describe your weak points, personal and professional, explaining why you see them as such.

Question 6: What are the reasons that lead you to apply to the Program at this point in your life?

Question 7: What other possibilities have you seriously considered, apart from the Program, for reaching your goals of personal and professional growth?

Question 8: Where do you wish to pursue your profession after receiving the MBA? Where? Why?

Question 9: What are your short-term professional goals (within the next 3 to 5 years)?

Question 10: What are your long-term professional goals?

Question 11: How do you expect to finance your Program studies?

Tepper

Tepper requires one written essay of 500 words maximum, chosen from two prompts, plus a video essay on career goals and an optional essay. The application opens in August ^[20].

Written essay, choose one (500 words maximum). Option 1: At Tepper, we value leaders who can make confident decisions when facing complexity and uncertainty. Tell us about a time when you had to take action without having all of the answers. How did you navigate the situation and what was the outcome? Option 2: The Tepper School of Business is committed to helping students reach their full potential by supporting their professional and personal transformation. How do you hope to transform, both professionally and personally, during your time in the program? Please describe your development goals and the steps you plan to achieve them.

Video essay (required): Please describe your post-MBA career goals. You have up to two minutes to respond and should be as specific as possible about the role, company, or function that interests you.

Optional essay: Convey important information you were not otherwise able to share, for example context for a test score, an employment gap, or a recommender choice. Reapplicants use this space to detail how their candidacy has strengthened.

McDonough

Georgetown McDonough requires two essays. The first is a written essay chosen from three prompts of 500 words each (approximately two pages, double-spaced); include the prompt and your name at the top. The second is a one-minute video. An optional essay and a reapplicant essay are also available ^[21].

Written essay, choose one (500 words). Georgetown Community (Principled Leadership): Share how your educational, familial, cultural, economic, social, and/or other individual life experiences will contribute to the diversity of perspectives and ideas at Georgetown University. Cura Personalis: Please reflect on a specific instance where you exemplified cura personalis, care of the person, by supporting a teammate or coworker. Describe the particular actions you took to guide them, explain the impact of these efforts, and discuss how you would contribute to the collaborative environment at Georgetown McDonough. Achieving Excellence: Please reflect on a professional experience from your resume where you achieved outstanding results. Describe why this experience exemplified excellence, highlight the strengths or skills you utilized, and share how these qualities will help you leave a legacy at Georgetown.

Video essay (one minute): In one minute, share what has recently brought you joy outside of work. The committee asks for an unscripted, conversational video in which you appear on camera for part of the recording.

UNC

UNC Kenan-Flagler changed to three required short essays of 250 words each, plus a 100-word reapplicant essay and an optional essay ^[22].

Essay 1 (250 words): We value the different paths and aspirations that each student brings to the UNC Kenan-Flagler community. Please share your goals for pursuing an MBA, or the path you're considering, and how they reflect your unique background or perspective.

Essay 2 (250 words): UNC Kenan-Flagler is guided by four core values that shape who we are: impact, innovation, inclusion, and integrity. Which one of these Core Values resonates most deeply with your professional journey? Please share an example that demonstrates how this value has influenced your actions or decisions.

Essay 3 (250 words): The strength of our community is enriched by the range of personal and professional experiences our students contribute to the Full-Time MBA Program. What aspects of your background would you draw upon to enhance classroom conversations and co-curricular life at UNC Kenan-Flagler?

Reapplicant (100 words): Describe how your application differs from your previous submission, and note new test scores, a recent promotion, or other areas that demonstrate how you have strengthened your candidacy.

Rice Jones

Rice Business keeps its two short career-goal answers and the photo creative essay, and it also offers an optional essay ^[27].

Short Answer 1 (100 words): In 100 words or less, please share your short-term career goals.

Short Answer 2 (100 words): In 100 words or less, please share your long-term career goals.

Required Creative Essay: While we know a picture is worth 1000 words, in 500 words or less tell us the story of a photo of your choosing that has significant value in your life experiences. You can complete this essay via a traditional written response (500-word limit) or via a video response (one to three-minute time limit).

Optional Essay (500 words maximum): Include this essay if you have additional information for the admissions committee or if you wish to clarify any aspect of your application, for example breaks in employment, your choice of recommendation providers, or your past academic performance.

Vanderbilt Owen

Vanderbilt Owen expanded Statement 1 to 400 words with a career-journey reflection and replaced its second statement with a 300-word challenge essay. Applicants also record a short video essay ^[28].

Statement 1 (400 words): As you contemplate your post-MBA aspirations, walk us through your career journey thus far and share two post-MBA career paths you aim to explore during the Vanderbilt MBA program. Please articulate what in your career journey has led to your decision to pursue an MBA, and touch on skills you have developed that will help you achieve your post-MBA career plans.

Statement 2 (300 words): Reflect on a challenge or stressful situation you have faced. How did you respond to this challenge, and what did you learn about yourself through the process?

Optional Explanatory Statement: You may provide an additional statement to briefly explain anything that is not already addressed elsewhere in your application, for example employment gaps, a missing supervisor recommendation, or academic performance.

Video Essay: applicants complete a short video response as a required part of the application.

NUS

NUS keeps its two essays for the August 2026 intake, the Class of 2028, and adds an optional information essay and a video assessment ^[29].

Question 1 (350 words): How do you plan to spend your time on The NUS MBA to transform yourself personally and professionally? Briefly describe your experience to date, and how this and The NUS MBA can help you achieve your mid and long-term career goals.

Question 2 (250 words): How have people, events, and/or situations in your life influenced who you are today?

Additional Information (200 words): Is there any additional information relevant to your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee?

Video Assessment: after the application is verified, NUS emails a link to record one interview question, with two attempts, one minute to prepare, and up to three minutes for each recording. This is separate from the live admissions interview.

Kelley

Kelley keeps the same three prompts and offers an optional information essay ^[30].

Question 1 (500 words): Discuss your immediate post-MBA professional goals. How will your professional experience, when combined with a Kelley MBA degree, allow you to achieve these goals? Should the short-term goals you have identified not materialize, what alternate career paths might you consider?

Question 2 (300 words): Respond to one of the following short essay prompts: (a) My greatest memory is... (b) I'm most afraid of... (c) My greatest challenge has been... (d) I'm most proud of...

Question 3 (25 words): Share a brief fact about yourself that your classmates would find interesting, surprising, or noteworthy.

Optional: Is there anything else that you think we should know as we evaluate your application?

Foster

Foster replaced its resilience essay with a mission-statement essay for the Autumn 2027 intake, whose application opens July 1, 2026, with Round 1 due October 1, 2026 ^[31].

Essay 1, Post-MBA Plans (550 to 750 words recommended): Tell us your ideas about what lies ahead in your career. What are the gaps or deficiencies currently preventing you from pursuing these potential career paths? How do you plan to use your time in the Foster MBA program to fill these gaps and advance your career?

Essay 2, Foster Mission Statement (350 to 550 words recommended): "TOGETHER, WE FOSTER LEADERS, WE FOSTER INSIGHTS, WE FOSTER PROGRESS, TO BETTER HUMANITY." This is the Foster School's mission statement. Please select one part of the mission statement and describe how it resonates with you in your personal or professional life.

Essay 3, Optional (500 words maximum): Include this essay if you have additional information you believe would be helpful to the admissions committee.

Essay 4, Optional Nurturing Our Community Essay (350 to 550 words recommended): At the Foster School of Business, we embrace inclusion and belonging as foundations of both successful business strategy and a world-class educational experience. We welcome you to share some of the ways you have practiced inclusion and promoted belonging.

USC Marshall

USC Marshall streamlined to one required essay and dropped the teamwork essay from the prior cycle. The optional essay stays, and it is required for reapplicants ^[33].

Essay 1 (required, 400 words): What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from USC Marshall help you achieve those goals? Short-term career goals should be those you want to achieve within 3 to 5 years post-MBA, whereas long-term goals may span a decade or more and encompass broader professional aspirations.

Essay 2 (optional for new applicants, required for reapplicants): Please use this space to share any additional information about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application.

Fellowship short answers (optional): applicants may indicate interest in the Forte Foundation fellowship and the Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) fellowship and describe their commitment to each organization's mission.

Mendoza College

Notre Dame Mendoza now sets one written career-goals essay, a required Applicant Snapshot slide presentation, and recorded video questions, with an optional essay ^[34].

Career Goals Essay (500 words maximum): What are your detailed post-master's degree career plans? Illustrate how your background, experiences, interests, and personal attributes, in conjunction with your studies at the University of Notre Dame, will equip you to successfully realize these ambitions. Please share both your short-term and long-term career goals, and be specific about the industry and function you hope to pursue.

Applicant Snapshot (up to four slides, PDF, no audio or video): share personal dimensions of who you are beyond your academic and professional background, in a lighthearted, authentic way.

Video Questions: after submitting the application, respond to a series of recorded video questions.

Optional Essay: the school asks candidates to be prudent and use this space only when needed.

IE

IE keeps its single personal essay and pairs it with an online assessment through Kira Talent. IE runs rolling admission by strict order of admission date ^[35].

Question 1: What is the most significant aspect you would like us to know about you that is not reflected in your resume or application? You may choose from three formats: a video (maximum duration 3 minutes), a PowerPoint presentation (maximum 10 slides), or a written essay (between 550 and 650 words). All compositions must be original and created for this admission application.

Online Assessment (Kira Talent): after you submit the application, you answer three timed questions, two recorded as video with 30 seconds to prepare and one minute to record each, and one written. The assessment takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

BU Questrom School of Business

Questrom asks each applicant to complete either one written essay or three short-answer video essays through Kira Talent, the applicant's choice, plus an optional essay ^[36].

Written Essay (no more than 750 words): explain to the admissions committee why you would like to earn your degree from the Questrom School of Business specifically, why you have selected the program you are applying to (Full-Time MBA, Professional Evening MBA, Health Sector MBA, Dual Degree), and how that program will help you achieve your post-graduate goals.

Video Essays (alternative to the written essay): three short-answer video questions recorded through Kira Talent, with 30 seconds to prepare and 60 seconds to record the first, committee-wide question.

Optional Essay (no more than 250 words): additional information for the Admissions Committee, for example gaps in post-college work experience, choice of recommenders, or concerns about academic or test performance.

IIMA

Yet to be declared for the 2026-27 cycle.

ISB PGP

ISB reworded Essay 1 around leadership for the PGP 2026 intake. Two essays are mandatory at 400 words each, with an optional essay and a reapplicant essay ^[37].

Question 1 (400 words maximum): What unique experiences have shaped who you are? What have these experiences taught you about leadership and the kind of leader you aspire to be?

Question 2 (400 words maximum): What intellectual experiences have influenced your approach to learning and have led you to pursue an MBA? Please describe using anecdotes from your own experiences.

Question 3 (optional, 250 words maximum): Given your experience and aspirations, how do you plan to use the PGP at ISB to fulfil your professional goals?

Reapplicant (200 words maximum): describe how your candidacy has strengthened since your previous application.

IIMB

Yet to be declared for the 2026-27 cycle.

Washington University Olin Business School

Olin confirmed its personal statement, the short career prompt, and an additional-information essay ^[38].

Required Essay (500-word maximum): At WashU Olin, we recognize that our community is comprised of individuals who come to us from different pathways and perspectives. Please provide a personal statement that describes how your life experiences have shaped your decision to apply to graduate school and how you believe WashU Olin will help you achieve your long-term professional and personal goals.

Career Prompt (100-word maximum): Please describe what your ideal career will be immediately following graduation from business school.

Additional Information (250-word maximum): Is there anything else you would like to share? Please provide any additional information not previously addressed in the application that would help the Admissions Committee assess your candidacy.

ESADE

ESADE kept its questions from the previous year and expanded the space for the four main essays to 3,000 characters each. ESADE runs eight admissions rounds ^[39].

Question 1: Are you applying to other Schools? Please provide detail of Schools and Programmes. (maximum 255 characters, including spaces)

Question 2: Did you learn about this programme through an Alumnus recommendation? If so, please provide the name and graduation year. (maximum 255 characters, including spaces)

Question 3 (3,000 characters maximum, including spaces): Which aspects have you improved on during your academic and professional career so far? Which tools or values have helped you achieve this?

Question 4 (3,000 characters maximum, including spaces): How will your background, values and non-work-related activities enhance the experience of other ESADE MBA students and add to the diverse culture we strive for at ESADE?

Question 5 (3,000 characters maximum, including spaces): What are your motivations in pursuing a full-time MBA at this point in your life? Describe your mid-term and long-term visions for your post-MBA career path. What is it about ESADE you think will help you reach your goals?

Question 6 (3,000 characters maximum, including spaces): Complete two of the following four questions or statements: I am most proud of... People may be surprised to learn that I... What has your biggest challenge been and what did it help you learn about yourself? Which historical figure do you most identify with and why?

Question 7 (3,000 characters maximum): Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee.

IMD

IMD moved to two 400-word essays for the 2027 intake, a personal-story essay and a development essay, with a short optional statement ^[40].

Essay 1 (400 words): We want to hear about the experiences that have shaped you as a person. Share the moments, challenges, and lessons that have influenced your life and personal growth. This is your chance to offer insight into who you are beyond your resume.

Essay 2 (400 words): What areas of personal and professional development do you hope to explore during your time at IMD?

Optional statement (100 words): Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee which has not been covered elsewhere in this application?

Rochester – Simon School of Business

Simon requires two essays of 250 to 500 words each, a video essay, and an optional essay ^[41].

Question 1 (250 to 500 words total): Describe your short-term and long-term post-graduation goals. Given the fluctuation of economic and industry hiring trends, identify a back-up plan should your short-term goal not be immediately attainable. How does your past education and experience support your career objectives? What aspects of your intended Simon Business School program make it a good choice for your graduate study?

Question 2 (250 to 500 words): As a Simon student, how will you contribute to Simon's pledge to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access?

Optional Essay (500 words): additional information that helps the Admissions Committee evaluate your candidacy, for example context around a professional gap.

Video Essay: A single question with 30 seconds to think and up to 90 seconds to answer.

Georgia Tech Scheller School of Business

Scheller reworded Essay 2 to short-term goals only. Three essays are required, each capped at 2,000 characters, with an optional essay ^[42].

Question 1 (required, 2,000 characters maximum including spaces): Why an MBA and why Georgia Tech? Describe how your experiences, both professional and personal, have led you to the decision to pursue an MBA at Georgia Tech.

Question 2 (required, 2,000 characters maximum including spaces): What are your short-term career goals after you complete your MBA?

Question 3 (required, 2,000 characters maximum including spaces): List 10 facts about yourself that will help your future classmates get to know you.

Optional essay (2,000 characters maximum including spaces): Any additional information pertinent to your admission that has not been previously covered.

HKUST

HKUST keeps its two 350-word essays and an optional essay for the 2026 intake ^[43].

Essay 1 (maximum 350 words): What are your strengths? Please also share an example of how you have used your strengths to make a difference at work or outside of work.

Essay 2 (maximum 350 words): What are your long and short-term goals? How do you plan to use HKUST's MBA program to help you achieve these goals?

Essay 3 (optional, maximum 250 words): What else would you like the admissions committee to know about you and your application?

Paul Merage School of Business

Merage reworded its video prompt around short-term goals and now asks a background essay in place of the earlier emerging-trend essay ^[44].

Video Essay (60 seconds): Please introduce yourself to the admission committee, talking about your experience as it relates to your short-term goals.

Background Essay (300 words or less): In an effort to better understand the context of your achievements, is there any other information about your background, family or experience that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee?

Merage also asks a short written essay about a challenge or accomplishment and the transferable skill it built. The exact wording is unverified, so confirm it on the Merage application.

Ivey Business School

Ivey pairs two short written essays with a required video assessment through Kira Talent for the March 2026 intake ^[45].

Question 1 (250 words): What are your short-term career plans immediately post-MBA, and why is an Ivey MBA essential to those plans?

Question 2 (250 words): Tell us about a challenge you have faced in your life, and what lessons you learned from it.

Supplementary questions (250 to 500 words): applicants also address whether their post-secondary grades reflect their abilities and anything the application has not let them convey. Reapplicants describe changes since their last application.

Video Assessment (Kira Talent): two live 60-second video answers to questions drawn from a randomized pool, recorded after submission and before the final live interview.

Rotman School of Management

Rotman replaced its written essay and the 'spiky pictures' upload with two timed written assessments and a short optional essay for 2025-26, alongside a video interview ^[46].

Timed Written Assessments: two questions, ten minutes each, completed through a link sent one to two business days after you submit the online application. The questions ask about you and your motivations for the MBA.

Optional Essay (150 to 200 words): Is there anything that you think the Admissions Committee should know that you feel has not been covered by the rest of this application? You are not obligated to answer this question.

WHU

WHU administers its essays through the MBA Questionnaire and revises the questions each year, with April and September intakes. The stable core is listed below; confirm the exact current set on WHU's application ^[47].

Question 1: What are your reasons, both professional and personal, for applying for an MBA program? What are some skills or key competencies you would like to develop when studying at WHU?

Question 2: What are your plans for the first 3 to 5 years after graduation? What are your long-term career aspirations? How do you think the WHU MBA will help you to achieve your goals?

Question 3: Why do you want to study at WHU?

Question 4: What sets you apart from other applicants? Why are you a perfect fit for the WHU MBA?

Question 5: Please list any professional merits, extra certifications, or recognitions you have received.

Goizueta MBA

Goizueta keeps its three short answers and two essays and adds a one-minute video essay ^[48].

Short Answer Questions (40-word limit each): What are your short-term post-MBA career goals? How will your professional experience and the Goizueta MBA help you to achieve those goals? What's a fun fact about you that you would like the committee to know?

Essay 1 (300-word limit): Identify a personal account of a time you effectively demonstrated your leadership skills. Respond to one of these two prompts: What about this experience made you feel proud of your leadership abilities? What did this experience teach you about leadership?

Essay 2 (300-word limit): Please share what or who has had the biggest impact on your life.

Video Essay (one minute): a "small talk" video with no advance question, so applicants respond on the spot.

Optional Essay (500-word limit): Share something you couldn't find a place for on your application, or address anything the committee may question.

Reapplicant (200-word limit): Explain how you have improved your candidacy for Goizueta since your last application.

What the 2026-27 MBA Application Essay Questions reveal

The fifty applications essays show that a short written essay with a video is turning into the most common format, in place of the longer multi-essay set that schools asked a few years ago. 

The common range for a main essay is now 250 to 500 words, and twenty of the fifty schools attach a video the applicant records after submitting the written work. 

Chicago Booth is at the frontier with the shift, with four short answers of 300 characters each and no long essay at all.

The optional essay has become near-universal. School after school reserves it for the same short list of uses - a gap in work history or an unusual recommender choice, and context for a weak grade or test score. 

Goals is increasingly asked as a set of fields, limiting options for prose. 

Cornell has the applicant name a target role and company within a named industry and UCLA Anderson asks for target companies by name. 

A structured goal is harder to fill with generic language, which is the same reason so many schools moved the goal into a video.

A group of schools states its limits in characters, which changes how an applicant edits. 

Tuck, HEC Paris, ESADE, Georgia Tech Scheller, and Columbia count characters. 

Two thousand characters is close to 300 words, and 3,500 characters is close to 500 words.

Frequently asked questions

How long are MBA essays for the 2026-27 cycle?

The common range for a main essay is 250 to 500 words. 

The shortest limits are Columbia's short answers at 50 characters each and UCLA Anderson's third essay at 50 words. 

The longest standard essay is Stanford's "What matters most to you, and why?" at up to 650 words. 

Duke Fuqua's "25 Random Things" runs to 750 words, though it takes the form of a numbered list of twenty-five items.

Which schools use character limits instead of word counts?

Tuck, HEC Paris, ESADE, Georgia Tech Scheller, and Columbia use character limits for their essay.

As a rule of thumb remember - 1000 characters is 150 words.

Tuck caps each essay at 2,000 characters, HEC Paris allows 3,500 for its first essay and 2,000 for the next two, ESADE allows 3,000 for its main essays, Georgia Tech Scheller allows 2,000 per prompt, and Columbia holds each short answer to 50 characters. As a guide, 2,000 characters is close to 300 words and 3,500 is close to 500 words. Spaces and punctuation count against the total, so a tight sentence saves room.

Which schools require a video essay, and are they scripted?

Twenty of the fifty schools include a video, which includes Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Berkeley Haas, Darden, McCombs, Tepper, Georgetown McDonough, IESE, Oxford Saïd, Vanderbilt Owen, NUS, Notre Dame Mendoza, IE, BU Questrom, Rochester Simon, UC Irvine Merage, Ivey, and Emory Goizueta.

The video falls into two types.

The first is a self-introduction the applicant prepares in advance, used by Kellogg, Haas, and Goizueta.

The second is a timed assessment that shows a question on screen with a few seconds to prepare, used by MIT Sloan, IESE, Oxford, IE, and Ivey through the Kira Talent platform.

A scripted answer works against the applicant in the timed format, since the committee is watching for a spontaneous response.

How much preparation time do the video questions give?

The preparation window is short by design.

MIT Sloan gives 10 seconds to prepare a 60-second answer.

IESE gives one minute to prepare and one minute thirty seconds to record.

NUS gives one minute to prepare and up to three minutes to answer.

Ivey asks for two live 60-second answers drawn from a randomized pool.

The short window stops an applicant from reading a scripted or AI-drafted answer off screen.

Do I need both short-term and long-term goals?

Almost every school asks for the short-term goal, and many add a mid-term or long-term goal.

Wharton asks for the immediate goal in 50 words and the medium-and-long-term goals in 150. 

Chicago Booth splits the two into separate 300-character answers. 

Columbia caps the immediate goal at 50 characters and asks for the three-to-five-year plan and the dream job in the main essay. 

A school that asks only for the short-term goal, such as Georgia Tech Scheller this year, wants that one horizon answered in full.

How specific do my career goals need to be?

Cornell has the applicant name a target role and company within a named industry. 

UCLA Anderson asks for target companies and the Anderson asks for resources the applicant expects to use. 

USC Marshall defines the short-term goal as the one to reach within three to five years and the long-term goal as a decade or more out. 

Should I write the optional essay?

Write the optional essay only to cover gaps in employment or to explain obvious weaknesses relative to your target MBA program.

You can also explain the recommender choice if your direct supervisor is not writing your letters.

Chicago Booth, McCombs, Tepper, USC Marshall, Vanderbilt Owen, and BU Questrom all have warned not to use the optional essay as an additional essay. It will negatively impact your admissions.

Which schools have a separate reapplicant essay?

Wharton, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Tuck, Oxford Saïd, UNC Kenan-Flagler, ISB, Ivey, and Emory Goizueta each ask reapplicants a dedicated question.

The essays run short, from 100 words at UNC to 300 at Booth, and they ask one thing - what has changed in the candidacy since the last application.

Prioritize promotion or role expansion news over score improvement (GMAT/GRE).

What do the community or contribution essays want?

The community or contribution essays want the motivation behind the contribution.

Ideally, the motivation should be closely align with your identity.

Columbia asks how the applicant would co-create their MBA experience and add to a team's collaboration.

Kellogg asks what the applicant will contribute to the classmates who learn alongside them.

UCLA Anderson asks how classmates will describe the applicant by graduation.

Duke Fuqua asks for three ways the applicant will contribute to Team Fuqua.

Which schools let me choose which prompt to answer?

Nine schools offer a choice.

Yale picks one of three essays, on a commitment, a community, or a challenge.

Carnegie Mellon Tepper offers one of two, on decision-making or personal transformation.

Indiana Kelley offers one of four short prompts.

HEC Paris lets the applicant choose one of three for its final essay.

Michigan Ross offers one of three for its second essay.

Cornell offers an impact essay or a unique-trait essay.

Georgetown McDonough offers one of three themed essays.

Emory Goizueta offers one of two leadership prompts.

ESADE asks the applicant to complete two of four short statements.

Which schools ask for something other than a written essay?

Five schools ask for a visual or multimedia piece.

NYU Stern's "Pick Six" asks for six images with captions.

Rice Jones accepts a photo essay as writing or as a one-to-three-minute video.

Notre Dame Mendoza asks for a four-slide Applicant Snapshot.

Chicago Booth asks the applicant to upload one image and explain it.

IE lets the applicant answer its main question as a video, a slide deck, or a written essay.

Can I use AI to write my essays?

The rules differ by school.

Columbia allows AI for idea generation and editing but bars a fully generated response.

Michigan Ross allows AI for guidance and requires an APA citation, "Personal Communication," wherever it was used.

Kellogg allows AI as a sounding board while requiring the applicant's own authorship.

Harvard treats undisclosed AI as an uncited source and asks the applicant to state how it was used.

The other schools publish no rule, and the move toward video and timed assessments is their answer to AI-written essays.

AI-Disclosure Matrix (2026-27) - M7 and Top MBA Programs

Business schools now state whether an applicant may use generative AI, software that drafts text from a prompt, in the essays, and what happens when a candidate crosses the line.

The matrix below records three things for each program - how the school checks for AI, what the school penalizes, and what the school permits.

A small group of programs publishes explicit application language. Columbia, Michigan Ross, Kellogg, and Harvard are among them.

Most programs publish nothing and rely on each reader to judge authorship.

Detection is weaker than applicants assume as now AI can be trained to mimic a writing style.

The trick the admissions team uses is evaluating your application as a whole and monitoring the disconnect in tone or style.

References

1. Harvard Business School, MBA admissions and application process
2. Stanford GSB, MBA application essays
3. Wharton, MBA application guide
4. Chicago Booth, Full-Time MBA how to apply
5. Columbia Business School, MBA application requirements
6. Kellogg, Full-Time MBA admissions
7. MIT Sloan, MBA how to apply
8. Berkeley Haas, MBA admissions essays
9. Michigan Ross, Full-Time MBA application requirements
10. Yale SOM, MBA admissions
11. Tuck, applying to Tuck
12. NYU Stern, MBA essays
13. UCLA Anderson, Full-Time MBA requirements
14. Duke Fuqua, Daytime MBA admissions
15. UVA Darden, MBA admissions
16. London Business School, MBA how to apply
17. INSEAD, MBA admissions
18. Cornell Johnson, Full-Time MBA admissions
19. Texas McCombs, Full-Time MBA application process ↩
20. Carnegie Mellon Tepper, MBA how to apply ↩
21. Georgetown McDonough, MBA admissions ↩
22. UNC Kenan-Flagler, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
23. IESE, MBA admissions ↩
24. Oxford Saïd, MBA how to apply ↩
25. Cambridge Judge, MBA how to apply ↩
26. HEC Paris, MBA admissions ↩
27. Rice Jones, MBA admissions ↩
28. Vanderbilt Owen, MBA admissions ↩
29. NUS, MBA admissions and funding ↩
30. Indiana Kelley, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
31. UW Foster, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
32. SDA Bocconi, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
33. USC Marshall, Full-Time MBA admission ↩
34. Notre Dame Mendoza, MBA admissions ↩
35. IE Business School, MBA program ↩
36. BU Questrom, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
37. Indian School of Business, PGP admissions ↩
38. WashU Olin, Full-Time MBA how to apply ↩
39. ESADE, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
40. IMD, MBA admissions ↩
41. Rochester Simon, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
42. Georgia Tech Scheller, Full-Time MBA admissions ↩
43. HKUST, MBA admissions ↩
44. UC Irvine Merage, Full-Time MBA ↩
45. Ivey Business School, MBA program ↩
46. Toronto Rotman, MBA program ↩
47. WHU, Full-Time MBA application and admissions ↩
48. Emory Goizueta, Full-Time MBA application ↩
49. Harvard Business School, MBA Student Handbook, ChatGPT and AI tools
50. Columbia Business School, MBA application requirements, AI-use policy
51. Michigan Ross, Full-Time MBA application requirements, AI-use rule
52. Kellogg, Full-Time MBA admissions, AI-use guidance