Q) I am a military MBA applicant with service history in Afghanistan. Should I go into the specifics of any operation? Is it necessary for Harvard MBA Essay?
Atul Jose (MBA Admissions Consultant/Author – Harvard MBA Essay Guide, F1GMAT): This is a tricky question. For those who don’t know – Harvard has an open-ended MBA application essay. It is a 900-word essay with the question, “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?”. All your achievements in the military are already highlighted in the resume and application form. Your supervisors are likely to mention them in their recommendation letters. There is, however, something that is not easily recognized in an application form. That is the pressure you face in making a decision. The emotion behind it. That is what Harvard Business School wants to know.
Who are you as a person?
I have seen both ends of the narrative work in MBA application. In one sample MBA essay, I created a narrative that was around the legacy of joining the military since the person was from a military family from the great grandfather who served in World War 2 to the grandfather in the Vietnam War, to father who served in the first Iraqi war. So for the narrative, I focused on conveying the pressure the military applicant faced in confining to a pre-destined role. I have seen similar pressure that children of entrepreneurs face too. They are kind of implicitly expected to take over the business.
For the first example, I didn’t capture any gore of the war. Instead, it was a personality – an interaction with a doctor in the war zone that I really wanted to highlight. This is to show that sometimes, you get inspiration to pivot from a career in unlikely sources. The bravery of the doctor is what encouraged the person to pivot from the military and explore a career in civilian life.
The second example I added this year starts with a narrative that the person already disliked the understanding in the family that one must join the military, but his father was a judgmental character. He considered the applicant weak compared to his siblings, who both served in the military and transitioned to the construction industry. The impulsive decision from the person to join the military is more an ego battle than a rationally thought decision.
I captured the horrors of the war in one paragraph, sharing how the fear of IEDs was constant every day. And I even wrote a line, “Taking my friend's severed limb in a polythene bag while limiting his blood loss was the mission for the day.”
The person suffered from PTSD.
How will you convey this to an admissions person who is unlikely to experience anything remotely close to what you might have experienced? It is through at least a line capturing the gore.
Trauma doesn’t happen in isolation. There are some horrific events that cause it. But not all military applicants face the horrors of the war. In such cases, you must dig deep beyond the narrative on family legacy or war stories.
If you want help, you can always reach out to me, Atul Jose, through F1GMAT’s Contact form. You can also find me on LinkedIn.
