Youre applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy? There is no word limit for this question. We think you know what guidance were going to give here. Dont overthink, overcraft and overwrite. Just answer the question in clear language that those of us who dont know your world can understand.
Heres the question again, stripped of all the surrounding fluff?
What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?
Theyre sending a message. To repeat something is to waste an opportunity. You have a shot to do something cool here. To show that youre a leader, a doer, a has success written all over him guy. But so, how do you do it?!
Well, first things first. Theres no word limit, true, but there IS such a thing as too long a response here. Lets put it differently. The guy with insane credentials, insane natural assets wont need to write much. That may make the guy who DOES feel the need to write a lot seem like hes. over compensating? While theres no word limit, were not sure your final product needs to be much more than 600 words or so. 700 maybe as a max, but if youre going overboard, its gonna likely feel strained.
So what do you do with 400, or 500 words?
Well, let us ask you a question. Why do you think you belong at Harvard Business School? Lets assume for a second that Harvard is the ultimate in business school education, in terms of experience, career prospects, all that stuff. Lets just pretend, even if you dont buy it. Pretend its the best, and that more qualified people want a seat there than there are seats. What is it about you that makes you feel like one of those seats belongs to you?
Seriously. What?
What STUFF about you makes you feel like you should be rubbing elbows with the elitest of the elite? (Its a hard question to answer, but as an exerciseskin it that way, see what happens.)
Lets further pretend that you went ahead with that exercise and generated a bullet point list of STUFF, reasons you belong at HBS. Or a short paragraph. Something. What do you DO with this now? How does this become the beginnings of an essay?
Well, were not there yet. This exercise may or may not become anythingbut it can be an incredibly interesting thing to articulate in your own head. Put it aside for now, lets figure out how to WRITE this sucker.
Imagine sitting across from the HBS guys reviewing your app. And imagine saying this to him (literally, say this out loud, feel what its like to say/think it):
You know my GMAT
You know my GPA
Youve seen what Ive accomplished thus far in my career
Youve seen evidence of leadership from my resume
Youve heard from others (my recommenders) that Im a born leader, along with a bunch of other Harvard-worthy things
You dont need a reason for why I wanna go to Harvard because its like asking someone why they want the best thing instead of the second best thing
You know all of thatand youre compelled, but you wanna hear one more thing about meone other THING about what Im all about, or what Ive done, something I have in the works, some THING to help you realize that offering me a seat is the best decision YOU could ever make; well here goes:
{What follows from all that?}
Any obvious contenders for what fills that space? Is there one obvious thing you simply MUST talk about? Several? Well, choosing this thing is gonna be hard. And you may decide the thing needs to be captured in three buckets, not just one. But if you go that route, be careful not to spread yourself too thin because too much stuff can start to seem compensatory. Brevity, strength of position, confidence, all that stuff matters here. This is Harvard, just look at how much they wanna know about you? Very littleso dont give em the library of Congress.
Give them something substantive. Something assertive. Something badass. Something that makes the reader go Yah, that IS a reason to give this guy a seat here. Or, more practically-speaking, Yah, that IS a reason to call this kid in for an interview. (Cuz thats the main objective here right? Give 'em JUST enough that they want to MEET you. Youll never give them enough to offer you an admit-without-interview.)
Before you put pen to paper, lets talk about one more step. Once youve identified the THING or THINGS, ask yourself WHY this should put you over the top. Dont gloss over it, force yourself to ARTICULATE it. If you cant, guess what your thing may need some re-thinking. Dont take this lightly, folks; articulating this is gonna be hard as hell. But if youre able to do it, youll be able to develop your argument much more effectively.
Think about selling a physical product. Like a pen. Or a brand of tea. Or a particular television model. Why should someone own THAT particular brand? Yes, it may have many virtues in the abstract, but why must A CERTAIN SOMEONE actually care about those things? Thats when you start to acquaint YOURSELF with the products intrinsic VALUE. Yes this pen can write with this amount of thickness, has ink that will last this long, and on and on and on. But why must CONSUMER X own it?
Figure out why Harvard must hear about this THING or these THINGS you wanna tell them. If you cant articulate it may mean you need to do some more soul-searching. If you can, start making that case, not by articulating that reasonbut by DEMONSTRATING it through your storytelling skills.![]()
Heres the question again, stripped of all the surrounding fluff?
What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?
Theyre sending a message. To repeat something is to waste an opportunity. You have a shot to do something cool here. To show that youre a leader, a doer, a has success written all over him guy. But so, how do you do it?!
Well, first things first. Theres no word limit, true, but there IS such a thing as too long a response here. Lets put it differently. The guy with insane credentials, insane natural assets wont need to write much. That may make the guy who DOES feel the need to write a lot seem like hes. over compensating? While theres no word limit, were not sure your final product needs to be much more than 600 words or so. 700 maybe as a max, but if youre going overboard, its gonna likely feel strained.
So what do you do with 400, or 500 words?
Well, let us ask you a question. Why do you think you belong at Harvard Business School? Lets assume for a second that Harvard is the ultimate in business school education, in terms of experience, career prospects, all that stuff. Lets just pretend, even if you dont buy it. Pretend its the best, and that more qualified people want a seat there than there are seats. What is it about you that makes you feel like one of those seats belongs to you?
Seriously. What?
What STUFF about you makes you feel like you should be rubbing elbows with the elitest of the elite? (Its a hard question to answer, but as an exerciseskin it that way, see what happens.)
Lets further pretend that you went ahead with that exercise and generated a bullet point list of STUFF, reasons you belong at HBS. Or a short paragraph. Something. What do you DO with this now? How does this become the beginnings of an essay?
Well, were not there yet. This exercise may or may not become anythingbut it can be an incredibly interesting thing to articulate in your own head. Put it aside for now, lets figure out how to WRITE this sucker.
Imagine sitting across from the HBS guys reviewing your app. And imagine saying this to him (literally, say this out loud, feel what its like to say/think it):
You know my GMAT
You know my GPA
Youve seen what Ive accomplished thus far in my career
Youve seen evidence of leadership from my resume
Youve heard from others (my recommenders) that Im a born leader, along with a bunch of other Harvard-worthy things
You dont need a reason for why I wanna go to Harvard because its like asking someone why they want the best thing instead of the second best thing
You know all of thatand youre compelled, but you wanna hear one more thing about meone other THING about what Im all about, or what Ive done, something I have in the works, some THING to help you realize that offering me a seat is the best decision YOU could ever make; well here goes:
{What follows from all that?}
Any obvious contenders for what fills that space? Is there one obvious thing you simply MUST talk about? Several? Well, choosing this thing is gonna be hard. And you may decide the thing needs to be captured in three buckets, not just one. But if you go that route, be careful not to spread yourself too thin because too much stuff can start to seem compensatory. Brevity, strength of position, confidence, all that stuff matters here. This is Harvard, just look at how much they wanna know about you? Very littleso dont give em the library of Congress.
Give them something substantive. Something assertive. Something badass. Something that makes the reader go Yah, that IS a reason to give this guy a seat here. Or, more practically-speaking, Yah, that IS a reason to call this kid in for an interview. (Cuz thats the main objective here right? Give 'em JUST enough that they want to MEET you. Youll never give them enough to offer you an admit-without-interview.)
Before you put pen to paper, lets talk about one more step. Once youve identified the THING or THINGS, ask yourself WHY this should put you over the top. Dont gloss over it, force yourself to ARTICULATE it. If you cant, guess what your thing may need some re-thinking. Dont take this lightly, folks; articulating this is gonna be hard as hell. But if youre able to do it, youll be able to develop your argument much more effectively.
Think about selling a physical product. Like a pen. Or a brand of tea. Or a particular television model. Why should someone own THAT particular brand? Yes, it may have many virtues in the abstract, but why must A CERTAIN SOMEONE actually care about those things? Thats when you start to acquaint YOURSELF with the products intrinsic VALUE. Yes this pen can write with this amount of thickness, has ink that will last this long, and on and on and on. But why must CONSUMER X own it?
Figure out why Harvard must hear about this THING or these THINGS you wanna tell them. If you cant articulate it may mean you need to do some more soul-searching. If you can, start making that case, not by articulating that reasonbut by DEMONSTRATING it through your storytelling skills.