Saturday, June 27, 2020
HBS 2+2 Essay Questions and Tips
This HBS 2+2 Application tip post is one of a series of posts providing MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top MBA programs around the world. Check out the entire 2012 MBA Application Tips series for more valuable MBA essay advice.  The Harvard 2+2 application is now online.  While it still consists of four questions, three are entirely new or at least a little different, and there are no elective questions in this years application. Harvards instructions and question are in black below; my comments and tips are in blue:? 1. Tell us about three of your accomplishments. (600 words) This is a variation of what has been for years Harvards signature question. In the past HBS asked, What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? Obviously you want to include substantial accomplishments. I strongly encourage you to also provide some indication of why you think they are important enough to include on your Harvard MBA 2+2 application. This essay, like almost all MBA essays, has to balance narrative and analysis. If an event is important enough to relate in the little bit of essay real estate that you have, ensure that the reader knows why you include it. It may be obvious from the story. If it isnt, combine critical events with insightful analysis to create a revealing, compelling essay. At least two of the three accomplishments should show leadership and/or teamwork with the emphasis being on leadership. I also like to have this essay show some breadth. My ideal would be to have one professional/internship, one community, and one personal accomplishment in this essay, but that breakdown is neither set in stone nor imperative. 2. Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words) New question. Oh no! They want me to write about setbacks!!!! Im supposed to be a super-star. True, but real super-stars are resilient. They can handle a set-back and they frequently view failures as hurdles to overcome, not as the end of the world, or their future. They rebound. They learn from mistakes, failures, and bumps in the road and turn them into nothing more than . well than a setback on the road to achievement, accomplishment and success. So in addition to the three achievements discussed in response to #1, write about three setbacks. The word setback implies that you then moved forward. In your essays briefly describe what went wrong and then go into more detail on how you set it right. Finally, what did you learn on the rebound? 3. Why do you want an MBA? (400 words) New question. What do you intend to do with the degree? Do you have solid, well-reasoned  motivations for pursuing an MBA? Do you have experience that connects to your MBA goal. Include them in your response. Your reasons should show that you share Harvards commitment to leadership. Do they also demonstrate that you need the transformative education provided by Harvard Business School to achieve your goals? 4. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience? (400 words) When introduced, I thought this query was going to produce monotonous, boring pieces, but it didnt. To my pleasant surprise, I reviewed several responses as part of our quality control program, and they were revealing, excellent essays. Your topics will clearly vary depending on your experience and the rest of your application, but my ideal answer will discuss a leadership experience from your undergrad career to show that you are a natural leader. Remember: HBS wants to develop leaders, not create them. It wants to admit people in the habit of leadership. Show that you are one of those people. This essay should complement your other essays and reveal another dimension of your personality and experience. HBS 2+2 Application Deadlines Round                  Due Date         Notification Summer Round   July 6, 2011      September 2011 Round 1               October 2011    December 2011 Round 2               January 2012   March 2012 Round 3               March 2012      May 2012 If you would like more help with your Harvard 2+2 MBA application, please consider Accepteds MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our HBS 2+2 MBA Packages, which include essay editing, interview coaching, consultation, and a resume edit for the HBS 2+2 MBA application. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best HBS 2+2 Essay Questions and Tips UPDATE: The Tips For Harvard Business Schools 2+2 2009 Application Are Now Online- Please post questions or comments on the new post. The Harvard 2+2 application is online and the submission deadline is July 1, 2008. Harvards instructions and question are in black below; my comments and tips are in red: First, compose your responses to the essays in a word processing document. Please abide by the following instructions: * Limit your responses to the lengths indicated. * Single-space your essays. * Please use Times New Roman font type and 12 pt font size. * Write the question at the top of each essay. * Refrain from using images and/or any other nonstandard English characters in your essays. They may prevent the system from processing your application. All applicants must answer questions 1 and 2. For question 3, please answer TWO of the six questions listed below, and upload individually your response to each of the two questions you’ve chosen. Please note: Do not send an extra copy of your essays to our office, as this will complicate the processing of your application. 1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit) This is practically Harvards signature question. It has been around for years, and it goes to the heart of Harvards values. Harvard wants highly accomplished students entering its program. It wants leaders. At least two of the three accomplishments should show leadership and/or teamwork with the emphasis being on leadership. I also like to have this essay show some breadth. My ideal would be to have one professional, one community, and one personal accomplishment in this essay, but that breakdown is neither set in stone nor imperative. 2. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience? (600-word limit) Optional for regular applications, this question is required for 2+2 applicants, plus you get an additional 200 words to write a superb, revealing essay. When introduced, I thought this query was going to produce monotonous, boring pieces, but it didnt. To my pleasant surprise, I reviewed several responses as part of our quality control program, and they were revealing, excellent essays. Your topics will clearly vary depending on your experience and the rest of your application, but my ideal answer will discuss a leadership experience from your undergrad career to show that you are a natural leader with a history of leadership. Remember: HBS wants to develop leaders, not create them. It should complement your other essays and reveal another dimension to your personality and experience. 3. Please answer TWO of the six questions below (400-word limit each): The first issue you must address when looking at #3, is which two do you choose. Answer: the two that, when combined with your required essays, allow you to present the most impressive, textured, and comprehensive picture of you. So if you have lived in Kansas almost all your life and have extensive leadership experience in student government, sports, and your church, perhaps #2 would not be a good question for you, but #1 might be. If you have extensive international travel, but lack a clear idea of what you want to do, then perhaps 2 4 are for you, but you want to pass on 3. 1. Discuss a defining experience in your leadership development. How did this experience highlight your strengths and weaknesses? Anecdotally and briefly describe the leadership experience showing the impact you had as a leader. Explain how it highlights both your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Strive to show how this experience has influenced you in later situations. In those you also want to reveal how you have built on your leadership strengths and mitigated your weakness. Thats a lot to do in a 400-word limit. You must write succinctly. 2. How have you experienced culture shock? This question reflects the growing importance of international business and the need for HBS students and graduates to have experience working with different cultures. When have you, either outside your home country or in your own country, dealt with someone from a different culture and been surprised by their behavior, but realized that it is perfectly normal for their culture? How did you adapt? How did you bridge the gap and successfully complete whatever you had set out to accomplish? What did you learn? 3. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you? Harvard is one of the few, if not the only, top business school that has made the goals question optional. And even this one is a little different than the typical What do you want to do and why do you want to do it? The interesting twist to Harvards question is career vision. With Harvards focus on strategy, Harvard is asking you to develop your career strategy and discuss its importance to you. But dont leave your answer on an entirely theoretical plane. Bring it down to earth with your plan for implementing that vision. In other words writing that you seek a career leading an innovative enterprise, providing work-life balance, and allowing me the opportunity to contribute to my community sounds great. But it will also sound a lot like other peoples visions. You need to have some idea of how to achieve that vision, define it more narrowly, and explain why it resonates with you. For more on the concept of vision, please see The Parable of the Three Stone Masons.I believe that HBS is attempting to identify those who are like the third stonemason perhaps with less religious fervor, but with well that kind of vision. They are still working hard, with feet on the ground, but they radiate enthusiasm for a distant goal and pride in their ability to contribute to something much larger than themselves. 4. What global issue is most important to you and why? This broad question is a bit of a trap. If you say that Issue X is the most important issue to you and you have done nothing to advocate your position, you are hurting your chances of admission. You can be for or against a wide variety of global concerns, but you want to portray yourself as a person of action and initiative. If you declare Issue X as the most important one to you, be prepared to discuss what you have done in connection with that issue. Keep in mind this sentence from HBS web site, While our students lives and experiences vary greatly, they all share a demonstrated capacity for leadership and a desire to effect positive change. [Emphasis added.] If you declare Issue X to be the most important global issue, how have you demonstrated a desire to effect positive change in regards to Issue X? 5. What else would you like the MBA Admissions Board to understand about you? This essay is a great place to highlight a side of you or experience not discussed elsewhere in the application. This wild card question is a gift to you from the kindly folks serving on the HBS adcom so you can show another area in which you shine. And yes, if you can demonstrate leadership, do so. Do not waste it on a summary or closing sales pitch. 6. What have you learned from a mistake? People of initiative err. They must learn from those mistakes to be effective leaders. A friend went to her daughters graduation and quoted the valedictory address, In school you learn lessons and then take tests. In life, you have tests and then learn lessons. If you view your mistakes as experiments, lessons, or tests, you can grow and make sure you dont repeat them. Show HBS through this essay that you are the kind of person who learns from your mistakes. Again, try to have this question reveal you making your mistake, preferably in a leadership capacity, and applying lessons learned in a sphere of your life not covered by other essays. In the best HBS applications, each essay uncovers a different facet of the applicant and his or her experience. Together they paint a portrait of a dynamic, talented leader with initiative and exceptional ability. If you would like help with your Harvard 2+2 application, please consider Accepteds essay editing and admissions consulting. Other resources to help you with your Harvard Business School MBA application: The Consultant`s Guide to MBA Admission, an ebook by Cindy Tokumitsu and me with a focus on Harvard. MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Launch Your MBA Application to Acceptance, an ebook by Maxx Duffy and me with tips for H/S/W. Final suggestion, actually from Dee Leopold, Director of Harvards MBA Admissions, watch the video Inside the HBS Case Method.
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