Hey there!
We’re excited to share our incredibly comprehensive MBA Essay Guide with you. It’s based on years of
experience helping applicants earn spots at top business schools. This document, of course, is just the tip
of the iceberg. At Leland, we’re committed to offering quality content and world-class coaching, and at a
price that fits your budget.
The vast majority of admits at top MBA programs pay for an admissions consultant, but we know it’s hard
to find the right person. At Leland, we want to make sure that everyone has access to coaching at a price
that works for them.
To that end, we guarantee that we can find you a world-class coach that fits your budget,
background, and goals within 48 hours. No one else in the world can do that.
So, let’s get started. You can sign up for Leland here and schedule a free strategy session so we can
match you with the right coach.
Let’s get you into your dream school!
- John and the Leland Team
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Introduction
Essays: perhaps the most important element of the MBA application. It’s also the part of the
application where our clients struggle the most. In this guide, we break down a system to help
you brainstorm ideas, create a structured outline, write a powerful essay, and polish it into
something you are proud of.
What Are You Trying to Accomplish with Your
Essays?
When you’re about to leave for a trip, you would never leave before figuring out where you’re
going. The same goes for your essay-writing journey; before you get started, you have to know
your goals.
Many of our candidates struggle with choosing the right angle from which to approach their
essays. Before you start writing anything, let’s first identify what you are trying to accomplish
with your essays. You have 3 main purposes for your essays:
1. Answer the specific essay prompt;
2. Show the admissions committee (adcom) who you are; and,
3. Communicate (directly or indirectly) why you are a fit for their program.
Let’s explain each of these a little more in-depth:
1. Answer the Specific Essay Prompt
To an adcom reviewing MBA applications, there’s nothing worse than reading an essay that
completely ignores the prompt. Actually, there is: reading an essay that not only ignores the
prompt, but answers the prompt of a competing school!
So first things first: write an essay that answers the question and doesn’t come across like
repurposed content. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t repurpose any content at all; you
should absolutely leverage content when applying to multiple schools. However, it shouldn’t
read like copied-and-pasted content to the admissions committee.
2. Show the Adcom Who You Are
Almost every other part of the application shows what you have accomplished (GMAT scores,
resume, activities & interests, honors & awards, etc.), but the essays are about showing the
adcom who you are. You are an individual with dreams, worries, goals, doubts, passions, and
insecurities, not a walking application. Adcoms know this, and they aren’t looking to admit
applications; they are looking to fill their schools with great people.
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The essays are your opportunity to highlight the complex dimension of yourself that is too
difficult to cover in other places. Chances are, you are not the first person applying to these
schools with your GMAT score, from your university, or with your career path. But you are the
first you applying, so take advantage of this chance to stand out among other applicants with
similar credentials!
3. Communicate (Directly or Indirectly) Why You Are a Fit for
Their Program
At the end of the day, each school is looking for leaders who will make a positive impact on the
world. However, each school has a different take on what the formula might be to accomplish
that. They want to know that your background will be a good fit for their program.
Avoid simply listing reasons why you will be a good fit for their program; instead, be mindful of
what your school is looking for, and make sure to powerfully but authentically highlight that you
have those traits and are passionate about their specific school.
A few questions from some schools’ applications directly ask you to explain why you are a good
fit for their program and read something like: “Why did you choose our school?,” or “How does
our school fit into your professional goals?” However, most questions don’t directly ask you why
you’re a good fit for their school, but make no mistake, they certainly intend for you to explain
indirectly why you are a good fit for the school.
No matter which essay prompts you write, every word you write should point to why you are the
perfect fit for that school.
Approaching the Essays
Essay Prompts for the M7 MBA Programs
For your convenience, we have collected all the essay prompts from the top MBA programs (for
the 2023-2024 application cycle, subject to change). Look for your school(s) of choice and
highlight or write down the prompts you will be answering.
Traditional MBA Application Essay Prompts
School
Type
Prompts
Word Count
Stanford
GSB
Required
What matters most to you, and why?
Required
Why Stanford? Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford
GSB experience will help you realize them.
1050 words
combined
(Recommended
length: 650 for
essay 1 and 400
4
for essay 2)
Optional (can
submit up to 3
responses for
this one)
Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in
professional, extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What
was your impact? What made it significant to you or to others?
Up to 1,200
characters, or
~200 words, for
each example
HBS
Required
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?
900 words
Wharton
Required
How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you
achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your
past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources
available at Wharton.
500 words
Required
Taking into consideration your background – personal,
professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make
specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community?
400 words
Optional
Please use this space to share any additional information about
yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application and
that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee.
500 words
Required
Kellogg Leaders are primed to tackle today’s pressing concerns
everywhere, from the boardroom to their neighborhoods. Tell us
about a time in your life where you’ve needed a combination of
skills to solve a problem or overcome a challenge. Which skills
did you use? What did you accomplish?
450 words
Required
At Kellogg, our values are based on research that concludes
organizations comprised of leaders with varied backgrounds and
perspectives outperform homogenous ones. How do you believe
your personal and professional experiences to date will help
enrich the Kellogg community?
450 words
Required
Video Essays
[These will only be available after you have submitted your
application and payment.]
1. Please introduce yourself to the admissions committee.
2. What path are you interested in pursuing, how will you get
there, and why is this program right for you?
3. This question will be based on a challenge you’ve faced
and what you’ve learned from it.
20 seconds to
think about the
question and 1
minute to
respond
Required
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. We are
on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the
experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with
exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination
to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are
independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We
want people who can redefine solutions to conventional
problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with
cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.
300 words or
fewer, excluding
address and
salutation
Kellogg
MIT Sloan
Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter
seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Your letter
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should conform to a standard business correspondence, include
one or more examples that illustrate why you meet the desired
criteria above, and be addressed to the Assistant Deans of
Admissions, Rod Garcia and Dawna Levenson
Booth
Columbia
Required
Video Statement
Please take a minute to introduce yourself to your future
classmates via video. Include a bit on your past experience and
why MIT Sloan is the best place for you to pursue your MBA.
Videos should be a single take (no editing) lasting no more than
one minute and consisting of you speaking directly to the
camera.
1 minute
Optional
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
Required
How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and
long-term post-MBA career goals?
250 words
minimum, no
maximum
Required
An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about
professional development. In addition to sharing your experience
and goals in terms of career, we’d like to learn more about you
outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something
about who you are…
250 words
minimum, no
maximum
Optional
Is there any unclear information in your application that needs
further explanation?
300 words
Required
Through your resume and recommendations, we have a clear
sense of your professional path to date. What are your career
goals over the next 3-5 years and what is your long-term dream
job?
500 words
Required
The Phillips Pathway for Inclusive Leadership (PPIL) is a
co-curricular program designed to provide students with the skills
and strategies needed to develop as inclusive leaders. Through
various resources and programming, the goal is for students to
explore and reflect during their educational journey on the
following five inclusive leadership skills: Mitigating Bias and
Prejudice; Managing Intercultural Dialogue; Addressing Systemic
Inequity; Understanding Identity and Perspective Taking; and
Creating an Inclusive Environment.
Describe a time or situation when you had the need to utilize one
of more of these five skills, and tell us the actions you took and
the outcome.
250 words
Required
We believe Columbia Business School is a special place. CBS
proudly fosters a collaborative learning environment through
curricular experiences like our clusters and learning teams, an
extremely active co-curricular and student life environment, and
career mentorship opportunities like our
Executives-in-Residence program.
Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you
academically, culturally, and professionally? Please be specific.
250 words
Optional
If you wish to provide further information or additional context
around your application to the Admissions Committee, please
500 words
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upload a brief explanation of any areas of concern in your
academic record or personal history. This does not need to be a
formal essay. You may submit bullet points.
Deferred MBA-Specific Application Essay Prompts*
School
Requirement
Prompts
Word Count
Harvard
Business
School 2+2
Program
Required
Choose two of the three prompts to respond to:
1. What communities have you been engaged with that
define how you invest in others?
2. What intellectual experiences have influenced your
approach to learning and have led you to pursue and
MBA?
3. How have your experiences shaped who you are, how
you lead, and how you will contribute at HBS?
300 words for
each essay
How do the career plans you shared in the Career Plans 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?
Columbia
Business
School Deferred
Enrollment
Program
Required
Why are you interested in obtaining a Columbia MBA in the
future?
300 words
Who is a leader you admire, and why?
300 words
*The M7 schools not listed here employ the same essays for deferred applicants as traditional.
Brainstorming Answers to Each Essay Question Type
We are finally ready to start writing! The first step is to brainstorm. Based on the essay prompt,
brainstorming could go in a few directions. We break the essay prompts into three main
categories. Almost without exception, every question listed above can fall into one or more of
these essay types:
1. Personal statement prompts: Ask for a general personal statement related to who you
are or what you value (HBS, Stanford GSB, Kellogg, Booth, MIT Sloan)
2. Why-our-school prompts: Ask why this school will help you, or why you’re choosing
that school (Stanford GSB, Wharton, Booth, Columbia, MIT Sloan)
3. Behavioral prompts: Ask a behavioral question, or ask for a story (Stanford GSB,
Kellogg, Columbia)
Let’s do a deep dive to explain a little more about each type of prompt and to get you started
brainstorming.
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Essay Prompt Type #1: Personal Statement
Adcoms ask these kinds of questions because they want to find out who you are, what makes
you different, and how you became who you are today. They already have a dozen other pieces
of your application to judge you by; now, they want a deeper look into your character, sense of
self-awareness, and individuality.
These prompts may sound like:
●
●
What matters most to you, and why? (GSB)
As we consider your application, what else would you like us to know? (HBS)
To help you choose the right direction to take in writing a personal statement essay, type or write
2 lists of 5 bullets each. (There is a space for you to answer these brainstorming questions at
the end of this section.):
●
●
List #1: Strengths, important experiences, top skills, and/or achievements that you feel
are your strongest strategic differentiators against other applicants. Try to back up each
point with one or a few personal or professional experiences that have built that
characteristic or led to your achievement in that area.
List #2: Personal characteristics that you feel like you'd be remiss to not mention. These
are key aspects of you that you feel would fill in essential pieces of the overall picture of
who you are, and that aren't adequately captured in your resume, recommendations, etc.
You probably won’t end up including everything in your lists in your essays, but that’s not the
point. This exercise will just help you consider enough options to choose the most important
ideas you want to cover.
Here are a few additional questions to ask yourself when making the two lists:
●
●
●
●
●
Who are you? As in, if someone were to describe you, what would they say about you?
(It may be helpful to ask your close family and friends what they think are your defining
characteristics.)
Reflect on your life, who you are, the decisions that you’ve made, and the direction you
want to go. Which themes or common threads emerge? Are there stories, quotes, or
anecdotes that may illustrate that theme?
Make a list of important events, decisions, or people in your life. How are they
connected?
If you had to give a TED Talk about your story, what would you say? (Note that “your
story” is not the same as your professional story.)
Have you experienced any struggles, setbacks, challenges, or hardships? What did you
learn from these experiences? How have they affected you and made you a better
person and professional?
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Exercise Example
Before starting the Your Response section below, and to get a sense of what kind of answers
you should write, see what our founder, John, wrote on his own brainstorming list as he began
writing his MBA application essays:
List #1: Strongest differentiators in experiences, achievements, etc.
●
●
●
●
●
Church Mission in Brazil - Dedicating 2 years of my life to helping and empowering
others in a foreign country
Entrepreneurial/Professional Leadership Experience - Kore, Uber, etc.
Investing experience through several internships in VC/PE
Community Service – Google, youth mentoring, BYU Tech Club
Family Situation - Ability to lead and inspire others during challenging times through
positivity, strength, and a genuine concern for others
List #2: Important characteristics
●
●
●
●
●
Strategic hustle and ownership of personal development/career path
Pattern of leadership throughout life - mission, Kore, Tech Club, Uber, etc.
Deep desire to help and empower individuals around me and those who are at a
disadvantage in life
Relentless pursuit of self-improvement and success; not to be "better" than others but to
be my very best self
Ability to think independently, solve challenging problems, and make things happen
Your Response
In the space below, write or type your answers to the following questions to get you
started answering this type of essay prompt.
What are your strengths, important experiences, top skills, and/or achievements?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What are your best personal characteristics?
1.
2.
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3.
4.
5.
Essay Prompt Type #2: Why Our School
This type of question comes in a few forms, like:
●
●
●
●
Why Stanford? Describe your aspirations and how your Stanford GSB experience will
help you realize them.
Why do you feel Columbia Business School is a good fit for you?
How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future
professional goals?
“... introduce yourself to your future classmates via video. Include a bit on your past
experience and why MIT Sloan is the best place for you to pursue your MBA.”
Keep in mind that the adcoms don’t just want to know why you will take advantage of the
opportunity if admitted to their school; they care even more to see why the school will benefit
from your admission and attendance. The good news for you is that answering to the former
answers the latter, and here’s why: If you can prove you will treasure the chance to go to their
school, they will count on you to get great grades, participate in their community, not drop out,
and go on to be highly successful representatives of their school.
That’s why, almost always, the best way to answer these types of prompts is by looking forward
rather than backward. It may be worth mentioning your alumni lineage or other notable
connections to the school, but as a rule of thumb, talking about the past should make up a
peripheral part of your essay.
To brainstorm for this essay, follow these steps:
1) Think about your own life plans. What are your ultimate career goals? (It may be helpful
to refer to your answers from the Step 3 packet.)
a) List 1-5 long-term career goals for the biggest accomplishments you hope to
achieve, positions you want to hold, and/or the company you most want to work
for.
b) For each goal, write down 2-5 steps (or smaller goals) that you can take that will
get you to your top goal. Think about necessary career moves and hard skills you
need to learn (becoming an assistant manager, learning high-level accounting,
studying and applying data science, etc.), but also consider what soft skills you
need to improve on in order to qualify for your goals (leadership skills, active
listening, teamwork, etc.).
2) Think about the school you are applying to.
a) List the top 3-5 items about the program’s strengths and purpose that resonate
with you. (Refer to their mission statement, website, and/or social media
accounts.)
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b) Identify which of those items resonate with you and your goals best. Circle,
underline, or otherwise emphasize those items.
c) With these points in mind, specifically write about how this school will help you
achieve your long-term goals, your smaller goals, or both. How will this program,
specifically, supercharge your career?
3) If you have a story or other reasons you chose to go to this school, list them as well.
(You may or may not end up including them in your essay, but go ahead and get them off
your chest so you can examine their strength and relevance.)
Your Response
In the space below, write or type your answers to the following questions to get you
started answering this type of essay prompt.
Write down all of the essay prompts of this type that you will have to answer. If there are
more than one, select just one to answer here. (Repeat the following exercises with the
other questions on your own.)
Fill in the following table. Write 1-5 long-term career goals, and 2-5 corresponding
smaller steps.
Long-term Career Goals
Smaller Steps
1) sample
a) sample, b) sample, c) sample
2)
3)
4)
5)
Fill in the following table. Write 3-5 of the program’s biggest strengths and mission, and
2-5 corresponding smaller steps. Match up your responses from the last table to fill in the
second column.
Program’s Strengths and Mission
Why This Program Helps You Achieve Your Goals
1)
2)
3)
4)
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5)
6)
List any other stories or reasons you may have for choosing this school (optional).
Essay Prompt Type #3: Behavioral Prompts
A behavioral question asks for a story from your past that illustrates who you are: your
character, skills, and personality. Behavioral questions are also common in the interview portion
of the admission process, so you have double the reason to master these questions.
They want to see what lessons you have learned and real-life examples of you in action. Here
are a few examples of what they may sound like:
●
●
●
Tell us about a time within the last three years when your background influenced your
participation at work or school.
Share a time in which you engaged with a perspective, identity, community, or
experience that was different from your own and how it impacted your worldview.
Think about times you’ve created a positive impact, whether in professional,
extracurricular, academic, or other settings. What was your impact? What made it
significant to you or to others?
Behavioral questions can be a little more subtle, so you may not know right away they are
asking for a story. Here are a few examples:
●
●
Tell us about your favorite book, movie, or song and why it resonates with you?
Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made.
When you ask yourself if an essay prompt is a behavioral question, here’s a big hint: the truth is,
a lot of MBA essay questions (particularly the general personal statement prompts) are actually
behavioral questions in disguise. For most of these essays, the adcoms want to hear a story, or
a few stories combined. That’s why behavioral prompts are so important to study and really nail.
To choose the right story, first pick a few options of stories from your life you might want to talk
about. Don’t write out the whole story at this point; just jot down a few key words to identify the
story. For each story option, write down at least one powerful result from the experience. To
choose powerful results, think about how you have changed as a student, professional, friend,
or as a person as a result of the experience. The strongest story results prove that you allowed
the experience to change you and make you better, more committed to your morals and ethics,
etc.
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Your Response
In the space below, write or type your answers to the following questions to get you
started answering this type of essay prompt.
Write down all of the essay prompts of this type that you will have to answer. If there are
more than one, select just one to answer here. (Repeat the following exercises with the
other questions on your own.)
Fill in the table below. On the left, list 2-5 stories from your life that might answer the
prompt. On the right, write down at least 1 powerful result.
Story
Result
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Creating Your Essay Outline
Once you’ve brainstormed some ideas for the main ideas and elements you want to include in
your essay, you’re ready to begin creating an outline.
After brainstorming, a lot of people try to jump straight into writing a full essay from beginning to
end. While you can just start from the beginning, we strongly recommend beginning with at least
a general outline. If you are like most people, it will make the writing process easier for you,
keep you on topic, and help make every part of your essay focused toward the endpoint you
mean to drive home. Remember, your final essay may or may not resemble your outline, and
neither way is bad. An outline is just about making the whole process as easy for you as
possible and making your essay as effective as possible.
No matter which of the 3 prompts you respond to, your essay should read like a story.
Therefore, although there are many acceptable ways to make an outline, we recommend
building your outline like a story.
Here are two ways to think about it:
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Beginning, Middle, and End
This is the story format with which most people are familiar. The most important part of your
story is the end, so know what point you want to drive home. This should be reflected in your
essay outline.
The story you write may or may not be very chronological; rather, it should show personal
development, an increase in the strength of the points you bring up, and/or another positive
change.
Beginning
Your beginning doesn’t need to look like “once upon a time,” and it doesn’t need to mean the
beginning of your literal, academic, or professional life. Remember, this is just the beginning of
your essay. You decide where it begins!
If the essay is a meal, this is just setting the plate and silverware, with a small appetizer and
maybe a few dressings. It is setting the scene and getting the reader ready for what’s coming up
next.
Do you want to start on an emotional note? With something funny? What kind of energy level
will you begin with? How you choose to begin sets the scene and lays a starting point for the
direction of the rest of your outline and essay. Start with something compelling, but save a little
space to develop the story.
Your beginning should take up very little of your essay, so your outline should reflect that. From
the elements and ideas you brainstormed, ask yourself which story, theme, idea, and/or tone
you want to set the scene with, and pick just one or two of these to start with.
Middle
The middle is the carbs, the bread and potatoes of your essay. This is where you collect all your
ideas and develop them toward an end.
Which points do you want to use to build on your beginning, and to lead toward a powerful
ending? These points could be anecdotes, lessons learned, or just the details of one story.
Make a list of those points, and try to order them in a way that builds on each other.
End
This is the meat of your essay, the protein that’s going to stick with the adcom for a while after
they’re done reading.
This should be the most compelling part of your essay, and it should answer the big question:
“So what?” Here, you need to spell out for the reader why all of what you said not only
answers the prompt, but sets you apart as a person, a professional, and an applicant.
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Your ending should explain why you are the hero of the story, how you changed, and what you
learned. You could also include a final short anecdote or emotional strong point.
When writing your outline, it may be helpful to begin by choosing the end before your beginning
and middle. That way, you know where you are going every step of the way and the adcoms will
be able to trace your steps without even thinking about it.
Your Response
In the space below, write or type your answers to the following questions to help you
build your outline. (If you’re stuck, begin with the last question.)
Beginning:
Middle:
End:
The STAR Method
The STAR Method is a powerful choice to outline any type of essay, but for the third type of
essay prompt, behavioral questions, we strongly recommend you use the STAR Method. As
already mentioned, behavioral questions also crop up in interviews, and you need to be ready to
answer with the STAR Method. Keep in mind that the STAR Method can outline your entire
essay, but you also may want to incorporate a few smaller stories into your essay using the
STAR Method on a smaller scale.
In other words, bookmark this page for future reference!
Each piece of the STAR Method can make up a piece of your outline. Those pieces are
Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
S - Situation
Set up the situation for your story. In these essays, your goal is to make the situation as short as
possible while still giving enough context for the reader to easily follow your story.
Especially as you are just making your outline, this part can be as simple as:
S - “During my internship in Ecuador, …”
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T - Task
This is very similar to the situation, but it’s just a little more specific scene-setting. It can also be
very short. For example:
T - “I was assigned to help an elderly couple assess and grow their small artisan jewelry
business that was struggling to keep its doors open.”
A - Action
This is the part where you really start to shine, and that’s why the situation and task parts should
be as short as possible. We want to get to the good part as quickly as we can!
At this point, write about your actions. Other people may have been involved, and you should
give credit where it’s due, but put maximum focus on explaining what you did to save the day.
How did you solve the problem and come to a great decision? What people skills did you use?
What did you do that proves both your aptitude in your industry but also your work ethic? Use
active language: “I decided to,” “I proposed,” “I designed,” “I executed,” “I negotiated,” “I built,”
etc.
In the end, this essay part will be quite a bit longer, perhaps 1-3 paragraphs, maybe more,
depending on your story.
For your outline, just write out 3-5 bullets of things you did to take action, with strong verbs.
R - Result
This is as important as (or more important than!) explaining your actions. Result is when you tell
the adcom exactly why what you did matters.
You can write about measurable results: productivity improvements in percentages, revenue
changes in dollar amounts, etc. However, in your essay, the adcoms care less about how your
actions helped your organization or those around you; mostly, they want to see how this
experience has changed you. How did you become a better businessperson, a better student,
and a better person because of what happened and what you did?
In the end, this section should make up the largest and the meatiest section of this essay,
roughly half (or more). The results are the most important part of your story! You can mention
objective results, but focus on the subjective results that show how you changed as a person.
Your Response
In the space below, write or type your answers to the following questions to help you
build your outline.
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Situation: Write 1-3 bullets of phrases or ideas you will include to set up the situation.
●
●
●
Task: Write 1-3 bullets of phrases or ideas that explain the tasks ahead of you.
●
●
●
Action: Write 3-5 bullets of phrases that explain the actions you took. Use strong action
words.
●
●
●
●
●
Result: Write 4-6 bullets of phrases you will include that show the results of the actions
you took. Focus on how the experience changed you.
●
●
●
●
●
●
Starting to Write
Writing the first couple paragraphs can be the toughest part of writing high-stakes essays. To
help you as you begin to write, set aside 30-60 minutes to begin writing without distractions.
Keep your outline and brainstormed ideas nearby.
When you’re just getting started, remember: the most important thing is to get the content on the
page. Don’t worry that what you’re writing is inadequate. It’s probably better than you think.
Plus, it’s okay and even normal if you end up deleting much of what you write.
Keep your outline, the ending, and the big ideas in mind. Of course, don’t be married to
anything. Especially in these early phases, you can absolutely change your mind. If you start
writing and you decide you want to go a different direction completely, just go back to your
brainstorming exercise and see what other options you could explore, and build a new outline
accordingly.
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Unless you really have the creative juices overflowing, don’t burn yourself out all at once. Write
as much as you can within 30 to 60 minutes, then take at least a few minutes away. (Get up and
walk around, away from screens.) Come back with a refreshed mind and fresh eyes, ready to
see what else you should add.
Extra Essay Writing Tips & Tricks
From the earliest to the latest phases of writing your essays, here are some extra tips and tricks
to help you out:
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Give yourself lots of time: Don’t try to write your essay all in one day. Preferably, the
writing process will take weeks to go from brainstorming to polishing up.
Remove distractions: To make the most of your resume-writing time, go somewhere
away from distractions, silence your phone, and close or minimize irrelevant computer
tabs. If you must listen to something, instrumental or quiet music is okay.
Take advantage of your voice: If you struggle writing out big ideas, record yourself or
use dictation as you talk through your ideas and tell your stories. Some people find this
to be helpful. Once you have at least a rough draft written, read it out loud to yourself.
This can be very effective in helping you hear what it might read like to somebody else,
identify where your story needs work, and catch errors.
Frequently check your goals: Frequently throughout the writing process, check what
you’ve written against the prompt, your outline, and the big idea you want to drive home
with the reader. Make sure you stay on track and laser-focused on your goals.
Ask for help: Talk through your ideas with someone else, and ask them to read your
essay. (See next section.)
Collecting Feedback and Polishing
One of the best–and worst–things about essay writing is that you are never done. Even if you
catch every single spelling and grammar error, there is always more you can do to tweak the
story, change up your formatting, perfect every sentence, or improve each word choice. The
trick is finding as many opportunities to improve as you can.
You should do all you can to read, reread, and reread your essay again to see where you can
make it better. Give yourself enough time to take breaks between revisions so you can reread it
with fresh eyes. Alternate reading it in your mind and out loud. Imagine reading the essay from
the adcom’s perspective. Does everything make sense? Is it moving? Being able to come back
to your own essay and see it with fresh eyes is a difficult skill to master.
This is where collecting external feedback comes in. The goal is to have as many eyes as
possible read each essay. Ask as many people as you trust to read your essay.
Most people know to ask for help with proofreading, or catching spelling and grammar errors.
While this certainly is important, it is even more important that you ask for feedback on how well
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your essay answers the prompt, how moving it is to read, and how well the essay works as a
cohesive story.
Try to get outside your comfort zone to let people from various areas of your life read your
essay. Ask for feedback from close family, good friends, people from school, and/or work
colleagues.
Thank everyone who gives you feedback, even if it seems negative. Don’t be afraid to make
changes based on their suggestions. You might even want to start over with a new idea.
However, feel free to take feedback with a grain of salt. If you get negative feedback about
something that really matters to you, and you think it is very important to writing a great essay
from the heart, you should keep it. Remember, this is your essay for your future.
You may find it helpful to talk through ideas with people during all stages of your writing process,
so don’t put off asking for feedback because you’re not sure your essay is done yet.
We encourage you to talk with other successful candidates and read through their essays.
Your Response
Take time to check in with our Leland community. Ask to read each others’ essays and
give feedback.
What things are your colleagues doing in their essays that you would like to emulate?
What things are your colleagues doing in their essays that you think you need to avoid?
What feedback have you received about your own essay(s) about what you are doing
well?
What feedback have you received about your own essay(s) that may indicate what you
need to change?
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Common Essay Pitfalls
We’ve seen dozens of essays, between our own and our clients’, and even the best applicants
often make similar mistakes. Before and as you begin writing your own essays, check this list of
common pitfalls and make sure you don’t fall for them:
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Try to cover too much - The adcom is much more likely to remember how they felt
while reading your story than all the facts, anecdotes, or stories you share. Going deep
on a few stories may be much more powerful than covering everything.
Talk too much about accomplishments - These essays are meant to help the adcoms
get to know you on a more personal level, so if all you do is talk about how amazing you
are, they will be turned off. Make sure to be humble, and if you talk about an
accomplishment, check with others to make sure it doesn’t come across as boastful.
Force a theme when it doesn’t fit your story - Applicants often choose a theme and
try to push it so hard even when it just doesn’t seem to fit. If you find yourself having to
repeatedly explain why stories fit your theme, then consider picking another theme
and/or new stories.
Regurgitate your resume - Walking through your resume in your essay is incredibly
boring for the reader. It will come across as deathly boring, and doesn’t add any value to
your application. You can talk about the things on your resume, but rather than go
through everything, pick one or a few experiences that really matter to you to write about
in depth.
Cover stories that are discussed in other parts of the application - This means don’t
regurgitate any part of your application! Each application piece should bring something
unique and essential to the table. Let other parts of the application do their jobs and
focus your essay on what really matters.
Write stories that are too professional - It’s fine to talk about how your life lessons
have affected you professionally, but that shouldn’t be your entire story. Nothing makes
someone feel more robotic than not talking about anything except work.
Try to guess what the adcom wants to hear - Be authentic. Be authentic. Be
authentic. Adcoms know when you are BSing them. Don’t copy someone else’s story or
guess what leadership traits you think the adcom wants to see. There is something
amazing and special about each of us; you just need to find it. The adcom will like that
amazing part of you!—and if they don’t, you don’t want to be there anyway.
Not going deep enough - Many of the questions (e.g., “What matters most?”) ask you
to dig deep, and it’s not an easy task. When getting ready to answer those tough
prompts, be prepared to think about it, talk about it, and write about it for several weeks
before even being able to articulate what it might be for you. That’s okay; just make sure
you don’t cut that time short.
Recycling too much - It may be possible to recycle some content and big ideas
between your applications to different schools, but if you do that, each essay must read
as though you wrote each one for each school individually. Count on doing much more
original writing than copying and pasting.
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Bottom Line
Spend a lot of time brainstorming, writing, and revising your application essay(s). Do not
procrastinate or underestimate them; it is extremely important you take the time necessary for it
to all come together. Be personal and open with the admissions team so they can really get to
know you personally. At the end of the day, authenticity is the most important thing you can
convey through your essays.
Make sure to check out Leland+, which has 100+ example essays, resumes, and letters of
recommendation from successful M7 admits as well as video guides, templates, workbooks, and
more – it all comes from our expert coaches and can be accessed for <$10/month!
Create a free account on Leland to receive other exclusive resources (just like this!) as well as
events, classes, and more. Let’s go places!
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