“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?

This question is without a doubt one of those open ended questions that could paralyze your application process to the Harvard Business School. Where do you even begin? What should you share? So what exactly is Harvard looking for? What are they trying to get from this essay? 

The key to this essay is in fact within the question itself. It is the “What more”. By focusing on that part of the question, the applicant is more likely to give the admissions committee an insight into his or her character. Harvard Business School Admissions Committee is always looking for candidates who are principled and can add a value to the overall experience of attending the program there. An applicant’s character and personality does not show up on the resume or in the GMAT score. The only opportunity the applicants have to tell the committee more about themselves is through the essay. This is where the applicants must try their best to convince the committee that they have what it really takes to be a member of the Harvard Business School community. 

It is worth noting that most of the applicants (thousands of them) will do their best to come up with strong reason why they deserve the spot you want for yourself. Their credentials might get them to the threshold, but there is absolutely no guarantee that they could get to the interview stage of the admissions process. To get to the interview, an applicant must show something other than how brilliant they are or how dedicated they are…. After all, this is Harvard we are speaking of, they have seen all kinds of brilliant people over the decades. The essay must engage the committee and must contain personal details about your personal life or thoughts even. A great essay will make the reader want to stop and put on their reading glasses to read it again and then say wow! 

“What More?”: 

It is really easy for a candidate to be tempted to turn their essay into an attempt at prose which will will most definitely put the admissions committee to sleep. The committee reads thousands of these essays during each admissions round and nothing is more annoying to them than an essay about how the hardest thing going on in your life is your inability to stop working hard and to stop being so brilliant and smart! What a struggle! 

When one of the best if not the best business school in the world asks you “What else do you want us to know?” Your focus must be on the “What Else.” You have already showed them in a detailed manner your previous professional experiences both in the short answers sections of the application and the resume. Do not make the terrible mistake of re-mentioning the same things again in the essay! Additionally, the applicant must understand the admissions officers at such a top tier business school understand what a consultant or banker does on the daily basis, so it is important to avoid as much as possible talking about the work you do at the office unless it shows something extra about your character. 

I must tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!  

Most MBA applicants are very afraid to be real and spend days if not months working on creating that perfect image of them in the application which most of the time is not real. The applicant must understand that there will be plenty of rewards if they decide to take the risk to be nothing but themselves! Be vulnerable, talk about the hardships you had to go through to become the person that you are today: the person applying to Harvard Business School! Unless you are the crown prince of Dubai, there is a big chance you had issues and challenges both growing up and as an adult! You must share those with the admissions committee. The goal should be authenticity. 

The sky is not the limit! 

While there is no word limit on the Harvard MBA essay, the applicant must make sure that is the right and appropriate length. It is really important to respect the reader’s time and keep the essay at around 2,000 words. If the essay is longer than that, there is a chance that you wrote about something that should not be on the essay. If the essay is much shorter, it gives the committee the wrong impression on your seriousness and determination. Most applicants write essays that between 1,000 to 1,500 words. The important thing here is the content and authenticity and not the word count. 

Harvard Business School is looking for students are very ambitious and different, with a history of leadership and good morals. Besides your academic and professional track record, the committee wants to know more about your future goals, they want dive deep into your thinking and the reasons why you are who you are today. Your challenge as an applicant to this very selective MBA program to mix the professional credentials with the personal and come up with a very captivating story that could perhaps be likened to a trailer for a movie! No one else lived your experiences and no one else feels the way you do about both your ups and downs, which pretty much makes you the ideal person to write this essay about yourself and convince the school why you are better than the applicant after or before you on the waiting list!