How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? With this thorough Dartmouth Tuck essay analysis, our friends at mbaMission help you conceptualize your essay ideas and understand how to execute, so that your experiences truly stand out.

As the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College enters its second full admissions season with Luke Anthony Peña at the helm as executive director of admissions and financial aid, we are not surprised to see a major overhaul in the program’s essay questions. What was the school’s first essay last year—which covered candidates’ career goals, why an MBA is needed to achieve them, and their reasons for targeting Dartmouth Tuck—has been deconstructed and reformulated into a series of short-answer questions. Tuck’s new Essay 1 instead addresses applicants’ individuality and anticipated contributions to the school. The admissions committee keeps the focus on contribution in its second essay prompt, asking candidates to discuss a time when they helped facilitate another’s success. Clearly, Tuck is interested in identifying individuals who will be connected, cooperative, and supportive members of its community, both as students and as alumni, staying true to its reputation as having one of the closest-knit and most engaged networks among the top MBA programs. Read on for our detailed Dartmouth Tuck essay analysis. . . Read more

The “GMAT or GRE” decision seems more complicated than it really is. There are a few reasons you might strongly prefer one test over the other, but now that most MBA programs accept both tests, most of us are free to take whichever one is right for us. In this article, we’ll look at the differences between the GMAT and the GRE, and how those differences might change your decision.  Read more

Looking for GMAT Math tips that might earn you a few extra points on Quant? Every one of us can use these simple test-day GMAT math tips, no matter what Quant score we’re aiming for. Read more

GMAT Math is like middle or high school math, minus the hard parts. There’s no trigonometry, no calculus, and no proofs. Instead, the biggest value is in story problems, solving and simplifying equations, and some basic geometry and number theory. Read more

Getting a 700 GMAT score isn’t easy, and it’s not the right goal for everyone. But if it wasn’t tough to get a 700, it wouldn’t be such an accomplishment! Here’s how to get a 700 on the GMAT and add something really special to your MBA applications. Read more

The GMAT isn’t a college exam! Instead of ramping up the difficulty by testing harder material, the GMAT gets harder by making tougher demands on your executive reasoning skills. The way you study for the GMAT can’t just be based on learning math and grammar. It also has to improve your executive reasoning skills and prepare you to take the test effectively. Read more

How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? With this thorough Wharton essay analysis, our friends at mbaMission help you conceptualize your essay ideas and understand how to execute, so that your experiences truly stand out.

Often spurned at the last minute for Harvard Business School, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and, at times, Columbia Business School, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, possibly more than any other top MBA program, really wants to know that you want to earn your degree there. So we were not at all surprised to see that Wharton has maintained the prompt for its first essay, which requires applicants to explain their professional rationale for wanting to go to Wharton. (Note that by contrast, HBS does not ask candidates to spell out “Why HBS?”) Read more

How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? With this thorough Chicago Booth essay analysis, our friends at mbaMission help you conceptualize your essay ideas and understand how to execute, so that your experiences truly stand out.

After maintaining its somewhat unique “choose a photo” essay prompt for three years in a row, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business has completely overhauled its application essays this season, transitioning from that single open-ended and creative option to two short, direct essay questions. And notably, the school has shifted from having no limits at all to having a minimum expectation with respect to word count. In some ways, the minimum sets a range that a lack of limit does not. We have often suggested 1,000 words as a guide for the unlimited Chicago Booth essay, but now, we suggest keeping responses to 500–600 words each. Approximately double the minimum seems to be a reasonable high-end target, though you will not be thrown from the applicant pool for going even higher. That said, we do think 1,000 words would be as high as one might go, and only in exceedingly rare cases. Read more

Haaaappy Halloweeeeen, dear reader. What’s that? You’re already annoyed by the trite conceit of this conveniently-timed piece about trick-or-treating? Read more

How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? With this thorough Northwestern University Kellogg essay analysis, our friends at mbaMission help you conceptualize your essay ideas and understand how to execute, so that your experiences truly stand out.

The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University has not changed its application essay questions this year, after making only minimal changes to its prompts last season, when mbaMission Senior Consultant Rachel Hyman was an admissions officer at Kellogg. So, who better to ask than Rachel for an opinion on how to approach them? In discussing Kellogg’s questions, Rachel commented, “When I was in the admissions office, we looked for authentic personal self-reflection in essays. With one question about brave leaders and the other about personal and professional growth, Kellogg provides opportunities for applicants to reveal that they have it within them to reflect and develop their skills and characters. I would encourage applicants to really ensure that they give the admissions committee an opportunity to get to know the real you, your journey [growth] so far [to become a stronger leader], and why you are a critical piece within the Kellogg mosaic. Don’t hesitate to let them know about how you will create lasting value and grow as an individual through your relationship with Kellogg.” Consider this perspective—one in which you are opening yourself up to the admissions committee and sharing not just your accomplishments but also your experiences and values—as you write your essays. Our Northwestern University Kellogg essay analysis follows… Read more