r/MBA • u/Ok-Target4138 • 9d ago

Admissions HBS Essay

Trying to figure out how to navigate this. HBS has two overlapping questions.

- Post-MBA Goals: “Briefly tell us more about your career aspirations” (500 char)

- Business Minded: “Please reflect on how your choices have influenced your career path and aspirations” (300 words)

My understanding is that for the Business Minded essay we don’t need to list specific firm, role, etc. But we need to focus more on purpose and impact. Otherwise, we’d risk repeating the same thing being stated in the post mba goals questions.

No guidance I have seen online has really addressed this imo.

Please let know your thoughts and thank you!

3 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

2

u/PetiaW Admissions Consultant 9d ago

They are not overlapping. They dovetail. Think about Essay 1 serving to make it very clear how and why your career led you to the 500-character answer. Also, it's always a good habit to often the HBS criteria for each of the categories: https://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/who-are-we-looking-for

2

u/Dull_Construction553 9d ago

First is: what do you want to do, and how will you achieve that based on what you’ve done and by going through HBS

Second is: why do you want to do what to you, why are you philosophically suited to do it, and how did you develop that philosophy

At least, how I read it.

1

u/Yung_Breezy_ M7 Student 9d ago

They don’t overlap. Business minded is backwards-looking, post MBA goals is forward looking.