Harvard has made some significant adjustments to their essay structure this year. Whereas in years past, the program has posed as many as seven questions that they required that all applicants answer, this year HBS is requiring only five essays in total. Moreover, the application includes only two prompts to which all applicants must respond, allowing applicants to choose three of six topics for the remaining essays. This makes the HBS application a bit easier to complete in terms of volume of writing, and also allows applicants more flexibility to play on their strengths.

Let’s take a look at each of the questions:

Essay 1: What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
This essay question has been a key component of the HBS application for many years, and its new spot at the top of the essay set (it’s been the second question on the list in years prior) only increases its prominence. Because this question could be the first element of your file that the adcom reads, this is a great opportunity to present the reader with three strong stories that introduce the major themes of your candidacy. Each accomplishment can be presented as a stand-alone section here, so you needn’t be overly concerned about composing a seamless narrative.

HBS has traditionally been very impact-oriented in evaluating applicants’ credentials, so one way to determine which three accomplishments to describe in this essay is often to think about the end results. Experiences in which you made a lasting and quantifiable impact can lend themselves to concise representation, and considering that each accomplishment must be described in approximately 200 words, this can be an important consideration. However, this isn’t to say that the process followed, skills gained, and lessons learned along the way aren’t important, too; these factors could be a great way to address the second half of the question: why you view these accomplishments as your most significant to date.

A final point is that it’s also important to make a well-balanced selection. An applicant who describes two professional successes and one extra-curricular accomplishment, or perhaps one each from the professional, academic and activities realms, can show that he or she excels in any environment.

Essay 2: What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)
The subject of failure or setback is a popular one for business school essays in general, but this is a new topic for Harvard this year. There are a few important elements to consider in addressing this prompt. Firstly, professional maturity, self-reflection and insight are key qualities to communicate. Towards that end, successful essays will describe the mistake in straightforward, step-by-step detail, and will also own the misstep rather than making excuses.

Another important element to touch on is that you’ve experienced some growth or development since the initial mistake. While applicants should not ‘gloss over’ their mistakes, it is important to emphasize positive growth and the learning experience that can come from missing the mark. An effective essay will present this growth in terms of thoughts and feelings, while balancing comments about internal reflections with descriptions of more external actions and changes in behavior.

Please respond to three of the following (400-word limit each):

3a. Discuss a defining experience in your leadership development. How did this experience highlight your strengths and weaknesses?
These were once two separate questions on the HBS application, so a key challenge here will be to convey the needed information in a mere 400 words. Remember that detailed examples tend to make strong impressions on the reader, and while one could conceivably discuss his or her tenure in a certain role or position over time, a stronger approach may be to cover one specific event or instance. This way, you can set the scene and fully describe your actions, as well as the results. Note that because this is a defining experience, there should be a change in the applicant’s leadership skills, approach or perspective between the beginning and end of the story.

3b. How have you experienced culture shock?
While INSEAD has asked a question about culture shock for years, this is a new topic for Harvard, and along with a related addition to Wharton’s application, might suggest that American MBA programs are taking an increasing interest in students’ ability to navigate unfamiliar or even unfriendly environments.

In this case, ‘culture shock’ can refer to a jarring experience in a new country or environment. This is a great essay choice for applicants who have had significant cross-cultural experiences: someone who has worked overseas or relocated abroad permanently for school or other reasons. One may also experience culture without physically relocating, as in the case of learning how to negotiate the disparate expectations between international members of the same team. While international travel might also be a viable topic, this will not necessarily stand out from others in the applicant pool.

Of course, a valuable part of culture shock is the insight and growth that takes place after one get one’s bearings, so many of the best essays incorporate a healthy dose of lessons learned. Applicants aiming to make an impact on the reader might also keep in mind that indicating that cultural adjustment can be fraught with trial and error rather than sugar-coating a response and failing to outline the struggles or periods of adjustment. This essay question offers a good opportunity for an applicant to demonstrate cultural flexibility, offering evidence for his or her ability to operate as a global citizen and work in diverse teams.

3c. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
While MBA applicants often draw upon their extracurricular experiences during college as topics for essays, it’s rare that they get a chance to talk about their more intellectual interests and achievements. This is your chance to go into some detail about why you chose your school and major, and tell the admissions committee about your academic interests and educational milestones. A great essay will underscore an applicant’s intelligence and work ethic, as well as incorporate some element of leadership (especially if the applicant had a significant impact on the department or school as a whole).

3d. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
Always unique among b-schools, HBS not only frames its essay about the applicant’s professional future in terms of a broad vision rather than concrete goals, but also makes it optional.

Harvard’s adcom tries to identify strong leaders, so applicants presenting a directed vision will make a positive impression. Because this essay is about your career vision, you might summarize your past experiences in a very concise manner (i.e. just a few sentences) before moving on to a detailed discussion of your future plans and the reasons that these plans are meaningful to you. See our tips on career goals essays for some general advice here. Of course, you might also touch on the ways in which HBS will help you achieve your vision. Think about how Harvard’s program (specific classes, classmates and clubs) would prepare you for your future.

3e. What global issue is most important to you and why?
Despite the broad-ranging and somewhat philosophical tone of this question, strong essays are often routed in detailed anecdotes rather than abstract beliefs. One great way to approach this question is to look back across the academic, professional and extracurricular elements of one’s candidacy to identify themes or interests that surface in multiple areas. This allows the applicant to point to ways in which he or she has demonstrated a commitment to an issue or set of issues.

The other approach is more oriented towards the future, for applicants who have very detailed and directed plans for addressing a particular global issue while at HBS or thereafter. With the right level of focus, this response could work nicely in tandem with – or in place of – the career vision essay.

3f. What else would you like the MBA Admissions Board to understand about you?
This essay isn’t the place to cover that low GMAT score or explain the absence of a recommendation from a current supervisor; the Harvard application has an “Additional Information” section that is best used for such short explanations. Rather, this essay is a place to highlight some element of your experience, activities or background that is important to your profile but hasn’t come out in response to any of the other questions posed in the application. Think carefully about the big picture of your candidacy – both in terms of past experiences and the way you could contribute to class discussions and the school community – to determine if there’s anything missing from your file. It’s also important to think about unique achievements or experiences that might help you to stand out in Harvard’s high caliber applicant pool.