michigan ross mba essay questions

Michigan Ross MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Uncover the essential insights and expert tips for crafting compelling Michigan Ross MBA essays with this comprehensive guide.

Posted March 1, 2024

Featuring Avi L.

How an AdCom Evaluates an MBA Application

Starting tuesday, july 2.

5:00 PM UTC · 60 minutes

Table of Contents

The University of Michigan Ross School of Business is renowned for its top-ranked MBA program, and one crucial component of the application process is the essays. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide an overview of the Michigan Ross MBA essays, offer tips on how to craft compelling responses , and provide examples of successful essays from admitted students.

University of Michigan Ross Application and the Role of Essays

The University of Michigan Ross MBA application is a highly competitive process that requires applicants to submit four essays as part of their application package. These essays serve as a critical component in the admissions process, providing applicants with a platform to showcase their experiences, goals, and fit with the Ross community .

When crafting their essays, applicants are encouraged to reflect on their personal and professional experiences, highlighting key moments that have shaped their journey and influenced their decision to pursue an MBA at Ross. The admissions committee carefully reviews these essays to gain valuable insights into each applicant's personality, motivations, and potential contributions to the Ross community.

One of the essays prompts applicants to describe their short-term and long-term career goals. This essay allows applicants to articulate their aspirations and demonstrate how an MBA from Ross will help them achieve these goals. It also provides an opportunity for applicants to showcase their understanding of the industry they wish to enter and how their unique skills and experiences align with their chosen career path.

Another essay prompt focuses on the applicant's leadership experience. Ross places a strong emphasis on developing leaders who make a positive impact in their organizations and communities. This essay allows applicants to highlight their leadership abilities, showcasing instances where they have taken initiative, inspired others, and made a difference. It also provides an opportunity for applicants to discuss any challenges they have faced as a leader and how they have grown from those experiences.

In addition to these two essays, applicants are also required to write about their personal and professional accomplishments, as well as their reasons for choosing Ross specifically. These essays provide applicants with a chance to reflect on their achievements, highlighting moments of growth, resilience, and success. They also allow applicants to demonstrate their knowledge of Ross and explain why they believe it is the perfect fit for their MBA journey.

Throughout the essay writing process, applicants are encouraged to be authentic and genuine, allowing their true selves to shine through their words. The admissions committee values diversity and seeks applicants who will contribute to the vibrant and collaborative Ross community. Therefore, it is important for applicants to use their essays as an opportunity to showcase their unique perspectives , experiences, and passions.

Once the essays are submitted, the admissions committee carefully reviews each application, taking into consideration the applicant's academic record, test scores, letters of recommendation, and other supporting materials. The essays, however, play a crucial role in the decision-making process, allowing the admissions committee to gain a deeper understanding of each applicant beyond their academic achievements.

In conclusion, the University of Michigan Ross MBA application essays serve as a powerful tool for applicants to convey their personal and professional stories, showcasing their fit with the Ross community and their potential to make a lasting impact . Through these essays, applicants have the opportunity to demonstrate their unique qualities, experiences, and aspirations, ultimately setting themselves apart in the competitive admissions process.

UMich Ross Essay Prompts (2023-2024)

This year, the University of Michigan Ross MBA program has introduced a set of new essay prompts for the 2023-2024 application cycle. The essay prompts are crafted to assess applicants' knowledge of their own personal and professional journeys and their alignment with Ross values. Let's dive into each essay prompt and explore strategies for crafting strong responses:

Essay Prompt 1: Describe your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA at Ross specifically? (300 words)

When responding to this essay prompt, it is crucial to clearly articulate your career goals and explain how a Ross MBA will help you achieve them. Demonstrate a deep understanding of the unique resources, programs, and opportunities offered by Ross that align with your aspirations. Consider discussing specific courses, clubs, or partnerships that align with your career goals.

Essay Prompt 2: At Ross, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to creating a positive change in the business world. How have you contributed to creating an inclusive environment? (300 words)

In this essay, highlight your experiences and initiatives that have contributed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Showcase your ability to foster an inclusive environment through your actions, whether it be through collaboration, mentorship, or community engagement. Be specific and provide examples to illustrate the impact of your contributions.

Essay Prompt 3: Describe a time when you faced a challenging situation in a professional or team setting. What did you learn from this experience? (300 words)

This essay prompt requires you to reflect on a challenging situation and share your learnings. Focus on your growth and resilience in the face of adversity. Discuss the actions you took to address the challenge and the lessons you gained as a result. Convey your ability to learn from setbacks and apply those lessons to future situations.

Essay Prompt 4: Ross is a place where people from all backgrounds with different career aspirations can thrive. How will you contribute to the Ross community? (300 words)

In this essay, emphasize how you will bring a unique perspective to the Ross community and enhance the learning experience of your peers. Highlight your past experiences of collaboration, leadership, or mentorship and explain how you will leverage those skills at Ross. Showcase your understanding of the Ross culture and your potential contributions to the community.

Free trial!

From 119 top coaches

Access a library of videos, templates, and examples curated by Leland’s top coaches.

Example essays.

Example Resumes

Application Prep

Video Courses

List of Expert Tips for Each Ross Essay Prompt

To maximize your chances of crafting compelling essays, here are some expert tips for each essay prompt:

• Clearly define your career goals and demonstrate a strong fit with Ross resources and programs.
• Showcase specific experiences and initiatives that exemplify your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Choose a challenging situation that highlights your resilience, problem-solving ability, and growth mindset.
• Highlight your unique attributes, skills, and experiences that will contribute to the Ross community.

MBA Essay Tips: How to Write Compelling Essays

Writing compelling essays requires careful thought and strategy. Here are some general tips to help you craft impactful responses:

• Start early and allocate sufficient time for brainstorming, drafting, and revising your essays.
• Be authentic and genuine in your writing. Your essays should reflect your unique experiences, perspectives, and aspirations.
• Provide specific examples and anecdotes to support your statements and showcase your achievements.
• Use a concise and clear writing style, focusing on conveying your message effectively.
• Proofread your essays to eliminate errors and ensure clarity.

UMich Ross Essay Examples From Success Admits — With Analysis

Examining successful essay examples can provide valuable insights into what makes a strong response. Here are some essay examples from admitted Ross students:

• Essay Example 1: Aligning Career Goals with Ross Values

[Essay content and analysis]

• Essay Example 2: Promoting Inclusion and Diversity
• Essay Example 3: Overcoming Challenges and Personal Growth
• Essay Example 4: Contributing to the Ross Community

UMich Ross Essay FAQs

As you embark on your essay-writing journey, you may have some common questions in mind. Here are answers to frequently asked questions about the Michigan Ross MBA essays:

• Q: How long should my essay responses be?

A: Each essay should be limited to 300 words.

• Q: Are there specific formatting guidelines to follow?

A: Stick to clear and concise writing. Use paragraphs, proper punctuation, and avoid excessive formatting.

• Q: Can I exceed the word limit if necessary?

A: It is strongly recommended to adhere to the word limit to ensure your responses are impactful and concise.

• Q: Should I use jargon or technical terms in my essays?

A: Aim for clarity and avoid excessive jargon. Your essays should be accessible and understandable to the admissions committee.

With this comprehensive guide, you now have the tools and knowledge to tackle the Michigan Ross MBA essays with confidence. Remember to showcase your unique story, demonstrate a strong fit with Ross, and craft compelling essays that leave a lasting impression on the admissions committee. Best of luck!

Browse hundreds of expert coaches

Leland coaches have helped thousands of people achieve their goals. A dedicated mentor can make all the difference.

Browse Related Articles

March 1, 2024

UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Get ready to ace your UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA application with this comprehensive essay guide.

March 2, 2024

Georgetown McDonough MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Looking to ace your Georgetown McDonough MBA essays? Our comprehensive guide provides an overview, valuable tips, and real examples to help you craft compelling and impactful essays that will set you apart from the competition.

UW Foster MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Learn everything you need to know about writing impactful UW Foster MBA essays with our comprehensive guide.

Berkeley Haas MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Looking to ace your Berkeley Haas MBA application essays? Our comprehensive guide provides an overview of the essay prompts, valuable tips, and real examples to help you craft compelling and impactful responses.

UVA Darden MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Crafting compelling UVA Darden MBA essays can be a game-changer for your application.

Duke Fuqua MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Discover everything you need to know about crafting standout MBA essays for Duke Fuqua.

Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Learn how to craft compelling essays for your Dartmouth Tuck MBA application with this comprehensive guide.

Yale SOM MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Looking to ace your Yale SOM MBA essays? Our comprehensive guide provides an overview of the application process, valuable tips, and real examples to help you craft compelling and standout essays that can secure your spot at Yale School of Management..

CMU Tepper MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Looking to ace your CMU Tepper MBA application essays? Our comprehensive guide offers an overview, valuable tips, and real examples to help you craft compelling and impactful responses.

USC Marshall MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Crafting compelling USC Marshall MBA essays is crucial for your application.

UT Austin McCombs MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Looking to ace your UT Austin McCombs MBA application? Our comprehensive guide provides an overview, valuable tips, and real examples to help you craft compelling essays that stand out.

Indiana University Kelley MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Crafting compelling essays for your Indiana University Kelley MBA application? Our comprehensive guide provides an overview, valuable tips, and real essay examples to help you stand out and secure your spot in this prestigious program.

Stay on top of the latest insights.

Advice, tips and insights from the admissions dream team., table of contents, michigan ross mba essays: tips & strategy.

• By Sharon Joyce

The Michigan Ross MBA essay questions are among the shortest — both by word count and number of questions posed — among top business schools.

In previous application cycles, applicants were indeed asked standard questions such as, “Why Ross?”  The admissions team found that responses tended to mirror some version of its very own website; this was not very insightful or useful in Ross’s competitive selection process. In responses, Ross decided to try a unique approach, Ross Senior Associate Director of MBA Admissions Taya Sapp told Fortuna. The school streamlined questions to require succinct replies (a mere 100 words!). The tight word count is intentionally designed to force applicants to be laser-focused in their answers.

How to Tackle the Michigan Ross MBA Essay Questions

Applicants are asked to select one prompt from each group of the two groups below.

Group 1 I want people to know that I: I made a difference when I: I was aware that I was different when:

Group 2 i am out of my comfort zone when: i was humbled when: i was challenged when:.

Rest assured that there isn’t an underlying “trick” or favored choice in terms of which prompt to answer. It’s not which prompt you choose that’s being evaluated, but what you share in the content of your response.

Sapp emphasized that the questions were crafted to get at traits that are valued at the school. Specifically, Michigan is a place for those who like to push themselves outside of their comfort zone, those who enjoy learning by doing, and those who don’t mind “getting their hands dirty.” The current questions are essentially behavioral-based questions to evaluate how actions and activities from an applicant’s past mesh with a “fit” for Ross.

As Michigan Ross is well known for offerings like the Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) course and Student-Run Investment Funds, the program’s emphasis on fit is more than marketing fodder; Ross MBA admissions really is evaluating candidates to see if traits are aligned.

Conveying the ‘why’ behind your short-term career goal

Alongside these essay questions, the Ross application also asks, “What is your short-term career goal and why i s this the right short-term career goal for you?” (150-words)

While the short-term career goal question is typical among business schools, the follow-up “why?” is not.  In getting at the “why,” the Admissions Committee wants to see that applicants are thoughtful about their career aspirations. This is a great way to share how previous experiences inform your short-term goal statement and  that you also have a realistic understanding of your future intended industry and/or functional role. It’s suggested to name a company, or two, as part of the short-term goal – bonus points for citing companies that recruit at Ross and knowing what kind of positions/pathways newly minted Ross MBAs secured.

Optimizing the Optional Question

Ross also offers a final optional question:

Is there something in your resume or application that could use some explanation?

You might want to discuss the completion of supplemental coursework, employment gaps, academic issues, etc.  Feel free to use bullet points where appropriate.”

While there isn’t a specific word count, my Fortuna Admissions colleagues and I suggest no more than 250 words. This is a standard question for applicants to address any factor(s) in their application that might need more explanation. My advice here is to keep it simple (and remember Ross’s bias toward concision and clarity.) For example, in addressing a low GPA, it is useful to describe factors that contributed to it, but don’t go too into the weeds. Rather, share briefly what happened (think: explanation, not excuses). What’s more important to convey is what was learned, how study skills have improved, and cite factors that would bolster an Admissions Committee’s confidence that an applicant can handle the rigorous coursework at Ross (e.g. a strong GMAT, passing CFA exams, additional post-bacc coursework).

Let’s Get You In.

Fortuna Admissions is a dream team of former MBA Admissions Directors and Officers from 18 of the top 20 business schools. With our unparalleled collective expertise, we are able to coach you to develop a clear vision of your goals for business school and beyond. We work closely with you throughout the application process and provide expert guidance at every stage to maximize your chances of admission to a top school.

Our free consultations are consistently rated as the best in the industry. To learn more about Fortuna and assess your chances of admission to a top business school, request a free consultation .

  Fortuna’s Sharon Joyce is an MBA Admissions Coach and former Berkeley Haas Associate Director   of Admissions. For a candid assessment of your chances of admission success at a top MBA   program, sign up for a free consultation .

• Posted on October 3, 2023

Share this article on social media

Sign up now for a free 30-minute discovery session to get personalized feedback on your profile and learn how Fortuna can help you secure admission to your dream school!

Sign up for a free consultation

Sign up for our free bi-weekly newsletter and get the best MBA admissions advice straight to your inbox.

First Name *

Last Name *

2024-2025 Michigan Ross MBA Essay Tips and Example Essays

Jun 21, 2024

• Who is Ross looking for?
• How should I answer Ross essay questions?
• Make sure you get into Michigan Ross
• Michigan Ross Deadlines

UPDATE : This article was originally posted on August 9, 2018. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

With its famous MAP project, Michigan Ross is a haven for collaboratively-minded leaders who love to learn by getting their hands dirty.

However, Ross has rapidly increased in the rankings in the past few years, making it more difficult than ever to secure admission to this elite MBA program. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Ross admissions essays to stand out. We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to Michigan Ross MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Ross application your best shot.

1. Who is Ross looking for?

(Michigan Ross students participating in Ross’ 7-week MAP program , Photo courtesy of Michigan Ross)

Every year, Michigan Ross searches the globe for outstanding professionals for its annual class of 380 students. With a strong emphasis on diversity and leadership, there is no “typical” Ross student, yet the average admitted student for the Class of 2025 had a 719 GMAT score and an average of 5.8 years of work experience . 

NOTE: Michigan Ross is continuing to offer GMAT/GRE waivers. If you would like to be considered, an additional essay is required. Find out more information here .

Beyond the impressive statistics, though, Ross offers its students the chance to prepare themselves to lead by giving them multiple opportunities for hands-on learning. 

Check out this video on the Ross student experience: 

If this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll first have to prove you’ve got what it takes by successfully answering Ross’ admissions essay questions.  

2. How should I answer Ross essay questions?

2.1. essay 1 tips.

Ross Experiences in Action-Based Learning (REAL) 

At Michigan Ross, we believe the best way to learn is by doing. In our Full-Time MBA Program, you will put your skills and knowledge to the test in real-world situations with real stakes. 

How will this learning environment benefit you, and how do you plan to contribute to the action-based learning experience? (300 words) 

First, before starting on any of your essays, we suggest that you review these tips from the Michigan Ross admissions team. 

Ross is famous for pioneering action-based learning with its MAP course . This “learning by doing” approach is at the core of the Ross experience , and this question challenges you to demonstrate that you are a good fit for this environment. 

At its core, this is a research-based question, so start by doing research. Look into the MAP course, as well as the school’s other REAL (action-based learning) opportunities. 

Then, connect these opportunities to your goals. For example, if you plan to go into social impact investing, you’ll want to highlight the REAL.INVEST Social Venture Fund course and how you’ll gain specific skills and experiences that will directly benefit your future career. You may then also want to add which type of MAP project you’d want to pursue and why and add how being involved in the Erb Impact Projects will also enhance your learning in a unique way. 

I would suggest not focusing on just one aspect of the REAL/action-based curriculum at Ross, but would instead choose multiple different offerings and show how each uniquely contributes to helping you reach your goals. 

When talking about how these offerings will help you reach your goals, stay away from general statements like, ‘The MAP project will be a great way to help me get more experience.” Instead, focus specifically on what you hope to get out of the experience and how that will help you grow in a specific way that benefits your future goals. 

Finally, end the essay by talking about how you can contribute in these environments. Don’t just include statements like,  “I have 5 years of experience in healthcare, so I am excited to contribute to a healthcare-focused MAP project.” Instead, pull out specific aspects of your experience that your colleagues could benefit from learning. 

For example, perhaps you’re a lawyer who is making a career transition. When sharing your contributions, you might want to mention how legal concerns are a huge part of the business world that young leaders often fail to consider when thinking about starting or acquiring businesses, so you’re excited to share this vision with classmates. By connecting specific contributions to the offerings you mention and making sure you directly mention how others can benefit , you’ll show Ross that you’re someone who will leverage the Ross MBA to take their career to new heights while also helping others reach their goals. 

Need more guidance? Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of Michigan Ross essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning Michigan Ross essay. Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join ! 

2.2. Essay 2 Tips

How will you make an impact at Michigan Ross? 

Michigan Ross is proud to support a community of leaders and impact makers. As a future member of this community, we want to know more about who you are and what drives you. Please choose 1 of the following prompts to tell us more about what makes you stand out beyond your academic and work experience. List the prompt you are answering at the top of your response. (200 words) 

• What makes you unique? 
• Can you provide a specific example of how you’ve overcome a personal challenge? 
• What makes you excited to get up each morning? 
• Describe a time when you made a difference in your community or with an individual. 

In this essay prompt, you’re given an opportunity to show the admissions committee how you’ll contribute to the unique diversity of the class in a way that no one else will . 

Choosing well here is essential . The rest of your application will speak to your academic and professional strengths, your goals, and why you feel Ross is a good fit for you. The majority of applicants will also check these boxes, so this essay question is your chance to show them why they should take YOU. 

First, before looking at the prompts, I recommend that you brainstorm a list of examples that show off a side of you that hasn’t been covered elsewhere, that aligns with your personal brand, and that shows off why you’ll be a strong contributor at Ross. This could be experiences pulled from your volunteer work, a challenge you’ve overcome in life, a unique life experience, or a passion you voraciously pursue (like a sport or hobby). Based on the wording of the question, I would stick to non-professional experiences/stories here. 

Once you’ve brainstormed, I would also suggest filtering your list based on which stories can be told in a STAR format , since these will have more impact than general statements, especially considering the tiny word count. 

Finally, choose the prompt that best connects with your story and ensure that you frame your introduction and conclusion to mirror the wording of the prompt. For example, if you choose to focus on what makes you unique but don’t actually mention why the story you’re sharing makes you unique in your essay, the essay won’t work exceptionally well. 

To end, if you have space, you might want to share a sentence or two about how you’ll contribute what you’ve learned with this story/experience at Ross. This isn’t required, however, so don’t worry if you don’t have space. 

2.3. Essay 3 Tips

What is your short-term career goal and how will Ross help you achieve it? (200 words)

As one of the most transparent admissions committees in the MBA world, Ross has taken clear steps each year to make their application increasingly streamlined. 

This is important to keep in mind because Ross has deliberately been very clear about what they want here: short-term goals only. 

TOP TIP : If you’re not sure what your goals are, check out this post designed to help you think through this critical component of your application!

To answer the first part of the question, you want to clearly and concisely state your short-term goal. When discussing your goals , clarity is king, so make sure you include a job title and industry in your description of your post-MBA aspiration. Additionally, we suggest you briefly elaborate on your vision for impact – or, what you hope to accomplish in your stated position in the future (if necessary, you can move this part to part two of this response!).

However, goals without context can be a little confusing to decipher or understand (or they can just seem a bit lackluster). For that reason, it is essential that you include that context.

We suggest including that context in the form of a brief story or past experience that shows the reader why your goals are meaningful to you or how you have worked towards them so far. For example, if your goal is to focus on sustainable transportation methods, you may want to include a very brief story or statement about how you have helped catalyze sustainable solutions in the past. 

After clearly stating your motivations for your goal, briefly touch on how Ross can help you achieve these goals. This should not be a “laundry list” of 10 classes you found on the Ross site, nor a section in which you repeat clichés about the school. 

Instead, you should thoughtfully consider how you must grow personally and professionally to reach your stated short-term goal and what elements of Ross (classes, faculty, clubs, etc.) will help you reach them. You only have space for 2-3 sentences, however, so choose wisely. 

Ending your essay with a killer conclusion sentence to leave your reader with a strong image of your profile is the perfect wrap-up. 

2.4. Optional Essay Tips

Is there something in your resume or application that needs a brief explanation? Appropriate uses of this essay would be the explanation of an employment gap, academic outliers, choice of recommender, completion of supplemental coursework, etc. You may use bullet points where appropriate. (250 words) 

This section should only be used to convey information not addressed elsewhere in your application, for example, completion of supplemental coursework, employment gaps, academic issues, etc. Feel free to use bullet points where appropriate. 

Though with such a short application you may be tempted to use this response to add additional stories and information you couldn’t quite squeeze in elsewhere, restraint is necessary here. Make sure you focus on explaining gaps in your application only, though you can use these explanations to highlight related achievements. 

For example, our client Fernando needed to explain his 6-month gap in work experience. As luck would have it, he spent these 6 months volunteering in Asia, so we not only addressed a “weakness” but were also able to include a new achievement in his application. (Read more about Fernando’s time in Asia by downloading our Ross sample essays below).

We have written extensively on the issue of optional essays, giving tips and tricks for how to address issues like low GMAT scores or poor academic performance here . 

3. Make sure you get into Michigan Ross

You only get one chance to make an impression on the Ross adcom, so make it count!

Good storytelling in your essays is often the difference between telling a story that moves elite business schools to move you forward in the application process and a “no.”

Yet translating your professional “highlights reel” into compelling stories is no easy task. 

That’s why our team at Ellin Lolis Consulting is obsessed with telling your story . 

This is the approach we took with our client Eduardo, who was admitted to Michigan Ross last year: “I only wish I’d found Ellin sooner! There are MBA consultants, and then there is Ellin. Her extremely human and hands-on approach made me feel comfortable and confident with the process. Throughout the time we worked together, I always knew I was being personally taken care of by her and her team. To anyone that is looking for someone to help them with their MBA application journey: look no further. You have found the unrivaled best consultant in the business.I only wish I’d found Ellin sooner! There are MBA consultants, and then there is Ellin. Her extremely human and hands-on approach made me feel comfortable and confident with the process. Throughout the time we worked together, I always knew I was being personally taken care of by her and her team. To anyone that is looking for someone to help them with their MBA application journey: look no further. You have found the unrivaled best consultant in the business.”

Let our award-winning editors use their expert writing abilities, deep understanding of what Ross is looking for, and marketing know-how to transform your application from average to attention-grabbing and get you a spot at Ross! 

Ready to put the Ellin Lolis Advantage to work for your MBA application essays? Get in touch with us ! 

4. Michigan Ross Deadlines

The deadlines for the 2024-2025 season are below. You can access the Ross application here .

Ross Round 1 Deadlines

Application Deadline : September 9, 2024

Interview Notification : Ongoing

Decisions Released : December 6, 2024

Ross Round 2 Deadlines

Application Deadline : January 6, 2025

Decisions Released : March 14, 2025

Ross Round 3 Deadlines

Application Deadline : March 24, 2025

Decisions Released : May 2, 2025

Real MBA Essays That Got People In

School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted

Get Access Now

98.9% Success Rate

With our expertise and 98.9% success rate in placing our consulting clients in at least one of their target schools, we can add more value to your application than you ever thought possible.

Recent Articles

2024-2025 London Business School Essay Tips and Example Essays

Jun 26, 2024

UPDATE: This article was originally posted on November 28,...

Harvard Business School MBA Deadlines for 2024-2025

If you’re preparing for the HBS MBA (check out our essay tips and sample essays here!), ensuring you finish everything on time is essential. Here are the deadlines for the Class of 2027.    HBS MBA Round 1 Deadlines Application Deadline: September 4, 2024...

Dartmouth Tuck MBA Deadlines for 2024-2025

If you’re preparing for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA (check out our essay tips and sample essays here!), ensuring you finish everything on time is essential. Here are the deadlines for the Class of 2027.    Tuck Round 1 Deadlines* Application Deadline: September 26,...

Ready to start your MBA Success?

Michigan Ross Application Deadlines and Essay Advice: 2023-2024

The  University of Michigan Ross School of Business has released its application essays for this season.

Want to learn more about applying to Michigan Ross? Take a look at Personal MBA Coach’s interview with Diana Economy, Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions at the University of Michigan Ross, to get insider advice on the Ross experience and application process.

Upcoming Michigan Ross MBA application deadlines coming soon!

Sign up here to get updates!

2023-2024 Michigan Ross MBA Application Essays:

Michigan ross essays: part 1: short-answer questions, select one prompt from each group of the two groups below. respond to each selected prompt in 100 words or less (<100 words each; 200 words total)., i want people to know that i:, i made a difference when i:, i was aware that i was different when:, i am out of my comfort zone when:, i was humbled when:, i was challenged when:.

Below is Personal MBA Coach’s advice on how to approach the Michigan Ross MBA application essays.

While not explicitly stated, with a more traditional career-focused essay to follow, consider your personal background as you answer these short questions. Pick the prompt that resonates best with you as there is no preferred option.

For Group 1, think about your most unique attribute or accomplishment. What sets you apart from other applicants? A personal accomplishment or a fond personal success story would work well here. Volunteer or extracurricular stories could also be good to cover.

If you have a unique skill or talent, Group 1 would be a good place to share it. If you did something amazing that is not on your resume or that you want to call more attention to, that also would work well for this prompt. Other options for this prompt include examples of passions or values. Remember, MBA admissions directors aspire to bring a well-rounded group of students to campus each year. This is your chance to share something about your upbringing or personality that will position you to add another perspective to class discussions. Try not to overthink it — as we previously shared in our  post-AIGAC conference blog , admissions directors are growing tired of reading trauma essays and just want to get to know their candidates.

For Group 2, show the reader a bit about your character. What would working and studying with you be like? This is not the time to sing your own praises but instead the time to show you are human. Show what you have gained from this experience and let the reader see that you are someone students would want to be around.

Alternatively, these prompts give candidates the opportunity to show an area of relative weakness. Authenticity and growth are key hot points for many admissions committee members. Candidates are applying to business school to grow and are not expected to be perfect when they arrive. Discussing a challenge that you have overcome and/or will continue to overcome could be a nice choice here.

Michigan Ross Essays: Part 2: Career Goal

What is your short-term goal and why is this the right short-term career goal for you   (150 words).

Next, Michigan Ross asks applicants to discuss their goals and why these goals are a good fit for them. For more on how to write a goal statement, check out this blog.

With only 150-words, Personal MBA Coach advises that applicants are very straightforward when citing their short-term goal.

Once you have clearly stated your short-term career goal, you will want to explain the why behind this goal. You will want to explain both why this goal is right for you AND why you are positioned to succeed. There are many questions you should consider as you answer this prompt.

These include: What experience do you bring to the table? What attracts you to your chosen field? Why are you passionate about it? How will this short-term goal help prepare you for your long-term goal?

Optional Statement: Is there something in your resume or application that could use some explanation? You might want to discuss the completion of supplemental coursework, employment gaps, academic issues, etc. Feel free to use bullet points where appropriate.

The optional Michigan Ross essay should only be answered by those with extenuating circumstances. Read more on our  approach to optional essays .

Ready to apply to Michigan Ross? Find out how Personal MBA Coach can help you maximize your chances of success with our  Comprehensive MBA Packages !

You also may like these other blog articles:

Find out why we are consistently ranked #1. Sign up for a 30-minute consultation today!

We have over 200 5 Star Reviews. Find out WHY!

schedule consultation

Which program are you applying to?

Accepted Admissions Blog

Everything you need to know to get Accepted

January 4, 2024

Michigan Ross MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2023 – 2024]

The Michigan Ross MBA program is thriving. Its graduates get jobs throughout the United States and around the world. 

Here are a few key stats, drawn from the school’s 2023 Employment Report :

• Of the school’s 2023 grads, 96% had at least one job offer within three months of graduation.
• Forty-five percent of the Class of 2023 received offers from McKinsey & Company, Bain, and BCG. Deloitte and Amazon are also among the program’s top hiring companies. 
• On-campus recruiting facilitated 87% of offers. 

As for the school’s incoming students in 2023, the latest Michigan Ross class profile offers the following data:  

• The average GMAT score was 719.
• The average GPA was 3.43. 
• The average GRE 160 verbal 160 quantitative 4.5 writing
• Acceptances rate was 28.1%

There’s opportunity in these numbers. The Michigan Ross MBA program is a fantastic option that is slightly easier to get into than other top programs, particularly if you want to join an MBB consulting firm!

Ready to get to work on your Michigan Ross application? Read on.

Michigan Ross application essay tips

Michigan ross application deadlines, michigan ross class profile.

Ross likes its application essays short, sweet, and to the point. The bad news about this is that you don’t get much real estate in which to tell your story; the good news is that you can quickly crunch out two 100-word (or shorter) essays and one 150-word career goals essay in one night. 

The school’s “short-answer questions” allow you to paint a unique, multidimensional picture of yourself and provide the Ross admissions committee with insight into “your values and what you would add to the Michigan Ross community.” Keep that goal in mind as you craft your submissions. Use your responses to provide context for events described elsewhere in your application, offer your perspective on your values, and convey your ability to contribute at Ross and beyond.

Remember, your application allows the admissions committee to meet and get to know you.

Michigan Ross Short-Answer Question 1

Select one prompt from each group of the two groups below. Respond to each selected prompt in 100 words or less (<100 words each; 200 words total). 

For the Ross short answers, you must start by asking yourself  which prompt speaks to you most.

Select the question in each group that is easiest for you to answer and allows you to present events and experiences that complement not only each other but also the information provided in other parts of your application. You want to minimize repetition and overlap.

Ross doesn’t label the groups thematically. Group 1 appears to be an opportunity for you to talk about something you’re proud of –  your identity  or a contribution you’ve made. Group 2 relates to handling a challenging experience or situation, and to your resilience. 

Again, choose the individual questions that allow you to present yourself best and “stand out,” as  Ross instructs  at the top of its application requirements page. Both groups of prompts demand a behavioral response, in which you discuss one experience or situation and reflect on it. You don’t have room to address any more.

As you choose which questions to answer, consider what you want Ross to know about you. The prompt indicates what they want to know. Now, respond by telling the admissions committee what you want them to know.

• I want people to know that I: 
• I made a difference when I:
• I was aware that I was different when I:
• I was out of my comfort zone when:
• I was humbled when:
• I was challenged when:

Given the  100-word limit for each response  to these behavioral questions, you need to describe the incident or situation and succinctly analyze it within the context of the prompt. For example, why do you “want them to know” about X (Group 1, bullet 1) or the reason you were humbled or out of your comfort zone (Group 2, bullets 1-2)?

Michigan Ross Short-Answer Question 2 

​ career goal: what is your short-term goal, and why is it the right goal for you (150 words).

The reasons for your short-term goal could include the following: 

• How the distinctive elements of your background shaped your goal
• What you hope to accomplish in that position or how it will prepare you for a longer-term goal
• What aspects of the role appeal to you and times you have enjoyed similar work
• The values you will realize in that role
• An achievement or challenge you faced and how it influenced your goals (Share the story of that experience and how it affected your short-term MBA goals.)

Those are just a few ideas. Although this is Ross’s most extensive essay, it’s still only 150 words. Make every word count.

Michigan Ross Optional Statement

Is there something in your resume or application that could use some explanation? It would be best to discuss completing supplemental coursework, employment gaps, academic issues, why you used your former supervisor for your recommendation rather than a current supervisor, etc. This is not an opportunity to take an essay you wrote for another school and plop it here. It provides context for extenuating circumstances. Feel free to use bullet points where appropriate.

Ross doesn’t provide a word limit for this essay, but you should keep your response short.

For expert guidance with your Michigan Ross MBA application, check out Accepted’s  MBA Application Packages , which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to top MBA programs and look forward to helping you, too!

Source:  Michigan Ross website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with Michigan Ross directly to verify its essay questions, instructions, and deadlines.***

*All applications are due by 11:59 pm ET on the date listed. International students can apply in any round but are encouraged to apply in Round 1 or 2 to allow sufficient time for visa processing.  

Here is a look at the Michigan Ross MBA Class of 2025 (data taken from the  Michigan Ross website ).

Class size: 379

Female: 43%

LBGTQIA2S+: 10%

International: 43%

Countries represented: 39

Military: 8%

First-generation college: 17%

Pursuing a dual degree: 12%

Students of color (U.S. citizens and permanent residents): 43% 

Underrepresented students of color (U.S. citizens and permanent residents): 19%

Race and ethnicity (U.S. citizens and permanent residents):

• American Indian or Alaska Native Federal guidelines: 0 (0%)  Multidimensional reporting: 1 (0%)
• Asian American Federal guidelines: 52 (24%) Multidimensional reporting: 59 (27%)
• Black or African American Federal guidelines: 12 (6%) Multidimensional reporting: 14 (6%)
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Federal guidelines: 0 (0%) Multidimensional reporting: 0 (0%)
• Hispanic or Latinx Federal guidelines: 16 (7%) Multidimensional reporting: 16 (7%)
• White Federal guidelines: 117 (54%) Multidimensional reporting: 128 (59%)
• Not Indicated Federal guidelines: 6 (3%) Multidimensional reporting: 6 (3%)
• Two or More Races Federal guidelines: 13 (6%) Multidimensional reporting: n/a

Average GPA: 3.43

Average GMAT score: 719

Middle 80% GMAT score: 670-760

Average GRE Verbal score: 160

Average GRE Quant score: 162

Average years of work experience: 5.8

Industry backgrounds:

• Consulting: 18%
• Finance: 17%
• Health: 12%
• Engineering/Manufacturing: 10%
• Military: 6%
• Education/Nonprofit/Government: 6%
• Media/Hospitality/Sports 4%
• Energy/Sustainability 3%

Is Ross at the top of your wish list? 

Get the competitive edge with Ross-specific advice and inside information:

• Applying for Your MBA Through The Consortium: Best Deal in Town
• What Prospective MBAs Should Know About Applying to Michigan Ross, podcast Episode 365
• Short and Sweet: Tips for Writing “Mini” MBA Essays
• Nine Tips for Team Interviews

By Natalie Grinblatt, a former admissions dean/director at three top business schools. Natalie has reviewed more than 70,000 applications, interviewed more than 2,500 candidates, and trained nearly 700 admissions directors and alumni volunteers to select outstanding candidates for admission. Her clients gain admission to top programs, including those at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Cornell, Columbia, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, and NYU. Natalie holds an MBA from Michigan Ross.  Want Natalie to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• GMAT, GPA, and MBA Acceptance Rates: The Selectivity Index
• University of Michigan’s Ross MBA Program: Everything You Need to Know , podcast Episode 479

About Us Press Room Contact Us Podcast Accepted Blog Privacy Policy Website Terms of Use Disclaimer Client Terms of Service

Accepted 1171 S. Robertson Blvd. #140 Los Angeles CA 90035 +1 (310) 815-9553 © 2022 Accepted

Homepage > MBA Admissions > Michigan Ross MBA Essays: Analysis and tips for 2022 intake

Michigan Ross MBA Essays: Analysis and tips for 2022 intake

Posted by Suheb Hussain | Aug 17, 2021 | Business Schools , MBA Admissions , MBA Application Process

Michigan Ross has announced the deadlines and essay questions for the 2021-22 MBA application season. This year, Ross has returned to three rounds of application unlike four rounds last year. Ross has pushed back the Round 3 deadline rather than having an additional round.

There is no change in the essay questions. Like last year, this year’s applicants will answer two short answer questions and a goals essay. Soojin Kwon, managing director Full-time MBA program writes in her  blog ,  “ We felt really good about the quality of this year’s candidates and the prospective students’ feedback about our application, so I encouraged the team not to tinker too much with what is working… We enjoy providing students a choice in their essay answers. This past year, we received very insightful answers to the prompts that allowed us to learn more about your values and what you would add to the Michigan Ross community .”

Once again, the applicants have only 400 words to present their candidacy to the admission committee.  From 5 essay questions totaling 1700 words in 2012-13 to 2 essays of only 400 words, Ross has come a long way in its ‘less is more’ requirement.

In this article, Poonam Tandon from myEssayReview, who has been helping students with their MBA applications since 2011, shares her tips on the Michigan Ross MBA essay for 2022 intake.

Let’s first look at the MBA application deadlines for Michigan Ross.

Application Deadline for the Michigan Ross MBA Application 2021-22

The below table provides information regarding the Michigan Ross MBA Application deadline

Did you know a  GMAT score of 730+ yields incremental $500K in ROI ? Start your GMAT Preparation by  Signing up for our FREE Trial  and get access to FREE online GMAT preparation resources. We are the  most reviewed GMAT preparation company on GMATClub  with more than 1870 reviews.

Michigan Ross MBA essay analysis 2021-2022

Part 1- short-answer questions, select one prompt from each group of the two groups below. respond to each selected prompt in 100 words or less (<100 words each; 200 words total). every word counts here — the tight word count is intentional to force you to focus..

• I want people to know that I:
• I made a difference when I:
• I was aware that I was different when:
• I am out of my comfort zone when:
• I was humbled when:
• I was challenged when:

The purpose of these short questions is to give the admissions team valuable insight into who you are as a person and how you view yourself.

Therefore, answer it in such a way that allows you to tell them what  you  want them to know about you. These questions require you to introspect and dig deeper for specific stories/ life experiences when you ‘made a difference’ or ‘when you were humbled’ or ‘when you were challenged’.

Begin your response to each prompt by completing the question. Your responses to these questions will showcase your unique personal traits- your interest as well as the impact you made, and your self-awareness (Group 1) and your humility, your experience of being out of your comfort zone (Group 2).

Both the groups ask for a behavioral response, where you discuss one experience or situation and reflect on it. The key to all these responses is to demonstrate how you responded in the face of different situations and emerged a better and stronger person.

What makes these essays more challenging is the multiple-choice component?

I can imagine applicants having a hard time deciding which option will paint them in a better light or which stories will reflect the traits that Ross is looking for.

My advice is that you brainstorm ideas on all the 6 prompts and then evaluate which are your best 2 stories that you would want the Ad Com to know about you as a person.

After you have finalized your best 2 stories, begin formulating your response, focusing on the challenges you faced, the action you took, and the impact you made. Don’t forget to include your thought process behind your decisions as your thoughts and actions will provide the reader with a glimpse into your values and beliefs.

It’s a challenge to discuss two different experiences in only 200 words.  To meet the tight word limit, make every word count, and be as precise as you can.

Short answer questions Tips from Ross MBA Admissions Blog

“ The team has found that essays that reveal something personal- about what you value, how you think- give us much more insight into how you’ll fit into the Ross culture than an accomplishment story. And, as you’ve probably learned, fit is an important part of our decision. (It should be an important part of yours, too). There are many other opportunities in the application to share your work accomplishments, use the essays to get personal .”

Part 2- Career Goals Essay

Michigan ross is a place where people from all backgrounds with different career goals can thrive. please share your short-term career goal. why is this career goal the right choice for you (200 words).

This essay focuses on short-term goals and your reasons for those goals. When explaining your post-MBA goals, make sure to be as specific as you can.

Specify which industry, which company, and what position you would like to see yourself after graduating from Ross. Even if you are not 100% sure, you should be clear and decisive about your short-term goals. Though the question asks only about the short-term goal, you may still touch upon your long-term goal, but you should not elaborate on it.

Next, provide a brief account of your career history, summarizing your skills/strengths. Then go on to explain how your work experience has inspired your career plans and discuss the gap in your skillset that an MBA would fill. You don’t want to discuss the ‘Why Ross’ part because the school doesn’t want a ‘laundry list’ of the courses offered by Ross.

With a total of 400 only words to tell your story to the Ross admission committee, you should make every word count. There is no room for elaborate details or beating around the bush. To present a well-rounded picture of your candidacy, use 200 words (short questions) to demonstrate who you are as a person and 200 words (goals essay) to showcase who you are as a professional.

Optional Statement

Is there something in your resume or application that could use some explanation? You might want to discuss the completion of supplemental coursework, employment gaps, academic issues, etc. Feel free to use bullet points where appropriate.

As directed in the essay prompt, you may use this essay question to address a weakness in your profile, such as employment gap, low GPA/low GMAT, completion of supplemental work, or unusual choice of the recommender. Your weakness may also bring out a positive aspect of your personality. You may either use bullet points or essay format for the optional statement.

Video interview of a Ross student :  In this video interview with Poonam, Pablo  shares his amazing experiences during his first year at Ross .

For more information about the reapplication process click  here.

For Short answer questions Tips from Ross MBA Admissions Blog, Click  here.

For more advice and tips on application essays, resume, and LORs,  do not forget to check out the video from a few members of the admission team of Ross:

Free Resources:

• 10 Key Essay Tips with Examples
• Essay Analysis of Other Top Programs-2021-22
•   MER Students Share their success Stories
•  E-book of 30 Essays that Worked
• Case Studies

Since 2011, MER ( myEssayReview ) has helped many applicants get accepted into the top 20 MBA programs, including Ross. (Poonam is one of the  top 5 most reviewed consultants on the GMAT Club .)

Do you have questions about your application? E-mail Poonam at  [email protected]  or sign up  here  for a free consultation.

About the author

Poonam, one of the  top 5 most reviewed consultants on the GMAT Club , is a master storyteller with more than three decades of experience in successfully helping students craft compelling stories for undergraduate and graduate school programs.

A Ph.D. in English, with three decades of teaching experience in India and the US, Poonam launched myEssayReview (MER) in 2011 to provide highly personalized and dedicated consulting services to Business School applicants. Since then, she has helped hundreds of students around the world get into top MBA, EMBA, part-time MBA, and specialized graduate programs. A full-time consultant, Poonam is passionate about her work and is highly committed to each of her students’ success.

Here are a few other topics related to MBA Essays: 

• Michigan Ross School of Business: Class Profile, Employment Reports, and Salaries
• What is a good GMAT score for Michigan Ross?
• How Aayush scored a 750 on the GMAT and received admits from Columbia and Michigan Ross
• Importance of MBA Essays in Business School applications
• How to make an impressive MBA Application Video Essay
• MBA essay: 5 types of essays explained with examples

About The Author

Suheb Hussain

Don't miss these.

Helpful posts Curated just for you!

You might also like

Browse Related Topics

Take a free diagnostic SIGma-X mock test

Gauge your section-wise ability and get started with your gmat prep.

Adaptive mock test with ESR+ analysis

400+ practice questions with detailed solutions, 10+ hours of ai-driven video lessons.

Take the first step to score 740+

We can improve your MBA profile and boost your candidacy. Gain insight into the review process and eliminate weaknesses from your MBA application.

Note: You must have javascript enabled to submit the form.

Tuesday Tips: Michigan Ross MBA Essay Tips 2024-2025

Listen to B-Schooled Podcast Episode #156 : Spotlight on Michigan Ross

Part 1: Ross Experiences in Action-Based Learning (REAL)

At michigan ross, we believe the best way to learn is by doing. in our full-time mba program, you will put your skills and knowledge to the test in real-world situations with real stakes., how will this learning environment benefit you, and how do you plan to contribute to the action-based learning experience (300 words).

This question is your opportunity to show that you have done research on Michigan Ross and the specific benefits of the MBA program. How will the Ross MBA teach you what you need to accomplish your career goals (outlined in Part 3)?

The Ross Action-Based Learning experience is more than an internship or co-op that other MBA programs offer. Ross gives you an opportunity to start a real business, work in an established company, invest millions in assets, or do real-world consulting. If you are changing careers, this is an opportunity for experience and learning.

Finally, after you consider the specific ways you will benefit from REAL, add your contributions. Then, look at your work experience prior to your MBA and what skills you can share. For example, if you have a unique industry background and network you may be able to find new companies consulting engagements.

Part 2: How will you make an impact at Michigan Ross?

Michigan ross is proud to support a community of leaders and impact makers. as a future member of this community, we want to know more about who you are and what drives you. please choose 1 of the following prompts to tell us more about what makes you stand out beyond your academic and work experience. list the prompt you are answering at the top of your response. (200 words), what makes you unique, can you provide a specific example of how you’ve overcome a personal challenge, what makes you excited to get up each morning, describe a time when you made a difference in your community or with an individual..

Take note that these short answers are about getting to know you personally—not your collection of accomplishments. Ross values community engagement, passion, and persistence. The admissions committee says clearly: “The most interesting and insightful responses to these prompts remain when applicants share personal examples.”

For example, you may want to write about an important extracurricular activity that is unique. Or maybe a challenge you overcame or a life event that highlights something different about your background. The questions are short and purposeful. The experiences you describe should be clear and stand alone.

Looking at each Ross MBA essay question, the first asks how you are unique. Consider what sets you apart from others and what unique qualities you will bring to Ross. It can be a personality trait, interest, or activity. Perhaps it is your background or your personal history.

Then, the second option is about a challenge. Again, the question is specifically personal. Perhaps you had a family member who went through an illness or a struggle. Or, you personally experienced hardship. Describe how you turned the situation around and overcame it. The third option might be an opportunity to talk about your values and background. It reads as a place to highlight what drives and motivates you on a deeper level than your career.

Finally, the last option gives you the opportunity to share your community involvement. For this question, you could describe when you made a difference to an organization or person or advanced an important cause.

Are you curious about your chances of getting into Michigan’s Ross School of Business? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session  with an SBC Principal Consultant. 

Part 3: Career Aspirations

What is your short-term career goal, and how will ross help you achieve it (200 words).

The Ross admissions committee has often said the best essays are focused. Remember, the “why” is the most impactful and differentiating aspect of each essay. Therefore, Ross is asking for a succinct career goal and then an explanation. Make sure you draw the how into this essay as well, considering what you wrote in Part 1 about the Ross experience.

Many MBA candidates struggle to refine a career goal to just one. Of course, it’s possible to change your goals once you start attending school. However, clear goals tend to lead to success. If you have several career interests, take the time to choose one. Consider how your career goal makes you feel. Can you envision the company you will work for? What about your day-to-day tasks?

Precisely imagining your goal also helps with how Ross will help you achieve the goal and why you are passionate about this path. Also, why are you a good fit for the role? Specific examples are always welcome in an essay on your career path.

Optional Essay

Is there something in your resume or application that needs a brief explanation appropriate uses of this essay would be the explanation of an employment gap, academic outliers, choice of recommender, completion of supplemental coursework, etc. you may use bullet points where appropriate. (250 words).

Take it directly from former Ross admissions director Soojin Kwon: “The optional essay should only be used if there’s something in your background that requires a brief explanation. It’s not the place to submit an essay you wrote for another school or to tell us how much you love Ross.”

Think about anything that may raise questions while reviewing a resume, transcript, or recommendations. Typically the kinds of gaps that raise questions are significant gaps in employment (more than a few months), anything below a C on your college transcript (particularly in quantitative coursework), and low test scores.

For more information on applying to the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, please visit the admissions website .

Stacy Blackman Consulting has successfully coached applicants for the Ross MBA program each admissions year. Now that you’ve seen these tips for the Ross MBA essay prompts, please contact us to learn more about how we can help you set a winning application strategy.

Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team .

HBS Admissions Board at Harvard Business School HBS MBA

HBS Admissions Board at Harvard Business School Kellogg MBA

Director HBS Admissions at Harvard Business School MBA, the Wharton School

HBS Admissions Board at Harvard Business School

Director HBS Admissions at Harvard Business School HBS MBA

Admissions Officer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) MBA, Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB)

Asst Director MBA Admissions at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) Director MBA Admissions at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

MBA, Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) Minority Admissions, the GSB Diversity Programs, the GSB

Associate Director MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Associate Director MBA Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute

Director, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania Professional Writer

Assistant Director MBA Admissions at Columbia Business School (CBS) NYU Admissions

Assistant Director MBA Admissions at Columbia Business School (CBS) M.S.Ed, Higher Education, U of Pennsylvania

Associate Director MBA Admissions at Columbia Business School (CBS)

Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure.  Ashley  holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years,  Ashley  was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...

Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and  ...

A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally.  Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM.  For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...

Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS).  In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds.  Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students.  In additio ...

Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years.  Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...

Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years.  In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School.  Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...

Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...

Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...

Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications.  She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...

Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford.   Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...

Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year.   Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...

Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...

Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team.  During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students.  She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...

Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS).  During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...

Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...

Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director.  Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants.

Image credit: Michigan Ross (CC BY-NC 2.0)

With deadlines around the corner, you may be interested in the world-famous SBC Flight Test . Once a full set of application materials for your initial school have been drafted, but not finalized, the application will be sent to a former admissions committee member for a one-time review, adcomm style. You’ll have the benefit of a true admissions committee review while still having the ability to tinker and change.  You will receive written feedback within two business days after submitting.

You May Also Like

Face Off: Kellogg vs. Ross

5 Application Tips from Michigan Ross School of Business

Michigan ross appoints sharon matusik as new dean, $100m gift for michigan ross school, leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Learn About Our All-In Service

Meet the sbc consulting team.

(323) 934-3936 info@StacyBlackman.com

Latest Blog Post

Gmac’s eight types of mba aspirants.

The journey to getting an MBA is as diverse as those who embark upon it. The Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) recent white paper, “Meet the Segments,” categorizes eight types of MBA aspirants, each ... →

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

Tips for UMich’s Ross School of Business Case Discussion

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Robert Crystal in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info. 

What’s Covered:

Applying to the ross school of business, ross school of business essay prompt 1.

Currently, the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business is ranked third in the nation for business schools. Given its quality of education and selectivity, students who are interested in getting into Ross should keep a few important factors in mind.

Apply by the Early Action Deadline

First, it’s important to note that the University of Michigan tries to fill its incoming class during the early action period. Applications received later will be considered only depending on available space. Students interested in applying to Ross School of Business should aim to submit their applications to the University of Michigan by the early action deadline.

Select a First-Year Admitting Unit

Next, when applying, applicants need to select a first-year admitting unit and preferred admission for the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. The first-year admission units available to prospective Ross students are the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), College of Engineering, School of Kinesiology (Sport Management only), School of Music Theatre & Dance, and Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design. 

Ross Prerequisites

Regardless of the school you choose, as long as it’s preapproved for transfer to Ross, you will still be able to take some classes at Ross as a first-year student and begin your prerequisite courses. Your admission to Ross is not guaranteed once you are admitted to the University of Michigan. You won’t be officially admitted to Ross until you apply for a cross-campus transfer, so it’s important to do well in the Ross prerequisite courses to remain eligible for the school.

The last component of applying to Ross is completing two additional essays along with your University of Michigan first-year application. 

The first University of Michigan Ross School of Business essay prompt is:

“Choose a current event or issue in your community and discuss the business implications. Propose a solution that incorporates business principles or practices. The review panel will look for creativity, drawing connections, and originality.

This case discussion helps us learn more about your understanding of business. The topic should be unique to your interests, experiences, and knowledge. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ business situation to choose — it’s truly up to you. We encourage you to select a topic that you are passionate about and not a global topic that you’re disconnected from.” (500 words)

Include Business Jargon

Through this prompt, Ross admissions officers are looking to better understand your grasp of business procedures. Because of this, it’s important to include some technical terms and business jargon to demonstrate your understanding of the business field. You don’t want your response to lack narrative flair either, as the prompt specifically asks for “creativity, drawing connections, and originality.” 

Choosing a Topic

On choosing a topic, the prompt tells applicants to avoid selecting “a global topic that you’re disconnected from,” so instead, applicants should focus on something that they’re passionate about. 

When approaching this prompt, try identifying a current event or issue in your community that matters to you, and incorporate it into your response. Don’t worry about the scale of the issue. Instead, make sure it’s something you can write about extensively. The prompt emphasizes it should be a preestablished passion, not a vague global topic that you’re not connected to, so it needs to hit close to home. Ideally, the topic you choose will be something you have experience with and that you’ve already made an effort to research or resolve.

Focus on the Solution

To start your essay, begin with an anecdotal line that provides enough context for readers to understand the issue at hand and your connection to it. Then, try to spend the majority of your response constructing some sort of business solution to the issue you chose.

The solution portion is the most critical part of your response as stating the issue is used as a jumping-off point for you to talk about your solution. The solution section should reveal a lot about you through how you choose to approach the problem. 

When crafting your business plan, consider marketing tactics and relevant costs, then define what a successful outcome looks like. As you work on this, you can research different business models and plans online to make sure you’ve adequately grasped the best approach to your solution. However, don’t just copy one that you like. You need to use some creativity to splice different techniques together and make a business solution that’s uniquely yours.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

• MBA Admissions
• ISB Admissions
• MBA Application Tips
• MBA Essay Tips
• Business Schools

2023-2024 Michigan Ross MBA Essay Analysis and Tips

Admit expert.

• July 22, 2023

Michigan Ross stands as a premier institution for MBA education due to its exceptional commitment to excellence, innovation, and impact-driven learning. Renowned for its dynamic and relevant curriculum, Ross equips students with practical skills to navigate complex business challenges successfully. The school’s emphasis on action-based learning fosters real-world problem-solving, ensuring graduates are well-prepared for the ever-evolving business landscape.

Additionally, Ross boasts a vibrant and collaborative community, promoting diverse perspectives and networking opportunities through its extensive alumni network. Additionally, with top-notch faculty and a strong focus on leadership development, it is not difficult to see why the University has thousands of applicants for their MBA program. An important part of that application process, however, is the essay, which is what we will dive into below!

Michigan Ross MBA Essay Prompts

Short term career goals essay, final thoughts.

Compared to other universities, Michigan Ross has a unique essay process. While many other universities have maybe 2 or 3 mandatory essays to answer, Ross has 2 separate groups of 3 essays each that an applicant can pick from. Both Group A and Group B have three personalized questions that need to be answered within 100 words. Additionally, there is a career-based question that needs to be answered in under 150 words and an optional essay relating to any gaps in the candidate’s profile.

Here are the Michigan Ross MBA Essay Prompts

Part 1: Short-answer questions

Select one prompt from each group of the two groups below. Respond to each selected prompt in 100 words or less (<100 words each; 200 words total).

• I want people to know that I:
• I made a difference when I:
• I was aware that I was different when:
• I was out of my comfort zone when:
• I was humbled when:
• I was challenged when: 

Part 2: Career Goal

What is your short-term career goal and why is this the right goal for you? (150 words)

Optional statement: Is there something in your resume or application that could use some explanation? You might want to discuss the completion of supplemental coursework, employment gaps, academic issues, etc.  Feel free to use bullet points where appropriate.

Now that we’ve covered what their questions are, let’s dive into detail on how you can ideally answer them.

Michigan Ross MBA Essay Analysis

Group a framework.

The framework for how you can go about writing your essay for Ross’ MBA is as follows: This framework has been further explained below to give you more insight while crafting your essays.

I want people to know that I…

• Reflect on your strengths.
• Be specific and provide examples.
• Connect your experiences to your MBA goals.
• Demonstrate self-awareness
• Express your passion and motivation.
• Showcase your potential contributions.
• Maintain a confident and positive tone.

I made a difference when I…

• Identify a significant achievement.
• Describe the context.
• Outline your actions.
• Quantify the results if possible.
• Emphasize teamwork and collaboration.
• Reflect on the significance
• Connect to your MBA goals.
• Showcase personal qualities.
• Use storytelling techniques.

I was aware that I was different when…

• Choose a defining moment.
• Describe the situation.
• Reflect on your differences.
• Discuss your response.
• Highlight your strengths.
• Show cultural competency.

Michigan Ross MBA Group A Essay Analysis

I want people to know that i… (100 words).

When answering the question, “I want people to know that I…” in an MBA essay, it’s important to focus on highlighting your unique qualities, experiences, and achievements that demonstrate your potential as a successful MBA candidate.

It is also important to remember to tailor your response to the specific requirements and values of the MBA program you are applying to. By effectively conveying your unique qualities, experiences, and aspirations, you can create a compelling essay that captures the attention of the admissions committee and showcases your potential as an MBA candidate.

Below are some points to help you craft an effective response:

• Reflect on your strengths: Consider your personal and professional qualities that set you apart. What are your unique skills, attributes, or experiences that make you stand out? Think about your leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, industry expertise, or any other strengths that showcase your potential as a business leader.
• Be specific and provide examples: Instead of making broad statements, support your claims with concrete examples. Describe specific instances where you demonstrated your strengths or achieved significant results. These examples could come from your work experience, academic projects, extracurricular activities, or community involvement.
• Connect your experiences to your MBA goals: Show how your experiences and strengths align with your future goals as an MBA candidate. Explain how your past accomplishments have prepared you for the challenges and opportunities that an MBA program can offer. Discuss how you plan to leverage your MBA education to further develop your skills and achieve your long-term career objectives.
• Demonstrate self-awareness: Show that you have a clear understanding of your strengths and areas for growth. Discuss any challenges or obstacles you have faced and how you have overcome them. Emphasize your ability to learn from your experiences and continuously improve yourself as a professional.
• Express your passion and motivation: Convey your enthusiasm for pursuing an MBA and your genuine interest in the business field. Share what drives you and why you are passionate about making an impact in the business world. Discuss any specific areas of business or industries that you are particularly interested in and explain why they resonate with you.
• Showcase your potential contributions: Highlight how your unique qualities and experiences can contribute to the MBA program and the broader business community. Discuss how you can bring a fresh perspective, diverse experiences, or specific skills to the classroom and collaborative projects. Articulate how you can add value to your future classmates’ learning experiences.
• Maintain a confident and positive tone: Present your accomplishments and aspirations with confidence, but avoid sounding arrogant. Showcase your self-assurance and belief in your abilities while maintaining humility and respect for others.

I made a difference when I… (100 words)

When answering the question, “I made a difference when I…” in an MBA essay, it’s important to highlight specific instances where you have had a positive impact or created meaningful change. Remember to be authentic and genuine in your response, focusing on the impact you made and the lessons you learned.

By effectively communicating how you made a difference, you can showcase your ability to create positive change and demonstrate your potential as an MBA candidate. Also, you must keep in mind that while bringing out the below aspects you need to be brief and precise. Here are some tips to help you craft the essay more effectively:

• Identify a significant achievement: Think about a specific situation or project where you made a tangible difference. It could be a professional experience, a personal initiative, a leadership role, or community involvement. Choose an accomplishment that showcases your ability to drive positive change and make an impact. Below are a few points to help you write the draft more effectively:
• Describe the context: Provide background information about the situation or problem you encountered. Explain the challenges, goals, or issues that prompted your involvement. Clearly articulate why this particular situation was important and the impact it had on others or the organization.
• Outline your actions: Describe the actions you took to address the situation and make a difference. Explain your role and responsibilities, the strategies or approaches you employed, and the specific steps you took to overcome challenges or obstacles. Highlight any innovative or creative solutions you developed.
• Quantify results if possible: Whenever possible, quantify the results or outcomes of your actions. Did you increase revenue, improve efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, or achieve any other measurable improvements? Use metrics or specific data points to demonstrate the magnitude of your impact.
• Emphasize teamwork and collaboration: If your achievement involved working with others, highlight the collaborative aspects of your efforts. Discuss how you effectively led a team, built partnerships, or fostered cooperation among stakeholders. Show how your ability to work with others contributed to the success of the project and the achievement of your goals.
• Reflect on the significance: Discuss the broader implications or significance of your accomplishment. How did your actions create value, solve a problem, or contribute to the overall success of the organization or community? Reflect on the long-term impact and sustainability of your efforts.
• Connect to your MBA goals: Articulate how this experience aligns with your aspirations as an MBA candidate. Explain how it has shaped your perspective, developed your skills, or reinforced your passion for making a difference in the business world. Discuss how an MBA education can further enhance your ability to drive positive change and make a lasting impact.
• Showcase personal qualities: Highlight the personal qualities or strengths that enabled you to make a difference. Whether it was your leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, resilience, or determination, demonstrate how these qualities played a crucial role in achieving your goals.
• Use storytelling techniques: Craft a compelling narrative that engages the reader. Use vivid language, anecdotes, and examples to bring your achievement to life and make it memorable. Show your passion, enthusiasm, and dedication through your storytelling.

I was aware that I was different when… (100 Words)

When answering the question, “I was aware that I was different when…” in an MBA essay, it’s important to reflect on a specific moment or experience that made you realize your unique qualities, perspectives, or experiences. Brevity and conciseness are also key, considering the short word count of the essay. By effectively conveying the moment you became aware of your differences and the subsequent impact on your personal and professional growth, you can create a compelling essay that showcases your self-awareness, resilience, and ability to contribute to diverse business environments. Below are some tips to help you write the essay better:

• Choose a defining moment: Identify a specific incident, situation, or experience that stands out in your life where you realized your differences. This could be a personal or professional event that made you aware of your unique qualities, background, or perspectives.
• Describe the situation: Set the context by providing details about the situation or environment in which you felt different. Explain the factors that contributed to your realization. Was it a cultural setting, a work-related project, an academic experience, or a personal encounter?
• Reflect on your differences: Share what made you different in that situation. It could be your cultural background, a particular skill set, a different approach to problem-solving, a unique perspective, or any other aspect that sets you apart. Explain why this difference is significant and how it influenced your perspective or actions.
• Discuss your response: Describe how you reacted to the realization of your differences. Did you embrace your uniqueness, seek to understand others, or leverage your differences to contribute in a meaningful way? Discuss any challenges you faced or personal growth you experienced as a result.
• Highlight your strengths: Emphasize the positive aspects of your differences. Discuss how your unique qualities, experiences, or perspectives have contributed to your personal and professional development. Explain how they have influenced your decision-making, problem-solving, leadership style, or ability to collaborate effectively.
• Connect to your MBA goals: Relate your awareness of being different to your aspirations as an MBA candidate. Explain how this realization has shaped your motivation to pursue an MBA and your desire to contribute to a diverse and inclusive business environment. Discuss how your differences can add value to the MBA program and the broader business community.
• Demonstrate self-awareness: Show that you have reflected on your differences and have a clear understanding of their impact. Discuss how you have leveraged your differences to create positive outcomes or overcome challenges. Articulate how your awareness of being different has influenced your personal and professional growth.
• Show cultural competency: If your differences are related to your cultural background, demonstrate your cultural competency and ability to navigate diverse environments. Discuss your understanding of different perspectives, your ability to adapt to new cultures, or your experience working in multicultural teams.

Group B Essay Framework

I am out of my comfort zone when…

• Choose a relevant experience.
• Articulate your discomfort.
• Highlight the learnings.
• Showcase your adaptability and resilience.
• Reflect on personal growth.

I was humbled when…

• Choose a significant experience.
• Explain the humbling moment.
• Reflect on the lessons learned.
• Discuss your response and growth.
• Showcase your adaptability.
• Express gratitude and appreciation.

I was challenged when…

• Choose a meaningful challenge.
• Clearly define the challenge.
• Outline your response.
• Highlight your skills and qualities.
• Reflect on the learnings.
• Showcase resilience

Group B Essay Analysis:

I am out of my comfort zone when… (100 words).

When answering the question, “I am out of my comfort zone when…” in an MBA essay, it’s important to reflect on situations or experiences that have challenged you, pushed you beyond your limits, or required you to step outside of familiar territory.

By showcasing in these 100 words, briefly, your experiences of being out of your comfort zone and the resulting personal growth, you can create a compelling essay that showcases your adaptability, resilience, and willingness to take on challenges. This can demonstrate to the admissions committee that you are prepared to embrace the opportunities and complexities of an MBA program and succeed in the business world.

Let’s have a look at some tips to help you craft the essay better:

• Choose a relevant experience: Identify a specific situation or experience where you felt out of your comfort zone. This could be a professional challenge, a personal endeavor, a leadership role, or a new environment that stretched your abilities or tested your limits.
• Describe the context: Set the stage by providing background information about the situation. Explain the factors that made you feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar. Was it a new role, a complex project, a cultural setting, a public speaking engagement, or any other circumstance that took you outside of your comfort zone?
• Articulate your discomfort: Clearly express why this situation made you uncomfortable or challenged you. Identify the specific aspects that were outside of your comfort zone. Was it the level of responsibility, the need to learn new skills, the pressure to perform, the need to adapt to a different culture, or something entirely else?
• Discuss your response: Describe how you responded to being out of your comfort zone. Did you embrace the challenge, seek support or guidance, take calculated risks, or adopt new strategies to navigate the situation? Discuss any personal growth, resilience, or adaptability you experienced as a result.
• Highlight the learnings: Share the lessons or insights you gained from this experience. Discuss how being out of your comfort zone enhanced your skills, expanded your perspective, or pushed you to develop new capabilities. Highlight any positive outcomes, achievements, or personal development that resulted from embracing the discomfort.
• Connect to your MBA goals: Relate your experiences of being out of your comfort zone to your aspirations as an MBA candidate. Explain how these experiences have prepared you for the challenges of an MBA program and a future career in business. Discuss how your ability to thrive in uncomfortable situations can contribute to the learning environment, foster innovation, or enable you to navigate complex business challenges.
• Showcase your adaptability: Highlight your ability to adapt to new situations, embrace change, and thrive outside of your comfort zone. Discuss any specific instances where you successfully overcame challenges or achieved positive results by stepping outside of familiar territory.
• Reflect on personal growth: Show that you have reflected on your experiences and understand the personal growth that comes from being out of your comfort zone. Discuss how these experiences have shaped your character, expanded your capabilities, or deepened your self-awareness.

I was humbled when… (100 words)

When answering the question, “I was humbled when…” in an MBA essay, it’s important to reflect on a specific experience or moment that brought about a sense of humility and taught you valuable lessons. By concisely and precisely conveying a humbling experience and the resulting personal growth and reflection, you can create a compelling essay that showcases your humility, resilience, and capacity for self-improvement.

This can demonstrate to the admissions committee that you possess the qualities necessary to be an effective and empathetic leader in the business world. Here are some tips to help you craft an effective response:

• Choose a significant experience: Select an experience or event that had a profound impact on you and led to a sense of humility. It could be a personal or professional situation, a mistake or failure, a realization of your limitations, or an encounter with someone or something that challenged your perspective.
• Describe the situation: Set the context by providing background information about the situation or event. Explain what happened and why it was humbling for you. Describe the circumstances, challenges, or interactions that led to your realization.
• Explain the humbling moment: Clearly articulate how the experience humbled you. Discuss the emotions, thoughts, or reflections you had during that time. Explain how it affected your perception of yourself, others, or the world around you. Highlight the aspects that challenged your ego, assumptions, or preconceived notions.
• Reflect on the lessons learned: Share the lessons or insights you gained from the humbling experience. Discuss how it influenced your personal and professional growth. Reflect on how it changed your perspective, values, or behavior. Highlight any positive changes you have made as a result.
• Discuss your response and growth: Describe how you responded to the humbling experience. Did it inspire you to take action, seek self-improvement, or change your approach? Discuss how you used the experience as an opportunity for personal growth, learning, or self-reflection. Show how you embraced humility as a catalyst for positive change.
• Connect to your MBA goals: Relate the humbling experience to your aspirations as an MBA candidate. Explain how it has shaped your values, leadership style, or approach to problem-solving. Discuss how your newfound humility can contribute to your success as a business leader, foster collaboration, or drive ethical decision-making.
• Showcase your resilience: Highlight your ability to adapt, learn, and grow from challenges or setbacks. Discuss any specific instances where you demonstrated resilience and rebounded from humbling experiences. Show how you have used these experiences to develop resilience and a growth mindset.
• Express gratitude and appreciation: Demonstrate gratitude and appreciation for the experience that humbled you. Discuss how it has provided you with valuable insights, self-awareness, or a deeper appreciation for others. Express humility by acknowledging the role of others, mentors, or circumstances in your journey.

I was challenged when… (100 words)

When answering the question, “I was challenged when…” in Ross’ MBA essay, it’s important to reflect on a specific situation or experience that presented significant obstacles or difficulties both briefly and precisely. By portraying your challenging experience and the resulting personal growth, resilience, and problem-solving abilities, you can create a compelling essay that showcases your ability to handle complex situations and excel in the MBA program and beyond.

This can demonstrate to the admissions committee that you possess the qualities necessary to thrive in the business world and contribute meaningfully to organizations.

Here are some tips to help you craft an effective response:

• Choose a meaningful challenge: Select a specific situation or experience that genuinely tested your abilities, skills, or resilience. It could be a professional challenge, an academic endeavor, a personal project, or a team-based task that requires you to overcome obstacles or push your limits.
• Describe the context: Set the stage by providing background information about the challenge. Explain the circumstances, goals, or expectations that made it particularly demanding. Discuss the complexity, time pressure, resource constraints, or other factors that intensified the challenge.
• Clearly define the challenge: Clearly articulate the specific nature of the challenge you faced. Identify the key obstacles, problems, or difficulties that need to be overcome. Explain why this challenge was significant and how it impacted you or the situation at hand.
• Outline your response: Describe the actions you took to address the challenge. Discuss the strategies, approaches, or innovative solutions you employed to navigate the difficulties. Explain how you identified and analyzed the root causes of the challenge, developed a plan of action, and executed it effectively.
• Highlight your skills and qualities: Emphasize the skills, qualities, or strengths you utilized during the challenge. Discuss your problem-solving abilities, critical thinking skills, leadership qualities, resilience, and ability to collaborate effectively. Demonstrate how these attributes helped you overcome the challenge and achieve positive outcomes.
• Reflect on the learnings: Share the lessons or insights you gained from facing the challenge. Discuss how the experience impacted your personal and professional growth. Reflect on how it enhanced your skills, expanded your knowledge, or influenced your approach to future challenges. Highlight any personal development, self-discovery, or increased confidence that resulted from the experience.
• Connect to your MBA goals: Relate the challenge to your aspirations as an MBA candidate. Explain how this experience has prepared you for the rigors of an MBA program and a future career in business. Discuss how your ability to navigate challenges and overcome obstacles can contribute to the learning environment, inspire others, or drive innovative solutions in the business world.
• Showcase resilience: Highlight your ability to adapt, persevere, and learn from challenging situations. Discuss any specific instances where you demonstrated resilience and successfully faced adversity. Show how you have used these experiences to develop adaptability, a growth mindset, and the ability to thrive in dynamic environments.

Short-Term Career Goals Framework

• Be specific and concise.
• Connect to your past experiences.
• Align with your interests and strengths.
• Show understanding of the industry.
• Connect to your long-term aspirations
• Relate to the MBA program
• Showcase your impact and contribution.
• Discuss your motivation.
• Show commitment and feasibility.
• Edit and refine

Short-Term Career Goal Essay Analysis

When answering the question about your short-term career goal and why it is the right goal for you in an MBA essay, it’s important to provide a clear and well-reasoned response that aligns with your background, interests, and aspirations.

It is important to both effectively and briefly communicate your specific short-term career goal and explain why it is the right fit for you so that you can create a compelling essay that showcases your alignment with your chosen field, your aspirations, and your motivation to succeed. This can demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have a clear sense of direction and purpose and that an MBA education will be instrumental in achieving your career goals.

Let’s discuss some pointers that will help you write more effectively:

• Be specific and concise: Clearly state your short-term career goal in a concise and specific manner. Avoid vague or general statements. For example, instead of saying “I want to work in finance,” specify the exact role or industry you are targeting, such as “I aim to secure a position as a financial analyst in a leading investment bank.”
• Connect to your past experiences: Explain how your past experiences, skills, or education have prepared you for your short-term career goal. Highlight the relevant knowledge, expertise, or achievements that make you a strong fit for the chosen field or role. Show how your previous experiences have shaped your interest and passion for this particular career path.
• Align with your interests and strengths: Discuss how your short-term career goal aligns with your interests, passions, and strengths. Explain why this goal excites you and why you believe it is the right path for you. Demonstrate self-awareness by highlighting the specific skills, qualities, or values that make you well-suited for the chosen career.
• Show understanding of the industry: Display your knowledge and understanding of the industry or field you are targeting. Discuss any relevant industry trends, challenges, or opportunities. Demonstrate that you have conducted research and are aware of the current landscape and demands of the industry. Highlight how your short-term career goal aligns with these trends or addresses industry needs.
• Connect to your long-term aspirations: Explain how your short-term career goal serves as a stepping stone towards your long-term career aspirations. It is also important to demonstrate the logical progression from your short-term goal to your ultimate career vision. Show how achieving your short-term goal will provide you with the necessary skills, experiences, or network to move closer to your long-term goals, thereby justifying the fact that it is the right goal for you in the short term.
• Relate to the MBA program: Connect your short-term career goal to the specific MBA program you are applying to. Explain how the program’s curriculum, resources, or network can support your goal and help you acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for success. Discuss any unique opportunities or attributes of the program that make it a good fit for your career goals.
• Showcase impact and contribution: Articulate how achieving your short-term career goal will enable you to make a positive impact or contribute to the industry, organization, or society. Explain the value you aim to create or the problem you aspire to solve through your chosen career path. Demonstrate your ambition to make a meaningful difference.
• Discuss your motivation: Share your personal motivation and passion for pursuing this short-term career goal. Explain why this goal is important to you on a personal and professional level. Discuss any experiences, values, or personal connections that have influenced your decision.
• Show commitment and feasibility: Convey your commitment to your short-term career goal by discussing any steps you have already taken towards achieving it. Highlight relevant experiences, certifications, or ongoing professional development that demonstrate your dedication and preparedness. Ensure that your goal is realistic and achievable within the given timeframe.
• Edit and refine: After writing your response, review and revise it to ensure clarity, coherence, and impact. Eliminate any unnecessary information or repetition. Ensure that your essay flows smoothly and convincingly presents your short-term career goal and why it is the right choice for you.

Drafting the essays is one of the most important parts of the application process. And the above should perhaps help you craft it more effectively and efficiently. However, if you think you could use additional help with the process, our team of experts at Admit Expert have ample experience and will undoubtedly be able to guide you better through our in-depth analysis catered specifically for you. So, what are you waiting for? Contact us now .

Do you want to get into your dream business school?

Take the first step towards your MBA dream and schedule a free 1 on 1 application strategy call with us.

Related Posts

Why Round 2 Might Be the Perfect Time for Your MBA Application

Deciding when to submit your MBA application is a crucial part of your business school strategy. While Round 1 is often seen as the ideal time to apply, Round 2 can also offer significant advantages for the right candidates. Understanding the benefits and challenges of applying in Round 2 is

To Apply or Not to Apply: Round 1 MBA Admissions Explained

Navigating the MBA application process can be daunting, especially when it comes to deciding which application round to target. Most top business schools have multiple application rounds, with Round 1 typically closing in September or October, Round 2 in January, and Round 3 in March or April. This article will

Round 1 vs Round 2 vs Round 3 of MBA Application: When should I apply in 2024?

MBA programs typically have three application rounds: Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3. The deadlines for these rounds are usually in September, January, and April respectively.  Most MBA applicants have to decide on which application round to submit their application. You have to make this decision to maximize your

Expert MBA Essay Tips and How to Write a Great MBA Essay

Writing an MBA essay can be a pivotal step in your journey towards earning a coveted spot in a top business school. It’s a chance to let your personality shine, communicate your goals, and explain why a particular institution is the perfect fit for you. In this comprehensive article, we

Tips for Your Michigan Ross Application Essays 

June 17, 2024

Sophie Hilaire

Michigan Ross Application Essay Tips, 2024–2025

This year, Michigan Ross overhauled its essay questions and doubled the word count maximums. As a result, applicants will have a lot more space to flesh out their goals, personality, and character. Since these questions are brand new, let’s take a moment to discuss how you can best position yourself through your essays for this year’s applicant pool.

Part 1: Ross Experiences in Action-Based Learning (REAL) 

At Michigan Ross, we believe the best way to learn is by doing. In our Full-Time MBA Program, you will put your skills and knowledge to the test in real-world situations with real stakes. How will this learning environment benefit you, and how do you plan to contribute to the action-based learning experience? (300 words) 

Michigan Ross’s full-time MBA program emphasizes learning by doing, a methodology based on the belief that real-world experiences foster the most profound growth. To thoughtfully address this prompt, familiarize yourself with REAL , and consider the tangible benefits of such an immersive learning environment and how you envision contributing to it.

Start by reflecting on past experiences when practical application significantly enhanced your learning. Discuss how action-based learning has affected your growth and why it’s a critical aspect of your educational journey. For instance, you might highlight a project where you led a team to solve a complex problem, emphasizing the stakes involved and how the experience honed your leadership and decision-making skills.

Next, articulate how the Ross REAL experience will uniquely benefit you. Identify specific aspects of the MBA program, such as the Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP), student-led investment funds, or international consulting opportunities, and explain how these will equip you with the skills and knowledge to excel in your career. Connect these experiences to your personal and professional development goals.

Finally, illustrate how you plan to contribute to the action-based learning environment at Ross. Share examples of your proactive approach in previous roles — whether it’s initiating a new project, mentoring peers, or collaborating across functions. Highlight your commitment to fostering a collaborative and innovative learning atmosphere, ensuring that you not only benefit from but also enhance the learning experience for your peers.

Part 2: How will you make an impact at Michigan Ross? 

Michigan Ross is proud to support a community of leaders and impact makers. As a future member of this community, we want to know more about who you are and what drives you. Please choose 1 of the following prompts to tell us more about what makes you stand out beyond your academic and work experience. List the prompt you are answering at the top of your response. (200 words) 

• What makes you unique? 
• Can you provide a specific example of how you’ve overcome a personal challenge? 
• What makes you excited to get up each morning? 
• Describe a time when you made a difference in your community or with an individual. 

The purpose of these prompts is to give the admissions committee a better idea of who you are as a person and how you view yourself — kind of a peek “behind” your resume. Every word counts here; the tight word count is intentional to force you to focus. Ross is guiding applicants to share more about themselves in a very direct and focused way. Show the adcom who you are as a person, and what unique experiences and insights you would bring to the MBA class.

Most of the prompt choices focus on your personality traits and actions you have taken in the past. Use your answer to demonstrate to the admissions reader how you are like no one else. Try to find examples that give insights into who you are and that complement information in your resume, rather than repeating it, and don’t be afraid to share non-work-related examples. Incorporate details that will make your responses clearly and undeniably your own, and be sure to focus on what you have learned from the experiences and how those takeaways have contributed to the person you are today. 

Most applicants will probably assume that they should discuss only positive experiences or accomplishments in their answers to these prompts, but keep in mind that sharing an example of how you failed or made a mistake and learned from it can be an effective way to show growth. Relating a challenging experience can demonstrate that you are self-aware and can learn from obstacles, so the resulting essays can often be great, as long as you focus on how you grew from the experiences you relate. Ross is most interested in authentic, unique personal stories that illustrate the qualities candidates would bring to the MBA class. Consider sharing an item that cemented your resolve to work toward your future goals or a personal story that highlights your values. Be sure to allocate more words to the “why” and fewer to the “what.”

Part 3: Career Aspirations 

What is your short-term career goal, and how will Ross help you achieve it? (200 words) 

This is a straightforward and traditional essay prompt; Ross wants to know what you envision for yourself professionally in the years right after you graduate, as well as what your motivation is for pursuing this path. Be explicit in describing your short-term career goal, and make sure to build a compelling story as to why it is a fitting choice for you, including how your background or interests have prepared you for your stated goal. Maybe a work project got you excited about pursuing a leadership position, or maybe a personal passion is driving a career change. The “why” shows that you have been thoughtful in selecting this career aspiration and creates a compelling story. Given the minimal word count, prioritize telling your story as clearly and directly as possible. 

For the second part of this question, explicitly name how you believe Ross will help you achieve your goal, such as via certain courses, programs, events, clubs, and so on. Make sure to do your research — Ross has a lot to offer in addition to its big-ticket programs, so showing you’ve familiarized yourself in depth with the school will impress the committee! 

Optional Essay 

Is there something in your resume or application that needs a brief explanation? Appropriate uses of this essay would be the explanation of an employment gap, academic outliers, choice of recommender, completion of supplemental coursework, etc. You may use bullet points where appropriate. (250 words) 

By stating outright that it’s okay to use bullet points in your response to this prompt, Ross is clearly indicating that it just wants the most relevant information here. This is not your chance to share another story you think is interesting but that will not actually add to the admissions committee’s knowledge or understanding of you in any meaningful way. So, provide this optional information only if one of the suggested situations applies to you (“an employment gap, academic outliers, choice of recommender, completion of supplemental coursework”) or some other element of your candidacy would benefit from further clarification. One example would be if your recommender is not your direct supervisor. Or maybe you have a disciplinary issue in your past that could be mitigated by some explanation. At any rate, there’s no need to make your response any longer than it needs to be (or even to respond at all!) — just communicate any critical information. 

In Stratus Admissions’ blog post How to Get into Michigan Ross School of Business , you will find information on a variety of the MBA program’s offerings, such as the Multidisciplinary Action Project (MAP), the Erb Institute, the MTrek Program, and the Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund. Read our guide to learn more about Michigan Ross!

MBA School Specific

2024-2025 essay MBA Application Essays Michigan Ross School of Business Optional Essay short answers

Start Today with a FREE Consultation

Learn how Stratus’ team approach gets you into one of your top choice schools. Start with a FREE consultation with an Admissions Specialist.

Free Consultation

Previous Entry Tips for Your Northwestern Kellogg MBA Essay

Next Entry Tips for Your UVA Darden Application Essay

Search Our Blog Articles

• Menlo Coaching
• Top MBA Programs
• Admissions Essays
• Apply to Work With Us

Michigan Ross MBA Essays: Tips for 2024-2025

The 2023-2024 Ross MBA essays have been released, which means it’s time to start preparing! Most MBA programs will highly value the personal statement in your application. So don’t slack on it! Writing a unique essay that captures your individuality while responding to the prompt is a challenging task, but here at Menlo Coaching, we have the comprehensive guide to help you perfect it.

Ross is looking for students with a well-rounded background and lots of experience that can be translated into a succinct and compelling statement. One of the essential tips for an impactful essay is asking yourself why you chose to highlight a particular experience. Did it show significant professional development? Did it show how you overcame a personal struggle? Connecting your essay to the prompt, especially how it shows why you are pursuing an MBA, will make your essay stand out. No matter what the essay prompt is, these tips are broadly applicable.

At Menlo Coaching, we noticed that most MBA essays will fall into one of a number of categories: personal essays, career goals essays, behavioral essays, etc.. Read ahead for our expert guide on approaching these essays for the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Behavioral Essay: Ross Experiences in Action-Based Learning (REAL) 

At Michigan Ross, we believe the best way to learn is by doing. In our Full-Time MBA Program, you will put your skills and knowledge to the test in real-world situations with real stakes.  How will this learning environment benefit you, and how do you plan to contribute to the action-based learning experience? (300 words) 

Personal Essay: How will you make an impact at Michigan Ross? 

Michigan Ross is proud to support a community of leaders and impact makers. As a future member of this community, we want to know more about who you are and what drives you. Please choose 1 of the following prompts to tell us more about what makes you stand out beyond your academic and work experience. List the prompt you are answering at the top of your response. (200 words) 

• What makes you unique? 
• Can you provide a specific example of how you’ve overcome a personal challenge? 
• What makes you excited to get up each morning? 
• Describe a time when you made a difference in your community or with an individual. 

Career Goals 

What is your short-term career goal, and how will Ross help you achieve it? (200 words) 

Optional Essay

Is there something in your resume or application that needs a brief explanation? Appropriate uses of this essay would be the explanation of an employment gap, academic outliers, choice of recommender, completion of supplemental coursework, etc. You may use bullet points where appropriate. (250 words) 

The Behavioral Essay

To make it simple: the behavioral essay is meant to show the team at Michigan Ross that you have developed some sort of leadership skills, what your values are as a leader, and how you are going to most benefit from their development programs. 

The admissions committee is looking for applicants that are self-reflective. Whether it’s through a setback you’ve experienced, or how you dealt with situations that have gone awry, the school is looking for students who are resilient and able to learn from their mistakes.

Do not overexaggerate (or underexaggerate!) the situations you decide to write about. Be honest about what happened; Ross is looking for genuine people to join their campus community, and they are less likely to admit an applicant who has overinflated their prior experiences. 

Last but not least, make sure to describe what you learned and how you implemented this in a subsequent situation. This is an  expected  element of the behavioral essay, even if it’s not directly written in the prompt. The school is looking for applicants who will act with humility, and have confidence without attitude. Prompts that deal with these topics can be daunting, especially when they require you to write about a weakness you have or a failure you’ve experienced.

The Personal Statement Essay

Like we touched on earlier, schools are looking for the right fit for their campus community, just as you are searching for the school that aligns best with your goals. In the personal essay, this is your chance to show the McCombs admission team the values that drive you both as a person and as a student. These values tell them what you prioritize, the moral code you live by, and, most importantly, who you are as a person.  

McCombs School of Business has created an environment dedicated to “thinking independently together.” The school is looking for applicants who are seeking to be challenged and are going to pursue their curiosities. One way these work in tandem is through the cohort group you are placed in upon entering the program; you will work with these students throughout the first year’s core curriculum, carefully designed to provide you with the most enriching experience possible.

In these essays, you can talk about almost anything; typically, applicants will write about relationships in their lives, or times when there was a hardship they had to overcome. Be warned, though: there are some topics to avoid, and we have outlined a few things to watch out for in this article . 

The Career Goals Essay

The career goals essay is the space to emphasize your post-MBA plans. MBA programs want to accept students who have concrete, achievable career plans and a roadmap to success. MBA programs want a glowing post-grad report that proves they produce successful graduates with many job prospects (and who will donate money in the future)! Ross also wants students to promote their program to friends, co-workers, and prospective applicants. The career goals Ross essay combines your hard statistics (ex: GMAT score) with your interpersonal skills (ex: recommendations) to formulate the case for getting an MBA.

Make sure to state your achievable short-term and long-term goals explicitly. Explain why an MBA would help you achieve these goals and how Ross is essential to your plan. Connecting the positive attributes from your personal essay to your career goals essay is critical to forming a well-rounded application. Ross students enter the consulting, technology, and financial service industries, so emphasize your findings in the essay to show you’re genuinely interested.

Once you’ve completed your application, the optional Ross essay gives you an additional opportunity to provide the AdCom with any additional information or clarity that you feel would enhance your application.

One trap that MBA applicants fall into is using the additional space provided by this essay to write on a whole new topic. However, this is not always the best idea.

You should only make use of this essay if you what you write will provide context to an element of your application to improve your candidacy—you don’t want to jeopardize your chances by adding unnecessary noise to your application.

Overall, honesty and growth are the most important parts of a successful MBA application essay. In addition, applying the lessons you learned shows improvement in your interpersonal and professional skills, making you a more attractive candidate for MBA programs.

At Menlo Coaching, we are prepared to help you take the next step and perfect your essays. Seamlessly navigate the Ross MBA essay prompts with our expert MBA consulting guidance and personalized feedback.

Related Articles

• Michigan Ross MBA Program Overview
• MBA Essay Tips From 3 Top Admissions Consultants
• How to Get Into MBA Programs at Top Business Schools

The Ultimate MBA Admissions Checklist

Our free, comprehensive checklist covers everything you need to shop for an MBA admissions consultant.

✓ Compare pricing across 35+ MBA admissions consulting firms

✓ Learn why “success rates” are not to be trusted

✓ Find the right service model for your needs

✓ Prep for your consultation calls

Ross School of Business Essay Questions and Strategic Guidance, 2023-2024

The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan prides itself on its strong, vibrant, and welcoming MBA community. From the officers on the business school admissions team to the MBA students to the professors, everyone knows the tune of “Go Big Blue!” and feels part of the broader university.

This sense of “welcoming community” comes out in Ross’s business school application, too. Overall, Michigan Ross seems dedicated to helping candidates submit the best application they can.

• First, the admissions team keeps the essay lengths short, with the longest essay being a mere 150 words. While writing a more condensed essay is certainly challenging (the brevity required demands a high level of judgment), perfecting a briefer essay generally requires less time than perfecting a longer one. In fact, across all of the school’s three core application essays, you will only need to submit 350 words!
• Second, the admissions team has created a kind of “choose your own adventure” application. Being able to select which essay prompts you want to respond to puts you in the driver’s seat. You have every opportunity to ensure that your application captures and conveys the best of you.

But with such choice comes responsibility! We share the below guidance to help you navigate your choices as you develop your Michigan Ross application.

Part 1: Short-answer questions

Select one prompt from each group of the two groups below. respond to each selected prompt in 100 words or less (<100 words each; 200 words total)., i want people to know that i: i made a difference when i: i was aware that i was different when:, group 2 i was out of my comfort zone when: i was humbled when: i was challenged when:.

As much as Ross’s application gives you a chance to shine, you need to be thoughtful about which prompts  collectively  enable you to show off both the best and the most of you. So, an important step in developing your Ross essays happens well before you actually start writing them. Identify which themes and/or stories you want to communicate throughout your application and then consider how you can share them via some combination of the prompts you select. In tandem, ensure that with each prompt, the admissions committee learns something new about you. For example, imagine you are a management consultant focused on technology. You also volunteer at your local community theater, and you have been an amateur horse rider all your life. You would most likely not want both of your responses to discuss a different work engagement from your management consulting role! Unless those work experiences are so meaningful and distinct, ignoring the other elements of who you are would squander an opportunity to provide a full representation your candidacy.

When crafting your responses, keep in mind the concept of “balance.” Use specific, vivid details to ensure that your reader understands the context of what you are sharing and can clearly imagine your world. However, to optimize the allotted word count, include only the details that are critical to your overall story. Build out an anecdote that has a beginning, middle, and end; you need each of these to give your reader a sense of completion. And to conclude, use your final sentence to reflect on the “so what” aspect of the experience you just shared. What did you learn from it? How did you grow? What were the results?

There is no “right” answer for these prompts, so remember to think expansively about your experiences both in and outside of the workplace.  What is most important is that Ross gets a sense of who you are and what you will bring as a member of its community.

To learn more about how to relate an experience in an essay, watch our video “ How to Tell a Great Story in Your MBA Essays ,” which covers all the critical elements of storytelling, including “show, don’t tell.”

Part 2: Career Goal

What is your short-term career goal and w hy is this the right goal for you (150 words).

Part 2 of the Ross application is all about your career goals and what you hope to do upon graduating with your MBA. You are given 150 words in which to discuss  just  your short-term career goals, which is quite a lot as far as business school applications go. Perhaps Ross invites such a lengthy submission so you have plenty of room in which to convince the admissions committee that your decision to apply to business school is not a knee-jerk reaction but a highly intentional decision, driven by what inspires you and where you see an opportunity to create impact. In addressing the “ why” part of the prompt, think about your experiences to date that have influenced your vision for your future, what business problem you want to solve, and what skills and/or knowledge you have that will enable your success once you are in that near-term role.

To learn more about how to write about your career goals, watch our video “ Your Career Statement:  Fact, Fiction, and How to Build One .”

Topics in this resource:

MBA Essay Questions and Strategic Guidance

Michigan Ross

Previous Entry

Next Entry

Get the Reddit app

Learn about MBA programs, applying to them, and what life is like while in one and afterwards. Please make sure to read our rules and wiki before posting.

Ross Applicants: How are you approaching the 200 word essay?

Michigan Ross is a place where people from all backgrounds with different career goals can thrive. What is your short-term career goal and why? (200 words)

This is a bit shorter than other schools' questions of the same sort. I was planning on opening with a short story to catch the attention, but I'm wondering if it's best to start with "I want to do XXX" and then elaborate the rest of the essay? Also, are ya'll planning on mentioning why Ross at all?

Revealed: Harvard Business School’s New MBA Essays For Applicants

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Reddit

Harvard Business School’s Baker Library.

With just 10 weeks before its first application deadline on Sept. 4th, Harvard Business School today (June 25) revealed a newly revised application for MBA candidates, including a new set of three short essays along with a refresh on how it will evaluate applicants for future classes.

The new prompts?

Business-Minded Essay : Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)

Leadership-Focused Essay : What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)

Growth-Oriented Essay : Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words)

NEW HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAYS PUT THROUGH BY NEW MBA ADMISSIONS CHIEF

Eagerly awaited by thousands of prospective students and admission consultants, you can bet that the admissions pages of the HBS website were continually refreshed all morning for a glimpse at the new essay. The Harvard Business School essay prompt for the Class of 2027 was posted at 10:30 a.m. with the opening of the 2024-2025 application online.

This year’s change was put through by Rupal Gadhia , who joined the school as managing director of admissions and financial aid last October. A 2004 Harvard MBA, Gadhia came to the school with no previous admissions experience, having been the global head of marketing for SharkNinja robots.

In explaining the change in a blog post , Gadhia noted that “we have refreshed the criteria on which we evaluate candidates. We are looking for applicants who are business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented…This is your opportunity to discuss meaningful or formative experiences that are important to you that you haven’t had a chance to fully explore elsewhere in your application…Be authentic, be yourself.”

WHAT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL IS REALLY LOOKING FOR IN THE NEW ESSAYS

The school added some context to its new criteria for admission, more clearly defining what it means by business-minded, leadership-focused, and growth-oriented.

Business-Minded

We are looking for individuals who are passionate about using business as a force for good – who strive to improve and transform companies, industries, and the world. We are seeking those who are eager to solve today’s biggest problems and shape the future through creative and integrated thinking. Being business-minded is about the interest to help organizations succeed, whether in the private, public, or non-profit sector. This business inclination can be found in individuals with a variety of professional and educational experiences, not just those who come from traditional business backgrounds.

In Your Application: We will look for evidence of your interpersonal skills, quantitative abilities, and the ways in which you plan to create impact through business in the future.

Leadership-Focused

We are looking for individuals who aspire to lead others toward making a difference in the world, and those who recognize that to build and sustain successful organizations, they must develop and nurture diverse teams. Leadership takes many forms in many contexts – you do not have to have a formal leadership role to make a difference. We deliberately create a class that includes different kinds of leaders, from the front-line manager to the startup founder to the behind-the-scenes thought leader.

In Your Application: Your leadership impact may be most evident in extracurriculars, community initiatives, or your professional work.

Growth-Oriented

We are looking for individuals who desire to broaden their perspectives through creative problem solving, active listening, and lively discussion. At HBS you will be surrounded by future leaders from around the world who will make you think more expansively about what impact you might have. Our case and field-based learning methods depend on the active participation of curious students who are excited to listen and learn from faculty and classmates, as well as contribute their own ideas and perspectives.

In Your Application: We will look for the ways in which you have grown, developed, and how you engage with the world around you.

TIGHTER TIMEFRAME FOR ROUND ONE APPLICANTS

The new essay prompts come  nearly two months after candidates to the school’s MBA program would more typically know what was expected of them. Some admission consultants say the delay over the prompt’s release, along with nearly a month’s slow down in releasing application deadlines, is “wildly insensitive” to applicants who will have less time than normal to prepare for the round one deadline of Sept. 4th.

That’s especially true because the most successful applicants to HBS have highly demanding jobs that consume the vast majority of their time. Many candidates go through multiple drafts of their essays to get them as close to perfection as humanly possible. MBA admission consultants are expecting a lot of up-to-the-deadline work this year to help prep candidates for Harvard and other top business schools.

The new application still preserves the post-interview reflection for applicants who are invited to a 30-minute admissions interview. Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to submit a written reflection through the school’s online application system.

REACTION TO THE NEW CHANGE IS MIXED

Early reaction to the change suggests the likelihood of mixed reviews. “This is an uninspired and odd set of questions,” says Sandy Kreisberg, founder of HBSGuru.com and an MBA admissions consultant who closely reads the tea leaves of Harvard’s admissions process. “I don’t know how it’s different from what else do you want us to know about you, frankly,” he adds in a reference to last year’s single essay prompt.

“HBS has certainly moved from the abstract to the concrete,” believes Jeremy Shinewald, founder and CEO of mbaMission, a leading MBA admissions consulting firm. “Some applicants previously felt like they didn’t know where to start and some weren’t sure if they had answered the question, even when they were done. Now, the questions are quite straightforward and all have a cause and effect relationship — one where the applicant discusses the past to reveal the present or future. Smart applicants will understand how to share their experiences and, more importantly, how to relay their values. Some will mistakenly try to whack HBS over the head with stories of their epic feats, but the key isn’t to brag or embellish – the key is to simply create a clear relationship, via narrative, between past experience and true motivations.”

Shinewald found it astonishing that Harvard could not have made the change earlier. “It is, of course, surprising that HBS left applicants on edge until the last minute, all to create very traditional essays,” he adds. “As applicants learn in MBA classrooms, change can be hard and take time. The bottom line here is that these essays are somewhat of an applicant’s dream – they allow the savvy applicant to play to their strengths and draw on their best anecdotes and experiences to create a complete story. Some applicants will lament the absence of a ‘Why HBS?’ prompt, but my guess is that the admissions committee recognized that they would get an almost homogenous collection of essays touting the case method and other well known features. HBS gets some kudos for keeping the focus on the applicant.”

Adds Petia Whitmore of My MBA Path: “I think they reflect one of the traits of this new generation of candidates which is that they don’t handle ambiguity well. So it seems like Harvard had to spell out what they’re looking for way more prescriptively than in the past.”

Some, however, find the new essays a return to the past. “To me, the prompts feel quite regressive, and a return to the more formulaic approach that pervaded MBA applications two decades ago,” believes Justin Marshall, a New York-based MBA admissions consultant. “Because the previous prompt was so open ended, it forced applicants to be introspective and self-aware. You couldn’t just ramble for 900 words; you had to identify themes in your life to show how your personal experiences shaped your values, your leadership style, and your goals. Comparatively, these new prompts are much more paint-by-numbers. Applicants will likely cover the same ground in terms of topic, but there’s very little room for nuance and self-expression. I think it will be harder for applicants with less conventional backgrounds and experiences to differentiate themselves. I’m sure HBS grew tired of reading so many painfully earnest ‘life story’ essays, but I suspect they’ll soon find themselves yearning for essays that have a heartbeat and personality. 250 words just doesn’t allow for that unless you’re a very crafty writer.”

Whatever the case, getting into Harvard’s MBA program is still a daunting exercise. Last year, 1,076 of the 8,264 candidates who applied for admission to Harvard Business School gained admission, an acceptance rate of 13.2%, making HBS the second most selective prestige MBA program in the country after Stanford Graduate School of Business which had an admit rate of 8.4%. Harvard saw a 15.4% drop in MBA applications from the 9,773 it received a year-earlier.

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School must provide an additional essay: How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (up to 400 words)

BIGGEST CHANGE IN HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAY IN NEARLY A DECADE

Joint degree applicants for the Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences must provide an additional essay: The MS/MBA Engineering Sciences program is focused on entrepreneurship, design, and innovation. Describe your past experiences in these areas and your reasons for pursuing a program with this focus. (recommended length: 500 words). Applicants will also be able to respond to an optional essay.

In any case, it’s the biggest change in Harvard Business School’s application in nearly a decade. The last time HBS made a major switch, moving to the essay prompt it just eliminated, was in 2016. That change to just one essay with no word limit and a post-interview reflection was made by then admissions chief Dee Leopold.

When Leopold applied to Harvard as an MBA candidate in 1978, she had to write eight essays. Over her years as managing director of admissions, she first cut the essays down to four and then one, making it optional, and finally the one last prompt with a post-interview reflection, saying that applying to HBS should not be a writing contest .

OUR BUSINESS CASUAL PODCAST: The New HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA Application:   Fortuna Admissions’ Caroline Diarte-Edwards and ApplicantLab’s Maria Wich-Vila join P&Q’s John A. Byrne to offer applicant advice on how to answer the new HBS essay prompts

DON’T MISS: 2024-2024 MBA APPLICATION DEADLINES or  HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL WILL NOW UPDATE ITS MBA ESSAY 

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.

• Stay Informed. Sign Up! Login Logout Search for:

What Harvard Business School Really Wants: How To Ace The HBS Essay

How To Ace The INSEAD Video Questions

Why Are MBA Application Goals Important?

How Can I Improve My Chances Of Getting Into Business School – With A Scholarship?

• How To Use Poets&Quants MBA Admissions Consultant Directory
• How To Select An MBA Admissions Consultant
• MBA Admission Consulting Claims: How Credible?
• Suddenly Cozy: MBA Consultants and B-Schools
• The Cost: $6,850 Result: B-School

Our Partner Sites: Poets&Quants for Execs | Poets&Quants for Undergrads | Tipping the Scales | We See Genius

• Is Business Right for Me?
• Bachelor of Business Administration
• Business Minor
• Entrepreneurship Minor
• Real Estate Development Minor
• Course Catalog
• Electives, Minors & Opportunities
• Global Student Experiences
• Summer Business Academy
• All-Access Weekend
• Discover Ross

Ranked #4 by U.S. News & World Report, the Michigan Ross BBA Program is one of the best undergraduate business program in the world. Explore what makes our inclusive community of learners so unique.

• Which MBA Format is Right for Me?
• Full-Time MBA
• Weekend MBA
• Executive MBA
• Evening MBA
• Which One-Year Master's Degree is Right for Me?
• Master of Accounting
• Master of Business Analytics
• Master of Management
• Master of Supply Chain Management
• Global Student Experiences (graduate)
• MAP Projects & Testimonials

At Michigan Ross, you gain more than just a first-class business education. Our collaborative, supportive, inclusive community enriches your experience, and sets you up with a lifetime network of friends across the globe.

• Faculty Overview
• Faculty Directory
• Faculty News & Research
• Academic Areas
• Books & Publications
• Faculty Excellence
• Faculty Recruiting
• Centers, Institutes & Initiatives
• India Initiatives
• Technology & Business Innovation Forum
• Thomas C. Jones Undergraduate Innovation Initiative
• Tozzi Electronic Business and Finance Center
• PhD Program

The work of Michigan Ross faculty influences the world’s largest companies and global economies. Every day we’re creating real-world solutions for the most pressing challenges in our world. 

• Centers & Institutes
• Executive Education
• Alumni News
• Michigan Ross+Financial Times
• School News
• Student Voices
• Browse All Events
• Social Media
• News Archive
• For the Media
• Commencement
• Handleman Lecture Series
• William K. McInally Memorial Lecture Series
• Mitchell Lecture Series
• Full-Time MBA: Ross Women’s Weekend and UpClose Diversity Weekend

Follow a monthly poll co-created by Financial Times and Michigan Ross for insights on how American voters perceive key financial and economic issues in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

• About Michigan Ross
• Mission & Values
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Key Facts & Figures
• Ross Experiences in Action-Based Learning: REAL
• Business+Impact
• Business+Tech
• Ross Around the World
• About Sharon F. Matusik
• Ross Leadership Team
• Ross School Advisory Board
• 100 Years of Michigan Ross
• Visit Ann Arbor
• Visit Detroit

Discover more about the history, people, milestones, and contributions that have shaped Michigan Ross.

How The Admissions Director Would Answer the Michigan Ross MBA Essay Questions

All of us at Ross were thrilled to finally welcome the Class of 2020 last week at new student orientation.

420 students from 40 countries including students who have saved lives in the ER, founded charities and startups around the world, created a popular data science podcast, won national athletic championships, appeared on MTV, recorded an EP, managed cities, and protected our country. (Oh, and there's a past President).

Starting this weekend, many of them will be traveling the world on MBA2-led MTreks to places like Tanzania, Galapagos, Croatia, South Africa, and more.

We’re also looking forward to welcoming rising MBA2s back to campus. Read about some of their internships at places like Facebook, Snap, Glossier, Kiehls, Civic Consulting Alliance, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and more!

Read about student internships

My Responses to Ross’ Essay Prompts

Responding to essay prompts can be tough. You may wonder if you should tell a professional or personal story. If there’s a particular kind of story the Admissions Committee is looking for. If yours is epic enough. Or unique enough. Or if the AdCom will stop reading after the last word in the word limit.

All of those questions went through my head (except the last) as I contemplated how I would respond to our essay prompts. Below are my responses to two of our prompts. Read them not as “models” to replicate, but as a glimpse into who I am.

That’s the purpose of our essays — to get a sense of who you are, and the experiences that have shaped you. And I assure you that the team will not want to read hundreds of essays that sound just like mine; we want to hear your unique stories.

I was out of my comfort zone when I became the Admissions Director and had to speak in front of hundreds of people. I was terrified of public speaking. Before getting my MBA, I worked as a policy analyst on Capitol Hill because I loved researching issues and making recommendations that someone else would give voice to. As the A.D., I had to not only make decisions about whom to admit, but also promote the school to prospective students around the world. Through preparation, practice, and feedback, I not only became comfortable with it, I came to enjoy it. Overcoming that fear gave me the courage to tackle other fears.   

I knew I was different when I was in first grade. Another child pushed me off the teeter-totter - because I was “Chinese Japanese...” That’s how I lost my first two teeth. That’s also how I learned I wasn’t like the other kids. I’d thought I was. I hated looking different. I resented being Korean. My mother told me that I couldn’t change what I look like, but I could determine who I am, and what people would notice me for. She taught me to be the kid who’d be noticed for succeeding as a student. Her advice opened doors that simply looking different would not have.  

If you haven’t checked out our short answer essay prompts, you can find them here . There are six options, but you can choose the question you want to answer from each group.

For More Advice and Tips…          

A few members of the admissions team and I had a candid conversation about application tips and common admissions myths last week. You might find the recording helpful as you start putting together your Round 1 application.

Also, we hope you come meet us at events around the world this month. We’ll be in Asia, Latin America and on both coasts across the U.S. We look forward to connecting with you and getting to know you through your application.

Check out upcoming online and in-person events