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Brevity Is Key in MBA Essays

French philosopher Blaise Pascal famously noted that he didn't have time to pen a short letter, so he wrote a long one instead. The fact that writing effectively but concisely is a rare skill is one reason applicants to some top b-schools are facing fewer and shorter essays.

"We prioritize communicating in a clear, concise, compelling way, and shortening or having fewer essays really forces applicants to reflect on what they want to share," says Kate Smith, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, which reduced its essay count in 2014 from three to two and asked for shorter responses. "Being asked to write less is actually more challenging."  


Harvard School of Business now requires just one essay, down from seven a decade ago. The Class of 2018 applicants are asked how they would introduce themselves to their section mates when they arrive on campus.

The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, which asked for four essays five years ago, wants just one of 500 words from Class of 2018 hopefuls.

One of Columbia University's four writing assignments asks applicants to describe their immediate post-MBA goal in just 50 characters, or a little over a third of a single tweet. That figure has been gradually whittled down from 200 characters four years ago.


"Shortening is definitely the big trend of the past four to five years," said Matt Symonds, co-author of "The MBA Admissions Edge" and co-director of Fortuna Admissions, a business school admissions consulting firm.


Symonds attributes the change also to the fact that admissions committees have been taxed lately by a sharp rise in applications to near-record levels. The trend is confined to elite schools at the moment, he says, though he expects others to follow suit.

Business schools are also experimenting with different formats for the essay. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business asked applicants for entry this fall to pick one of 16 school-related photos to use as a jumping-off point to discuss "why the Booth community is the right fit for you" and told them to "feel free" to submit a slide presentation or "any format that you feel best captures your response."

The University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management introduced a video essay in 2012, using it to replace two written essays. Yale University School of Management and Northwestern's Kellogg have since added a video essay. All three use a platform that poses the question and offers limited time to respond, so the focus in on the applicant's answer rather than his or her production ability.

One reason admissions staffers like the video approach is that it's tougher for applicants to be coached.


"Unfortunately, with the proliferation of online message boards and admissions consultants who try to convince applicants that there is a 'right' answer to these questions, ​submissions often sound very similar," wrote Niki da Silva, Rotman's director of recruitment and admissions, about written essays in a blog post debuting the video format.

Moreover, the ability to present yourself well during a videoconference​ is a crucial business skill, says Smith. She recalls that while she was considering introducing the video essay, one convincing factor was a conversation she'd had with a Kellogg student who mentioned that her first round of interviews at Nike had included a video component.   

How to prepare? You don't want to look overpracticed, Symonds cautions; the goal is to gauge your presentation skills, thoughtfulness and "apparent spontaneity."

Speak about your goals and your history concisely, he advises, and if you lose your train of thought, "take a breath, compose yourself and bounce back."

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