Writing MBA application essays can be one of the most intellectually demanding parts of the admissions process, and it's normal to...

Updated April 2026 Storytelling is at the center of how I think about MBA applications – and it's been at the center of my philosophy since I founded Ivy Groupe. Not because it's a technique or a framework, but because it's the most accurate description of what the best applications actually do.   The MBA application is not primarily a credentials document. It's an invitation to tell the Admissions Committee who you are – where you've come from, what has shaped you, where you

As you prepare your MBA application materials, it can be helpful to seek feedback from family and friends.  However, it’s important to...

Updated April 2026 If I had to identify the single most common writing problem across the MBA applications I've reviewed over the years, it wouldn't be grammar. It wouldn't be structure. It wouldn't be length.   It would be vagueness.   Vague writing is pervasive in MBA applications – not because candidates are careless, but because it's the default mode of professional communication, and most candidates don't realize they've carried it into a context where it fundamentally d

While there are always exceptions, if you are like most candidates, you currently are or are planning to apply to multiple MBA programs. ...

You have finally homed in on the topic you would like to write about for your business school admissions essay, but you are struggling to...

Updated April 2026 Let's be honest about where we are: AI writing tools are everywhere, they're increasingly capable, and virtually every MBA candidate has access to them. The question of whether to use them isn't going away.   So rather than a blanket prohibition, I want to offer something more useful: a clear-eyed account of what AI tools can and can't do in the MBA application process – and why the essays specifically are the place where using them undermines rather than

One question we get a lot is “How do I shorten my business school application essays?” With the trend towards shorter and shorter essays,...

Over the years, MBA programs have been reducing the word count for the essays in their applications. For example, Stanford’s most...

Updated April 2026 If there's one part of the MBA application that candidates consistently underinvest in, it's the short answers. Essays get weeks of drafting and revision. The resume gets careful attention. And then the short answers – which Admissions Committees read as carefully as everything else – get completed in a rush in the final days before submission. That's a mistake worth avoiding. Short answer questions are not administrative filler. They're an opportunity – of

Updated April 2026 MBA application essays are one of the most important elements of your application. Through your essays, Admissions Committees piece together your story: who you are, what you value, where you're going, and why an MBA from their program makes sense for you right now. The candidates who do this well don't necessarily write the most sophisticated prose. They write with clarity, specificity, and genuine voice. The ones who struggle tend to fall into a handful o

Updated March 2026 Most business school applications will have either an essay or a short answer question where you can provide optional or additional information to help shed more light on your candidacy. It's important to read the directions carefully, as most schools will make it clear that this space should only be used to clarify or explain things in your candidacy that you may not have been able to do so anywhere else in your application.   Many candidates believe that

Updated April 2026 Most candidates begin their MBA applications the same way: they open the first essay prompt, stare at it for a while, and start writing. They work through one prompt, then another, then the short answers, then the resume – building the application piece by piece, prompt by prompt, until it's done. The problem with this approach isn't the writing. It's what comes before the writing – or more accurately, what doesn't. Before you write a single word of your

Updated April 2026 Video essays have become a standard component of the MBA application process at many top programs. They're used by schools to get to know you beyond the two-dimensional application – to see how you communicate, how you think on your feet, and whether the person on screen matches the voice in your written materials. The format is different from both written essays and live interviews – and it catches many candidates off guard. With the right preparation, i

Updated April 2026 MBA application essays intimidate a lot of candidates. They're asked to write about themselves – their experiences, their goals, their character – in a way that feels both deeply personal and enormously high-stakes. The result, for many candidates, is either paralysis or over-engineering: either they can't start, or they write something so polished and constructed that it no longer sounds like them.   Neither approach serves you well. Here's how to think ab

Updated April 2026 “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” –Oscar Wilde How do I get into the top business schools? What can I do to stand out from the competition? Is there a formula that will help me get accepted into the programs of my choice? My friend got into [fill in the blank] by focusing on [fill in the blank] – should I do the same thing? I get asked versions of these questions constantly. I understand what's behind them. The MBA admissions landscape is co