Darden MBA Essays, Prompt by Prompt

Careers With Purpose: At this time, how would you describe your short-term, post-MBA goal in terms of industry, function, geography, company size and/or mission? How does it align with the long-term vision you have for your career? (200 words)

We love the 200 words aspect because it’s so clear what the structure needs to be, let’s just get into it:

1. Start with a high level (and succinct) vision of the LT vision, in broad strokes. Here, talk about it purely in terms of the impact you’re hoping to achieve. “My plan is to change the way…” “In twenty years, people will no longer be doing… XYZ.” Sell us on the importance of this (to you), and give us a sense for why you’re committed to seeing it through (high level). (25–50 words)
2. Now explain a very sober, boring, but utterly logical plan for a short term that equips you with the right skills, network, experiences, and growth/development to advance you toward your LT objectives. You can start this section by laying out the skills that LT vision will require, and then transition to how your specific ST plan will meet those requirements, one by one, step by step. A should lead to B which enables C that then gets you to D, etc. eventually to… “Oz.” Be deadly specific. Sound like a person who has researched this to the last detail, and has three contingency plans (you might even tease those here). (50-125 words)
3. Finish by tying how these short-term goals will enable you to achieve this meaningful thing you’ve laid out in the very beginning. You’ve given us the plan in excruciating detail, but leave us with a powerful emotional sense that you are committed to this on a deep, deep level. (25 words)

New this cycle, the video essay affords you the opportunity to showcase your personality and critical thinking skills. You will have 90 seconds to respond to a randomly-generated question, pulled from pool of questions written by the Admissions Committee. We are not looking for perfection here — lead with authenticity.

You won’t know your question in advance: it’s pulled at random from a pool Darden’s Admissions Committee wrote, so there’s no scripting your answer, and that’s the point. Darden says the video is there to help it see “how applicants think, communicate and engage with ideas.” Which tracks, at a school where “the classroom is highly interactive.”

So prep the way you’d prep for class. You can’t know the question, but you can know your material, and your material is YOU. Get your greatest hits straight (a leadership moment, a failure, a decision you’re proud of, a time you changed your mind) and practice talking through each one out loud.

Then practice the clock. Grab a list of common MBA interview questions, pull one at random, and answer it on camera in 90 seconds. Watch it back. Did you answer the question that was asked? Did you land on a point, or circle one? Ninety seconds holds one clear idea and one example. That’s the target.

And take Darden at its word: “We are not looking for perfection here — lead with authenticity.” A small stumble is human. A stiff, memorized-sounding answer is the bigger risk.

For more on prepping for any video essay, check out our video essay analysis.