What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from Haas help you achieve those goals?

Short-term career goals should be achievable within 3-5 years post-MBA, whereas long-term goals may span a decade or more and encompass broader professional aspirations. (300 words max)

Very standard (and important business school) question. The key here is for the thing to just make sense. So much sense that it’s like “why didn’t I think of that.” The more obvious the idea is, and your proposed path for how you’re going to achieve it, given (this is key) who you are and specifically what you bring to the equation, the more likely you are to seem like someone who is going to succeed … no matter what you pursue. And that, friends, is the ballgame. You need to seem like someone who is destined to succeed. This is what business schools are hoping to invest in (or gamble on). It has little to do with your specific idea, and more to do with how well you’ve considered your idea as a problem to solve, and developed a plan to solve it.

1. Start by teeing up the ultimate end goal. The key here is talk about the result of it all, not the role or function itself. If you succeed at the thing you’re hoping to succeed in, what results from that? What changes or improves? Help us see it. This will get instant buy-in from your readers. (50-75 words)
2. Now explain what skills and experience level are required in order to succeed at this endeavor. Presumably you have some of that, but not all of it, otherwise… why go through the expense and opportunity cost of an MBA? Show us where you are now, and what’s left to gain in your overall path. This sets you up perfectly to explain all the intermediating steps between you and your eventual goal, which include your MBA and then your short-term goal en route to your long-term goal. (75 words)
3. Now, it writes itself. Take us through what you’re hoping to pick up through an MBA, and how that enhances existing skills and shores up gaps in your profile, within the context that you’ve already laid out of what the end goal is. (75 words)
4. Then, show us how this positions you to play ball at the next level which is the thing you’re hoping to do immediately after business school, for 3-5 years. Connect the dots. How have your past experiences prepared you to succeed at business school. And then how will the pickups at business school equip you with the ability to then enter that next phase? (50-75 words)
5. Take us through how these 3-5 years after business school fit into that bigger picture. What happens next? What are you now picking up that will propel you further toward your ultimate goal? What if Plan A doesn’t work, what might a Plan B or C look like? Show us that you’ve sketched the whole thing out, have a clear understanding of what’s required, and have all the contingencies lined up, the way that any person intent on solving a problem would. This is key, giving off those vapors. (50-75 words)

That gets you to a solid first draft.

One of our goals at Berkeley Haas is to develop leaders who value diversity and to create an inclusive environment in which people from different ethnicities, genders, lived experiences, and national origins feel welcomed and supported.

Describe any experience or exposure you have in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging whether through community organizations, personal, or in the workplace? (300 words max)

Candidates seeking consideration for mission-aligned fellowships may use this space to reflect on their commitment to the mission of those fellowships.

This question (although the question mark is an intriguing choice, we can only assume this question was inspired by thoughtful teenager born in a year that begins with a ‘2’) is nice and open-ended, and leaves room for just about any experience that grazes this theme, even glancingly. The key here is to demonstrate that you are someone who aligns with Haas’s mere consideration of this topic, that it matters to you also, and thus, your radar is attuned to it, consciously or unconsciously. Let’s ask a few questions to provoke some thought and reveal potential stories within your repertoire of experiences that might work:

• Have you ever experienced a great version of this, where an organization, or an individual, did something that others wouldn’t have, that modeled thoughtful attention and care to the themes of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, or belonging? At what point did it occur to you that this was being tended to in a thoughtful way? It only really counts if you could have imagined the same scenario playing out a different way, in the hands of someone less attentive to these themes. Now you’re onto something.
• Have you ever experienced the opposite? A situation where the organization, or a leader, or any variation of those, had the opportunity to tend to these themes, but didn’t? Either because they missed it, or consciously went the other way? When did *that* become evident to you, and what was going on in your mind at the time? What happened? Did you intervene? Were you unable to intervene, but did it teach you something vital about how you might approach a similar situation when you were able to exert more control?
• Have you been in the ‘subject’ pool of this? That is, someone who has been affected by either positive or negative attention to these themes? What was the situation? What happened? What was going through your mind? What did you do?

Let’s talk structure:

1. First, drop us into the situation. Which of the three scenarios above is your version (there may be others, but perhaps those stoke some ideas to get you started). What was the goal, what was at stake? Explain this - at first - without consideration to the themes indicated, just talk broadly about ‘what was happening, at all’ so we get a sense. Now, introduce the relevance of the central themes here, and explain why they mattered. (75 words)
2. Now explained how it all played out, quickly providing the simple facts before delving deeper into the consequences (either positive or negative) of the way in which those themes were tended to, or not. What was gained, lost, missed, crucially considered, and why does any of it matter? Explain this not as though it’s a foregone conclusion, but rather, explain it on a very personal level why careful attention to these themes is useful, important, part of a bigger project of a better way forward. Remember, this is business school, so resist the temptation to drift into soapbox territory, and consider the frame of business as the undergirds to your argument. (125-150 words)
3. Take us into the future now. Summarize the key learning points and show us how you plan to apply these to all that lies ahead, beginning with business school, and your intentions of engaging with fellow classmates and professors and whomever else. As well as the future beyond, where these issues will continue to play a part, whether primary or otherwise. How does thoughtful attention to these make for a better environment for all to succeed in a way that ‘rises the tide and lifts all boats’? Can you thread the needle here and make an argument that satisfies both a business person as well as ‘citizen of the world’? If it’s too squarely one or the other, it might miss the mark. (75-100 words)

The Berkeley MBA program develops leaders who embody our four Defining Leadership Principles. Briefly introduce yourself to the admissions committee, explain which Defining Leadership Principle resonates most with you, and tell us how you have exemplified the principle in your personal or professional life.

Please review the Defining Leadership Principles in advance and take time to prepare your answer before recording. You will be able to test your audio-visual connection before recording. Video essays should last 1-2 minutes and may not exceed 2 minutes.

Pulled directly from the URL above:

• Question the Status Quo
  We thrive at the epicenter of innovation. We make progress by speaking our minds even when it challenges convention. We lead by championing bold ideas and taking intelligent risks.
• Confidence Without Attitude
  We make decisions based on evidence and analysis, giving us the confidence to act with humility. We foster collaboration by building a foundation of empathy, inclusion, and trust.
• Students Always
  We are a community designed to support curiosity. We actively seek out diverse perspectives as part of our lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. There is always more to learn.
• Beyond Yourself
  We shape our world by leading ethically and responsibly. As stewards of our enterprises, we take the longer view in our decisions and actions. This often means putting the collective good above our own interests.

1-2 minutes of video time roughly translates to 125-250 words if written. It’s not a lot, but still enough to tell a story and home in on a core principle and then connect it to one or more of the themes listed above.

You’ll want to begin by talking about yourself, and not mentioning the values first. If you mention the values first and *then* forge a connection, it’ll seem manufactured. Instead identify either a story that perfectly encapsulates something differentiated or defining about you, as if you’d never read these four principles, ever. Then, after you’ve delivered an example (some kind of story) that paints a picture of who are you and what defines you, succinctly, connect it to one (or more) of these themes, and explain how they connect in your view.

Before we get to structure, first we need to determine what it is you might say about yourself - by way of an introduction - that piques curiosity (and interest) from someone listening. To do this, you have to consider who your competitors are, what their goals are, what their profiles must look like, and how much overlap there is between you and all of them. And then anything that’s even remotely ‘common’ … do not dwell on. There has to be some angle(s) that make you distinct. Find them. If you have a goal that’s common, what makes your take different? If you have a background that’s seemingly similar to others, is there a dimension that makes it different somehow? How is your approach, or leadership style, or personality somehow uniquely you? If you were lined up alongside 20 other Haas applicants who had similar profiles and goals, how might a friend you as being distinct somehow? What would they focus on to make that case? That is likely a great starting point to start ideating on what you might say in your introduction.

Preparation

• Step 1: Locate differentiating/interesting features about you and your profile (a trusted friend or advisor can help here).
• Step 2: Once you have those key features locked, now locate the best story (or stories) that best exemplifies them such that we can picture it all, and extrapolate on our own.
• Step 3: Now, you’re ready to structure your approach to your video.

The ‘Script’

1. Introduce yourself if you’d like straightforwardly, ‘Hi my name is’ kinda thing. Or, if you’re able to drop your viewer into a story and you have the performance skills and confidence to pull this off, do so. 
2. Focus on the points of the story that build toward the reveal that is the differentiating feature, and little else. This isn’t about your resume, or how well you can impress your audience. It’s about giving your audience a reason to be intrigued by you, to like the person you seem to be, and to want to get to know you better. (This should get you to the halfway point.)
3. Now pivot and connect with one or more of the themes from Haas, talking more broadly about why those themes matter to you. It should be utterly logical that you’d resonate with these themes given the story points you began your introduction with.
4. Spend just a little time explaining why you stand to benefit from *others* who connect with these themes as well (not simply by stating it, but making an actual salient point). And convey your excitement to meet others, therefore, who exemplify these traits.

Your video should not seem scripted or overly rehearsed. Check out our analysis for Tepper’s video essay here and navigate to “Carnegie Mellon (CMU) Tepper Business School MBA – Video Essay: Goals.” There are some useful tips in there for how to navigate preparing for a video prompt you know about ahead of time, and how to both (1) prepare perfectly, without (2) seeming over-rehearsed.

The admissions team takes a holistic approach to application review and seeks to understand all aspects of a candidate’s character, qualifications, and experiences. We will consider achievements in the context of the opportunities available to a candidate. Some applicants may have faced hardships or unusual life circumstances, and we will consider the maturity, perseverance, and thoughtfulness with which they have responded to and/or overcome them.

We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achievements.

They used to include this, we'll leave it here in case it helps provides some potential context for how you might think about the prompt:

[Old information, left here for your benefit]

1. What is the highest level of education completed by your parent(s) or guardian(s)? 
   • Did not complete high school
   • High school diploma or equivalency (GED)
   • Associate’s degree (junior college) or vocational degree/license
   • Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS)
   • Master’s degree (MA, MS)
   • Doctorate or professional degree (MD, JD, DDS)
2. What is the most recent occupation of your parent(s) or guardian(s)?
   • Unemployed
   • Homemaker
   • Laborer
   • Skilled worker
   • Professional
3. If you were raised in one of the following household types, please indicate.
   • Raised by a single parent
   • Raised by an extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)
   • Raised in a multi-generational home
   • Raised in foster care
4. What was the primary language spoken in your childhood home?
5. If you have you ever been responsible for providing significant and continuing financial or supervisory support for someone else, please indicate.
   • Child
   • Spouse
   • Sibling
   • Parent
   • Extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin)
   • Other
6. Please elaborate on any of your above responses. Alternatively, you may use this opportunity to expand on other hardships or unusual life circumstances that may help us understand the context of your opportunities, achievements, and impact.

Okay, so first of all, for those first five, you might treat those like “filling out your basic information when you visit the dentist.” Nothing fancy, just simply answer the question.

For Number 6, this is where it gets somewhat interesting. Here’s the thing, you can either write about stuff, or not, depending on whether your story TRULY ADDS VALUE TO YOUR APP. We can’t make a blanket statement about what kinds of stories warrant inclusion compared to others… without knowing the full story. So, it’s a case-by-case thang. Here’s what we CAN say, in case it’s helpful:

1. Regardless of what your “status” is in life, whether socio-economic, or measured in some other way, if you have been on a certain trajectory, and then some personal, life circumstance KNOCKED YOU OFF OF THAT TRAJECTORY, and you succeeded IN SPITE OF IT, that may be a good indication of a publish-worthy story here. This shouldn’t be seen as a contest of whose life is most fraught with challenge. It has more to do with the EXTENT TO WHICH YOUR PROGRESS IN LIFE AND ALONG YOUR CAREER TRAJECTORY HAS BEEN FRUSTRATED by obstacles thrown at you, and only you. (In other words, obstacles that affect other folks, your competition, equally, don’t count here.)
2. Some stories that can and should be elaborated on here aren’t necessarily “overcame hardship” stories, but rather, super cool explorations of … something so cool and unique that that experience has given you SOMETHING valuable (1) for yourself and with respect to your own path, and also (2) that can be shared with your classmates, to their benefit. Again, what’s “cool” versus “not cool” in this context? “We’ll know it when we see it.” We wish we had a magic answer, but this is one of those rare instances where you just need a good eye to know what’s awesome and what FEEEEELS awesome, but is actually common, or worse, “not as compelling as you think it is.”
3. One guiding principle you can use is that IF you choose to write about something, it should build on your application strengths, and not just be an “oh, by the way, thought you should know this–––in case that’s of interest” kinda thing. The take-home MUST make the reader feel MORE confident about your “stock’s value” than the version that didn’t include it.

Generally, this question is designed to see how attentive you are to other factors and influences that might have shaped you. Those who have this awareness are generally humble, and observant, and self-aware, and mindful of how conditions in a system interact to produce outcomes. And that you, a single person, are likely not *the sole reason something succeeds.* The talented and skilled person who also comes loaded with these traits is far more ‘scalable’ that someone who has succeeded potentially impressively thus far, but harbors the sense that they are the sole architects of their success. That guy’s value tends to dry up quickly when released into the wild, and life circumstances complicate one person’s ability to produce an outcome by sheer will.

If you can acknowledge all the circumstances in your life that were ‘shaping’ factors, it will strengthen your case that you are the type of person most likely poised to succeed in the future, given the way you understand the multi-factorial reality of how outcomes are produced.

The optional essay and our stance on it has changed over the years (for more on that, read this). Years ago we’d say to do it always-no-matter-what. Then schools seemed to make a POINT of not wanting stuff they didn’t specifically ask for. And now, given the trend toward shorter and more targeted applications, it can go either way.

Generally, if a school gives you a berth, take it. Haas is giving you that berth here, so, if you have something to say that hasn’t been covered elsewhere, say it. (If you’re working with a solid admissions consultant, you may want to run it by him/her to get a seasoned opinion.)

For those whose quantitative abilities may be questionable, either through a not-mind-blowing GMAT score, or through a career arc where those abilities aren’t necessarily evident, this is an excellent space to make a great case for yourself.

But even beyond that, the best way to approach this is to consider all the dimensions which give your candidacy real MIGHT, and differentiation power against the competition. Then review what stuff you’ve covered in your other essays, and where there are HOLES, it MAY be something you can address here. It tends to be less helpful when you double-up on a trait, with presumably a not-as-good-story-as-the-one-you’ve-already-told-elsewhere. A “second” impact story, for example. It’s more powerful if you’ve come across as the Indian IT tech guy with mad quant skills, but you also have this insane depth of experience with volunteer/community work that looks completely different from the typical MBA applicant. This could be a place to explore that. Or if you’re Chinese with an interest in finance, is there some aspect to your international travels that makes you seem utterly different from your demographic? This could be a spot to explore that.

Whatever you do, don’t play defense here and say stuff just to say stuff. More like: imagine a blank canvas and a shot to say EVERYTHING AWESOME you need to say; imagine it’s FIVE things, and you’ve been able to cover THREE of them in the other essays. Great, pick one of the two things you haven’t covered (whichever promotes your multi-dimensionality the MOST), and dig in right here.

Whatever you do, this is NOT the place to meander and be verbose. The optional essay is all about extreme efficiency, and matter-of-fact-ness.