Texas McCombs MBA Essays, Prompt by Prompt

McCombs MBA Essay 2

Reflect on a core value that defines you. Share a specific example of how it has guided your decisions and actions, and explain how it will shape your contributions and growth as a McCombs MBA student.

Highlight how this value has influenced your leadership style and life path, and how it will shape your MBA experience. (250 words)

ONE value. McCombs says “a core value,” singular, and with 250 words you couldn’t do justice to more than one anyway. Resist the urge to sneak in a bundle (“integrity, curiosity and teamwork”). Pick the one that runs deepest.

Start with a list. What do you actually stand for? Fairness, curiosity, loyalty, grit, candor, craftsmanship. Now the test: for each one, can you point to a moment where it COST you something? A promotion you passed on, a hard conversation you started, a shortcut you refused to take. A value you’ve never paid for is just a nice word. The one with the best story attached wins.

Then look at everything the prompt wants tied to that value: your decisions and actions (the example), your leadership style, your life path, and your MBA experience (what you’ll contribute and how you’ll grow at McCombs). That’s a lot of ground to cover in 250 words, so your example has to do double duty. Pick a story that shows the value AND shows how you lead.

For the McCombs part, get concrete. How will this value show up in a study group at 1 a.m., in a club you plan to help run, in the way you treat classmates who see the world differently? And where do you expect to grow, so that the value gets sharper, or gets tested?

A split that fits in 250 words:

1. Name the value and drop us into the test: the situation, the choice, what it cost. (100-125 words)
2. Zoom out: how that same value runs through your leadership style and the path you’ve taken. One or two quick proof points. (50-65 words)
3. Look ahead: how the value will shape what you contribute at McCombs and how you hope to grow there. (45-55 words)

Keep it sincere. A value essay that sounds like a motivational poster gets forgotten fast; one that sounds like a confession sticks.

Now that we’ve handled that, need to look back at Essay 1?

Read more and explore each step of the Texas McCombs full-time MBA application process here.

McCombs MBA Optional Statement

Please explain any gaps in work experience, choice of recommender, and/or academic performance issues that may help the admission committee in reviewing your application. (Limit: 250 words)

Notice how much narrower this prompt has gotten: gaps in work experience, choice of recommender, academic performance. That’s the list. And one of those you may HAVE to address: per the application instructions, if you can’t get a letter from your direct supervisor, or think another recommender is more appropriate, you should explain why here.

Read our team’s complete take on the idea of optional essay, including a brief (recent) history of b-schools’ relationship with it, and how our recommendations have evolved over the years, right here.

You can also read our team’s analysis of the rest of the Texas McCombs MBA application essays.

Read more and explore each step of the Texas McCombs full-time MBA application process here.

Masters Of Science In Business Analytics and AI

Q1: Why is the MSBAi program the next logical step for you? How do you hope to develop, both personally and professionally, during this one-year program? (500 words maximum)

500 words is either a beefy three-paragraph affair, or a lean and mean five-spot. That’s for later though, let’s dig into the meat first. There are two key words in here: “next” and “logical.” Let’s translate what each of those means.

“Next” = Why does a one-year stopover, scooping up a Business Analytics and AI degree make sense for your plans, as the very NEXT thing? Why now? Why not wait two years? Or four? Might you not get more out of the program with a few extra years of work experience under your belt? Your future plans a little more fleshed out? The answer has to be no. And you gotta be able to sell it. No, waiting will only delay my ability to. . . what? Achieve X, develop Y, attack problem Z, etc. Your need for this degree is now because you’ve pushed yourself as far as you can, and now’s the time you need a boost of “nitro.” Your version, of course, will reveal all sorts of details about your goals and plans that are crucially missing here.

Neat trick: it’s always cool to get the sense that doing it now isn’t do or die. Do or die is actually a really WEAK position. Your posturing should be the opposite. You’ve got plenty of options. Why? Because one way or another, you’re gonna achieve your goal, and barrel forward because you’re a juggernaut. So yah, there absolutely IS a possibility of waiting a little while longer (Path B), or doing XYZ for a little bit and THEN getting this masters (Path C), or… you get the idea. The thing is, while viable, they aren’t as GOOD as Path A which is to nab this sucker NOW, for THIS and THAT and THE OTHER reasons. That argument feels badass and confident.

“Logical” = Okay, let’s say we’re sold that now’s the time for you to do . . . something other than stay on the track you’re currently on. Sell us now on why a degree in Business Analytics and AI specifically makes sense over some alternative? First of all, what ARE the alternatives? Doesn’t have to be a degree necessarily, surely there exist other paths to get you to where you need to go (right? maybe not, you’ll tell us). Neat trick to crush this section: same deal as before, be comfortable with alternative pathways that’ll get you to your ultimate goal. Play them out mentally, and as an exercise, get EXCITED about some of em. Imagine you had to sell someone on one or two alternative paths. Cool, now stack those alternatives against getting this particular degree. And it should be plain that THIS version is way better than those other ones, even if they’re all viable. This is an argument that comes from a position of STRENGTH. The approach that is beseeching will make the admissions committee wonder if this is an application by way of last resort. Bad. Go the other way. You have TONS of options, but this degree, at this time, makes the most sense, as anyone can plainly see. That’s what we should feel after reading your actual argument.

Let’s look at a potential structure for this:

Part I

• Good way to start is to paint the scene for where you’re headed, big picture. Why? What’s driving it? Do this quick, couple/three sentences.
• Now, paint a clear picture of what you need to achieve in the SHORT-TERM to get you on the right track, figure a 3-5 year outlook. Walk us through specifics of how each stage logically leads to the next, advancing you along your trajectory. The crispness of this logic (when executed correctly) should reveal how much thought you’ve put into this plan, kinda like an engineer’s step-by-step protocol.
• By now, we should be mostly sold that you know what you’re doing, you’re the kind of guy/gal who’s gonna nail it, even if “it” changes over time. This is the part where you reveal the answer to “well, why are you wasting time writing to us, when you could be out there working on that brilliant plan?” Answer? You’re missing some key pieces. Some skills. Some knowledge. Some. . . thing. Boom, a perfect bump and set to the second part of this essay.

Part II

• At this point, probably you’re around 225-250 words in. You’ve established what you need, and where you’re falling short now. Now, simply explain in two or three clear examples, precisely how the MSBAi will help plug all those gaps in your particular profile. Skip the broad talk about what “anyone” can expect to gain from a program like this. Think of the MSBAi as an ENABLER that will help you do something you’re unable to do today. How does that work? Take us through it. Find a few specific classes, opportunities, elements of the program that help enable you to get from A to B. When executed correctly, these examples shouldn’t apply to “any” other applicant, nor should they apply to ANY other Business Analytics program. They should be specific both to McCombs AND to you. If you can pull that off, now you’re playing with the big boys and gals. This should take another solid 225-250 words or so.

Depending on your goals, this can be anywhere from three to five paragraphs. Doesn’t much matter for your first stab at it. As long as you nail the above elements, you should end up with a decent hunk of clay to mold.

Q2: Describe a time that you have had to solve a problem in your academic or work experience. Explain the steps you implemented to solve the problem and the insights that you gained from the experience. (500 words maximum)

Let’s start with a basic assumption: so far in your life, you’ve solved more than one problem. Phew. Now we have choices. And now the fun can begin. . .

Okay, so what makes for a good problem to pick here? Or a bad one?

Let’s take a step back. What are they getting at here, ultimately? Obviously, they don’t wanna know that you’re able to solve a problem, “at all.” Lots of people can. They don’t even wanna know that you “got the right answer” even to a ridiculously difficult question. What’s more revealing about your MIGHT is the WAY your gears churned to get you TO the solution. Couple indicators that you’re on the right track:

• Did others attempt to solve it, but couldn’t? (good indicator)
• Was your METHOD of solving it somehow unusual, or unexpected? (good indicator)
• If you revealed your methodology to someone senior to you, would they be impressed? If so, why? Assume that they would have gotten to a solution as well, and possibly a BETTER / FASTER one. Would there STILL be an element to your methodology that would impress them? (good indicator)

If you find yourself checking against this list and coming up empty every time, keep digging. By the way, it doesn’t need to be FLASHY. Unusual can also be “unusually” simple and clean: “Whereas others would over-complicate this by doing X Y and Z, I decided to do simply . . . Q, and voila.” Or, unusual can be the opposite: “While everyone else was obsessed with looking for the most elegant solution, I was just looking for … the solution. It was messy, but I got it done. Here’s how.” The key lies in how your brain (how “you”) kick into action when faced with a lock you can’t easily pick. Whatever you do, your story can’t leave the reader underwhelmed. You wanna elicit that reaction where the corners of the mouth bend down, eyebrows go up, as if to say “hunh! interesting!” The “Robert DeNiro” face.

Let’s talk structure:

• First, give us the circumstances around how the problem came up in the first place. Don’t just throw us into the problem without any sense of who needed what, and why, and what was at stake. Set it up.
• Now, explain what made this problem not easily solvable. Or, explain simply why it wasn’t getting solved. Maybe it had the appearance of being easily solvable, and yet, people kept failing. Or, it was obviously challenging to begin with, and freaked everyone. . . the hell OUT. Explain what wasn’t quite right.
• Now explain what was going through your head. Did you know how you were gonna get from A to Z from the very beginning? And did you hit a major brick wall at E? Or did you not know how to even get from A to B? But figured it out eventually? Take us through those gears. Let us into your head.
• If there was an “Aha” moment, there must have been time BEFORE that moment that was “Pre-Aha” right? Take us through THAT, a bit. And then, if you’re able, describe that light bulb moment, how it arrived, or how you “arrived it” by sheer will, whatever the case. This is the real key to it all. Showing us all the ways in which your brain works. Btw, the “steps you implemented” piece of the prompt will naturally spring forth this way. But don’t rush to get to that stuff. It’s the stuff BEFORE it that counts just as much.
• Finally, the insights. McCombs wants to know what you gained from the experience, so tell us what you know now that you didn’t before, and how it changes the way you attack the next problem. Then have a good answer to the question “why did you choose to tell us THIS story”? You should have an awareness of what made this particular problem-solving episode noteworthy. In a sentence or two, walk us through it.

And the old one-minute video intro? Gone. In its place, every applicant completes a video assessment on the Kira Talent platform after paying the application fee, with 1-2 minutes to answer each prompt. The prompts aren’t posted on the program’s application page, so there’s nothing to pre-write. Practice talking through your goals and your problem-solving story out loud, and you’ll walk in ready.

Read more and explore each step of the Texas McCombs MSBAi application process here.