HBS Essays for Class of 2014

AND THEY'RE OFF....

I'm not sure if anyone pays attention to the Kentucky Derby (I don't) but Harvard Business School has just released the new essays for this year's application season - Class of 2014! This signifies the beginning of the Class of 2014 application season.  (analogy taken from Poets & Quants)

 I'm not sure when they released their essay questions last year, but this seems pretty early!  I'm sure some people are still contemplating whether or not they are going to attend HBS this year (yes people do have to contemplate it!) and yet HBS is like "well... you think about what you think you need to think about... we're going to go ahead and get on with our lives and publish these essay questions.  You do what you want too..."

I'm going to give props to my friends over at Poets & Quants because that site is the one I was reading when I saw an article about the essay questions.  Then I figured I would just post a quick article about it on my own.

From what I gather, these questions are different from the ones from last year., So without Further Ado -

These questions are mandatory:

* Tell us about three of your accomplishments. (600 words)
* Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words)
* Why do you want an MBA? (400 words)
* Answer a question you wish we’d asked. (400 words)

Personally, I like the last question because it allows for some creativity.  Although, now that I read it... and think about my candidacy... this is basically the optional essay where I would have had to speak to my undergraduate performance.  So maybe I don't like it that much!  I wish they asked that question twice lol... then it would have been great!

But... I do not have to submit any applications this season.. or ever again for that matter, so enough about which essays I like and which ones I do not.  

If you are thinking about applying to HBS this year and would like some direction with your essays you must read this article:  

How To Answer Harvard’s New Essays