Harvard Business School
What they weigh
- Authentic leadership moments — not titles, actual instances of changing how someone moved
- Coherence across all three essays — they should read as three angles on one person
- Specific curiosity that translated into real action, not just interest
- A clear deferral plan with concrete skills or roles you're targeting
Essay prompts
“What experiences have shaped how you invest in others and how you lead?”
“Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth.”
“How do the plans you shared in the Career section of the application fit into your current long-term career vision? What skills and/or professional experiences do you hope to obtain in the deferral period that will help build the foundation for your post-MBA career?”
Oba’s take
The biggest mistake on HBS 2+2 applications is treating the three essays as three separate questions. They're not. They're three puzzle pieces that should assemble into one coherent picture of who you are. If they feel disconnected — leadership essay about one thing, curiosity essay about something unrelated, career essay in a third direction — the committee reads a person who hasn't figured out their story yet. Pick a through-line. The leadership essay is not about management experience you don't have yet. It's about a moment when you changed how someone else moved — a teammate, a community, a friend. Your childhood and formative years count. The curiosity essay needs: I discovered X → I got obsessed → I actually did something → here's how it shaped me. The career vision essay: be specific about what your two deferral years look like and why those specific experiences build the foundation for what you want to do post-MBA.
11 modules covering narrative, essays, recommenders, school research, and the interview. Built specifically for deferred applicants.
Read the Playbook →One-on-one coaching on your essays and narrative. Small number of students per cycle. Junior program: $3,500/yr or $400/mo.
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