I am certainly not the first person to note the evolving admissions trend away from essays at top-tier American business schools, but it is indeed worth writing about. In this post and others that follow, I will explore the facts underlining the trend itself and consider the factors that have triggered such a flight from essays. I also intend to share my thoughts as to what this all means for the candidate assessment process in admissions offices and how the applicant pool perceives these changes.
For today’s post, let’s take a look at the three year trend regarding essay requirements at some of the leading US programs. The data below covers the 2011-12 and 2012-13 admissions cycles as well as the current 2013-14 admissions cycle (as most schools have recently announced requirements for 2013-14):
Chicago Booth
2011-2012 written essays, 1650 words + PPT Presentation
2012-2013 3 written essays, 900 words + PPT
2013-2014 2 essays, 500 words + PPT
Total Change in word count: -1150 words (a 70% reduction in word count from 2011-12)
Harvard Business School
2011-2012: four essays, 2000 words total
2012-2013: two essays, 800 words total
2013-2014: one essay, no word limit
Total Change in word count*: -1200 words (a 60% reduction in word count from 2011-12)
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School
2011-2012 4 essays, 2100 words
2012-2013 3 essays, 1400 words
2013-2014 2 essays, 1000 words
Total Change in word count: -1100 words (a 52% reduction in word count from 2011-12)
MIT Sloan
2011-2012 4 essays, 2000 words
2012-2013 3 essays, 1500 words
2013-2014 2 essays, 1000 words
Total Change in word count: -1000 words (a 50% reduction in word count from 2011-12)
Columbia School of Business
2011-2012 3 essays, 1500 words
2012-2013 2 essays, 1250 words
2013-2014 3 essays, 1000 words (plus 100 character short answer)
Total Change in word count: -500 words (a 33% reduction in word count)
As one can clearly see, the top schools listed here have reduced essay word count in their MBA applications by an average of more than 50% (53% for those keeping score at home). While some leading schools such as Dartmouth / Tuck, Stanford GSB and Kellogg have kept things more or less status quo, it’s clear that there is a trend. As Southwark readers know, the schools covered here all belong to the ‘Ten School Group’ an informal alliance of top schools who meet at least once a year to discuss issues in admissions and share strategy. Therefore it’s not surprising to see a fair amount of alignment in their approach.
For now, I will let readers chew on this data. Stay tuned for a more in-depth exploration as to the cause of this trend, followed by posts on how it impacts candidate assessment and how MBA applicants are viewing the shift.
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