A Harvard MBA Curiosity and Growth essay can have two to three themes. The best essays capture the themes without the reader even realizing the subtext.
For the American Dream Harvard MBA essay example, I have captured three themes – risk-taking in cultures, entrepreneurship, and innovation in business models.
The challenge for me was in choosing one central theme.
Because the protagonist was an international applicant who plans to settle in the US post-MBA, my focus was on accentuating the cultural differences between the two countries when it comes to risk-taking.
Instead of critiquing a culture, I captured the evolution of the applicant’s thinking entrepreneurially, his innovation in business model from chasing price cuts to branding, and finally, a contrast in culture when it comes to risk-taking in funding.
The most time I spent was creating a story around his entrepreneurial journey and then pivoting to mention a fund-raising experience to contrast two cultures – all within the 250-word limit. The tone around contrasting two cultures had to be like a matter of fact without any adjectives. That was the biggest challenge, as I didn’t want to make it too melodramatic or critical.
A positive tone as the concluding two lines or paragraph is very important for any MBA Essay question with themes of growth, success, and goals. I have made sure that the concluding two lines reiterate the importance of culture in helping a venture thrive.