HBS Essay Topics Discussion

The question about the undergraduate academic experience.

大家觉得出题重点是哪里？

这里说academic experience 难道adcom只是想知道申请人的学业的成就，但这已经反映在了GPA上不是

I focused on the experience rather than my scores, which is already recorded in my transcript.  I talked about what I learned from different classes and activities that I participated in.  I also discussed how my education prepared me to succeed at work, providing a segway to the next essay.

Good luck!

Thanks so much yaoyao. Good points!

I presume activities have to be limited to academic is that right?  I find it a bit difficult because academic experience really is a small part of college education, and usually not so exciting as some others...

hi, I also have the same problem with this essay question.

Do you think it is appropriate for me to explain the reason of my low GPA during undergraduate acedemic study is too many extracurricular activitives I got involved in? Do you think concentrating on description of my extracurricular activities will be far away from the central point of this question?

1. The question does ask about your "academic experience" so I think you should include some of your academic activities, including classes.

2. I don't think your essay needs to be limited to purely academic experience.  It's up to you to decide the proper balance.

3. I don't recommend blaming a mistake on something else.  I think it shows maturity if you can acknowledge a failure and then talk about what you got out of that experience.  It'll be best if you could talk about demonstrated improvement(s) later on and/or how you have applied the lesson learned.

Thanks!

Another question is on the 3 most substantial accomplishment--

Do we focus on the accomplishments themselves, or do we spend a large part interpret the accomplishments (talk about why are we proud etc)

Such a good piece of advice !

Indeed, spending more time looking inward may do me some good..

Great minds share ideas.