cmu mba essay

CMU Tepper MBA Essays Guide: Overview, Tips & Examples

Looking to ace your CMU Tepper MBA application essays? Our comprehensive guide offers an overview, valuable tips, and real examples to help you craft compelling and impactful responses.

Posted March 1, 2024

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Are you considering applying to the CMU Tepper School of Business MBA program? One crucial aspect of your application will be the essays. The Tepper MBA essays play a significant role in the admissions process, allowing the admissions committee to gain insights into your personality, goals, and fit with the program. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide you with an overview of the CMU Tepper MBA essays, along with valuable tips and examples to help you craft compelling essays that will make your application stand out .

CMU Tepper Application and the Role of Essays

Before we dive into the details of the essays, let's first understand the overall CMU Tepper MBA application process and the role of the essays within it. The application consists of various components, including your resume, transcripts, recommendation letters, and standardized test scores. However, the essays are often considered the most critical part of the application.

Through the essays, the admissions committee aims to understand your motivation for pursuing an MBA, your career goals, your values, and how you will contribute to the Tepper community. They provide you with an opportunity to showcase your personal and professional experiences, leadership abilities, and ability to think critically.

When crafting your essays, it is essential to consider the specific prompts provided by the CMU Tepper MBA program. These prompts are carefully designed to elicit responses that will help the admissions committee evaluate your fit with the program and assess your potential for success.

One of the common essay prompts asks you to describe your short-term and long-term career goals. This prompt allows you to articulate your aspirations and demonstrate your understanding of how an MBA from CMU Tepper will help you achieve those goals. You can discuss the industry you plan to enter, the role you aspire to, and the impact you hope to make in your chosen field.

Another essay prompt may ask you to reflect on a challenging situation you have faced and how you overcame it. This prompt provides an opportunity to showcase your resilience, problem-solving skills , and ability to learn from adversity. You can discuss a professional or personal challenge and explain the steps you took to address it, highlighting the lessons you learned along the way.

In addition to these specific prompts, CMU Tepper also offers an optional essay that allows you to provide any additional information you believe is relevant to your application. This essay is an excellent opportunity to address any gaps in your resume, explain extenuating circumstances, or provide context for any unusual aspects of your profile.

When writing your essays, it is crucial to be authentic and genuine. The admissions committee is looking for candidates who can bring unique perspectives and experiences to the Tepper community. Therefore, it is essential to reflect on your own journey, values, and aspirations and convey them effectively through your essays.

Furthermore, it is crucial to pay attention to the structure, grammar, and overall clarity of your essays. Proofreading and editing your work thoroughly will ensure that your ideas are communicated effectively and professionally . Additionally, seeking feedback from trusted mentors, friends, or family members can provide valuable insights and help you refine your essays.

Remember, the essays are not just a means to an end but an opportunity for self-reflection and self-expression. Take the time to craft thoughtful and compelling narratives that highlight your strengths, experiences, and aspirations. By doing so, you will increase your chances of standing out among the pool of applicants and securing a spot in the CMU Tepper MBA program.

CMU Tepper Essay Prompts (2023-2024)

For the 2023-2024 application cycle, CMU Tepper has introduced three essay prompts. Let's take a closer look at each prompt and understand what they are looking for:

• Essay Prompt 1: Describe your short-term and long-term goals and how the Tepper MBA will help you achieve them.
• Essay Prompt 2: Describe a challenging situation you have faced personally or professionally and how you resolved it.
• Essay Prompt 3: Tepper is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive community. Discuss an experience where you made a meaningful impact on others in a diverse context.

Now that we have a clear understanding of the essay prompts, let's move on to some expert tips on how to approach each one effectively. Remember, the key is to be authentic, concise, and demonstrate your fit with the Tepper MBA program.

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List of Expert Tips for Each Tepper Essay Prompt

Here are some expert tips to help you tackle each essay prompt confidently and showcase your unique strengths:

Essay Prompt 1: Goals

• Clearly define your short-term and long-term goals, making sure they are ambitious yet achievable.
• Connect your goals to your past experiences and explain how they have influenced your aspirations.
• Highlight the specific resources, courses, or opportunities offered at Tepper that will help you achieve your goals.

Essay Prompt 2: Challenging Situation

• Select a situation that showcases your ability to handle adversity, solve problems, and demonstrate resilience.
• Describe the situation in detail, including the context, challenges faced, and the actions you took to overcome them.
• Reflect on the lessons learned and the skills developed through this experience.

Essay Prompt 3: Diversity Impact

• Select an experience that highlights your ability to work effectively in diverse teams or navigate cross-cultural environments.
• Describe the experience, emphasizing the impact you had on others and how it contributed to a more inclusive environment.
• Showcase your ability to adapt, communicate, and collaborate with individuals from different backgrounds.

MBA Essay Tips: How to Write Compelling Essays

Aside from the specific tips for each essay prompt, there are some general guidelines you should keep in mind when writing your Tepper MBA essays. These tips will help you craft compelling essays that effectively communicate your unique story:

• Start early and allow enough time for brainstorming, drafting, and editing your essays.
• Research the Tepper MBA program thoroughly to understand its values, culture, and unique opportunities.
• Be authentic and true to your own experiences and aspirations.
• Show, don't tell. Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points.
• Use a clear and concise writing style.
• Proofread your essays multiple times to ensure they are free from any grammatical or typographical errors.

CMU Tepper Essay Examples From Success Admits — With Analysis

An excellent way to gain insights into what makes a successful Tepper MBA essay is to analyze examples from past successful applicants. To help you with this, we have compiled a collection of CMU Tepper essay examples from successful admits. Each example comes with a detailed analysis of why it was effective, providing you with a valuable reference while writing your own essays.

CMU Tepper Essay FAQs

You may still have some questions or concerns about the Tepper MBA essays. To address those, here are some frequently asked questions and their answers:

• Q: How long should each essay be?

A: Each essay should be approximately 500 words or less. It is important to be concise and articulate your thoughts effectively within the given word limit.

• Q: Should I use bullet points or paragraphs in my essays?

A: It is generally recommended to use paragraphs as they provide a more organized and coherent flow to your essay. However, if there are specific points you want to highlight, you can use bullet points sparingly.

• Q: Can I exceed the word limit for the essays?

A: It is advisable to adhere to the word limit provided. Exceeding the word limit may indicate a lack of respect for instructions or your inability to convey your thoughts concisely.

Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of the CMU Tepper MBA essays, it's time to dive into the writing process. Remember, your essays are an opportunity to make a strong case for your admission to the Tepper MBA program. Use our guide, expert tips, and examples to craft compelling essays that showcase your unique story and fit with Tepper's values. Best of luck with your application!

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CMU Tepper MBA Essay: Tips for 2024-2025

Wondering where to start and what to write for your CMU Tepper MBA Essays? No worries, we have all the tips you need to get a nice start on writing a quality essay for CMU Tepper. 

At Menlo Coaching, we noticed that most MBA essays will fall into one of a number of categories: personal essays, career goals essays, and behavioral essays etc. Read ahead for our expert guide on approaching these essays for Tepper. 

The Career Goals Essay (Video)

• Please be as specific as possible. If you have not yet identified specific companies, that is okay. Just tell us what interests you for your next role or company. What about the industry, company, or functional role is appealing to you?
• If you have any criteria you are using to evaluate career opportunities, please share those as well. We may have great opportunities to add to your list.
• How does this post-MBA career goal relate to your long-term career plan?

The Behavioral Essay

• Philosophy on Helping Others. The Tepper School community is committed to helping students reach their full potential. Explain your philosophy on helping others achieve their full potential. How have you implemented this philosophy in your professional life, and what impact has it had on those around you? How will this philosophy influence your approach to leadership in the Tepper MBA program and beyond? (500 words)

The Personal Essay

• List an interesting fact about yourself that you’d like to share with your future Tepper classmates. (text box, 1 or 2 sentences)

Optional Essay

• Is there anything else that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee as we evaluate your application? If you believe your credentials and essays represent you fairly, you should not feel obligated to answer this question. This essay is intended to provide a place for you to add information that you think is important but is not covered elsewhere in the application. This could include clarification of your employment or academic record, choice of recommenders or helpful context for the admissions committee in reviewing your application. (upload file, no word limit)

Applying to CMU Tepper

The Tepper MBA application can be difficult and time-consuming, but with these tips and tricks, you can be more confident about one of the biggest parts of your application: the MBA essays. This article will cover how to compose Tepper MBA essays that will fit the criteria for admissions and hopefully earn you a place in Tepper’s graduating class.

Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business is a prestigious MBA progarm with renowned faculty and a focus on academic success. Tepper wants to admit students who are intelligent, determined, and prepared to undertake a rigorous curriculum. Further, Tepper has a long affiliation with computer science and related fields such as automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Applicants should pay attention to the specific requirements and expectations set out by Tepper’s admissions committee when writing Tepper MBA essays. Through these MBA essays, applicants have a chance to demonstrate their skills, accomplishments, and personal interests.

The Career Goals Essay 

The Tepper career goals essay provides applicants with a place to let the Tepper admissions committee know how the MBA program you want to attend will help you achieve your professional goals. This Tepper MBA essay is a great place to explain why Tepper is truly the best fit for you. 

Interestingly, the Tepper career goals essay is actually a video essay this year, so you need to have clear, realistic, and ambitious career goals, and you will have to articulate them in a way that feels authentic and natural—all in front of a camera.

When it comes to video essays , we have some advice:

• Practice—but don’t memorize: it’s always clear if someone has memorized what they intend to say in a video essay verbatim, and this can make your content seem staged and inauthentic. If you find that you’re repeating the same speech over and over again, change the first sentence. You’ll be surprised at how this will throw you off!
• Make sure that your setting is appropriate: you want to make sure that your lighting is good and that there are no empty tequila bottles in the background.
• Speak slowly and clearly: clear diction can make a big difference when it comes to reviewing your video essay.

Beyond the format, it is vital for Tepper applicants to have a solid plan for their post-MBA career aspirations. First and foremost, this is because Tepper wants its graduates to succeed. However, there are a few selfish motivations for the career goals essay, including the fact that Tepper wants to have an impressive employment report and produce graduates who will become donors someday. Further, the Tepper admissions committee wants to ensure that applicants have a career plan that plays on their past experiences and thus ensures success. They also want applicants with the foresight to develop an alternate career plan in case their first choice does not work out. 

Other things to keep in mind for this essay is the necessity to have a career goal that is both ambitious and practical. Applicants should have meaningful goals that fit with what is offered at Tepper’s MBA program. Along this vein, networking is extremely important when preparing to write your career goals essay. The more you know about the program and how it can help you achieve your personal goals, the better. 

Tepper’s Behavioral Essay

Tepper’s behavioral essay involves demonstrating how you have overcome adversity in real-life situations. This Tepper MBA essay gives you a space to rethink your individual journey towards becoming a collaborative, supportive and inclusive community member. Tepper’s MBA admissions committee wants assurance that you are self-reflective and able to identify a moment in which you have overcome some type of adversity. 

In the Tepper behavioral essay, it is important to be truthful and sincere and to tell your personal story in a compelling manner. You should include as much detail as possible for this type of Tepper MBA essay, discussing your role in an inclusive environment. You should reflect on what this situation taught you and how you might have changed after this experience. Tepper is looking for MBA candidates who can understand how and why inclusivity matters. 

In this Tepper MBA essay, you might want to reflect on what you have learned from and how you contributed to inclusive environments. 

The personal essay is a hallmark of most MBA applications. Writing this genre of MBA essay involves divulging information about the core values, morals, and passions that guide your behavior and motivate your decisions. Tepper’s MBA admissions committee wants to know more about the actual people to which they are offering admissions, because each applicant is more than their transcript and resume. 

In personal essays, Tepper’s admissions committee wants applicants to provide information about personal relationships, hardships, and other individualizing information. It is important to provide concrete examples to demonstrate how your values have influenced you in different areas of your life. Further, Tepper wants applicants to demonstrate leadership skills and articulate their reasons for wanting an MBA at CMU Tepper. 

When writing your personal Tepper essay, you should keep in mind that the best strategy for approaching this type of essay is being open and letting your personality shine through. Successful personal statements often include an engaging story told with an authentic voice. Therefore, as long as you are true to yourself, your Tepper MBA essay will be a success.

Once you’ve completed your application, the optional Tepper essay gives you an additional opportunity to provide the AdCom with any additional information or clarity that you feel would enhance your application.

One trap that MBA applicants fall into is using the additional space provided by this essay to write on a whole new topic. However, this is not always the best idea.

You should only make use of this essay if you what you write will provide context to an element of your application to improve your candidacy—you don’t want to jeopardize your chances by adding unnecessary noise to your application.

Applicants to CMU Tepper should pay close attention to the specific expectations for each type of Tepper MBA essay. Although it may be tempting to look up sample essays and draw from these formats, it is most important to let your personal background guide the construction of your Tepper MBA essays. Menlo Coaching can help you throughout your MBA essay writing process, offering one-on-one coaching and exclusive materials. 

Need help with admissions essays for Tepper MBA? Let us guide you through the prompts and share advice on how to tackle each essay type with our expert MBA Consultants .

Related Articles

• Carnegie Mellon Tepper MBA Program Overview
• MBA Essay Tips From 3 Top Admissions Consultants
• How to Get Into MBA Programs at Top Business Schools

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Tepper MBA Essays for 2024-2025

Are you interested in the MBA program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business ? The CMU Tepper application will go live on August 12, 2024. Meanwhile, here are the confirmed essay questions, goals statement for the 2024-2025 admissions season, and the upcoming deadlines .

Tepper MBA Essays

Required essay.

The Tepper School community is committed to helping students reach their full potential. Explain your philosophy on helping others achieve their full potential. How have you implemented this philosophy in your professional life, and what impact has it had on those around you? How will this philosophy influence your approach to leadership in the Tepper MBA program and beyond? (maximum 500 words)

Video Essay: Goals

We know this is an important component of your decision to attend business school. We take it seriously as well. Please describe your post-MBA career goals.

It would be helpful to consider the following information in your response:

• You have up to 2 minutes to respond to this question.
• Please be as specific as possible. If you have not yet identified specific companies, that is okay. Just tell us what interests you for your next role or company. What about the industry, company, or functional role is appealing to you?
• If you have any criteria you are using to evaluate career opportunities, please share those as well. We may have great opportunities to add to your list.
• How does this post-MBA career goal relate to your long-term career plan?

Optional Essay

There also is an optional essay for additional information about your candidacy that you may wish to share with the admissions committee. Use this essay to convey important information that you may not have otherwise been able to convey. This may include unexplained resume gaps, context for recommender selection, etc. However, do not feel obligated to complete the optional essay.

Are you a re-applicant?  Use the optional essay to explain how your candidacy has strengthened since your last application.

For more information about applying to CMU Tepper, please visit the Tepper MBA admissions website. If you need guidance with your Tepper MBA essays, don’t hesitate to contact us!  Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our  All-In Partnership  to test prep to hourly help with targeted tasks. Contact us today for a  free 15-minute advising session  to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.

Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team .

HBS Admissions Board at Harvard Business School HBS MBA

HBS Admissions Board at Harvard Business School Kellogg MBA

Director HBS Admissions at Harvard Business School MBA, the Wharton School

HBS Admissions Board at Harvard Business School

Director HBS Admissions at Harvard Business School HBS MBA

Admissions Officer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) MBA, Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB)

Asst Director MBA Admissions at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) Director MBA Admissions at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

MBA, Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB) Minority Admissions, the GSB Diversity Programs, the GSB

Associate Director MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Associate Director MBA Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute

Director, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania Professional Writer

Assistant Director MBA Admissions at Columbia Business School (CBS) NYU Admissions

Assistant Director MBA Admissions at Columbia Business School (CBS) M.S.Ed, Higher Education, U of Pennsylvania

Associate Director MBA Admissions at Columbia Business School (CBS)

Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure.  Ashley  holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years,  Ashley  was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...

Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and  ...

A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally.  Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM.  For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...

Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS).  In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds.  Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students.  In additio ...

Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years.  Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...

Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years.  In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School.  Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...

Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...

Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...

Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications.  She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...

Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford.   Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...

Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year.   Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...

Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...

Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team.  During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students.  She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...

Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS).  During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...

Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...

Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director.  Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants.

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Advice, tips and insights from the admissions dream team., table of contents, carnegie mellon tepper mba essays and video: tips & strategy.

• By Catherine Tuttle

One of the smallest among the top 20 business schools, Carnegie Mellon Tepper boasts a close-knit culture.

With a small class size of 200, Tepper places a high value on creating an inclusive and tight-knit community. The school aims to admit candidates who are committed to making a positive impact on each other, business, and the world. As such, the admissions team is looking for evidence of self-reflection and your ability to appreciate differences as a profound asset to a culture of innovation. These values are woven into Tepper’s single MBA essay question.

As mentioned in my related blog, Applying to Carnegie Mellon Tepper: 3 Essential MBA Tips , the admissions committee seeks students who define community in the broadest sense of the word and have a desire to effect positive change. Previously, the Tepper MBA essay asked you to describe how you’ve overcome adversity, what you learned, and how it shaped you. Now Tepper is interested in how you support others. The Tepper MBA essay now asks you to explain how you help others reach their full potential.

How to Tackle the Tepper MBA Essay

The Tepper School community is committed to helping students reach their full potential. Explain your philosophy on helping others achieve their full potential. How have you implemented this philosophy in your professional life, and what impact has it had on those around you? How will this philosophy influence your approach to leadership at the Tepper School and beyond? (500 words.)

This essay question parallels Tepper’s  Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan, Tepper Together. Created by a task force of students, staff, and faculty, Tepper Together outlines four core value themes under the acronym CARE:

• Climate, Culture, and Community
• Access and Equity
• Recruitment and Retention
• Education and Scholarship

Ultimately, these themes seek to create a supportive and inclusive culture where community members feel safe and supported and in doing so, creating an environment where innovation and creativity thrive.

To create Tepper Together, the DEI task force analyzed the data, applied Tepper’s values, and defined their approach. This formula could also be applied to your essay response.

Start with reflection

To get started, reflect on these questions:

• What life events thus far have shaped your values and your philosophy in this specific area?
• What has helped you strive to achieve your own potential and what characteristics, traits, or experiences drive that?
• What experiences have you had that shaped your view of leading, managing, supporting, encouraging, and developing the skillss of others around you? How do you bring others along with you as you work toward a goal?
• What impact have you made by helping others reach their potential?
• How will your philosophy towards helping others succeed make you a better teammate, student, and/or Tepper alumnus?

You only have 500 words to deliver a response that’s memorable, meaningful, and articulate. (You upload this essay as a file, so the word count is not a hard stop, but we recommend that you stick close to this limit.) A compelling tactic is to elaborate on one, specific experience that reveals an important part or dimension of who you are. Share specifics with your reader that go deeper into what makes you unique and what you stand to offer. The admissions committee wants both substance and specificity.

Optional Essay

Tepper offers an optional essay to provide additional information about your candidacy that you could not explain elsewhere in the application. Use this essay to convey information that the admissions committee should know. This may include explaining gaps in your resume gaps, providing context for the recommenders you selected or background that explains your grades or test scores.

Video Essay

Many MBA programs require you to explain your career goals in a written essay. Tepper takes a different approach and asks you to describe your post-MBA goals in a video.

Such videos are growing more common. They give the admissions committee a chance to see how you speak and present yourself in a fresh, direct way. They showcase your personality in a way that a carefully written and painstakingly revised essay may not.

Career goals are a great topic for the Tepper MBA video essay. As the school explains, “This is an important component of your decision to attend business school. We take it seriously as well.” Essentially, it’s your “why an MBA? Why now?” answer and your personal elevator pitch.

Your answer should come easily to you by the time you have put in all the necessary research and reflection necessary to submit your MBA applications. Of course, you should prepare and practice until you can deliver a smooth and compelling answer within the two-minute time limit.

Tepper encourages you to be as specific as possible, outlining industries, companies, or future functional roles that interest you. They ask you to tie your immediate post-MBA goals to your long-term career plan. They invite you to share the criteria you’re using to evaluate career opportunities because this information may help them steer you to opportunities during your program.

After a few years of Zoom meetings, you may feel comfortable speaking on camera, but delivering an essay with no audience feels quite different. Practice helps! We have some tips on how to ace your video essay here .

Want more advice?

If you’re working with Fortuna, ask your coach for aTepper MBA essay sample. You can also view my related blog: Applying to Carnegie Mellon Tepper: 3 Essential MBA Tips

Let’s Get You In.

Fortuna Admissions is a dream team of former MBA admissions directors and officers from top business schools. With our unparalleled collective expertise, we can help you develop a clear vision of your goals for business school and beyond. We work closely with you throughout the application process and provide expert guidance at every stage to maximize your chances of admission to a top school.

Our free consultations are consistently rated as the best in the industry. To learn more about what Fortuna can do for you and get a candid assessment of your chances of admission to other top programs, book your free session now .

Catherine Tuttle is a former Associate Director at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where she worked in the Career Management Center and also served as the liaison to admissions. 

• Posted on August 13, 2024

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November 20, 2022

CMU Tepper MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022-2023]

You know how you’re always reading that “all MBA programs are different” but after you’ve spent weeks and even months reading all of their websites, do they start to seem pretty much the same?

Well, not Carnegie Mellon Tepper. Tepper continues to march to the beat of its own drum. CMU is committed to the rhythm produced by a combination of leadership development and analytical skills. Unlike many other MBA programs that now allow students to enroll in electives from their first semester on campus, Tepper believes that students are better served by having a standard and fixed foundation in the fundamentals for the entire first half of that first year.

Tepper’s class composition is also significantly different from many of its peer programs. Tepper has just 192 students in its incoming class, while Wharton has 877 and HBS has 1,015. Only 4% of Tepper MBA Class of 2024 students majored in arts/humanities as undergrads. Does that mean that Tepper isn’t interested in people from humanities backgrounds? Not at all, but it does mean that any applicant from a humanities background needs to demonstrate their aptitude for complex, quantitative analyses to prove themselves capable of handling the challenging Tepper curriculum.

Tepper has a required written essay, a video goals essay, and an optional essay in its application:

CMU Tepper MBA application essay 

The Tepper community is dynamic and unique, with students who strive to be collaborative, supportive, and inclusive. Please provide an example of when you experienced or created an inclusive environment and how you will use that experience to help members of the community reach their full potential. ( Maximum 500 words )

Tepper Together is the school’s strategic plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEI&B). The school values the “diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas of its members and promotes a culture where each individual is valued, respected, has a voice, and is empowered to improve their own experience and develop a life-long network of support.” Think through your distinctive experiences to identify one in which you were part of a community where everyone felt included and valued for their background, experience, and perspectives. What did you learn from the experience? How have you already applied this learning in other situations? Looking ahead, how will you use this knowledge or these newly developed skills to impact your classmates and the broader Tepper community? Your distinctive story will be most effective if it is relatively recent and illustrates personal growth in this area – self-awareness is essential in this answer. Perhaps you had an “Aha!” moment that led to an intentional change in your behavior. Or, you may naturally be inclusive but can point to your personal growth through the experience. Be sure to include these examples in your essay.

CMU Tepper video career goals essay

You will have up to two minutes to describe your post-MBA career goals.

This essay is a typical goals essay; only you will respond via video instead of writing it. You will have two opportunities to record your video essay, so preparation is vital. Before officially responding to this essay, record yourself and review critically, focusing on your delivery and the content of your answer. Create a script or at least bullet points, and practice. Is English not your first language? Then practice enough to convey your answer without sounding too rehearsed. By all means, avoid reading your response.

As for the content of the essay, share what motivates and is important to you as you consider the next step in your career. Be as specific as you can be regarding the industry and function for your post-MBA position. Consider the type of organization you are interested in joining, and feel free to list some companies while indicating the list is not necessarily comprehensive. You will be exposed to new organizations and opportunities early in the program, and you want to convey your openness and flexibility to coaching when you begin working with your career counselor. Finally, paint a picture of your career for the longer term. How does the post-MBA goal fit into the bigger picture for the next 10-12 years? Convey your goals authentically and demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have a plausible plan, building on your existing skills and experience. Are you making a pivot? Think about transferable skills you can build on to make this move successfully.

CMU Tepper optional MBA application essay 

There is an optional essay for additional information about your candidacy that you may wish to share with the admissions committee.

Use this essay to convey important information that you may not have otherwise been able to convey. This may include unexplained resume gaps, context for recommender selection, etc. However, do not feel obligated to complete the optional essay. If you are a re-applicant, use the optional essay to explain how your candidacy has strengthened since your last application.

In addition to filling in information gaps for the admissions committee, use this essay to include connections you’ve made with members of the Tepper community that were enlightening or helpful in your understanding of how you will thrive at Tepper. You should go beyond name-dropping and be sure to share insights into the impact of your interaction.

Please note that college seniors applying to the Deferred Admission program will respond to different essay questions.

CMU Tepper at a glance

CMU Tepper average GMAT score: 702

CMU Tepper average GPA: 3.33

CMU Tepper acceptance rate: 29%

U.S. News  ranked Tepper #16 in 2023.

Check out the Business School Selectivity Index for more stats.

Has this blog post helped you feel more confident about approaching your Tepper application? We hope so. It’s our mission to help smart, talented applicants like you gain acceptance to your dream school. With so much at stake, why not hire a consultant whose expertise and personalized guidance can help you make your dream come true? We have several flexible consulting options— click here to get started today !

CMU Tepper 2022-23 application deadlines

Source: CMU Tepper website

As the former executive director of admissions at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School and assistant dean of admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School and the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School, has 23 years’ experience overseeing admissions committees and has reviewed more than 38,000 applications for the MBA and master’s programs in management of information systems, computational finance, business analytics, and product management.   Want Kelly to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Why MBA? , a guide to writing the MBA goals essay
• How to Get a CMU Tepper MBA , a podcast episode
• From Example to Exemplary , a free guide to writing outstanding admissions essays

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