The following essay topic analysis examines UT Austin / McCombs (McCombs) MBA admissions essays for the 2022-2023 admissions season. You can also review essay topic analyses for other leading MBA programs as well as general Essay Tips to further aid you in developing your admissions essays.
UT Austin / McCombs Essay Topic Analysis 2022-2023
Let’s take a closer look at the McCombs MBA essay prompt.
Essay 1
Picture yourself at the completion of your MBA journey. Describe how you spent your time as a Texas McCombs MBA student to achieve your personal and professional goals. (500 words)
Despite the creative twist of picturing oneself at the completion of one’s MBA journey, this is a fairly straightforward career goals essay. Applicants should establish their post-MBA plans and motivation, and elaborate on how they were active during the Texas MBA to enable those goals. To tailor this to McCombs, it would be best to frame this briefly in the setting of being at graduation—perhaps you are sitting next to a cohort member, or listening to an address from a professor whose class you found particularly meaningful. Then, establishing one’s goals and motivation first will set the stage for the deeper dive into the value of the Texas MBA. Applicants will also want to weave in their personal goals, whether a broader social impact, some sense of ongoing personal growth, expanded community involvement or pursuing a passion outside of work.
In the course of discussing why the Texas MBA is your ideal program, briefly explain what you got out of the program; however, more of an emphasis should be on how you would have engaged the community and fellow students in the course of the MBA program. For example, rather than listing off courses whose content would help you advance your career, it would be more strategic to focus on your ability to contribute to class discussions in areas in which you already have some foundation. It would also make sense to comment on how you would participate—or assume leadership—in student organizations of interest, both those related to professional interests as well as more personal interests.
Prospective students should also note that the adcom is looking for applicants who feel very strongly about attending McCombs and are likely to have pride in the school. To write convincingly on this point, it will be necessary to conduct very thorough research on the school and student culture, and to identify programmatic elements that are unique to the UT Austin MBA. Taking the time to learn the ins and outs of the school’s special programs and extracurricular activities—whether through a virtual event, or conversations with students or alumni—will pay dividends here.
Optional Essay
Please provide any additional information you believe is important or address any areas of concern that you believe will be beneficial to MBA Admissions in considering your application. (e.g. gaps in work experience, choice of recommender, academic performance, or extenuating personal circumstances). (250 words)
Both the tone of this prompt and the examples of potential topics the candidate might address suggest that this essay will be best used to address liabilities or extenuating circumstances related to one’s application rather than to provide “bonus” information to the adcom. Candidates with questionable quantitative records, gaps in employment, or unusual recommenders should take advantage of this opportunity to offer explanations or outline plans to address potential issues. As is always the case with this sort of response, the comments in this essay should be straightforward and fact-focused, offering explanation without making excuses and humbly suggesting other areas of your candidacy that might compensate for identified weaknesses.
Clear Admit Resources
Before you start crafting your UT Austin McCombs essay responses, check out some of our resources to help you along the way:
- UT Austin McCombs School of Business Profile on the Clear Admit website: up-to-date advice and admissions information
- Clear Admit LiveWire: admissions updates submitted in real time by applicants to McCombs
- Clear Admit DecisionWire: school selections in real-time by admits to McCombs
