Michigan Ross MBA Admissions Essays & Analysis 2025-2026

The following essay topic analysis examines Michigan / Ross MBA admissions essays for the 2025-2026 admissions season. You can also review essay topic analyses for all other leading MBA programs as well as general Essay Tips to further aid you in developing your admissions essays.

2025-2026 Michigan / Ross MBA Admissions Essays

Let’s take a closer look at each prompt.

Essay 1

What is your short-term career goal, and how will Ross’ philosophy in Action-Based Learning help you achieve it? Please be specific. Please answer both parts of this question. (300 words)
Applicants should concisely describe their plans upon graduating from Ross, covering the particular role and responsibilities they are interested in. Name your target firms and skills that you hope to hone. Space permitting, you could lend meaning to your short-term plans by touching on your long-term goals and/or impact you ultimately wish to have. However, priority should be given to how Ross is the ideal stepping stone to your short-term position. This can involve talking about courses you hope to take, clubs you plan to be active in (and how), and what you hope to gain from joining the Ross community–all with an eye on Action-Based Learning. One of the original hallmarks of the Ross MBA program is the Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) course, but the school has opened the umbrella to Ross Experiences in Action-Based Learning (REAL). Taking the time to learn about the school’s related offerings—whether by seeking out alumni or current students to engage, or connecting with resources through the Ross website—will pay dividends here. Space permitting, it’s always a good idea to end on a note of how you would give back to the program, so the adcom can more easily visualize you as a student there.

Essay 2

Michigan Ross is proud to support a community of leaders and impact makers. As a future member of this community, we want to know more about who you are and what drives you. Please choose 1 of the following prompts to tell us more about what makes you stand out beyond your academic and work experience. List the prompt you are answering at the top of your response. (200 words) 

• What makes you unique? 
• Can you provide a specific example of how you’ve overcome a personal challenge? 
• What makes you excited to get up each morning? 
• Describe a time when you made a difference in your community or with an individual. 

As an initial approach to these short answer options, consider the broader themes across them—how you are different, attitude under adversity, personal passion, or impact through action. The content also needs to be outside of your academic and work life, inviting personal reflection and community-based examples. You must also ensure you demonstrate impact and leadership, given the opening line. The key to this essay is to quickly provide the context that the reader needs to appreciate your story, and then elaborate on relevant themes of a given prompt.

Given this, you may find it best to brainstorm in reverse—think of your accomplishments/greatest impact and work backward to the prompt that fits. Regarding community difference, perhaps you resolved a problem for your local YMCA, resulting in more after school programs, or access to education makes you excited to get up each morning and you’ve launched an after school program, which helped dozens of underprivileged students gain access to opportunities. “Personal challenge” opens up myriad settings for potential options. It can be an ideal opportunity to introduce any international or cultural experiences you have had. You may also have a hobby that entails consistent growth and challenges; for instance, perhaps your quest for the next belt in your martial arts classes pushed you to grow. There is also the potential to showcase your ability to adapt through resilience and grit, or to highlight emotional intelligence and interpersonal skill in a story about bridging divides or navigating challenging interactions. A strong response here will be establishing what was different, elaborating on your constructive response, and concluding with the positive results.

Optional Essay 

Is there something in your resume or application that needs a brief explanation? Appropriate uses of this essay would be the explanation of an employment gap, academic outliers, choice of recommender, completion of supplemental coursework, etc. You may use bullet points where appropriate. (250 words)
The wording of this prompt signals that comments in this section should be limited to explaining potential liabilities or inconsistencies in your application. We recommend a straightforward approach that uses as few words — and as little of the reader’s scarce time — as possible. Applicants who chose to respond to this essay should adopt a humble tone, acknowledge the issue without making excuses (though you can create context), and gently suggest other aspects of his or her candidacy that may help to compensate for this weakness.

Clear Admit Resources

Thanks for reading our analysis of this year’s Ross MBA admissions essays. As you work on your Ross MBA essays and application, we encourage you to consider all of Clear Admit’s Ross School of Business offerings:

• Michigan Ross 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 Michigan / Ross
• Clear Admit DecisionWire: school selections in real-time by admits to Michigan / Ross