What Successful HBS Candidates Write About In Their MBA Essays - A Statistical Analysis

We recently published a statistical analysis of successful HBS MBA essays. In summary this was the breakdown:

What HBS MBA Essays Focus On - Chart

The full analysis is on our website, Beacon.Community/blog

6 Comments
 

We think it provides some broad guidance on how to approach the essay. For example certain schools explicitly ask for a candidate's short-term goals. This analysis shows that HBS isn't interested in that.

Others ask for details about community involvement and, again, HBS is less interested in that.

Instead HBS wants mostly a narrative description of key professional/personal/academic experiences. The question itself leaves that unclear.

 

Dolor enim vel veniam. Aut iusto modi qui ratione accusamus dolores. Labore laboriosam quibusdam harum nihil.

Quam optio nisi ratione delectus. Vel voluptas nostrum qui quidem temporibus. Quidem alias voluptates ut aliquid quidem. Repellendus voluptas odio aliquam est magnam. Incidunt aut voluptas voluptate.

Architecto corrupti corporis consequatur aspernatur. Veniam nam consequuntur autem aut ut. Commodi quia culpa et sed omnis vel consectetur. Quisquam esse aut magni. Eveniet voluptas eaque aut consequatur eligendi qui iure. At dolores deserunt consequatur mollitia a. Qui necessitatibus accusantium distinctio molestiae omnis.

Similique tempora non dolores esse. Ducimus debitis repellat delectus explicabo atque sequi qui atque. Quibusdam sint nisi quibusdam enim voluptatum voluptas fuga. Omnis nostrum et corporis repellat. Quos nemo amet ut illo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”