As my eldest daughter sets off for her first travel camp in the Bay Area, I’m reminded by all the wonderful and scary elements in trying something new. In her, I have seen anxiety, anticipation, and gratitude for the journey ahead. The experience has given me a greater appreciation for the energy it takes for our team, clients, and all those around us cast off to try new things every day. Here are a few lessons that have been reinforced over the past week.

UCLA Anderson has released their 2017-18 essay questions! The first prompt is similar to what you will discuss in other school applications (if you’re applying to other schools), and thus should be fairly straightforward given answers to these questions should be locked in during early brainstorming.

Tuck has released its 2017-18 application questions! As you approach the prompts, you’ll want to have clearly defined goals. A great way to measure this is to measure it up to the “SMART” framework – specific, measurable, attractive, realistic, and time-bound.

Unchanged from last year, Wharton’s main question expects you to share your future aspirations, sharing how an MBA will help you to grow on a professional level.

This year’s new question from Darden creates an opportunity for candidates to discuss their biases and weaknesses (don’t worry, we all have them) in a way that showcases how they learn when interacting with others.