UT McCombs Class of 2028 Essay Analysis

UT Austin McCombs; 2025-26 essays have been released, with changes to essay questions.

2025/26 essay questions

Essay 1: Imagine yourself at the completion of your MBA journey. Why was pursuing your MBA at Texas McCombs the right decision for your personal and professional growth? Reflect on how you made the most of your time in the program—academically, through hands-on learning opportunities, and within the McCombs community. Highlight how you contributed to the McCombs community and used its resources to grow both professionally and personally.

Essay 2: Reflect on a core value that defines you. Share a specific example of how it has guided your decisions and actions, and explain how it will shape your contributions and growth as a McCombs MBA student. Highlight how this value has influenced your leadership style and life path, and how it will shape your MBA experience.

Optional Statement: Please explain any gaps in work experience, choice of recommender, and/or academic performance issues that may help the admission committee in reviewing your application. (Limit: 250 words)

2025/26 essay question analysis

Essay 1

A return to a similar question they asked in years past, this question is similar to the "why an MBA and why our school?" that other schools often asks. The big difference is that a tight 250-word limit will mean that applicants should be more direct in their wording. We suggest establishing your goals in the first few sentences of your essay response, with the remainder of the essay tied to showcasing how you hypothetically used McCombs to achieve your stated goal.

Essay 2

This is a challenging question to answer in the space allotted. We recommend quickly defining your value early on, but then pivoting to the example that illustrates how it guided an important past decision and your future aspirations at McCombs. Avoid spending too much time discussing past successes, as those successes are most likely to overlap with your resume and will likely crowd out discussions of future contributions and growth that are more important for McCombs to extrapolate the type of leader you will become.

Optional essay

As with other schools, the optional question is available for you to explain any additional information that you may not have had the space to clarify in other parts of your application.

Other application details

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