Notre Dame MBA Essays
Notre Dame MBA Essays
2010 - 2011
Your responses to the essay questions are extremely important in the selection process. Create separate files for each of your 2 essays and include your name on each page. Your essays should be typed and double-spaced. Each essay should be no longer than 2 pages each.
Please complete the following essay.
I. What are your career plans immediately after graduation? Explain how your past experiences prepare you for your desired position. What are your long-term career aspirations?
II. Additionally, please complete any one of the following six essay questions.
1. The MBA Values Statement is an important guide for our students and the bedrock of our shared community values at Notre Dame. Please review the MBA Values Statement (http://mba.nd.edu/values/) and then choose the one value you believe has had the most impact on your professional career to date. Be sure to give a specific example of how you have lived out that value in your professional experience.
2. David R. Gergen, a senior political analyst for CNN and an adviser to four U.S. presidents, has been quoted as saying "A leader's role is to raise people's aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there." Describe a time when you have played a role in helping a teammate or direct report achieve success. How did you specifically contribute to their accomplishment?
3. Economist Milton Friedman wrote the following in his book Capitalism and Freedom: "There is one and only one social responsibility of business - to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud." In your opinion, is it viable and/or valuable for corporations to invest profits in social causes that provide no direct "increase in profits" or benefit to shareholders? Why or why not?
4. In response to the recent financial crisis and the perception that many business leaders acted unethically, much attention has been given to various MBA Oaths. You can see one example here: http://mbaoath.org/take-the-oath/ In what ways do you feel an MBA Oath will impact ethical behavior by MBA graduates? Would you take such an oath yourself? Why or why not?
5. Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and foursquare have become ubiquitous components of the marketing mix for brands all over the world. Are social media tools like these valid measurements for return on investment (ROI) in marketing, or just innovative ways for brands to connect with consumers?
6. Are third-party rankings of business schools a valid selection criterion for MBA applicants? Why or why not?
Notre Dame MBA Links
Current Essay Questions!
The essay
questions that appear on this page are for candidates
who plan to apply during the fall of 2010 or the winter
of 2011 and start classes in the fall of 2011.
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To return to a list of the essay questions from all schools, click the link below.
Notre Dame MBA Application Deadlines
The Mendoza School has four
application deadlines:
The deadlines below are for the full-time
two-year MBA
program. The other programs have
their own deadlines.
- Round
- Early
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Deadline
- September 13, 2010
- November 1, 2010
- January 10, 2011
- March 21, 2011*