UPDATE: This article was originally posted on August 24, 2020. It has been updated with new information and tips below.

With its location in the Silicon Fen, Cambridge Judge is at the top of the list for an increasing number of applicants who seek to pursue (or continue pursuing) a high-impact, global career. 

However, with a practical yet innovative curriculum that gives students ample opportunity to incorporate hands-on learning into their MBA experience, competition to join Cambridge’s elite MBA is more difficult than ever. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Cambridge admissions essays to stand out. We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to Cambridge Judge MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Cambridge Judge application your best shot. 

 

1. Who is Cambridge looking for?

(Photo courtesy of @cambridgejudge on Instagram)

“The MBA is a broad management degree designed to develop deep understanding, practical application and vital interpersonal and leadership skills. Inspired by the University of Cambridge tradition of tutorial discussion and debate, the MBA delivers a lively and engaging learning experience in an intensive one-year programme.” Cambridge Judge Admissions

Every year, Cambridge literally searches the globe (more than 40 countries are represented) for the outstanding professionals given the honor of joining its annual class of just over 200 students for its 1-year MBA program. With a strong emphasis on diversity, there is no “typical” Cambridge student, yet the average admitted student in the Class of 2025 had a mean GMAT score of 682 (down from 690 in previous years) and 6 years of work experience.

Beyond the impressive statistics, though, Cambridge is looking for candidates who want to make a positive impact on the world through their careers. That’s why, in addition to strong academic performance (demonstrated through the GMAT and university grades), Cambridge seeks candidates who possess the following qualities:

We want people who have:

• excelled in previous academic achievements (top 25 percent of class in undergraduate degree)
• are highly motivated and ambitious, thrive under pressure, and have already exhibited clear progression within their career
• have had some international experiences through their work and have a global outlook
• are confident, creative, innovative, with strong interpersonal and collaborative skills
• an interesting and varied life outside their work

If this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll first have to prove you’ve got what it takes by successfully answering Cambridge’s admissions essay questions. 

 

2. How should I answer the Cambridge essay questions?

2.1. Essay 1 Tips

Essay 1: Please provide details of your post-MBA career plans. The statement should not exceed 500 words and must address the following:

• What are your short- and long-term career objectives? How will the Cambridge MBA equip you to achieve these?
• Looking at your short-term career goal, describe the research you have done to understand how this industry/role/location recruits MBA talent and what they are looking for in a candidate.
• How confident do you feel about meeting your short-term career goal? What skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you to achieve them, and what preparation are you doing now?

This question is essentially a traditional goals essay, a common type of essay required of applicants at many elite business schools, with a unique twist. 

In this essay, you have a big task. In around 500 words, you need to discuss:

• Context for your goals
• Your specific-post MBA goals
• Why you have chosen these goals and how you are prepared for them
• Why you believe an MBA is necessary to reach these goals
• How a Cambridge MBA will help you reach these goals
• What actions you will take between now and starting at Cambridge to help you reach your goals

Each of these elements must be included and must build off of each other. 

First of all, many candidates think they do not need to specifically state their goals, or that it’s better to leave “their options open.” If you are applying to elite business schools, however, you must have and present absolute clarity about your goals. 

TOP TIP: If you’re having trouble figuring out what your post-MBA goals are, we’ve prepared this post to help you decipher this essential part of the application process! 

However, goals without context can be a little confusing to decipher or understand (or they can just seem a bit lackluster). For this reason, we suggest starting your essay with context. 

For example, a client last year initially started his essay by saying: 

“I want to become a Business Development Director at a Brazilian company.”

While interesting, it’s better to give a little bit of context to help these goals come to life. Check out the final version of the same essay’s introduction:

“In the 1970s, the phrase “think global, act local” came into use, suggesting that to have global impact, one must be active locally. With this mindset, I focused my career on Brazilian multinational companies to start creating global change at home. While at Company 1, I led a diverse global team, which showed me that clear communication is essential. I later accepted a finance position at a real estate company where I learned how new technologies can impact traditional local industries and that leaders must adapt to these trends to maintain competitiveness. Most recently, I joined Company 2 to participate in its daring globalization plan. At Company 2, I have learned how challenging it is to formulate effective global strategies to thrive in diverse markets. I have also developed management skills since becoming Financial Coordinator, learning how important establishing a culture of collaboration is to providing stability for organizations.

I now seek to take the next step to becoming a “global” leader by becoming Business Development Director at a Brazilian company pursuing globalization, giving me the experience to assume my long-term goal of CEO of one such company.”

Second, discuss how you are prepared for these goals, and if you haven’t already, why you are motivated to achieve them. Since Cambridge specifically asks you to state which skills and characteristics you already possess that are relevant to achieving your goals, make sure not just to speak in generalities here. Instead, use clear examples that demonstrate you have a strong track record that will directly contribute to your success in achieving your career goals. 

In this section, you should also discuss the research that you have already done on the industry and how recruiters are selecting people. This is important because Cambridge wants to see that you have clearly prepared for your goals and that you will use their MBA wisely and give them a good reputation. Be sure to mention how you found the information that you have. This section can serve as a great transition between what experience you already have and what you still need to gain in terms of skills and knowledge.

Third, you should clearly demonstrate why you need an MBA. 

An MBA is not a catch-all degree that serves a purpose for all career paths. As such, you need to demonstrate that the goals you have set for yourself require the additional training an MBA can provide. 

Be thoughtful about this particular section. If you don’t need to improve in any meaningful way, you might be presenting the argument the admissions committee needs for why you can’t actually benefit from an MBA. 

Furthermore, if you show fluffy or unsupported reasons you need to hone your skills, you’ll also likely see your application tossed aside in favor of an applicant who was able to clearly demonstrate how they plan to leverage their time at business school. 

Fourth, add how Cambridge can specifically help you grow in the areas you’ve identified. Mentioning that you want to go to Cambridge because of its ranking or 1-year format will not cut it here. 

Instead, show that you understand Cambridge’s uniquely innovative curriculum and have done significant, thoughtful research into how the opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom can help you grow. If you have space, it’s also highly recommended that you mention how you can contribute to the community. 

Finally, make sure that you fully answer Cambridge’s unique twist on this question by demonstrating what you are doing or plan to do before your MBA to prepare yourself to reach your stated goals. 

For example, Renato, after clearly articulating how he plans to benefit from Cambridge’s curriculum, states: “To expand my strategic vision and network, I plan to be active in the Technology SIG, create bonds with leaders within the Silicon Fen, and maintain close lifelong relationships with Judge’s faculty and students. I have already met many such alumni, such as ALUM1 and ALUM2, in my quest to integrate myself with the Judge community. Innovation can only flourish in a collaborative setting, and the Judge environment will enable me to connect knowledge and people.”

Though there are many ways in which you can prepare to reach your goals before your MBA, make sure to include clear, concrete examples of your plans in this area in your essay. 

End with a winning conclusion statement that reinforces your personal brand and ties the whole essay together. 

Need more guidance? 

Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of Cambridge MBA essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning Cambridge Judge essay. 

Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join! 

 

2.2. Essay 2 Tips

Essay 2: Tell us about a time when you made a professional mistake. How could it have ended differently? (up to 200 words)

With a general theme of self-awareness running throughout the application, the Cambridge Judge admissions committee’s first non-goals-related essay asks you to recount a mistake you made and reflect on what you could have done to obtain a better outcome. 

In general, I have noticed that our clients tend to want to avoid anything that makes them look bad. And this is a good instinct in general in an MBA application! However, by seeing you honestly express the mistake you made, how you overcame it, and what you would have done differently/what you learned from the experience, we’re able to see your capacity for self-awareness and growth in action. 

As always when it comes to tricky questions, we suggest you start brainstorming examples. You want to focus on examples where you made a mistake at work. You want to make sure you choose a mistake that you were responsible for. Choosing a mistake that was only partially your fault will look like you lack self-awareness and the ability to admit your failings. 

After selecting examples where you made a clear mistake, choose a few to deep-dive into. I would suggest that you think of examples that can fit the following format:

• Decision I had to make/issue I faced/project I was working on
• Mistake I made
• The results of my decision
• What I could have done differently and how this experience shaped me

If your examples don’t fit this format, I would suggest that you discard them. They are not likely to fit the STAR format of telling stories adequately or are not likely to answer all the aspects of this question. 

After placing your stories in this format, consider what you learned/how you grew from the experience and what each one tells the admissions committee about you. The best example should clearly stand out! 

When telling the STAR story, make sure you clearly convey the mistake, give a specific example of how you would do things differently and why you believe this would be a better approach, and share how the skills you built or the perspective you developed as a result of the mistake positively contributed to making you the better professional you are today. 

TOP TIP: Including so much information in such a short essay can be highly challenging. That’s why we’ve prepared this post, designed to help you tell your story in a compelling way, even when word count is tight! 

 

2.3. Essay 3 Tips

Essay 3: Tell us about the best team you worked with. What made the team successful? (up to 200 words)

When discussing what the MBA experience will be like with clients, I always like to joke that the only part of the program you’ll do alone is your final exams. All joking aside, the MBA is a highly team-focused, collaborative experience that demands excellent teamwork skills.  

This question gets right to the core of this issue, focusing on your capacity to work effectively in a team.  

First, to start writing this essay, brainstorm a list of potential achievements to focus on, making sure each has a clear team component. Since Cambridge does not state that you need to choose a professional example, feel free to brainstorm ideas from both your personal and professional lives. However, we suggest making sure your overall essay set is balanced, so choosing a personal example would complement your professional example in Essay 2.

Note: You don’t have to choose a specific story here; you could describe a team in general. However, using a STAR-format story here can be especially helpful in showing the team’s success, explaining effectively why the team was successful, and demonstrating how you contributed to that outcome. 

After brainstorming a list, select the example you feel best demonstrates your ability to thrive and grow in a team setting. I would suggest that you focus on a story that shows your team overcoming some type of challenge since this also goes a long way to demonstrating the team’s success and can make it easier for you when analyzing why this team worked so well. 

Finally, after sharing the team’s victorious outcome, make sure you clearly state 1-2 reasons why this team worked so well together. Was it effective communication? Mutual knowledge sharing? Picking up the slack when other members of the team struggled? There’s no right answer here as long as the reasons you choose directly connect to the example you share. Additionally, be sure to state what you learned about teamwork or in what ways the experience helped you become a better team player.

Ultimately, your example should demonstrate that you thrive in collaborative environments, so make sure that all elements of your essay retain a positive tone that shows your ability to thrive as a member of a team. 

 

2.4. Essay 4 Tips

Essay 4: Provide an example of when someone else positively impacted your life. What did you learn from this experience? (up to 200 words)

This is another example to demonstrate your self-awareness to the Cambridge admissions committee. 

As with essay 3, you are free to choose a personal or professional example here. You can choose a mentor, co-worker, friend, boss, teammate, or coach from a sports team – the possibilities are endless. The point here is not showing off your network; it’s sharing who you are as a person and your capacity to reflect on being on the receiving end of impact. 

For this reason, I think it’s important to first think about STAR stories that fit here. The question asks for a single example of a time that someone positively impacted your life. As such, start by thinking of some of the most impactful moments in your life and the people who facilitated these moments. You want to make sure to focus on examples with a clear beginning, middle, and end and a clear impact on you. 

Then, consider what you learned from each experience and how it has shaped you ever since. The learnings and how it’s impacted you can vary here – you can focus on internal results, like how it impacted how you see yourself, or on external results, like how you interact with the world around you or specific ways the experience motivated you to act or behave. 

Whichever you choose, make sure the learnings and impact are crystal clear since this part of the question is just as important as the example! 

2.5. Job Essay 1 Tips

Describe your previous roles/promotions at your current company – including dates (150 words)

This straightforward response should comprehensively cover your past roles and promotions at your current company. Make sure to anchor each role/promotion with specific dates and briefly contextualize any special circumstances.

If you find yourself with a bit of extra space, you may want to share a bit more detail to contextualize why you were promoted, as this can help establish your track record of excellence. 

 

2.6. Job Essay 2 Tips

Describe your primary job responsibilities, including: 1) type and size of internal and external teams with which you work or supervise 2) type and number of clients or projects you manage 3) size of budget or revenue for which you are responsible 4) international experience or exposure (250 words)

For this question, the most important thing is to answer all elements of the question and maintain focus on your current role. 

You’ll have plenty of room to discuss your past career choices and future ambitions in other essays, so make sure you give the adcom a full picture of what you do on a daily basis. 

If you’re currently working on a particularly interesting project, you can include information about the project and your related responsibilities, but don’t bog your reader down with an exhaustive list of every project and result you’ve ever obtained in your current role. 

Should you feel a little bit of context is necessary to understand your current role, feel free to provide it. Keep in mind, however, that this is not the place to recount your entire career trajectory up to the present day. 

Finally, make sure to include the data they ask for, specifically related to budget, number of people you manage, and international experience/exposure. 

TOP TIP: If you have a bit of extra space after answering the core aspects of this question, you may want to include a mini work example to illustrate what your work “looks” like on a daily basis. 

 

2.7. Job Essay 3 Tips

What has been your most significant professional challenge? (200 words)

This essay effectively calls for a single professional challenge. As such, refrain from broader generalizations, listing multiple situations, or using an extraprofessional experience.

Rather, focus on a landmark engagement where your actions overcame a specific challenge for a significant, measurable result. While the heart of this essay should be describing the challenge and then showing how you navigated it, the story does not necessarily have to end in failure. However, if it does, then make sure to articulate what lessons you learned.

Begin your essay with a brief hook introduction that sets the stage. While this essay’s brevity disallows elaborate introductory stories, the introduction should lay the foundation for your professional challenge’s significance and relevance to your life.

Then, show the challenge you were facing.

Continue by showing what you did to address the challenge. During this section, focus on showing how you accomplished what you did and why you felt the actions you took were appropriate for the challenge.

End your essay by showing the results you were able to achieve and how they are significant to you. If your greatest challenge ends in failure, make sure to show what you learned from the experience.

 

2.8. Job Essay 4 Tips

What has been your most significant professional achievement? (200 words)

This prompt calls for your single most significant professional achievement.

First, we suggest you brainstorm a list of your greatest accomplishments. Then, filter out the accomplishments that overlap with stories you are telling in other essays, including the previous essay on your most significant challenge. The ideal achievement would serve as a defining milestone or turning point for your career. 

The key to this essay is demonstrating significance. This means grounding the scope of the engagement, both in relation to the engagement itself (such as budget, team size, clients, etc.) and within the context of your professional trajectory.

Furthermore, you should be showing how your specific actions were crucial. If your role is quite passive and your actions are vague, it will be difficult to establish significance with even the largest projects.

Finally, conclude your essay by quantifying the results you achieved and reflecting on their importance to you. 

 

2.9. Optional Job Essay

Please explain any gaps in your CV (200 words)

This short optional essay is dedicated to contextualizing the circumstances of any gaps in your CV. You should strive to not only clarify the reasons behind gaps but also connect them with the general trajectory of your professional life.

For example, if you spent a few months preparing for a career-pivoting qualification, make sure to articulate how that time was spent acquiring specific, tangible tools and knowledge indispensable to your professional success.

 

2.10. Reapplicant Essay

Additional question for re-applicants. Describe any relevant developments since you last applied to the Cambridge MBA? (up to 200 words)

Here, make sure you clearly demonstrate how you have improved since your previous application. Also, include any relevant updates on your goals and interaction with the school, as applicable. 

We have written a separate post on the topic of reapplying to business school, including insider tips and tricks to help make sure your second shot at your dream school is successful!

Looking for Cambridge Judge MBA essay examples? 

Check out our real sample essays that got our clients admitted here.

3. Feeling Overwhelmed with the MBA Application Process?

Navigating the complexities of MBA applications can leave you feeling overwhelmed, especially when each program requires unique essays, resumes, and recommendation letters. Without a clear plan, it’s easy to fall into the trap of submitting a generic application that gets you dinged. 

That’s where we come in. With a 98.9% success rate, our team of expert MBA consultants at Ellin Lolis Consulting has a proven track record of transforming applications into success stories. Through our personalized consultation process, we dive deep into your profile, helping you tell your story in a way that resonates with admissions committees and gets you into top business schools. From interview preparation to essay edits, we’re here to guide you through every step of the process.

If you’re ready to stand out in the admissions pool, learn more about working with us today. Let’s make your MBA dreams a reality!

 

4. Cambridge Deadlines

Here are the deadlines for the 2024-2025 season. You can access the Cambridge application by clicking here. 

Cambridge Judge Round 1 Deadlines

Application Deadline: August 27, 2024

Interviews: September 30-October 24, 2024

On-campus interviews: October 14, 2024

Decisions Released: About 3 weeks of completing the interview

 

Cambridge Judge Round 2 Deadlines

Application Deadline: October 7, 2024

Interviews: November 11-25, 2024

On-campus interviews: November 25, 2024

Decisions Released: About 3 weeks of completing the interview

 

Cambridge Judge Round 3 Deadlines

Application Deadline: January 6, 2025

Interviews: February 17-March 10, 2025

On-campus interviews: March 10, 2025

Decisions Released: About 3 weeks of completing the interview

 

Cambridge Judge Round 4 Deadlines

Application Deadline: March 31, 2025

Interviews: April 28-May 12, 2025

On-campus interviews: May 12, 2025

Decisions Released: About 3 weeks of completing the interview