2024-2025 Vanderbilt Owen MBA Essay Tips and Example Essays

Sep 26, 2024

Who is Vanderbilt looking for?
How should I answer Vanderbilt Owen essay questions?
Worried you won’t get into your dream school?
Vanderbilt Deadlines

UPDATE: This article was originally posted on September 7, 2020. It has been updated with new information and tips below.

As one of a handful of STEM-designated MBA programs, Vanderbilt is at the top of the list for an increasing number of applicants who seek to pursue a career in the US.

With this increased interest, however, it is more difficult than ever to find a place at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

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

1. Who is Vanderbilt looking for?

Source: @vanderbiltowen on Instagram

“Our size and focus allows us to interact with students, alumni and recruiters as individuals so that we can better understand and help each achieve their goals. We are intensely and proudly competitive with the best. But we also shape leaders who understand that collaboration is essential in today’s connected economy. We develop business people who can lead and manage change, drawing not only on what they learn here about business but also what they learn about themselves.” Vanderbilt Owen Admissions

Every year, Vanderbilt’s admissions team has the difficult task of selecting a small number of outstanding professionals for its class of ~160 students. With a strong emphasis on diversity, there is no “typical” Owen student, yet the average admitted student for the Class of 2025 had a median GMAT score of 690, 159V/158Q GRE score and 5.6 years of work experience.

Beyond the impressive statistics, though, Owen 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 test scores and university grades), Owen possesses numerous programs to support diversity, including initiatives for women, LGBTQI+ candidates, international candidates, and minority candidates.

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 Vanderbilt’s exceptionally short essay questions.

2. How should I answer Vanderbilt Owen essay questions?

has some of the shortest essays in the MBA world. With what they call “Statements,” you have 4 statements (each with a 75-word limit) to grab the Owen adcom’s attention.

Presenting your profile in a complete manner in such a small amount of space is a particularly difficult challenge, which is why we’ve provided our best tips and hints on crafting your essays below.

2.1. Statement 1 Tips

Our Career Management Center offers resources, guidance, and support to students as they navigate their anticipated post-MBA career paths. Examples of popular industry career paths are Consulting, Financial Services, Consumer Products, Healthcare, Human and Organizational Performance, Technology, and beyond. It is noteworthy that many students opt to concurrently explore multiple industry career paths.

As you contemplate your post-MBA aspirations, share two post-MBA career paths you aim to explore during the Vanderbilt MBA program. Please articulate your rationale and enthusiasm for these choices, and include the skills you have developed that will help you achieve your career goals. (200 words)

To effectively approach this essay, begin by providing a brief context that explains the professional experiences that have shaped your career aspirations and the skills you’ve developed along the way. This context is essential to show how your past roles, responsibilities, and projects have prepared you for the two career paths you wish to explore during your MBA. For example, if you’ve managed cross-functional teams or analyzed complex datasets, mention how these experiences helped you develop leadership, analytical, or problem-solving skills. These skills should be directly relevant to your future career aspirations, giving a clear foundation for why you’re interested in these specific paths.

Once you’ve established this context, outline the two career paths you’re interested in pursuing. Be specific about job titles and industries for both your short- and long-term goals. For instance, you might mention starting as a “Consultant” in management consulting with a focus on healthcare or taking on a strategy role in a healthcare organization. If both short-term paths ultimately lead to the same long-term goal, such as founding your own healthcare-related startup, make that connection clear. This shows the admissions committee that you have a cohesive and thoughtful long-term vision, even if you’re considering multiple options at the beginning.

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!

Next, explain your rationale for pursuing these goals. What excites you about these industries or roles? Are you drawn to the strategic problem-solving nature of consulting, or is it the potential for innovation and improvement in healthcare systems that motivates you? This is your opportunity to show passion for the work, as well as how your interests and values align with these career paths.

Finally, discuss the broader impact you hope to make in your chosen career fields. Whether your goal is to improve business efficiencies, drive healthcare innovation, or make a meaningful social impact, clearly articulate how you envision contributing to your industry. Additionally, if you have space, mention how Vanderbilt’s resources, such as the Career Management Center and relevant coursework, will support your exploration of these career paths and help you refine your long-term direction.

Need more guidance?

Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning Vanderbilt Owen 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. Statement 2 Tips

We are genuinely interested in getting to know you and recognize that your identity extends beyond the confines of this application’s structured questions. Please highlight something about yourself that isn’t already captured in the application. This highlight statement is an opportunity for you to provide context and depth to something that is important or meaningful to you. (200 words)

When choosing your theme for this essay, we suggest focusing on one “thing” that defines you, as 200 words are likely not enough room to write meaningfully about multiple examples.

Furthermore, since the first short answer asks you about your professional life, we would suggest choosing something from your personal life for this essay in order to show the admissions committee more about what makes you you. However, this doesn’t mean professional examples are off-limits!

Along these lines, try to think about choosing a theme/activity that provides the admissions committee with valuable insights into your personality and background.

For example, last year, a client wrote a short essay on the topic of “making a difference” that discussed his passion for his volunteer work providing electricity to remote communities in the Brazilian Amazon.

After speaking about how he got involved and exactly what the project works to accomplish, he discussed how a quote from a member of one of the communities thanked him for giving him the chance to safely make his way home from work at night.

This quote brought a level of personal engagement with the client’s theme that went far beyond, “I am passionate about volunteering,” and, instead, took his reader right there to the Amazon to feel his passion.

The possibilities here are endless, but your choice should be aligned with your overall application strategy. Think critically about what the Owen admissions committee is learning about you in other aspects of your application, and consider what you could cover here that would shed light on who you are and how you can add value to the Vanderbilt community. In essence, choose a story that adds new, relevant information about your profile.

We suggest you focus on strong storytelling here (a condensed version of the STAR methodology will work very well here) and end with the result you obtained or lesson you learned. If you can think of a way to connect this passion to your time at Owen, though this will be very difficult considering the word count, you may opt to add this.

2.3. Optional Essay Tips

You may provide an additional statement to briefly explain anything that is not already addressed elsewhere in your application. This could include employment gaps, lack of recommendation from your current or most recent supervisor, violations of the law, academic misconduct, sub-par academic performance, or anything else that is relevant to your application. Bullet points are acceptable for this statement when appropriate. (200 words)

First of all, don’t be tempted by the extra word count (as compared to the short statements) you get for this question. This is not a place for you to retell your life story, sum up your interest in Owen, or describe your need for an MBA. Make sure you focus only on weak spots and also discuss what steps you have taken to rectify the weaknesses. This essay should be short, sweet, and included only if strictly necessary!

TOP TIP: Not sure if you need to write an optional essay? Check out our post on the topic here.

2.4. Video Essay Tips

In addition to written essays, Vanderbilt also requires applicants to complete a short video essay. Designed to help the admissions committee continue to get to know you better and see your personality shine on camera, the video is a critical component of a strong application.

As the admissions team states, “The video response questions are easy to answer. Just be yourself!”

Here are the practical requirements.

vanderbilt video essay questions

In general, you are already prepared to answer the types of questions you will receive.

For example, when testing the system, I received these questions:

Tell us about one of your favorite TV shows. Why should we watch it?
When you need to “refill your emotional battery,” what do you do?
Tell us about someone in your life who has influenced you and why.

This does not mean you should prepare these three questions! These are just the types of questions you can expect to receive.

No matter what question you get during your video essay, remember to be yourself. There is no right or wrong answer here, the adcom just wants to see the person behind the application!

video essay tips

For example, a few years back, a client of ours received the question, “What is your favorite food? Could you eat this food every day?” She proceeded to give a hilarious but insightful answer about her love of eggs and cooking egg recipes. This really allowed us to see who she was, how she communicates, and hear something genuine – not what she thought she was supposed to say. And it worked! She was admitted with a great scholarship later on 😉

If you are particularly shy, you may want to practice recording yourself answering icebreaker questions to feel more comfortable on camera. There is a great list of questions here.

Finally, we highly recommend that you check out our general tips for recording successful video essays. These general tips will ensure that you truly shine!

Looking for Vanderbilt Owen MBA essay examples?

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

3. Worried you won’t get into your dream school?

You’ve built an impressive career and worked hard to get to this point, but now you’re facing the daunting task of pulling together a compelling MBA application. The pressure to choose which stories best sell your profile, write essays that reflect your achievements, prepare for interviews, and manage multiple deadlines can feel overwhelming. Are you doing enough to be noticed by admissions committees at top business schools?

At Ellin Lolis Consulting, we understand the stakes. With a 98.9% success rate, we’ve helped countless applicants just like you secure spots at their dream schools. Our expert consultants will work with you to develop a strategy tailored to your goals, ensuring every part of your application—from essays to interviews—tells a cohesive, compelling story that gets you in.

Don’t leave your future to chance. Learn more about working with us and take the first step toward a successful MBA application journey.

4. Vanderbilt Deadlines

Here are the deadlines for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. You can access the online application here.