Though the exact essays for Kenan-Flagler this year are slightly different from last year, the essence of what the school is looking for hasn’t changed. On the contrary, emphasizing on the core values of the student body in the second question suggests a renewed focus on admitting students whose values resonate closely with the school’s.

The first question focuses solely on the professional inviting you to contemplate not one but two plausible career paths while the second question is decidedly more personal aimed at understanding the values that drive your life. Let us look at each one of these questions more closely.

There are two distinct parts to this essay prompt but the two are closely interlinked and connected. The first part invites you to explore your planned career path immediately after your MBA. Kenan-Flagler strongly focuses on the perspective of its recruiters and what the school is looking for here is clarity of thought and vision in defining your “immediate” post-MBA plans. As with any other business school career essay, it is important to be realistic and pragmatic about where your current skills and business education can take you. You also need to think carefully about why Kenan-Flagler is the right fit school for your career aspirations as well as personal goals. Touching upon the courses you intend to take, the clubs you plan to join and the resources you envision yourself utilizing will be a great addition to this essay. While this is not clearly spelled out in the prompt, it is also a good idea to spend a few words describing how you will be an asset to the Kenan-Flagler community.

For the second part of the essay, the school wants to know your plan B in case the short-term goals you just described do not materialize. Life, both in and out of business school, throws curveballs and the school wants you to be prepared for such scenarios. The plan B needs to be as realistic as your first-choice career path and ideally, needs to tie back to your long-term goals (which you can briefly spell out in this section of the essay). For example, if your long-term ambition is to be an entrepreneur in the tech space, your short-term goal can be either to work at a startup (to learn and thrive in an entrepreneurial environment) or to work at a top tech firm (to understand the industry better).