The Georgetown McDonough School of Business, known for its commitment to Jesuit principles and emphasis on personal growth, diversity, and leadership, invites MBA applicants to reflect on key experiences and values in their application essays. The 2025 admission cycle offers applicants the chance to showcase their unique qualities through thoughtful reflection on the personal essay, video essay, and optional essay. Let’s break down what the admissions committee seeks in each essay prompt and how you can craft winning responses.
Personal Essay
The personal essay allows you to choose from three different prompts: Georgetown Community, Cura Personalis, or Achieving Excellence. Each of these prompts is designed to help the admissions committee understand how you align with Georgetown McDonough’s values.
Essay Option One – Georgetown Community
What the Admissions Committee Seeks:
Georgetown McDonough fosters a deeply inclusive and diverse environment, drawing inspiration from Jesuit values that emphasize equality and respect. The committee wants to see how your background—whether educational, familial, cultural, or economic—will add to the diversity of the student body. They’re looking for a candidate who can contribute to a rich, intersectional dialogue, bringing in perspectives and experiences that might challenge the status quo or offer fresh ideas. It’s about how your individuality will enrich the collective learning environment.
Tips for Writing:
- Reflect on your uniqueness: Think about the experiences or aspects of your identity that are most formative to who you are today. Did you grow up in a multicultural environment? Did certain social or familial challenges shape your perspective on life? These are great starting points for your narrative.
- Connect personal experiences to the Georgetown community: Be sure to make the link between your background and the value you’ll bring to Georgetown. Maybe your educational journey taught you resilience, or perhaps your economic background has given you an empathy for others in similar situations. Tie your experiences to how they will benefit the McDonough community.
- Show intersectionality: If possible, highlight more than one dimension of your identity. For instance, if you grew up in a working-class immigrant family, explore both the cultural and economic challenges you faced. Show the admissions committee that you have a broad understanding of diversity.
Essay Option Two – Cura Personalis
What the Admissions Committee Seeks:
The concept of cura personalis—or “care of the whole person”—is central to Georgetown McDonough’s mission. The admissions committee is looking for candidates who demonstrate empathy, personalized care for others, and a commitment to the well-being of those around them. This essay is your opportunity to show how you’ve supported a teammate, coworker, or peer in a meaningful way, and how you can bring that spirit of caring and collaboration to the Georgetown community.
Tips for Writing:
- Focus on a specific instance: The essay prompt asks you to reflect on a time when you exemplified cura personalis, so choose a situation where your support had a clear and positive impact on someone. It could be helping a colleague through a personal crisis, mentoring a junior team member, or even advocating for someone’s needs in the workplace.
- Highlight your actions: The key here is to demonstrate what you did and how you did it. Detail the steps you took to support the person—whether through guidance, mentorship, or simply being a good listener. Be specific about your approach to solving the problem or offering care.
- Discuss the broader impact: After detailing the situation, tie it back to the Georgetown MBA program. How will this experience shape your future leadership style? How do you plan to contribute to the McDonough community with these skills in collaboration, empathy, and guidance?
Essay Option Three – Achieving Excellence
What the Admissions Committee Seeks:
In this prompt, Georgetown McDonough is asking you to reflect on a professional achievement that exemplifies excellence. The committee is seeking candidates who not only excel in their field but also bring skills and strengths that will help them thrive in the rigorous academic environment of Georgetown and leave a lasting legacy.
Tips for Writing:
- Choose a standout achievement: Look through your resume and select a professional experience where your contributions made a substantial impact. This could be a time when you led a high-stakes project, implemented a significant change, or achieved exceptional results against tough odds.
- Showcase relevant strengths: It’s not just about what you achieved, but how you achieved it. Were you particularly innovative? Did you demonstrate strong leadership or analytical skills? Be sure to emphasize the strengths that Georgetown McDonough values, such as strategic thinking, leadership, and resilience.
- Tie it to your future at Georgetown: Explain how this achievement has prepared you for the challenges of an MBA and how the qualities you demonstrated will help you contribute to the McDonough community. Consider discussing how you intend to leave a lasting impact on the school, perhaps through leadership in student clubs or by initiating meaningful projects.
Video Essay
What the Admissions Committee Seeks:
The video essay is an opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you on a more personal level. While your application essays and resume have given them insights into your professional life, the video essay allows you to showcase your personality and interests beyond work. Georgetown McDonough values individuals who bring joy and enthusiasm into all aspects of their lives, not just their careers.
Tips for Writing:
- Be yourself: The admissions committee is looking for authenticity. Don’t over-script or rehearse your response. Instead, speak candidly about something that genuinely brings you joy outside of work. Whether it’s a hobby, an experience, or a recent adventure, keep the tone light and personal.
- Choose something meaningful: While you want to be relaxed and natural, it’s important to select an activity or topic that reflects something core to who you are. If you’re passionate about photography or recently took up a new fitness challenge, talk about why it’s important to you.
- Ensure clarity: The video doesn’t need to be overly polished, but make sure that it’s easy to hear and see you. Ensure that the audio is clear, and the lighting is good so that the admissions committee can focus on you and your story.
Optional Essay
What the Admissions Committee Seeks:
The optional essay gives you the chance to provide additional context to your application. This space is ideal for addressing any gaps in your resume, explaining unusual circumstances in your academic or work history, or offering any extra information that could help the admissions committee fully understand your candidacy.
Tips for Writing:
- Be concise: This is not the place to repeat information from other parts of your application. Focus on providing clarity on any potential red flags, such as employment gaps, academic struggles, or an unusual recommender choice.
- Stick to the facts: While it’s important to explain the context, avoid going into unnecessary detail. State the issue, provide an explanation, and, if possible, show how you’ve addressed or overcome the situation.
- Show growth or reflection: If applicable, use this space to demonstrate how you’ve grown from the challenges you’re addressing. Whether it’s learning from a failed business venture or bouncing back from a difficult period in your career, highlight the lessons learned and how they’ve shaped you.
Final Thoughts
The Georgetown McDonough MBA essay prompts are more than just an opportunity to share your story—they’re a chance to align your personal and professional values with Georgetown’s commitment to developing leaders who care deeply for others and who strive for excellence. Take the time to reflect on your most impactful experiences, be authentic in your responses, and show the admissions committee how you will contribute to and benefit from their vibrant, values-driven community. By doing so, you’ll be well-positioned to craft a compelling application that resonates with Georgetown McDonough’s vision of leadership and service.
