Lights, Camera, Admission: Navigating the Rise of MBA Video Essays
The traditional MBA application which was once a predictable set of standardised test scores, polished resumes and heavily edited essays has recently embraced video essays. Increasingly, top-tier global business schools are requiring video essays or spontaneous video prompts as part of the candidate’s application. Timing of these video essays ranges from post application to alumni interview stage or somewhere in between.
Most recently, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management made structural changes to its application format by shifting its focus away from traditional written text and heavily leaning into the video component.
For our candidates, video components shift greatly the dynamics of the admissions game and we at Elevanted think this is a real opportunity and one where our expertise will further help you prepare, with confidence.
Over the last few years, several other programs like INSEAD, MIT Sloan, Yale SOM, NYU Stern have all started to incorporate video components into their admissions process. While polished written essays are useful, they often mask an applicant's authentic personality: there is no ‘human touch’.
We think schools have introduced video components to solve specific admissions challenges:
· Verifying Authenticity: A video prompt captures your real and unscripted communication style.
· Testing Communication Under Pressure: Modern business leaders must think on their feet. Video essays aim to place candidates in high-pressure and spontaneous corporate environments by giving you only 30 to 60 seconds to prepare a response. Very real world!
· Evaluating Cultural Fit: Each school identifies with a specific set of traits. A short video clip reveals your presence and energy much faster than text on a page.
· Assessing Language Fluency: For international applicants, video responses provide instant proof of English proficiency and real-time conversational comfort, something English tests that currently serve as proof of command over English do not necessarily.
The Landscape: Who is Asking for What?
MIT Sloan: Pre-recorded video statement + spontaneous prompt to check your creative self-introduction & quick thinking
Northwestern (Kellogg): 5 spontaneous video prompts (60 seconds each) to check your real-time judgment and behavioural consistency
INSEAD: Asynchronous video interview (4 verbal questions) to check your international mindset and professional maturity
Yale SOM: Spontaneous video questions + behavioural assessment to check your alignment with community values and ethics
NYU Stern: Mandatory video component ("EQ Endorsement") to check your emotional intelligence and team dynamics
Strategic Shifts for our candidates and why Elevanted is best suited to support you: The inclusion of video essays means you cannot approach your MBA applications with a "business-as-usual" mindset. To succeed, you must adapt your preparation strategy in three distinct ways.
1. You Must Connect Surface Questions to Core Values
When a school asks a spontaneous question like, "Describe a difficult decision you had to make," they are not just grading your specific story. They are evaluating your underlying judgment, your problem-solving framework and whether your real-time response aligns with the narrative in your written application. You must know your personal "anchor stories" so well that you can adapt them to any prompt on the fly. This is where Elevanted’s proprietary Story Arc framework helps!
2. Execution Trumps Perfection
In a written essay, you can rewrite a sentence ten times. In a video essay, hesitation, over-rehearsed answers or looking at hidden notes will hurt your score. Admissions officers are looking for authenticity, resourcefulness and a realistic depiction of who you will be in the classroom. A slightly unpolished but genuine, high-energy response beats a perfectly memorized, robotic script every time. Elevanted preps you, supported by intense and very real feeling video mocks!
3. Technical Delivery is Part of the Grade
Your environment speaks volumes about your professionalism. Candidates must treat the video essay like a formal board presentation. This means securing a quiet room, managing a clutter-free background, optimizing lighting so your face is clearly visible and looking directly into the camera lens. Again, Elevanted extends extensive support and preps you exhaustively here!
Closing thoughts from us here at Elevanted: Rise of video essays can feel intimidating but it is actually a massive opportunity for dynamic candidates. If your GPA, grades or test scores are slightly below a school's average, the video essay is your chance to inject life, passion and personality into your file ultimately convincing the reader to grant you that coveted, live interview invitation. For candidates who already have a strong communication skill, this gives you yet another opportunity to showcase your strength, while also focussing on real substance!
So do not be intimidated by it: instead view it as yet another golden opportunity to shine through! Get in touch with us at www.elevanted.com to know more!
Author:
Maanvi Prasad
INSEAD MBA, Class of 2012 | LinkedIn
Member of INSEAD Alumni Association UK | UAE
Co-Founder www.elevanted.com – higher education, simplified