Berkeley Haas MBA 2026-2027: What the Essay Questions Reveal

Berkeley Haas released its application for the 2026-2027 cycle. While the overall structure remains familiar, there is one notable change: candidates are now asked to briefly introduce themselves before answering the video essay question, “What makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why?” The application also includes a 300-word career goals essay and an optional statement.

You have probably already read the prompts. What is harder to find anywhere is an honest answer to the question underneath the application: whether the candidacy you have been building actually maps to what Berkeley Haas is looking for, and whether the way you are planning to present it will land the way you need it to.

Most applicants will spend the next several weeks focused on the mechanics. How personal should the video essay be? What should candidates talk about? What makes a strong introduction? How should applicants approach the career goals essay? These are reasonable questions. The more interesting question is why Berkeley continues to ask these questions in the first place.

When a school asks candidates to introduce themselves and then explain what makes them feel alive when they are doing it, it is usually because the school is trying to learn something that cannot be fully captured through resumes, recommendations, test scores, and traditional career narratives. The addition of the introduction changes the context of the question, while the continued emphasis on action rather than belief suggests something specific about how Berkeley evaluates self-awareness, contribution, and leadership potential. Understanding what that is changes how you build the application, not just how you answer the prompts.

That is what this session is about.

Susan Berishaj, Founder of Sia Admissions, will walk through what Berkeley Haas’s essay questions reveal about how the school wants to evaluate candidates this cycle, why the revised video essay may be more significant than it first appears, and what these questions suggest about how Berkeley distinguishes between a well-executed application and a compelling candidacy.

This session is designed for candidates who are serious about Berkeley Haas and want to understand not only what the application requires, but what the admissions committee is trying to learn through the questions themselves, and whether your candidacy is positioned to answer those questions clearly.

During the session, we will discuss what the revised video essay signals about Berkeley’s evaluation priorities this cycle, what the combination of self-introduction, personal reflection, and career goals reveals about the type of candidate the school is trying to identify, and what the essay questions are actually asking candidates to demonstrate.

Register to submit your questions in advance, attend live, and receive the replay directly in your inbox.

To get support on your Berkeley Haas application before the September deadline, book a strategy consultation with Sia Admissions, learn more about the Sia Method, or request a written profile evaluation.