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2026-27 application · Published November 11, 2026 · Last checked November 2026 · Reviewed every summer when schools release new essays

Berkeley Haas MBA essays 2026-27: every prompt, word limit and recommendation question

For 2026-27, Haas asks for a short video essay, one to two minutes, introducing yourself and what makes you feel alive, plus something not evident elsewhere in your application. The written essay, 300 words, asks about your post-MBA goals, how Haas will help, and how you’ll stay adaptable. There’s also a short-answer section, a 300-word optional essay and, where it applies, a 300-word supplemental essay on distance traveled. Round 2 closes January 7, 2027.

Berkeley Haas 2026-27 application at a glance
PartLimit or format
Video essay: who you are1 to 2 minutes
Essay: goals and adaptability300 words
Distance traveledOptional, 300 words
Optional essay300 words
ReapplyingShow what changed
Recommendations2 required
By Angela Guido, founder of MBA Protocol: Chicago Booth MBA, former BCG consultant and recruiter, MBA coach full-time since 2008, and bestselling author of Interview Hero.

What are the Berkeley Haas essays for 2026-27?

For 2026-27, Haas asks for a short video essay, one to two minutes, introducing yourself and what makes you feel alive, plus something not evident elsewhere in your application. The written prompts and limits: Video essay: who you are (1 to 2 minutes); Essay: goals and adaptability (300 words). Here is each prompt, what it’s really asking and how to answer it.

Source: Haas essays, checked 11 November 2026.

Video essay: who you are

1 to 2 minutes

“Briefly introduce yourself, then tell us what makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why? Please share something about yourself that may not be evident in other parts of your application.” · Haas application, 2026-27

What they’re asking

Your energy and your values, in your own voice. The video lets Haas meet you in your own voice.

What works

One specific thing you love doing and why it lights you up, told the way you’d tell a new friend. Then something about you that isn’t anywhere else in the application.

Watch out

A memorized script, or a mini-resume. If it sounds rehearsed, it costs you the warmth the video exists to show.

Essay: goals and adaptability

300 words

“What are your post-MBA career goals, and how will the resources at UC Berkeley Haas help you achieve them? How do you plan to remain adaptable as your career evolves?” · Haas application, 2026-27

What they’re asking

A clear goal, a credible path and specific Haas resources, plus proof you can adjust when the path moves. Students Always, in practice.

What works

Name the role and the kind of organization, then two or three Haas courses, clubs or programs you’ll use and why. Give one real example of a time you adapted.

Watch out

Generic praise for Haas and the Bay Area. Or a plan so rigid it leaves no room for the adaptability question.

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What else is in the Berkeley Haas application?

Besides the essays, the Berkeley Haas application includes: Distance traveled (Optional, 300 words); Optional essay (300 words); Reapplying (Show what changed).

Distance traveled

Optional, 300 words

Context about circumstances and influences that shaped your journey. Use it only if there’s a real story the rest of the application can’t hold.

Optional essay

300 words

For gaps, academic questions or anything else that needs explaining. Bullets are fine. If nothing needs explaining, skip it.

Reapplying

Show what changed

Haas wants to see growth since last time. The Reapplication Strategy Pack reviews last year’s application with you, $797 per school.

How many recommendations does Berkeley Haas require, and what are recommenders asked?

Recommendations for Berkeley Haas: 2 required. It uses GMAC’s Common Letter of Recommendation.

How many
2 required
Who to ask
At least one ideally from a current employer.
The form
GMAC’s Common Letter of Recommendation. Haas asks recommenders to name your principal strengths. About the GMAC letter.
Rating grid
GMAC’s leadership grid: 12 competencies such as initiative, results orientation, influence, team leadership, integrity, adaptability, self-awareness and problem solving, plus a peer ranking and an overall recommendation.

Our tip: Haas cares about its Defining Leadership Principles. A recommender who can show one of them in action, without naming it, helps more than one who lists adjectives.

What makes any recommendation strong

Berkeley Haas’s questions follow the pattern most schools use: how the recommender knows you, how you compare with strong peers, and the most important feedback they’ve given you.

  • Ask the right person. Choose someone who genuinely likes you, is enthusiastic about your potential and wants you to get in, even if it means losing you. A lukewarm letter from a senior boss can sink a strong application.
  • Don’t write it for them. You can’t see yourself from their seat or sound like them. You can tell them the three or four qualities you’d like them to highlight.
  • Examples over adjectives. “Dedicated to excellence” proves nothing. One specific story per strength does, and so does a real account of how you took hard feedback.
  • Keep it about you. Long passages about the recommender’s title or the company, internal jargon and over-the-top claims all weaken a letter.

Send your recommender How to write an awesome recommendation, Angela’s step-by-step guide for recommenders. It includes a paragraph-by-paragraph outline and the mistakes that sink letters.

What your recommender is asked

  • How you know the applicant and their role (a short answer)
  • How the applicant compares with other strong people in similar roles, with examples
  • The most important piece of constructive feedback you’ve given them, and how they responded
  • Anything else the school should know (optional)

Described in our words. Source: Haas recommendation letters, and from the recommender form as reported by Clear Admit’s 2026-27 recommendation questions, checked October 2026.

How we’d approach the Berkeley Haas application

According to MBA Protocol, the Haas applicants who struggle most are performing the principles instead of showing them. The committee can tell the difference in a sentence.

Berkeley Haas essay and recommendation questions

How many essays does Berkeley Haas require for 2026-27?

For 2026-27, Haas asks for a short video essay, one to two minutes, introducing yourself and what makes you feel alive, plus something not evident elsewhere in your application. The written prompts and limits: Video essay: who you are (1 to 2 minutes); Essay: goals and adaptability (300 words). Also in the application: Distance traveled; Optional essay; Reapplying.

How many recommendations does Berkeley Haas require?

2 required. At least one ideally from a current employer.

Does Berkeley Haas use the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation?

Yes. GMAC’s Common Letter of Recommendation. Haas asks recommenders to name your principal strengths.

What does Berkeley Haas ask recommenders?

Your recommender is asked: how you know the applicant and their role (a short answer); how the applicant compares with other strong people in similar roles, with examples; the most important piece of constructive feedback you’ve given them, and how they responded; anything else the school should know (optional).

When is the next Berkeley Haas deadline?

Round 2 closes January 7, 2027. Every round and decision date is on our Berkeley Haas deadlines page.

The bottom line on the Berkeley Haas essays

For 2026-27, Haas asks for a short video essay, one to two minutes, introducing yourself and what makes you feel alive, plus something not evident elsewhere in your application. Recommendations: 2 required. Round 2 closes January 7, 2027. Every prompt above comes with what it’s really asking, so start with the one that matters most to you and give your recommenders at least a month.

Keep planning

Our Berkeley Haas guideWhat it takes to get inBerkeley Haas deadlinesEvery round and decision dateBerkeley Haas interview guideReal interview reportsEvery school’s deadlines50 MBA programs on one page

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