Berkeley Haas MBA Admissions can be tough.

ApplicantLab can help

 

If you’ve starting looking at the Haas application essays, you might be a bit bewildered: how to best incorporate their 4 principles? How to answer their famous “What makes you feel alive” essay question?

ApplicantLab is an online platform — created by a Havard MBA with 20 years of admissions experience — that provides expert guidance for applicants to top-tier MBA schools at a price that levels the playing field.

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With Applicant Lab, You’ll Learn

How to answer Haas’s “What Makes You Feel Alive” and “Successful Leadership” Essays in ways that “fit” the Haas MBA student profile.

How to maximize your stories and craft an MBA resume that will wow the Berkeley Haas admissions team.

How to prepare & practice for your Haas MBA interview so you know exactly what to expect.

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Berkeley Haas MBA Application Deadlines

2026–2027 application deadlines. Below are Berkeley Haas’s application rounds and decision dates for the class entering Fall 2027:

Round Application Deadline Decision
Round 1 September 10, 2026 December 10, 2026
Round 2 January 7, 2027 March 25, 2027
Round 3 April 1, 2027 May 6, 2027

Haas 2026–2027 Essay Questions

Haas changed its essays this year — one is now a video:

  • Essay 1 — VIDEO (1–2 min, 2 attempts): “Briefly introduce yourself, then tell us what makes you feel alive when you are doing it, and why?” (Previously a written essay.)
  • Essay 2 — WRITTEN (300 words): your post-MBA goals + how Haas’s resources help, and how you’ll stay adaptable.
  • Optional: a “Distance Traveled” statement and an Optional Statement.

The video is a real shift — it’s about being authentic and articulate on camera, which trips up plenty of strong writers.

How ApplicantLab Can Help

Haas’s essays demand real self-reflection and specificity — exactly what ApplicantLab is built for: the same school-specific strategy a $5,000–$15,000 consultant would give you, for $349 for the whole year (unlimited schools). You can start with a free trial (no credit card required) and see exactly how we’d approach your Haas application.

Want the full breakdown — Haas’s class profile, what the admissions committee looks for, and a deeper essay strategy? See our complete Haas deadlines & essay guide.

 

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As a note of caution; ApplicantLab does not do the work for you. To fully utilize the potential AL offers, you do have to put in quite some time, however, the investment will certainly be worth it.” Read the full review on GMAT Club

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MIT Sloan | Class of 2021

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