HBS cover letter advice, sorta.
As follow-up, do you have feedback on the following 2 issues:
1. If I choose the cover letter as one of the optional essays, would it be a good idea to focus on one single personal/background/non-professional area that I believe defines me to a large extent?
YOU COULD –AS NOTED, NO WRONG ANSWER, AND IF THAT AREA CONTRIBUTES W. REST OF YOUR STORY AND GIVES ADCOM NEW INFO ABOUT YOU, IT GETS DIGESTED HOLISTICALLY W. OTHER ESSAY ANSWERS (AND PEDIGREE, STATS) AS PART OF BIG PICTURE. YOU MAY NEED TO POSITION TALKING ABOUT IT AS ONE OF PRIM. REASONS YOU WANT TO GO IN SOME WAY, SO IT IS A NOMINAL COVER LETTER. OTHERWISE YUO MIGHT DO BETTER SHOEHORNING IT IN TO E.G. DIFFICULT DECISION, ENGAG. W COMMUNITY ETC. BUT AS NOTED, THEY DONT CARE WHAT THE NOMINAL QUESTION IS, THEY CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY AND HOW IT ADDS UP.
2. For the accomplishments essay, could one of them be related to a very recent EC ( i.e. started this fall ), but that I feel particularly proud of in terms of both initiative and impact?
SURE. DONT OVERTHINK THIS, E.G. THEY WILL SMELL OUT THAT I JUST DID THIS B.C. OF APP. READING APPS, ONE OFTEN DOES NOT TAKE THE ENERGY TO DEAL W. CHRONO (E.G. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN) AND EVEN IF YOU SAY,
“LAST FALL, I STARTED XYZ ORG, ….” THE LAST FALL PART DOES NOT GET PROCESSED, READER IS PAYING ATTENTION TO ORG AND WHAT YOU DID.
