The McCombs School of Business is one of the most popular and highly ranked programs at UT-Austin. The admissions rate for first-time freshmen applicants was 17% for Fall 2022 students. It receives a higher proportion of out-of-state applicants than other majors, and is one of the most competitive for gaining admission. I share everything I know about regular and honors McCombs admissions here.

I dedicate separate posts to first-choice major responses for Computer Science applicants and another for non-CS/business majors. Below, I provide eight McCombs applicant first-choice major required short answer responses with commentary to give you an idea of possible ways to answer the prompt and showcase your fit for Business.

Applying to Canfield Business Honors Program? Check out these essay tips and examples.

McCombs Science and Technology Management (STM) and Canfield BHP

I’m especially interested in the Science Technology and Management (STM) major because it combines my interests in business and science. As a two-time national competitor in the Introduction to Business and Business Procedures events for Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), I’m acquainted with organizational management procedures and business leadership. My experiences as the Science National Honor Society (SNHS) Treasurer help me develop budget skills and make tough decisions for organization fund allocations. As a current co-President, I help ensure that members have access to equipment and resources for laboratory activities and experiments.

The accommodating nature of the STM degree plan ensures that I can comprehensively study financial topics and develop engineering competencies. My favorite activity is serving as a national officer of the Young Investors Society (YIS) organization after serving as President of our local Investment Club chapter. I contribute stock tips and recommendations to the monthly newsletter disseminated to approximately 300 schools worldwide. I hope to explore financial statements and stock valuations further.

I’m especially excited for group collaboration and the case study approach of Business Finance (FIN 357H) honors section with the esteemed Professor Hahn. In addition, my study of distributed loads and equilibrium as a regional gold medalist in the Boomilever structural building Science Olympiad event complements Statics (EM 306).

In conjunction with the STM major, the Canfield Business Honors Program (CBHP) will provide me with the flexibility and personalization to explore different business disciplines in case-based-honors classes. I look forward to joining a community of like-minded peers who share interests in technology, science, and finance.

Commentary

All first-time freshman applicants apply to the McCombs School of Business as undeclared. UT McCombs students select their major after freshman year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have your eye on a program as an applicant.

It’s common for students to be torn between pursuing STEM studies, especially in computer science or engineering, and wanting to obtain practical business skills widely applied across many industries. The Science and Technology Management (STM) program is a newer major that fulfills the need for interdisciplinary studies that supply engineers with business skills and visa versa.

Although the above applicant is applying undeclared like everyone else, their experiences and interests align perfectly with this program. They reference varied business and science leadership experiences and also identify a few UT courses that match their interest. It’s also an effective example of how you can incorporate a few sentences about Why UT Canfield Business Honors into your response where they eventually gained admission.

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Data Science

For my eighth-grade year-long school project, I analyzed data from the March Madness tournament. Basketball is my favorite sport, and math is my favorite subject, so my project didn’t feel like work. I transferred from an online database to an Excel spreadsheet as many college basketball statistics as I could find. After researching the past tournaments, I made predictions. I correctly predicted 80% of the games, better than ESPN’s bracket. I really enjoyed my project, but I had a difficult time seeing its broader applicability.

In high school, I tried Engineering electives, but that didn’t click. Taking statistics junior year reminded me of my March Madness project. I excelled because I love making connections from statistical analysis to make sense of the real-world. At the same time, I joined Business Professionals of America (BPA), competing in personal financial management and financial analyst events. I placed first in each event at regionals, a surprising result for my first competition against upperclassmen with a few years’ experience.

I have an older brother who graduated from UT and works as a data scientist. We talked about different major options, and he suggested business. The digital economy depends on massive amounts of data for all aspects of its operations from supply chain, marketing, product development, and sales. Business analytics fits perfectly with my strengths and interests.

I enjoy creating things, so using data to develop models and provide solutions sounds fulfilling. In a digital, fast-paced world, businesses are increasingly STEM-oriented. After receiving my 5 in AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics, I have the skills to succeed. I’ve recently joined Clear Lake Marketplace, where we simulate trading stocks. I conduct independent study to explore my interests further. I also founded a statistics-oriented club. We handle stats for sports teams at our schools and provide data for our yearbook committee.

After developing my quantitative abilities, I want to pursue a Master’s in business analytics or information systems. I appreciate that McCombs allows students to declare a major after taking BA 101 freshman. I’m excited to see which path will allow me to pursue my interests best.

Commentary

This McCombs applicant takes a scattershot approach to articulating their fit for McCombs by citing a variety of different experiences and influences. Some short answers will share a single story that highlights their interest while others, like this student, cover broad territory. They reference their interests in sports analytics, competing in BPA, an older brother who graduated from McCombs, relevant academic and extracurricular activities, and citing how they appreciate that they don’t need to declare a major upfront.

Perhaps the most effective part of their essay is considering one potential path (engineering) and eliminating it from their list of possible future studies. An excellent way to communicate that you want something is to present and dismiss other pathways or options, so if you’re unsure what you want to study, you can propose a few things you’ve tried that maybe didn’t click. This applicant gained admission to Business Honors.

Cosmetic Surgery/Pre-Med

I crept down the stairs, careful not to wake my parents. The coast was clear. I tiptoed to my piano, reduced the volume to a mere whisper, started the metronome, and got to work.

Just a few minutes before, I had been watching a Snapchat story where plastic surgeon Dr. Miami performs an abdominoplasty (a tummy tuck). That afternoon, I practiced softball. Since middle school, I’ve identified as Renaissance (Wo)man by indulging my interests widely. Why limit myself to just math, fashion, or law?

I had been something of a dilettante, dabbling in photography here and Python there until I competed in DECA. Early competitions encouraged me that this was my thing. My partners and I finalized at the DECA International Career Development Conference. We earned top 20 in the world for our research paper on a retail store. We started from nothing, yet we created something worthy of international recognition in front of 20,000 people.

I want to earn a business degree and receive my MD. After graduating from medical school, I hope to work for an established cosmetic surgeon to gain experience and network with other medical professionals. My long-term ambition is to start my own plastic cosmetic surgery practice.

Cosmetic surgery is ideal for me because it’s rarely life and death; surgeries are planned and expected; it provides a healthy work/life balance. It’s also more than just helping people feel good. Plastic surgery can transform one’s sense of self. It appeals to me because of a focus on aesthetics and building interpersonal relationships.

When I was twelve, my best friend and I designed clothes to sell on an online Etsy shop. I’ve watched fashion shows and made clothes ever since. Through this passion, I have developed an admiration for and sharp eye to the aesthetically pleasing. Cosmetic surgery combines medicine and art. Cosmetic surgery is usually optional, so I need skills with marketing, maintaining client relationships, and accounting.

A McCombs degree with the Pre-Medical track at UT Austin will equip me with the skills essential to achieving my long term career goal of running my own medical practice. I intend to pursue a Business of Healthcare Certificate to prepare for my future career.

Commentary

Another approach to discussing why you’re applying to your first-choice major is to consider possible career opportunities and options following graduation. Previously, UT required students to discuss their career goals in a short answer, but they changed it to first-choice major starting in Fall 2020. Still, you have the option to share how UT can help you achieve your professional goals.

This applicant does an effective job communicating how a business education will help them start their own cosmetic surgery business in the future. It’s a nice example of the handful of McCombs applicants who also want to pursue pre-med. UT is even offers a Business of Healthcare Certificate that might interest medically-minded yet business savvy applicants.

Even if the student doesn’t pursue medical school or longer-term goals regarding cosmetic surgery, they clearly demonstrate with evidence and examples how they have already explored their interests. College applications are not a contract, and it’s sufficient for your reviewer that you demonstrate that you’ve made some effort to explore your interests.

I also like this essay because the applicant deploys an attention-catching introduction that allows their charm and personality to shine. A few sentences dedicated to a story can help provide a foundation to weave your varied discussions about how your life experiences inform your future studies and a few beliefs about the world.

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Fashion Executive

I spent a lot of time in the “art-closet” under the stairs at my house. It was my haven. For hours on end, I plucked various fabrics from the bin and created a work of art for my little sister to show off with pride. My mind flooded with ideas that I converted into an over-the-shoulder dress with gold stitching and a rhinestone belt, my greatest creation. I dragged my parents into the living room for fashion shows with colored lights and funky music for effect. Seeing my creation move and walk in a small setting burnished the idea of a fashion career in my mind. I wanted to spend my life in the fashion industry.

I’ve also been surrounded by business my whole childhood. My father is a CFO, and my mom is a business-executive assistant. Watching my father build tech-startups from the ground up and listening to their work chatter about mergers and acquisitions sparked my interest. My dad is always patient with my many questions. I’ve learned the ins and outs of business management and finance. I’m good enough with numbers and statistics, but my true passion is art. I think it’s possible to combine both.

The University of Texas at Austin offers world-class professors and programs where I can learn, work, and thrive. My dream job is being a global business executive for a major fashion label. I need business skills to make this happen. I also intend to take Textiles and Apparel electives and art classes for non-majors. I hope to contribute to UT’s annual Fashion Show at the Frank Erwin Center.

The McCombs Business School’s approach allows me to explore each facet of business to eventually chose one for my final major. I audited a business law class with Professor Robert Prentice where we spent the day learning about Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The class was absolutely fascinating. I enjoyed sitting with so many diverse students that all added their own twist to the class through their questions and responses. I’m confident that McCombs Business will prepare me for a fantastic career in the fashion industry.

Commentary

Some prospective UT applicants are disappointed that they don’t offer a dedicated Fashion Merchandising or related major that explicitly combines fashion with business. The closest major is Textiles and Apparel in the College of Natural Sciences, and although it’s one of the coolest and least well-known UT majors, it’s a lab-sciences based degree and may not appeal to everyone.

Instead, this artistically inclined applicant modified their first-choice major short answer to address how a McCombs degree can help them achieve their goals of working in the fashion industry. Their opening paragraph is an excellent example of sharing your ambitions without referencing something from your resume. Revisiting your childhood is a great way to illustrate your ambitions and interests.

Indeed, this applicant had very few business-specific activities on their resume, so they needed to take a less conventional approach to articulate their fit for studying business. They’ve also done a nice job incorporating Why UT statements and how they see themselves participating on campus.

Another angle in this students application is Plan II. Although they don’t discuss Plan II here, their Honors short answer concerned the Fast Fashion industry, so their major short answer sets up well their honors essay. Ideally, all parts of your application support one another in making the most persuasive arguments possible about why you deserve a space at UT-Austin.

Finance with a Sports Management Minor

Shortly after my second birthday, I could count to over 100. My favorite character on Sesame Street was Count von Count, and I would get mad if his number of the day were under 10. I’ve loved math since before I can remember. I participate in an accelerated math program at my high school that will allow me to graduate with 23 hours of college-level math courses, including AP Statistics and BC Calculus.

Touring McCombs solidified UT as my number one choice. I found the trading room especially invigorating. Finance Professor Sandy Leeds is my dad’s longtime friend. Our family friend says he’s one of the most engaging McCombs professors, so I’m especially hoping to take his Capital Markets course.

I’m glad that McCombs requires all incoming freshman to enroll as undeclared. I want to explore different courses in BA 101, so I can find the major that fits my interests best. Following a Pre-College Sports Analytics program at Tulane this summer, I’ve developed an interest in quantitative analysis and finance. We explored the critical roles statistical data plays in running all aspects of a sports franchise like identifying best value draft prospects and trades or how social media surveys can boost ticket sales.

As a huge sports fan but a mediocre athlete, my dream job would involve working on the business side of a professional or college level team. I understand that these jobs are in high demand, so I prefer receiving a well-rounded McCombs business education providing opportunities in many industries. I also intend to minor in UT’s Sports Management and Physical Culture in Sport program and pursue internships with local sports franchises like the Round Rock Express minor league baseball team or the upcoming MLS Austin FC soccer club.

Commentary

This first-choice major short answer covers a lot of territory. They begin with a nice summary of how watching Sesame Street as a kid led to taking the most rigorous math courses available at their school, which suggests they have the skills to excel in business classes.

If you’ve visited campuses, it’s a good idea to mention this, not because UT gives credit for demonstrated interest, but so you can articulate how UT is the right fit for you. It’s important to share a few observations or details from your visit, like the Trading Room or being familiar with a few professors, rather than simply saying you visited and moving onto the next essay theme.

Like an earlier sample, they explicitly reference how McCombs’s undeclared system appeals to their desire to explore various interests before committing. Incorporating a brief discussion of a summer sports management camp also proposes one possible route they see themselves taking.

Often, students prefer to apply for McCombs rather than UT’s Sports Management program, which is housed in UT’s College of Education, because a business degree provides skills applied to wider industries. Still, referencing a minor here demonstrates to the reviewer that the applicant has researched their options and making an informed decision for their proposed major.

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Corporate Community Outreach

I want to major in finance and build a career in financial planning. I want to establish a pro bono financial planning company to help low-income families and people living with life-threatening illnesses and disabilities. My health challenges and experience volunteering with healthcare-focused charities makes me realize how a health crisis can cripple families already struggling financially. Financial literacy counseling can help families weather tough times.

Particularly for large charities, wise investment and effective distribution of donations is critically important. In the aftermath of every major natural disaster including Hurricane Harvey, there are reports of mismanagement. I want to help charities manage their portfolios and resources. As far as I can tell, even a city as large as San Antonio, my hometown, doesn’t have firms that non-profits can hire to help them manage their budgets.

To prepare, I’ve excelled in advanced math courses including the UT OnRamps Pre-Calculus Pre-AP program, earning a 99 and three hours of college credit. I persuaded the local Merrill Lynch office to allow me to “shadow” one of their college interns. I also secured a paid internship at Platinum Wealth Solutions. This was the first time either organization allowed a high school student to participate in their college internship program.

I’m interested in the McCombs School of Business Social Innovative Initiative and Capital Community. Capital Community provides financial literacy workshops to children and teenagers. They conduct outreach in under-served Austin communities to raise awareness about predatory lending practices.

I want to take Professor Meeta Kothare’s Advanced Topics in Management course on financial innovation for social impact. I’d also like to join the Texas Stock Team and University Securities Investment Team to gain the tools I need to explore potential career pathways. The University of Texas states that its core purpose is “to transform lives for the benefit of society,” and my finance degree will help me do just that.

Commentary

This student takes an interesting approach by articulating their desire to study business as a tool for community development. Non-profit management is a nearly trillion-dollar industry with over 1.5 million registered non-profits in the US. Their Essay A discussed many serious ailments and injuries they’ve experienced since childhood, so their Major short answer follows seamlessly from their personal story.

Connecting their volunteering experiences with the observation that many organizations are underfunded and overburdened, they identify a gap that matches their interests and skills. Providing context to how they secured their shadowing opportunity signals that they’re willing to reach out to large institutions to explore their interests.

Citing the McCombs program Social Innovative Initiative and Capitol Community address non-academic reasons for enrolling at UT. Their final paragraph referencing a professor and possible student organizations makes this essay one of the best examples of discussing Why UT is their best fit.

Family Lay-off

My mother was laid off at the beginning of the year. It wasn’t her first layoff, but I was too young to remember the others. She was our family’s breadwinner, and her eight months of unemployment strained us greatly. I often heard my parents arguing over paying bills and trimming our budget. I realize now that I don’t want to be another number on a large company’s employment list. I eventually want to be my own boss, make my own decisions, and not have to be dependent on anyone else.

McCombs appeals to me because I can spend my first year exploring my interests before declaring a major. Currently, I’m most interested in pursuing Finance. Math has always been my favorite subject because of my love for both problem solving and working with numbers. Taking Principles of Business my junior year exposed me to the financial side of business. I would like to combine my Finance degree with a minor in Economics and the Elements of Computing Certificate. I’ve enjoyed my Economics and Computer Science courses, which I feel are the skills necessary for finding my place in the professional world. Eventually, I want to master in one of these disciplines.

Upon graduating, I hope to establish myself within a major company, such as Google or Apple, to gain experience and build a network of contacts. Then, I want to use those skills to start my own consulting business, helping individuals and businesses manage their finances.

Austin is a technological and business hub that offers a multitude of opportunities to UT students. It appeals to me because of the abundance of internships available in major corporations such as Dell and IBM alongside boutique consulting firms like Lilly & Company. Earning a degree from McCombs would provide me the connections and experience to succeed in my long-term professional goals.

Commentary

Business degrees appeal to many students because it provides a broad skill set and direct pathways to securing their first job and beginning a career with advancement potential. By sharing their personal experiences about financial stress from a parent layoff that strains the family budget, they become relatable to their admissions reviewer who may have also financial experienced hardship. The reviewer might think “that makes perfect sense why you might want to study business” because these experiences imprint on them the importance of stability.

This applicant didn’t have a ton of business-specific activities or organizations on their resume, but they’ve demonstrated their fit for business by referencing business courses they’ve taken at school and how they relate to UT programs. They also cite related courses like Economics and Computer Science to demonstrate their awareness of relevant skills and interests that match their ambitions. It’s also one of the only samples in this post that references how Austin itself offers great opportunities for internships and future careers, particularly in technology sectors.

Check out my new book Surviving the College Admissions Madness and Youtube Channel

International Business

I would love to build a career working for a multinational corporation with offices abroad. I’m unsure of what discipline or areas interests me most, and I appreciate that McCombs students spend their first year undeclared before deciding a major. I’m excited to explore my diverse interests at UT. I'm fluent in Turkish and English and conversational in German and French, which I’ve studied independently.

On my visit to UT, I loved wandering the upper floors of the PCL to explore foreign language resources. I learned that UT has one of the largest library collections of any university. Studying different languages opens up interests in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. I see myself as a global citizen fascinated in the interactions between businesses, politics, culture, and economics.

In addition to taking two business-related classes at my high school, I’ve completed two internships with different companies. In Turkey, I interned for two months with one of our most prolific corporate franchises, Komagene. They have over 1,000 locations in Turkey and fifteen European cities. I conducted food experiments in our research lab, negotiated accounting with franchise owners, addressed supply chain issues by visiting suppliers, and presented a plan for a new pizza franchise concept to executives including the CEO.

For three weeks, I worked with a school information systems company called CoolSIS where I learned the basics of accounting and financial applications. I used program QuickBooks for company data entry. I learned how to create and read financial statements and reconcile accounts with the manager.

At UT, I intend to take advantage of internship fairs and McCombs professional counseling resources. I’m interested in studying abroad in immersion programs that will allow me to build on my existing French or German skills while expanding my professional network. I would love to serve as an ambassador for international students studying abroad through Planet Longhorn.

Commentary

This applicant experienced one of the more harrowing journeys of any student I’ve ever worked with. You can read their Essay A, the fourth one in this post, for more background. They overcame tremendous hurdles and barriers to excel at their new high school after being uprooted from their home country. Instead of focusing on their adversity as a downside, they leveraged their language skills and international experiences as a positive in their application.

Their essay also has one of the strongest examples of how a substantive internship can help you articulate your future ambitions by citing specific roles and responsibilities in your work place. Students sometimes ask if internships help or if they’re necessary to be competitive. Merely having a resume bullet point isn’t going to do much for you. The context matters. It’s clear their internship involved tasks normally reserved for full-time adult employees.

Undoubtedly, this was one of the more unique short answer responses their admissions reviewer would have come across. Few students could seriously say they’re excited about UT’s libraries, but it’s believable here for a student that was denied opportunities as a teenager and certainly won’t take a UT education for granted. They eventually received a nearly full-ride for UT-Austin, and I couldn’t imagine a more deserving student that assuredly contributes to the Forty Acres.

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