2. Tell us three setbacks you have faced. (600 words) Last season, HBS posed questions asking candidates to discuss a single mistake they had made and a single frustration they encountered, so this focus on things going less-than-well for the applicant isn’t too far afield from the adcom’s established interests. The requirement that candidates discuss three distinct setbacks, meanwhile, is a new element of the HBS application. With this new question, the adcom seems to acknowledge that disappointments are inevitable, and to signal an interest in applicants who are able to consistently regroup and forge ahead, learning lessons from negative experiences along the way. Unlike a failure or a mistake, in which the fault typically lies with the applicant, the cause of a setback can be something external; for example, a serious illness or injury that took one off track in a graduate degree program, or an important client canceling a contract because of financial constraints on their end. This opens up the realm of possible topics a bit, and saves applicants from writing an essay highlighting three blunders they’ve made in their careers. Of course, more “classic” failure and mistake examples are fair game here as well; in fact, offering a mix of examples, selecting at least one example in which one is at fault for the setback, could highlight one’s willingness to accept accountability and learn from one’s mistakes. As in any essay that introduces a failure, setback, or mistake, one’s maturity, self-reflection and insight are key qualities to communicate. Towards that end, successful essays will describe the situation and the setback in a straightforward way, taking personal responsibility if applicable rather than making excuses. The bulk of each example, however, should focus on the steps you took to overcome the setback, or the way you changed your course as a result. Another important element to touch on is the growth or development you experienced as a result. Effective essays will present this growth in terms of thoughts and feelings, while balancing comments about internal reflections with descriptions of more external actions and changes in behavior. Like the previous question, applicants can respond to this prompt by presenting three stand-alone stories, keeping in mind the balance between sharing stories from one’s professional, academic, personal, and extracurricular experiences. With only 200 words per topic, applicants must focus on concisely outlining each situation and discussing responses and reactions.

　　去年，哈佛要求申请者们讨论一个自己遇到的挫折或者犯下的错误，而今年已经升级为3个，这是此次申请中哈佛的“新鲜元素”。同时，adcom似乎承认，失望和失败是不可避免的，所以看重的是申请者锐意进取、从反面的教训中吸取经验的经历。挫折并不同于失败或者错误，错误通常与申请者自身同在，而挫折的原因则有可能是外部的。比如在念书时经历的一次病重和受伤，比如重要的客户由于自身原因突然取消了之前的约定。这似乎开辟了一个新的领域，申请者们能够不局限于仅仅写在职业生涯中自己犯的3个错误。当然，错误和失败在这里同样是受到认可的，如果可以，可以选择至少一个错误和一个挫折，这样可以更加突出申请者接受责问和从错误中学习的能力。在任何一篇文章中，介绍失败、挫折和失误，是展现一个人是否成熟、自我反思能力和洞察能力的关键。为此，一篇成功的essay应该直白简练地描述所经历的情境和遇到的挫折，并且强调其中的个人责任，而不是一味地寻找借口。即便你觉得例子很散，但是每个例子中，你都应该强调克服挫折的过程和方法。这篇essay的另一个重点是强调经历这次挫折或失败之后，对你的阅历的增长起到的作用。目前看来，可以讲自己情感和思想上的增长，或者再谈些对你的外部行为和方法上的改变。与前一个问题一样，申请者可以讲述3个相互独立的故事，并请牢记工作、学术和业余生活三者间的平衡。每个故事只有200字的余地，所以须简洁介绍情景，重点讨论个人的反应与影响。