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10 Insider Tips for Applying to Military Service Academies

Military service academies have an arduous and competitive application process. They are the most difficult colleges to “get into” because the requirements are more than just academics. 

It takes a specific type of student. 

Military service academies only admit students that proactively seek out the opportunity and surpass their peers. They have to be this strict because the tuition is “free”. Your student pays for it with effort and agrees to serve their country upon graduation. 

The military service academy application process is more complex and anavar time-consuming than medical school, law school, or any competitive program by a landslide. 

With a process this competitive, what exactly will it take for your student to get in? In this blog, learn the general requirements to apply and digest my 10 insider tips for applying to military service academies.

What Do Military Service Academy Applications Require?

Military service academies don’t just look at your academics. They evaluate the following:

• Leadership skills
• Medical status
• Physical fitness
• Congressional recommendations

More specifically, they require a pre-candidate questionnaire, physical fitness test, nomination letter, the actual application, and the medical physical exam. 

Pre-Candidate Questionnaire

The pre-candidate questionnaire is what gets your student on the academy’s radar. It shows that you’re demonstrating interest for that path. Starting sophomore year, your student should fill out the pre-candidate questionnaire. This is really their first look at the complete timeline. Because the application process is complex, they’ll need to approach it with a structured timeline and strategy. 

Physical Fitness Test

The physical fitness test is usually administered the fall of senior year by the high school coach that your student designates. Your student can find the fitness specific requirements on the academy’s website. The goal is to exceed the requirements, not simply meet them.

Academics and Tests

There are 3 areas your students need to exceed in:

In October of junior year, students must take the PSAT. This test is important to see if their standardized score fits the cadet profile. 

Students must score above a 1200 on the SAT and above a 30 on the ACT. They also must rank in the top quarter of their graduating class.

Additionally, students need to maintain their A’s throughout their senior year.

Just like most competitive things in life, academy admissions uses a “point system” to objectively evaluate a candidate’s admissibility. Your student can receive points for activities like:

• Attending a selective academy summer program where they will experience a week in the life of a cadet. Applications open December of  junior year, and they will need their SAT or PSAT scores to apply.
• Attending Boys/Girls State – a mock government and leadership summer camp held in all 50 states hosted by The American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary. School counselors normally nominate juniors for these programs based on academic merit.
• Earning a Girl Scout Gold Award or Boy Scout Eagle Scout Award is a great way to display your student’s leadership skills.
• Attending a sports camp at the academies. Your student will get a better feeling for their sport and to get a competitive edge to the application process.

A Nomination Letter

Unlike colleges and other academic programs, military service academies have a nomination process where you have to get nomination from elected officials like: 

• Congressmen/women
• Vice President

Academies require at least 1 nomination. Have your student apply for a nomination from all the sources they can! Each elected official has a staffer that handles academic nominations. You can look up who that person is on their websites – congress.gov and senate.gov. 

Each elected official determines what they’re looking for – future leaders; they then score your student based on a point system. To provide a nomination to a prospective student, these leaders usually require the following:

• Written essays
• Recommendation letters
• ACT/SAT/PSAT scores
• Transcripts

Your student should start working on their application in the spring semester of their junior year. Interviews are held between October and November of senior year.

Since the nomination is not required for admission to any other institution of higher education, this added requirement often trips a lot of students up.

Need help?   Bright Futures can work with your student to guide them through the process .

The Application

Simultaneously with applying for a nomination, your student will start the actual application to the academy over the summer between their junior and senior year. They complete their application online. The application includes 2 essay questions: one regarding leadership and another addresses why your student wants to attend a service academy. 

Their responses to each question must be concise, under 250 words. We highly recommend completing this application over the summer after junior year. 

Medical Physical

After the academies evaluate a candidate application, they send your student paperwork for their medical physical. The independent government agency that oversees and processes physicals is called DODMERB. This medical physical typically happens in the winter of senior year.

The military service academy application process is a multi-step and complex process, so here are 10 insider tips for applying to military service academies. These tips will make the real difference and help your student excel in the application process.

1. Discern If They Are the Right Fit

First, discern if your student is the right fit for military academies. If a student has…

• Gotten a feel for the timeline and application requirements
• Filled out the pre-candidate questionnaire
• Never-ending motivation

… Then they are likely the right stuff.

However, there are a few other things that are important to consider.

Hard Work and Personal Sacrifices

Attending a military service academy is expensive. If they are only going to an academy because it’s “free”, then they need to understand the cost for that “free” education. 

• Your college-bound teenager has to raise their hand and swear to serve their country
• It requires being away from you – their family for extended periods of time
• It’s a highly selective process that takes effort and commitment to complete
• Once accepted, your student will spend four years with other highly motivated cadets (and there is no early graduation)
• After their freshman year, cadets are paid a monthly amount; it’s not just an education anymore. It’s a complete and demanding career

Health Considerations

Perfect health is a big requirement for the military service academies. If your teen has medical issues, then they may not be eligible. There are waivers that they can apply for, but they’re not guaranteed. 

Chronic illnesses like diabetes result in disqualification. Acne or ADHD medications are not allowed. Corrective lenses are okay; oftentimes, the Air Force will even pay for their corrective surgery – especially if they are in their intensive aviation programs

A Passion to Serve

A huge part of being a good fit for military academies is having a passion to serve our country. 

It benefits a student to have exposure to what it’s like to be in the military. If you or your spouse is military, they’ll be very familiar.

However if no one in your family is military, it may be worth seeking out a mentor. 

2. Don’t Just Meet Requirements – Beat Them

Each service academy posts their application timeline on their website. 

• Naval Academy at Annapolis
• Coast Guard Academy
• Merchant Marine Academy
• Air Force Academy

Plug the application timeline into a time management system – whether that’s your phone reminders or calendar events. The goal is to beat the timelines – not scramble madly to barely meet the  timelines. Unfortunately, if they are late and miss a step, then they will not get in.

3. Connect with an ALO

An Admissions Liaison Officer (ALO) is someone who volunteers for the Academy admissions office and lives in your geographic region. More importantly, they are passionate about helping guide teenagers like yours through the military service academy application process.  Connect your student with an ALO so they can receive guidance and encouragement as they navigate the candidacy phase. 

4. Start Fitness Training Well in Advance

It’s often the case that students are overconfident in the fitness portion of the application process. This can easily set them up for failure. Your student needs to prepare well in advance for the fitness requirements. Their sports coaches can monitor the training and execution of these requirements. 

Be aware, this is a little different than typical sports training. 

There are no rest breaks between each exercise. It’s back to back to back. 

Because of the extent of the exercises, have your teenager start preparing their sophomore year of high school. Whether they work on it independently or get a buddy to work on it with them, they need to own their fitness program. Like with the other requirements, students must exceed the requirements – not merely meet them.

5. Visit the Academies In Person

While we’ve been advising students to go on virtual college tours during travel advisories lately, that advice does not apply to military service academies. Your student needs to put boots on the ground and visit the academy. 

Current cadets guide the tours and will tell it to you and your student straight. During their tour, your student will get a better understanding of what campus life is really about since cadets will share personal stories about their journeys.  

If your student is seeking to become a NCAA recruited athlete, then they should contact the coach for their sport or the athletic director at the academy.

6. Let Your Student Take The Lead

You as the parent cannot show up and tell the interviewer how much your teenager wants to get in. Truth is, that’s going to be a big mark against your teenager. Let your student’s own motivation, actions, and words speak for themselves.

( Listen the podcast version of the 10 Insider Tips on Applying to Military Service Academies. )

7. Highlight Motivation in Nomination Application Essays

The essay for a nomination is a window into a student’s motivation for applying to attend a service academy. Some essay buzzwords and phrases include the following: 

• Loves challenges
• Competitive
• Commitment to ethics
• Longstanding interest in attending academies
• Examples of leadership and desire to serve America

If your student needs help with their essays, our team can help your student. We hold essay boot camps throughout the year that are both fun and productive.

8. Apply for ROTC Scholarships

While your teenager is applying for these academies, do not discount ROTC! It is a military leadership training program run by active duty military on college campuses. ROTC involvement occurs alongside one’s college education. Think of it as a professional or career organization that requires at least one, one-hour class each semester and a leadership lab. Upon successfully graduating from college and the ROTC program, a student is commissioned into a branch of military service. 

Why apply for ROTC scholarships? Your student may not get into one of the academies. Plus, if academies see that your student is invested in serving no matter what, they will get points. 

9. Consider Attending a Prep School

There are several reasons why a student would consider attending a prep school before a military service academy. They…

• Don’t quite have the academic merit, grades, or test scores to qualify for admissions
• Found out they wanted to attend an academy late during senior year
• Need more information, maturity, tutoring, and preparation before diving all-in
• Are a new citizen
• Injured themselves and needed time to heal

10. Your Student May Cross-Commission into a Sister Branch

Being admitted to a service academy, with a nomination, is called an “appointment.” Typically, students get their appointment by April of their senior year. What many students don’t realize is that their appointment does not necessarily have to become their future career. They can request to be cross-commissioned into a sister branch upon graduation.

However, to be competitive for the most desirable jobs, such as pilot or astronaut, students will need to be among the highest ranking graduates. Cadets must keep their grades up. Their future job depends on it. 

With these insider tips for applying to military service academies, your student will be on their way to getting accepted. If you need help with the application process, then click here to learn about our different packages .

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• Dec 22, 2023

Summer Seminar Essays for the U.S. Service Academies

Updated: Mar 31

It is likely your first one for the SAs so make it good!

For most students applying to the summer seminars at the U.S. service academies, the first question I hear is simply, "what should I write about?"

Let's discuss some good approaches for candidates seeking to attend these programs and creating the personal statements required for the application.

Applying to the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy summer seminars is straightforward. USMA's Summer Leaders Experience is easier as it has not historically required an essay. The same is true for 2024. Finally, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's AIM or "Academy Introduction Program" also requires a couple of essays. All of the applications require some basic details, including your full name, your address, your congressional district, your social security number, your activities, your GPA and some other personal information. Each application ends (except USMA SLE) with the essays prompts for your response.

Here is a list of the different essays, either confirmed (C) or predicted (P) for 2024:

USAFA #1  (C) - Please discuss any personal life experience where you have overcome adversity or challenges that have shaped you into the person you are today? [3000 character limit]

USAFA #2  (C) -What makes you a unique candidate for the summer seminar program? [1500 character limit]

USNA  (C) - Please answer the following questions briefly:

Why are you interested in attending the Naval Academy Summer Seminar?

Have you been involved in any STEM-related activities, groups, or conferences?

Please elaborate on any extracurricular activities in which you have participated.  [1000 character limit]

USMA  (C) - no essay is required

USCGA   #1 (C) - Why do you want to attend the AIM Program and what are your expectations for the program? [500 word limit]

USCGA  #2 (C) - This is an opportunity to provide any additional information, such as a résumé . [500 word limit]

With all of the essays or personal statements, there are some central themes:

Each application asks you to list your activities, sports, and awards. Keep this point in mind as you write your personal statements. There is no need to repeat those simple facts. In other words, you listed earning the Civil Air Patrol's Mitchell Award, so move to details that talk about how you earned it and your current responsibilities.

Ensure that you respond to the full set of prompts for each essay. For the AFA, note both the personal experience and how it "shaped you," too.

Focus on your unique story. Ideally, you write a story that no one else can write. Clearly, with a short word limit, that will be challenging, but I'm sure you will find a way!

Let's talk about each specific set of essays . . .

Air Force Academy Summer Seminar :

The limit for each essay is measured in "characters" not words. I have students misread this point each year - LOL! A limit of 3000 characters is about 500 to 600 words.

Most of us are very fortunate, as we have not experienced 'great' adversity, such as losing our home or experiencing hunger. However, you have likely addressed challenges earning your good grades, hiking and camping in some rough terrain with bad weather in Scouting, or winning your first match after your hard work and dedication as a freshman wrestler. You may use these kinds of examples in your first personal statement for USAFA.

By the way, this prompt is quite similar to several that you will encounter later as you apply to all of the SAs and ROTC scholarships so be sure to save your personal statement for potential reuse this summer with your applications.

"Unique" can be difficult to identify. But it also demonstrates self-awareness and helps USAFA understand your motivations to attend the seminar. Some ideas are your personality, attitudes, perspectives, habits, intellect, goals, experiences, relationships, creativity, passion, hobbies, skills (especially STEM talents), communications, humor and/or tastes. Think through each 'area,' and speak to what you 'bring' to the seminar.

Naval Academy Summer Seminar :

As with AFASS, the NASS essay limit is counted in "characters." Plus, at 1000 characters, it is quite short, translating into about 200 or less words. It is little space to include lots of details!

To address 'why' (the first prompt), you may want to include 'seeing' the Academy, 'meeting' staff and faculty, and 'learning' more about a midshipman's lifestyle. You could mention your motivations to be a Naval officer and the career you seek. In short, what inspires you?

To cover the second prompt, be sure to cover your Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics experiences. Course listings are part of the application so no need to list them; however, you might point out projects, reports or other technical work that you accomplished in the courses. Clubs, Scouting, CAP, etc., often include STEM activities so be sure to note those experiences, too.

For the final prompt, highlight leadership, or other impactful ways that you have acted, in your different activities. You will likely 'run out' of characters so don't fret, as everyone has the same limits. Just do your best to be concise.

Coast Guard Academy AIM :

The 500-word limit for these two personal statements should give you ample space to cover the topics.

Address the 'why' in the same manner as noted previously for the NASS statement. The second half addressing your expectations should 'line-up' with the reasons with which you started the essay. In other words, you desire to 'see' the Coast Guard Academy so you 'expect' to have a tour of the campus along with opportunities to experience the facilities as you participate in the program.

AIM prides itself on being the 'toughest' summer program among the service academies so you may want to note this challenge and your desire to be 'tested' by the experience.

For the second promp t, a résumé outlining your activities, sports, and awards makes sense, especially if this list of items is not included in other sections of the application. With 500 words, you will have an opportunity to provide some deep dives into some of the 'impact' that you made (or make) in your different leadership roles. Take advantage of the 'space' to tell USCGA Admissions about your successes!

By the way, you may be interested in my other blog about the Summer Seminars , which discusses some 'nuts and bolts' details of the programs.

I hope this blog helped provide you have some good ideas to use for summer seminar personal essays. Happy writing and good luck with your summer seminar applications!

[ I have many more ideas for your personal statements and essays! I would welcome a chance to discuss the details with you. I offer coaching services to pace and prepare you (and your parents!) for the entire Academy application process. Contact me at [email protected],  503.515.7406 or complete my contact for m on the home page.]

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Home » Academy Endeavors Blog » USMA ESSAY TIPS: ESSAY #1

USMA ESSAY TIPS: ESSAY #1

Academy Endeavors gives tips on every Service Academy essay question…

Here we go…USMA Essay #1 up first!

USMA Essay #1 question: Explain why you want to attend the United States Military Academy and serve on active duty as an Army officer. (2500 character limit)

AE Guidance: First, start with when your desire first began. This will lay the helpful background upon which your desires are founded. Use concrete examples (such as attending SLE, visiting a Army base, etc) to show that your desires are credible.

Next, state 1-2 reasons why you want to attend USMA, and mention specific USMA offerings (such as CBT, CFT, etc) as supporting examples.

Lastly, state your career goals. Research Army officer MOS’s (Military Operational Specialty) and choose one or two that interest you. Then mention why it intrigues you. To tie loose ends, mention a USMA major that interests you (and perhaps will prepare you for that career).

Overall, you want an essay that is personal to you, specific to USMA, and passionate. Your career path should be coherent and your reasons for attending should be crystal clear.

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• Service Academy Discussion
• Air Force Academy - USAFA

Air Force Academy Essay Example

• Thread starter A Lost Soul
• Start date Aug 20, 2012

A Lost Soul

• Aug 20, 2012

1. When did you first become interested in the Air Force Academy and serving in the Air Force? What started your interest? What Air Force career field do you hope to enter? What do you expect to gain from the Air Force Academy experience and how will it help you in your Air Force career? (300 words max) Commitment, service, and sacrifice; my father honorably served in the United States Navy bearing these burdens. “I let the American people down”. –Richard Nixon, 1977. Nixon allowed his own interests to overcome himself; he ultimately failed as president and left an entire nation in pity. However, one’s failure leaves another with the opportunity of success; unlike Richard Nixon, I do not plan on failing anyone. Two of my siblings have attended the United States Air Force Academy and I know the heightened caliber of what many expect from a military college is like no other. A stressful yet propitious environment, never ending cadet management, the dedication to serve; all to help mold young cadets in being future leaders for America. Not only do I like challenges but, I am confident that the United States Air Force Academy will offer these life goals I am struggling to pursue; continual service to the community, an exemplary leadership ability, and self sacrifice. These attainable goals would allow me to contribute to America’s growth and prosperity effectively, just like past leaders have done. I have always dreamed of pursuing a career in the Air Force Security Forces, protecting military property and personnel from harm. Sacrificing my personal safety for the gift of life will bear me the great honor bestowed to those who have passed and served in the military. Refined leadership skills provided from the Air Force Academy will allow me to mentor others in choosing the ethical decisions for life, guided to become the next generation of leaders. The process will be tremendously difficult to achieve however, believing that I have already made the necessary preparations from past experiences in my life, I know I will achieve this feat. Click to expand...

futuremarinemom

Why would you want to use it as an example? It's not even well written.  

As a teacher, I highly agree with Raimius. Write in your own style and voice; it will come out much better that way.  

michigander

• Aug 21, 2012

I feel the intro to that essay is off topic. Has nothing to do with the question.  

A Lost Soul said: Found this on another site. Use it for reference if you would like; I found it useful. Click to expand...

MemberLG said: I am not on an admissions committee, but I am on my MOC's nomination board for a long time. If I read an eassay like that I would have asked myself is this kid for real (in a negative way). - Quoting Nixon, 1977. I think most high school kids don't know who Nixon is. - Comparing yourself to a former President is too much for me - "propitious" - I got two graduate degrees and I don't know what this word means - "life goals I am struggling to pursue; continual service to the community, an exemplary leadership ability, and self sacrifice." Call me a cynic, but I don't often hear 18 year old saying something like this. I second the suggestion of being yourself and writing your own essay. Click to expand...

Raimius said it best. Write your own essay, in your own writing style. The whole mood of this thread goes in line with the: "Should I take this class; should I join this club; should I do this sport, etc.." type of thread. Do people think that the academies are so ignorant that they simply have a checklist of activities and classes and says: "If you fill in the following squares, you get an appointment"? Is that what people think. That the academy really doesn't care what type of applicant/cadet they get, and that they have some arbitrary set of requirements so it appears that they have entrance standards? The same with many universities. How hard is it to understand that the academy wants a well rounded; multi-talented; diverse; motivated; and goal oriented individual? Why do people think there is some magic checklist out there? Do applicants not realize that plenty of 4.0gpa applicants don't get accepted to the academies, Harvard, MIT, Yale, etc... Do so many not realize that applying to an ivy/prestigious school like the academies, princeton, stanford, etc... is no different than doing the JOB INTERVIEW of your life? One of the main questions I ask candidates, and I know many MOC's who ask the same question, is: "WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE YOU?" In other words, what makes you so special; so different; so unique; who contributes more and has the most to offer the academy? (Or yale, harvard, princeton, etc...) If you understood this, you'd realize that the LAST thing you would want to do, is to write an essay or any other part of your application that would sound similar to ANYONE ELSE!!! Your objective is to SET YOURSELF APART FROM EVERYONE ELSE!!! Those who understand this, and realize that there isn't some magical checklist that the academy or high end school looks at in determining who gets accepted; are the applicants who have a REAL CHANCE!!! If I read 30 essays today, which one do you think would have the biggest impact with me? The 27 that all sound the same, using language that I know for a fact the individual doesn't use as common spoken English; discussing topics/facts that I know for a fact they can't relate to; and/or has the typical B.S. that they are trying to tell me what they "THINK" I want to hear. Sounds like the Miss USA contestant who says she wants "WORLD PEACE". Give me a break. Or maybe it's the essays that are unique. That speak TO ME and not AT ME. The one that sounds like the person is in front of me, interviewing in person? The essay that is believable? This isn't rocket science. How many times do people have to tell you that WHAT YOU SAY isn't as important as HOW YOU SAY IT. When I ask a candidate during an interview some Current Event or major event or social question, do you think I really care 1 bit what their answer is? I couldn't give a rat's you know what. I don't care who they think is at fault in the middle east. I don't care what their position on abortion is. I don't care what they think about our national debt. I don't care at all WHAT they answer to any of my questions. What I DO CARE ABOUT is HOW they answer it. Is it THEIR answer or some rehearsed generic answer? Are THEY the one that really wants the military or is it their parent? Did they come up with the position because they actually have independent thought or are they trying to give the "RIGHT" answer? I've seen plenty of 3.9+ gpa students get rejected from the academy and high end universities, and I'll see many more in the future. One good thing is: With ALL the many applications that come through, and many of them reading like CLONES, it makes it real easy to toss many of them aside and then we can spend more time and concentrate better on those that are unique and sincere. If you understand my post, then you probably understand the college application process (For competitive schools) and the job interview process. If you don't understand, then you'll continue to believe there are RIGHT and WRONG applications. That's your problem. We're not talking about WRONG applications that have spelling mistakes, grammar, style errors, etc... Those will kill you too. We're talking about the content. Anyway; you either understand it or you don't. Best of luck to you.  

My apologies if I am deviating from the purpose of this thread, but while were on the topic of the Air Force Academy Essays, I thought I would go ahead and ask my question. On the website for the first two essays, it says 250-300 words, but then it also says max 3000 characters. So, I wrote an essay with 3000 characters, but with something like 600 words. My english teacher said it should be fine, but I thought I would just ask you guys. Does USAFA want really 300 words max or since it says 3000 character max, I should be fine with that?  

If they state requirements, meet them. When you get two standards, and can meet both, you should strive to do so. I don't know if that is a mistake or not, so I recommend you meet both requirements.  

• Aug 22, 2012

I recall meeting the Notre Dame admissions coordinator and they gave us great insight. They had the same thing, but stated that every essay was placed through a word counter scanner. It didn't count characters, it counted words. She stated when the essay went past that word count the scanner stopped printing. The essay was now graded on what they could read, if it ended mid-sentence so be it. Her explanation was that they had thousands of essays to read, and if you could not get to point succinctly it was a waste of the time for the admissions board.' I am not saying the AFA has the same philosophy, but I am saying what if they do? You did not go past the word limit by 10%, 50%, 75%, but more than that. You in essence are submitting 2 essays. Imagine @all 4K candidates submit an essay at the same word count, for the board that is 8K essays, not 4K essays. Think about the manpower hours it will take to read through all of those essays. Basically exactly Notre Dame's position. Again, not saying they follow UND, but I wouldn't risk it if they do. Is your essay of 600 words filled with flowery details, and fodder or is it succinct and to the point? The: I was 6 on a hot summer day in July when I went to my 1st airshow at Mather Air Force Base... Is not going to impact them more than: My 1st memory of the Air Force was before I entered Kindergarten. 21 words versus 12. Same thing...you were not in elementary school yet and attended an air show. Do they really care about the weather or the time of yr or even what base? No. Does the weather,time of yr or base in this instance have any pertinence to the essay, besides adding color? I am not trying to be harsh, but I am trying to state when you write an essay you need to remember your audience. In this case they have thousands of essays to read. Maxxing characters or word count does not equate to maxxing points for an amazing essay.  

When my DS applied we struggled with this as well. In the end he used the 3000 character standard. He is now a C2C. Just our experience.  

Thanks for the reply mom14 and Pima. Pima, I actually did get my essay checked by my counselor who has gotten tons of canidates into the Air Force Academy, as well as my english teacher. They both said that my essay was to the point and exactly what the Air Force Academy was looking for. They did not see too much "extra" stuff that could be cut out, so they told me to leave it alone. I think I am going to go with what they said, but just to make sure that I am doing it correctly, I will contact USAFA tomorrow.  

• Aug 23, 2012

For any one who is wondering, USAFA told me today that as long as the computer system accepts the essay, then it is fine. So, I guess 3000 characters is the max.  

• Aug 24, 2012

There you go, you see you didn't really need our answers because you took the ball and ran with it. That is exactly what the AFA wants to see in a candidate. Nobody here read your essay, my comments were meant to be generalizations, asking are you extending the essay for word count or content? Yours was not for count, but for content. I also stated the part about UND, because many kids will re-use their essays when possible for colleges too. It is important not to assume that when they say 3000 characters, 3001 will be scored the same. Don't assume that the limit is only a guideline and not a hard and fast rule. Part of being in the military is following directions. Best wishes, hopes and thoughts!  

Essays That Worked

The essays are a place to show us who you are and who you’ll be in our community.

It’s a chance to add depth to something that is important to you and tell the admissions committee more about your background or goals. Below you’ll find selected examples of essays that “worked,” as nominated by our admissions committee. In each of these essays, students were able to share stories from their everyday lives to reveal something about their character, values, and life that aligned with the culture and values at Hopkins.

Read essays that worked from Transfer applicants .

Hear from the class of 2027.

These selections represent just a few examples of essays we found impressive and helpful during the past admissions cycle. We hope these essays inspire you as you prepare to compose your own personal statements. The most important thing to remember is to be original as you share your own story, thoughts, and ideas with us.

Ordering the Disorderly

Ellie’s essay skillfully uses the topic of entropy as an extended metaphor. Through it, we see reflections about who they are and who they aspire to be.

Pack Light, But Be Prepared

In Pablo’s essay, the act of packing for a pilgrimage becomes a metaphor for the way humans accumulate experiences in their life’s journey and what we can learn from them. As we join Pablo through the diverse phases of their life, we gain insights into their character and values.

Tikkun Olam

Julieta illustrates how the concept of Tikkun Olam, “a desire to help repair the world,” has shaped their passions and drives them to pursue experiences at Hopkins.

Kashvi’s essay encapsulates a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and the invaluable teachings of Rock, their 10-year-old dog. Through the lens of their companionship, Kashvi walked us through valuable lessons on responsibility, friendship, patience, and unconditional love.

Classical Reflections in Herstory

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Coca-Cola Essay

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Background of the Coca-Cola Company and its operations in China

The entry mode of the coca coca-cola company in the international market- china, the problem of cultural differences in coca-cola company management in china, effect of culture and local language on coca-cola operation in china, reference list.

Coca-Cola is the largest beverage producer in the world. By the end of the year 2011, the company was reported to have bottling plants in approximately 200 countries across the globe. The company has operated in China for about eighty years. The company first opened a plant in China in the year 1927, but the firms were not remarkably successful.

The lack of success of the earlier plants was attributed to problems of managing in a foreign culture. The company’s mother plant is located in Atlanta, United States where business is based on capitalistic modes of management. During this time, China was still operating on communistic modalities of operation and hence the company could not confer to that mode of management.

As an aspect of globalization continued to gain roots in the economic world, China was forced to reopen its policies paving the way for compatibility and entry of more new firms in China. Coca-Cola has taken advantage of these developments to re-enter the country. Serious operations of Coca-Cola in China began in the year 1979 with the opening of a bottling plant in the capital of China, Beijing (Zweifel, 2002).

As it is today, the company has managed to sustain its operation in China with 35 bottling plants having been opened across the country so far. This does not mean that the company is operating smoothly in the country. There are many hatches of management, which keep interfering with the operation of Coca-Cola in China.

Most of the problems facing the company are related to differences in human resource practices, as well as differences in business management culture between the United States and China. The problem of management of the Coca-Cola Company in China is just one of the examples of the problems that are faced with in the management of subsidiary firms of multinational corporations.

Cultural barriers have been found to impede on different aspect of management for multinational firms. In this regard,systems of management in foreign countries combine with cultural barriers to impede operations of subsidiaries (Coca-Cola Website 2012).

Fisher, Hughes, Griffin, & Pustay (2006) observed that the opening and running business at the international levels entail a lot of operations which further complicate the efficiency and effectiveness of managing subsidiaries. Firms often find it challengeable to set up business at the international level because they need to address the issue of cultural differences at the initial stages of management (Zekiri and Angelova, 2011).

This is what Coca-Cola encountered during its first attempt of establishing and running a business in China. It is worth to note that, as long as the internationalization of business is one of the ways of establishing competitive advantage, managing business at that level is quite daunting. This is due to high costs of transactions that accompany other factors of management (European Conference on Knowledge Management, Harorimana, and Watkins, 2008).

The success of multinational firms in foreign countries depends on the modes of entry that are used to establish themselves in the international market. As firms enter new markets, they have to learn the corporate culture that is prevailing in the international market and work on possibilities of adjusting their culture relative to the foreign culture.

The international theory has for a long time been used to explain the paths that are taken by firms as they maneuver in international business (Fisher, Hughes, Griffin &Pustay, 2006). It is ascertained in theory that companies make several changes in order to gain full access into new markets (Mead and Andrews, 2009). These changes are meant to ease the adaptability and workability of the country with the foreign corporate culture in the international business arena.

The Coca-Cola Company is argued to have used different tactics to gain access into the foreign market. This has not prevented the company from facing challenges that are faced in international business management (European Conference on Knowledge Management, Harorimana, and Watkins, 2008).

The Coca-Cola Company ventured fully in China market during the year 1979. This year was phenomenal to international business in China because the country was adopting economic changes to help in improving the economic environment for foreign companies. Amidst entry into the Chinese market, the company faced stiff competition from companies like Pepsi-Cola, which has familiarized with the local business environment in the country.

The situation for Coca-Cola was further aggravated by the versatility of the local market environment in China (Chung and Smith, 2007). Coca-Cola is termed as a benchmark in the international market entry and management. This follows the assessments that have been done on the joint venture approach that was taken by the company to enter the Chinese market (Weisert, 2001).

Other people argue that the success the successful of Coca-Cola entry in China was highly backed by the economic reforms that had been implemented China. Therefore, it can be said with certainty that many factors play out to determine the success of management strategies that are applied in entering the international market. Among these factors are the prevailing business policies in international business destination that shape the general business culture (Mok, Dai and Yeung, 2002).

Chung and Smith (2007) observed that China is a large country that has been attaining accelerated economic growth since the mod of the 20th century. This growth has presented both challenges, as well as opportunities to subsidiary firms in the country. Foreign companies often find themselves in a compromising situation because of the cultural gaps in management as well as a problem in conducting business ethics in a foreign environment (Wu, 2008).

Culture is normally ignored, but it is a critical factor in business management. Culture is complex because it involves many things including language, the general patterns of interaction that are embraced in the country, and modes of establishing business and other relations. Culture is an important factor in international management and cannot be ignored by firms that are managing business ventures at the international level.

In international management, culture has a direct impact in management than the impact it has on a local management. It is difficult for a firm to fit within the foreign culture because of the existence of cultural variations in international business. Being a big country with a large population, China has diverse cultures, which make it hard for adaptability by expatriate staff of the Coca-Cola Company (Chung and Smith, 2007).

This was common in the initial stages of entry of the company in China. It is argued that foreigners have to take a longer period in order to comprehend the business culture of China. The Chinese population is argued to have grown within three main philosophies, which totally affected the way they behaved and interacted even in business. These philosophies are Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Other people considered them religions.

Business behavior has and is still being influenced by sub-philosophies emanating from the three main philosophies. Being a company that was born in United States – Western Culture, Coca-Cola experienced challenges while following interactive principles in the culture of China. For instance, Feng Shui is considered the main strategy that is used to advance and attain success in business.

This philosophy posits that environment influences the fortunes of people. Therefore, business transactions or decision making are mostly modeled around this principle.

The philosophy of Confucianism has made the Chinese develop a character that makes them believe in themselves more than what they do. Chinese people did not believe in entering business contracts with foreigners. However, they have begun doing so because of globalization and the realization of the benefits of international business. While most companies prefer taking a corporate approach in contacting business, this case cannot be easily applied to China.

Multinationals operating in China including the Coca-Cola company are forced to take a people inclined approach of conducting business instead of the corporate approach. This makes it complicated for the multinationals because of different aspects of culture like language, which has to be totally understood thereby facilitating personalized business deals.

The other philosophy or principle, which affects management of business in China, is Guanxi. This principle entails the interchange of favors amongfirms. Therefore, the expansion of business in the country is significantly affected by this principle (Wu, 2008).

One of the important factors of management at the international level is communication and language. Businesses operating on the international scene are supposed to factor this component in international management. Firms experience challenges while adapting to the local language.

This is especially in cases where firms are using expatriate staff to manage firms in foreign countries. Welch, Welch, and Piekkari (2001) observed that language could be a substantial barrier for human resource management. This is especially for subsidiary firms wherethe home country uses a different language compared to the language used in the country where subsidiaries are located.

The case for Coca-Cola company operation in China is no exception because of the vast lingual gap between United States, where the parent company is located, and China where the company has subsidiaries (Coca Cola Company 2010). Companies are bound to fail if thy find it difficult or they take long to adapt to the new language spoken in the foreign country.

Language barrier has been argued to be one of the factors that inhibit the success of multinational companies upon entry into new or foreign business environments. Coca-Cola prefers to use expatriate assignees in international markets and the same applies to its operations in China. The dependence on local languages limits the ability of the expatriate managers to communicate with the local staff working in the firms (Thomas, 1998).

Human resource management pays a lot of emphasis on close and open communication to build positive working relations firms. International human resource management experts are ascertaining that achieving open communication in international firms is quite challenging due to the language barrier (Welch, Welch, and Piekkari, 2005). The foreign companies in international markets aresorting the problem of language in expatriate management in different ways.

The Coca-Cola Company uses expatriate staff in subsidiary management to solve the problem of language constraint within international management. Coca-Cola has been shifting from dependency on using expatriate workers in managing subsidiaries because of the high rate of expatriate failure in international business administration assignments (Harzing and Pinnington, 2009).

Thomas (1998) noted that the high rate of expatriate failure is linked to numerous factors. These factors include difficulty in adapting to the foreign culture within destinations where subsidiaries are located. Expatriate workers also increase the cost of management in foreign destinations.

Costs of sustaining the foreign staff in foreign countries are argued to be unusually high. In this case,many resources are used in conducting activities to aid these staff to adapt to a foreign environment and foreign business cultures. In many cases, full adaptation of expatriate workers in international companies working in foreign lands is rarely achieved. Expatriate staff is deemed to have remarkably little knowledge on how local business environment of foreign countries is structured.

Therefore, they take a lot of time to learn and adapt to management practices used in these countries at the expense of implementing real business practices (Shay and Baack, 2004). Though it is argued that international business practices are becoming more harmonized because of globalization, it will take a little longer to attain real harmonization (Le´vy, 2007).

Fragmentation of business cultures is argued to continue dominating international business (Huang and Evert, 2003). The other action being taken by the Coca-Cola Company in eliminating cultural barriers to subsidiary management in China is training.

The company takes time to prepare staff for international assignments by training them on the culture of foreign countries where the firm is doing business. However, this aspect of international business management enhancement is argued to be ineffective (Berger, 1998). Coca-Cola prefers to use a similar model of business management in all its subsidiaries (Harzing and Feely, 2008).

Harzing and Feely, 2008 observe that many firms are thinking of the possibility of merging these to practices, which entails the use of few expatriate managers combined with local managers. The assumption is that these two sets of managers will learn from one another to propel business. Nonetheless, conflicts are bound to be inherent in such cases (Peltokorpi, 2010).

Numbers of local staff who work for international firms operating in China have been increasing with the increase in the number of international firms operating within the country. The number of expatriate staff has also been increasing but at a much lower rate. This indicates the efforts of firms to breach cultural hindrances in managing firms within China. This trend is as represented in the graph shown below:

The graph of composition of staff in foreign subsidiaries in China

Many firms are opting to expand business operations resulting to the growth of international business. Managing business in the international market is not a straightforward exercise because of management barriers. Cultural differences are the major hindrances of managing business internationally.

The barriers include language difference and differences in modes of managing business. These hinder the management of Coca-Cola Company in China. The Coca-Cola Company is attempting eliminate this hindrance by taking a dual approach in managing its firms in China.

Berger, M 1998, “Going global: implications for communication and leadership training,” Industrial and Commercial Training , vol. 30, No. 4, 123-127.

Chung, M and Smith, W 2007, “The Importance Of Overcoming Cultural Barriers In Establishing Brand Names: An Australian Company in China,” Innovative Marketing , vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 31-41.

Coca-Cola Website 2012, Career Opportunities with Coca-Cola China . Web.

Coca Cola Company 2010, Coca Cola Continues Strong Investment in China . Web.

Harzing, A, and Feely, J A 2008, “The language barrier and its implications for HQ-subsidiary relationships,” Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal , vol. 15, No. 1, 49-61.

Harzing, A and Pinnington, A 2009, International Human Resource Management ,: Sage Publications, London.

Huang, X and Evert, V 2003, “Where intrinsic job satisfaction fails to work: National moderators of intrinsic motivation,” Journal of Organizational Behavior; vol. 24, No 2, 159-179.

European Conference on Knowledge Management, Harorimana, D., and Watkins, D2008, 9 th European Conference on Knowledge Management: 4th-5th September 2008 : Southampton, Solent University. Reading, Academic Conferences Ltd.

Fisher, G, Hughes, R, Griffin, R, & Pustay, M 2006 , International Business: Managing In The Asia Pacific , Pearson Education, Australia, NSW.

Le´vy, B 2007, “The interface between globalization, trade and development: Theoretical issues for international business studies ,” International Business Review , vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 594–612.

Loi, R and Yang, J 2009, “Four-Factor Justice and Daily Job Satisfaction: A Multilevel Investigation,” Journal of Applied Psychology , vol. 94, no. 3, 770–781.

Mead, R and Andrews, T G 2009, International management culture and beyond . J. Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.

Mok, V, Dai, X, and Yeung, G 2002, “An Internalization Approach to Joint Ventures: The Case of Coca-Cola in China,” Asia Pacific Business Review , vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 39-58.

Peltokorpi, V 2010, “Intercultural communication in foreign subsidiaries: The influence of expatriates’ language and cultural competencies,” Scandinavian Journal of Management , vol. 26, no. 2,pp. 176-188.

Shay, JP and Baack, SA 2004, “Expatriate assignment, adjustment, and effectiveness: An Empirical examination of the big picture,” Journal of International Business Studies , vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 216-232.

Thomas, DC 1998, ‘The expatriate experience: A critical review and synthesis’. In JL Cheng & RB Peterson (Eds.), Advances in international comparative management , JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 237-73.

Treven, S 2006, “Human Resources Management in the Global Environment”, Journal of American Academy of Business Marketing , vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 31-41.

Weisert, D 2001, ‘Coca-Cola in China: Quenching the Thirst of a Billion,” The China Business Review ,pp. 52-56.

Welch, DE, Welch, L and Piekkari, R 2005, “Speaking in tongues: language and international management,” International Studies of Management and Organization , vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 10-27.

Welch, D E, Welch, L, and Piekkari, R 2001, “The persistent impact of language on global operations,” Prometheus , vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 193-209.

Wu, J2008, “An Analysis of Business Challenges Faced by Foreign Multinationals Operating the Chinese Market,” International Manag ement,vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 169-174.

Zekiri, J and Angelova, B 2011, “Factors that Influence Entry Mode Choice in Foreign Markets,” European Journal of Social Sciences ,vol. 22, no. 4,pp. 572-584.

Zweifel, T D 2002, Culture Clash: Managing the Global High-Performance Team . SwissConsulting Group, Swiss.

• The Problem of Expatriate Management in Multinationals – Adaptation to Foreign Culture
• An Analytical Look Into Coca-Cola
• The Coca-Cola Company and Subsidiaries in 2016
• Library Budget Ethical Concerns
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What is generative AI?

In the months and years since ChatGPT burst on the scene in November 2022, generative AI (gen AI) has come a long way. Every month sees the launch of new tools, rules, or iterative technological advancements. While many have reacted to ChatGPT (and AI and machine learning more broadly) with fear, machine learning clearly has the potential for good. In the years since its wide deployment, machine learning has demonstrated impact in a number of industries, accomplishing things like medical imaging analysis  and high-resolution weather forecasts. A 2022 McKinsey survey shows that AI adoption has more than doubled  over the past five years, and investment in AI is increasing apace. It’s clear that generative AI tools like ChatGPT (the GPT stands for generative pretrained transformer) and image generator DALL-E (its name a mashup of the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and the lovable Pixar robot WALL-E) have the potential to change how a range of jobs are performed. The full scope of that impact, though, is still unknown—as are the risks.

Get to know and directly engage with McKinsey's senior experts on generative AI

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Still, organizations of all stripes have raced to incorporate gen AI tools into their business models, looking to capture a piece of a sizable prize. McKinsey research indicates that gen AI applications stand to add up to $4.4 trillion  to the global economy—annually. Indeed, it seems possible that within the next three years, anything in the technology, media, and telecommunications space not connected to AI will be considered obsolete or ineffective .

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QuantumBlack, McKinsey’s AI arm, helps companies transform using the power of technology, technical expertise, and industry experts. With thousands of practitioners at QuantumBlack (data engineers, data scientists, product managers, designers, and software engineers) and McKinsey (industry and domain experts), we are working to solve the world’s most important AI challenges. QuantumBlack Labs is our center of technology development and client innovation, which has been driving cutting-edge advancements and developments in AI through locations across the globe.

Artificial intelligence is pretty much just what it sounds like—the practice of getting machines to mimic human intelligence to perform tasks. You’ve probably interacted with AI even if you don’t realize it—voice assistants like Siri and Alexa are founded on AI technology, as are customer service chatbots that pop up to help you navigate websites.

Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence. Through machine learning, practitioners develop artificial intelligence through models that can “learn” from data patterns without human direction. The unmanageably huge volume and complexity of data (unmanageable by humans, anyway) that is now being generated has increased machine learning’s potential , as well as the need for it.

What are the main types of machine learning models?

Machine learning is founded on a number of building blocks, starting with classical statistical techniques  developed between the 18th and 20th centuries for small data sets. In the 1930s and 1940s, the pioneers of computing—including theoretical mathematician Alan Turing—began working on the basic techniques for machine learning. But these techniques were limited to laboratories until the late 1970s, when scientists first developed computers powerful enough to mount them.

Until recently, machine learning was largely limited to predictive models, used to observe and classify patterns in content. For example, a classic machine learning problem is to start with an image or several images of, say, adorable cats. The program would then identify patterns among the images, and then scrutinize random images for ones that would match the adorable cat pattern. Generative AI was a breakthrough. Rather than simply perceive and classify a photo of a cat, machine learning is now able to create an image or text description of a cat on demand.

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How do text-based machine learning models work how are they trained.

ChatGPT may be getting all the headlines now, but it’s not the first text-based machine learning model to make a splash. OpenAI’s GPT-3 and Google’s BERT both launched in recent years to some fanfare. But before ChatGPT, which by most accounts works pretty well most of the time (though it’s still being evaluated), AI chatbots didn’t always get the best reviews. GPT-3 is “by turns super impressive and super disappointing,” said New York Times tech reporter Cade Metz in a video where he and food writer Priya Krishna asked GPT-3 to write recipes for a (rather disastrous) Thanksgiving dinner .

The first machine learning models to work with text were trained by humans to classify various inputs according to labels set by researchers. One example would be a model trained to label social media  posts as either positive or negative. This type of training is known as supervised learning because a human is in charge of “teaching” the model what to do.

The next generation of text-based machine learning models rely on what’s known as self-supervised learning. This type of training involves feeding a model a massive amount of text so it becomes able to generate predictions. For example, some models can predict, based on a few words, how a sentence will end. With the right amount of sample text—say, a broad swath of the internet—these text models become quite accurate. We’re seeing just how accurate with the success of tools like ChatGPT.

What does it take to build a generative AI model?

Building a generative AI model has for the most part been a major undertaking, to the extent that only a few well-resourced tech heavyweights have made an attempt . OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, former GPT models, and DALL-E, has billions in funding from bold-face-name donors. DeepMind is a subsidiary of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and even Meta has dipped a toe into the generative AI model pool with its Make-A-Video product. These companies employ some of the world’s best computer scientists and engineers.

But it’s not just talent. When you’re asking a model to train using nearly the entire internet, it’s going to cost you. OpenAI hasn’t released exact costs, but estimates indicate that GPT-3 was trained on around 45 terabytes of text data—that’s about one million feet of bookshelf space, or a quarter of the entire Library of Congress—at an estimated cost of several million dollars. These aren’t resources your garden-variety start-up can access.

What kinds of output can a generative AI model produce?

As you may have noticed above, outputs from generative AI models can be indistinguishable from human-generated content, or they can seem a little uncanny. The results depend on the quality of the model—as we’ve seen, ChatGPT’s outputs so far appear superior to those of its predecessors—and the match between the model and the use case, or input.

ChatGPT can produce what one commentator called a “ solid A- ” essay comparing theories of nationalism from Benedict Anderson and Ernest Gellner—in ten seconds. It also produced an already famous passage describing how to remove a peanut butter sandwich from a VCR in the style of the King James Bible. Image-generating AI models like DALL-E 2 can create strange, beautiful images on demand, like a Raphael painting of a Madonna and child, eating pizza . Other generative AI models can produce code, video, audio, or business simulations .

But the outputs aren’t always accurate—or appropriate. When Priya Krishna asked DALL-E 2 to come up with an image for Thanksgiving dinner, it produced a scene where the turkey was garnished with whole limes, set next to a bowl of what appeared to be guacamole. For its part, ChatGPT seems to have trouble counting, or solving basic algebra problems—or, indeed, overcoming the sexist and racist bias that lurks in the undercurrents of the internet and society more broadly.

Generative AI outputs are carefully calibrated combinations of the data used to train the algorithms. Because the amount of data used to train these algorithms is so incredibly massive—as noted, GPT-3 was trained on 45 terabytes of text data—the models can appear to be “creative” when producing outputs. What’s more, the models usually have random elements, which means they can produce a variety of outputs from one input request—making them seem even more lifelike.

What kinds of problems can a generative AI model solve?

The opportunity for businesses is clear. Generative AI tools can produce a wide variety of credible writing in seconds, then respond to criticism to make the writing more fit for purpose. This has implications for a wide variety of industries, from IT and software organizations that can benefit from the instantaneous, largely correct code generated by AI models to organizations in need of marketing copy. In short, any organization that needs to produce clear written materials potentially stands to benefit. Organizations can also use generative AI to create more technical materials, such as higher-resolution versions of medical images. And with the time and resources saved here, organizations can pursue new business opportunities and the chance to create more value.

We’ve seen that developing a generative AI model is so resource intensive that it is out of the question for all but the biggest and best-resourced companies. Companies looking to put generative AI to work have the option to either use generative AI out of the box or fine-tune them to perform a specific task. If you need to prepare slides according to a specific style, for example, you could ask the model to “learn” how headlines are normally written based on the data in the slides, then feed it slide data and ask it to write appropriate headlines.

What are the limitations of AI models? How can these potentially be overcome?

Because they are so new, we have yet to see the long tail effect of generative AI models. This means there are some inherent risks  involved in using them—some known and some unknown.

The outputs generative AI models produce may often sound extremely convincing. This is by design. But sometimes the information they generate is just plain wrong. Worse, sometimes it’s biased (because it’s built on the gender, racial, and myriad other biases of the internet and society more generally) and can be manipulated to enable unethical or criminal activity. For example, ChatGPT won’t give you instructions on how to hotwire a car, but if you say you need to hotwire a car to save a baby, the algorithm is happy to comply. Organizations that rely on generative AI models should reckon with reputational and legal risks involved in unintentionally publishing biased, offensive, or copyrighted content.

These risks can be mitigated, however, in a few ways. For one, it’s crucial to carefully select the initial data used to train these models to avoid including toxic or biased content. Next, rather than employing an off-the-shelf generative AI model, organizations could consider using smaller, specialized models. Organizations with more resources could also customize a general model based on their own data to fit their needs and minimize biases. Organizations should also keep a human in the loop (that is, to make sure a real human checks the output of a generative AI model before it is published or used) and avoid using generative AI models for critical decisions, such as those involving significant resources or human welfare.

It can’t be emphasized enough that this is a new field. The landscape of risks and opportunities  is likely to change rapidly in coming weeks, months, and years. New use cases are being tested monthly, and new models are likely to be developed in the coming years. As generative AI becomes increasingly, and seamlessly, incorporated into business, society, and our personal lives, we can also expect a new regulatory climate  to take shape. As organizations begin experimenting—and creating value—with these tools, leaders will do well to keep a finger on the pulse of regulation and risk.

Articles referenced include:

• " Implementing generative AI with speed and safety ,” March 13, 2024, Oliver Bevan, Michael Chui , Ida Kristensen , Brittany Presten, and Lareina Yee
• “ Beyond the hype: Capturing the potential of AI and gen AI in tech, media, and telecom ,” February 22, 2024, Venkat Atluri , Peter Dahlström , Brendan Gaffey , Víctor García de la Torre, Noshir Kaka , Tomás Lajous , Alex Singla , Alex Sukharevsky , Andrea Travasoni , and Benjamim Vieira
• “ As gen AI advances, regulators—and risk functions—rush to keep pace ,” December 21, 2023, Andreas Kremer, Angela Luget, Daniel Mikkelsen , Henning Soller , Malin Strandell-Jansson, and Sheila Zingg
• “ The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier ,” June 14, 2023, Michael Chui , Eric Hazan , Roger Roberts , Alex Singla , Kate Smaje , Alex Sukharevsky , Lareina Yee , and Rodney Zemmel
• “ What every CEO should know about generative AI ,” May 12, 2023, Michael Chui , Roger Roberts , Tanya Rodchenko, Alex Singla , Alex Sukharevsky , Lareina Yee , and Delphine Zurkiya
• “ Exploring opportunities in the generative AI value chain ,” April 26, 2023, Tobias Härlin, Gardar Björnsson Rova , Alex Singla , Oleg Sokolov, and Alex Sukharevsky
• “ The state of AI in 2022—and a half decade in review ,” December 6, 2022,  Michael Chui ,  Bryce Hall ,  Helen Mayhew , Alex Singla , and Alex Sukharevsky
• “ McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2023 ,” July 20, 2023,  Michael Chui , Mena Issler,  Roger Roberts , and  Lareina Yee  
• “ An executive’s guide to AI ,” Michael Chui , Vishnu Kamalnath, and Brian McCarthy
• “ What AI can and can’t do (yet) for your business ,” January 11, 2018,  Michael Chui , James Manyika , and Mehdi Miremadi

This article was updated in April 2024; it was originally published in January 2023.

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