-
Target Test Prep 20% Off Flash Sale is on! Code: FLASH20
Redeem
Wharton MBA Essay Tips for 2019-2020
The Wharton School seeks to understand who you are and what motivates you in this set of essays. Beyond your credentials and experience, fit is important. Are you excited to join the Wharton community? How will you contribute? Wharton values diversity and teamwork, and wants a class that will work well with each other. Review our Wharton MBA essay tips, and get to know the Wharton community. You could visit campus, research online, and attend admissions events. Wharton has a specific culture, and learning about the culture will pay off in your application.
Essay 1: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (500 words)
This is a standard career goals question. However, it's also a question about your personality and potential success in the program. Jordan Mock, WG’16 wrote a blog post with three excellent tips for this essay, saying, “Wharton is unique and your essay should reflect that.” Be careful to answer the specific question in this career goals essay. Notice that you are not asked about your professional background or your key accomplishments outright. You will want to focus mainly on the future and what you are planning to pursue with your MBA degree. How will a Wharton MBA help you “connect the three career dots” that Jordan writes about? You have room to add color by using your background information where it's most relevant to your goals. Think about the key moments of your professional life that crystallized your goals for you, and focus on illuminating those decision points rather than reciting your entire resume. Anything unique in your background is always worth highlighting. Understanding exactly how you fit in will help you describe what Wharton will do for you, as well as navigate interactions with the Wharton admissions committee. Consider including specific information from your Wharton research in this essay. For example, mention the Wharton faculty you would like to study with or unique educational opportunities at Wharton. When you address your personal goals for the MBA make sure you are making the case for Wharton specifically. Consider what living in Philadelphia might be like. Think about the many clubs and student activities. Also, research the leadership development opportunities like traveling to Antarctica with your classmates that may address some of your personal life goals.
Essay 2: Describe an impactful experience or accomplishment that is not reflected elsewhere in your application. How will you use what you learned through that experience to contribute to the Wharton community? (400 words)
Wharton is an intense academic environment, but also a strong community with focus on teamwork and learning from each other. As you select a topic for this essay, think about a time you demonstrated your collaborative approach to team problem solving. What have you done that can show how you will contribute to the community? Your contribution to the Wharton community could be in the classroom, clubs or within small group projects. You might bring your experiences launching a new product to your marketing case studies. Maybe you will lend creative ideas to your learning team as you prepare a research project, because you have demonstrated creativity in your past accomplishments. Perhaps you have shown a tendency to teach and mentor others, and you plan to help your learning teammates with skills that they may not have learned in their own past work. Or you might contribute to the Media and Entertainment Club by leading a career trek or bringing a new speaker to campus because you have connections from a prior career experience. Think about what you have learned in your career and in prior academics that may help those around you at Wharton.
Additional Question (required for all Reapplicants): Explain how you have reflected on the previous decision about your application, and discuss any updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)*
*First-time applicants may also use this section to address any extenuating circumstances. (250 words)
All re-applicants are required to provide information that supports your renewed candidacy. The most successful version of the re-applicant essay will provide tangible evidence that you have improved the overall package you are submitting this year. Improvements like GMAT score or new quantitative classes are especially tangible and convincing. But a promotion, increase in responsibility at work, a job change or even a change of goals and mission can serve as reasonable updates. A rejection or waitlist last year is a form of feedback, and may have led to soul searching for you. When you describe your changes make sure reflect your ability to take feedback and improve. Describe how you approached the reapplication process after assessing your own strengths and weaknesses as a candidate. It is also useful to describe your efforts to improve. If you are not a re-applicant you may use this space to address any areas of concern in your application. If you have a low GPA or GMAT, gaps in your resume, grades under a C in any quantitative courses. Wharton cares specifically about calculus, statistics and microeconomics – classes like finance and accounting are less indicative of core quant ability. Other issues could be disciplinary action in undergrad. If there is anything else that you want to explain, provide a brief explanation and any supporting evidence to show you have moved past the setback and corrected any concerns. Now that you've seen our Wharton MBA essay tips, consider contacting Stacy Blackman Consulting for customized advice to give you that competitive edge in your Wharton application.
Recent Articles
Archive
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009