Re: Calling all Wharton 2008 applicants
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29 Aug 2007, 12:25
Okay, I am officially starting working on the Wharton application now. The clear-admit essay analysis:
Wharton Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008
Wharton’s made a change to their standard format this year; the school now poses three required questions and asks applicants to choose one more from two options, as opposed to the previous two-required, two-applicant’s-choice model of the past few years. It’s often interesting to pay attention to these shifts, as they’re often an indicator of what sort of information the school is seeking to extract from applicants.
Essay 1: Describe your career progress to date and your future short-term and long-term career goals. How do you expect a Wharton MBA to help you achieve these goals, and why is now the best time for you to join our program? (1,000 words)
The school’s career goal essay has remained fairly constant from year to year, and the thousand word limit provides applicants with a good deal of room to work with in describing their professional progress and aspirations, and their motivation for pursuing an MBA. One thing to note is the strong emphasis on the “why now” element of the prompt, which indicates that the timing of the application with respect to one’s current job and future plans will be a very important idea to address.
Essay 2: Describe a failure or setback that you have experienced. What role did you play and what did you learn about yourself? (500 words)
While Wharton has been asking a failure-themed question for several years running, this particular inquiry is identical to last year’s essays. The adcom clearly acknowledges that no one is perfect, and seeks a perspective on each prospective student beyond his or her success, wondering about an applicant’s maturity (as evidenced by ability to learn from mistakes and handle disappointment) in addition to his or her achievements. The range of potential topics is rather broad here (previous versions of the failure essay limited responses to teamwork examples), with the wording leaving applicants open to discussing a topic from the professional, academic or extracurricular realm.
As is always the case, it’s important to focus on the positive elements of this scenario. A sound approach to any essay that explicitly asks applicants to recount a time when things went less than well is to summarize the failure itself briefly, spending the bulk of the essay relating his or her response and lessons learned. Also along these lines, rather than commenting that he or she learned about a weakness as a result of the failure, it would be ideal for an applicant to select a situation in which something positive was discovered due to the response. This is not to say that your essay should fall into the trap of merely being a ‘veiled success’ (a failure that isn’t really a failure at all); however, it is important to demonstrate positive growth and the learning experience that can come from missing the mark.
Essay 3: Tell us about a situation in which you were an outsider. What did you learn from the experience? (500 words)
This is a new question for Wharton, and an unusual b-school essay in general. Rather than asking about the applicant’s interactions with others as part of a cohesive team or in a recognized leadership role, a popular focus of MBA application essays, Wharton is here concerned with how a candidate has handled the experience of being on the outside of a group. As for the motivation, the school might be looking to learn about the applicant’s ability to adapt and proactively integrate into a group, or simply to navigate a less than supportive environment. While teamwork is a key element of an MBA education, survival and leadership in the business world may also require the ability to stand alone.
This essay is somewhat similar to INSEAD’s question about culture shock, and an experience traveling or working abroad could make a great topic, but the scope of potential subjects is much broader. While one could certainly be an outsider with respect to population and setting, one could also stand outside of a group with respect to role, purpose, values or opinion. Centering the essay on a story or event rather than just the circumstance might be a way to engage the reader and lend direction to the narrative, illustrating your actions in addition to your lessons.
Essay 4: Please Complete One Of The Following Two Questions:
4.1. Where in your background would we find evidence of your leadership capacity and/or potential? (500 words)
4.2. Is there anything about your background or experience that you feel you have not had the opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee in your application? If yes, please explain. (500 words)
Which of these two essays will be best to answer will depend on the subjects of the three required responses. The leadership potential essay seems to call for a several-item inventory of leadership successes, whereas the more general second option might lend itself a bit better to an anecdote about a certain topic. If opting to answer the first question, remember that it’s better to show rather than tell - it would be beneficial to relate a handful of illustrative anecdotes rather than glossing over a number of roles and achievements. There’s room for a longer leadership story in the second option, as well as for a more open-ended discussion of a significant extracurricular involvement, or an element of your background that has shaped who you are. A good approach might be to complete the required essays, and then reflect carefully on your candidacy to determine what’s missing from the picture, keeping in mind the importance of leadership examples. This exercise will likely draw out which format and what subject matter will complete your application
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