Physics wrote:
I have begun working on the essays and am not sure I am directly answer the questions:
1. What do you aspire to achieve, personally and professionally, through the Wharton MBA?
Regarding the "achieve professionally" portion, should the bulk of the text be on career goals upon graduation, or should it be focused on how Wharton will get you there. I guess I am not sure what the focus of the essay should be on:
1) what I want to do upon graduation and flesh that out in detail using the majority of my word count on this (Do we discuss long term career goals as well?)
2) Or do we say I want to be a sell-side equity research analyst at Deutsche Bank focusing on the technology sector and X, Y, and Z are necessary attributes to being successful in this endeavor and this is how the Wharton MBA will prepare me, and then list out specific qualities of Wharton. (In this example, the majority of the text focusing on what the Wharton MBA offers that will aid in our pursuit of our professional goals)
2. Academic engagement is an important element of the Wharton MBA experience. How do you see yourself contributing to our learning community? (500 words)
Narrowing in on the words "academic engagement" and "contributing", do we discuss specific ways we can contribute to the academic element of Wharton such as classroom work, assisting a professor in research, participating in school run programs? I guess I am not sure if taking on roles in student run organizations (ie. professional clubs) or participating in the global learning program qualify as "contributing to the learning community" under the umbrella of academic engagement.
Hmm I am not sure I am being clear in my above questions. Any thoughts? Much appreciated
(I did read StacyBlackman piece posted here and found it helpful, but wasn't clear on the above)
Hey Physics -
At risk of getting slammed again as we did in the Harvard thread yesterday
here's some help:
First: There's no one way to do it, and we don't want to sound like we're prescribing a formula. But there's definitely some easier ways to frame it out, and you're thinking about things the right way.
1) Go more with your option 2. Wharton definitely wants to see a good discussion of literally what your goals are, with a focus on the short-term (immediate post-MBA) goal first and foremost. A mention and brief explanation of long-term goal can also be good, but be careful about going
too long term since that can often make the goals seem unattainable or unbelievable. Keep things very practical and feasible, given your actual background. Then, talk about both what you bring to the table - a quick mention of what you have done that shows you're ready - not just as summary of your resume but some specific experience or achievement that shows you're qualified. And the remainder on "why Wharton" with the angles that you described. The details you had on analyst at DB are awesome, definitely keep that.
It's tough to fit all of that into such a tight space but it's important to cover all of those aspects.
2) EVERYTHING that you mentioned is fair game in answering this question. There's even some other areas that could be explored as well. Participating in a club may not feel "academic" but it's all part of the Wharton educational experience, so it qualifies. Don't neglect the first interpretation you've offered though; sometimes people talk only about the clubs etc. and they forget the classroom bit.
You've got more in this one question than we sometimes see in people's first drafts, so you're headed in the right direction, for sure. To some extent, we can tell you not to overthink it - go with your instincts. As we said above, there's not just one right answer. You're analyzing things really well - go with it and see how it starts to shape up for you.
Hope that helps!
EssaySnark
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