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Wharton 2008 Application Deadlines, Essay Questions & Tips

July 13, 2007 By

 

UPDATE- THE TIPS FOR WHARTON’S 2009 MBA APPLICATION ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE- Please Post Questions Or Comments To The New Post-

 

Wharton 2008 MBA Application Deadlines

                    APPLICATION DEADLINE       DECISION RELEASE DATE
Round 1     11 Oct 2007                                 20 Dec 2007
Round 2     03 Jan 2008                                 27 Mar 2008
Round 3     28 Feb 2008                                15 May 2008

Wharton’s essay questions (below) represent something old, something new, and something similar. This application provides less flexibility than last year’s, but you still have some choice. My comments are in red. 

2007-08 WHARTON MBA APPLICANT ESSAY QUESTIONS

The Admissions Committee is interested in getting to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, candid, and succinct. Most importantly, we suggest you be yourself.

First-time Applicant Essays

All first-time applicants are required to complete four essays, with the option of a fifth essay that may be used to address extenuating circumstances. Reapplicants who applied for the Entering Fall 2006 or 2007 Class are to complete the re-applicant essays. All other reapplicants are to complete the first-time applicant essays.

REQUIRED:

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)

Wharton’s #1 for years has been a classic b-school goals question. This question explicitly asks you to connect the dots between your past, present, and future. Use specifics to highlight your achievements and pivotal experiences in your past. Then show how your future goals developed from those experiences and how Wharton will help you to achieve your goals.

Make sure you address the Why Now part of the question. It doesn’t ask why is now a good time for you to leave the work force or get an MBA, but it asks why is now the right time for you to attend Wharton.

2. Describe a failure or setback that you have experienced. What role did you play and what did you learn about yourself? (500 words)

The second part of the question is slightly different, perhaps clearer this year. In any case, like most failure questions, this is not an easy one to answer. It requires honesty and candor…and a little damage control. So choose a real failure, preferably a few years ago so that you can show how you handled a different situation with aplomb since the initial bomb. Also, try to use this question, and all questions, to bring out a different side of you. 

3. Tell us about a situation in which you were an outsider. What did you learn from the experience? (500 words)

***New Question** This question is about adaptation and interpersonal skills. (Think about Wharton’s learning teams. ) If you have an international setting to place the response, so much the better, but in my opinion the purpose of this question is to give those, especially younger applicants, the ability to show their adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and communications skills even if they have never left their home country. 

4. Please Complete One Of The Following Two Questions:

New Questions. Old Themes.

  • Where in your background would we find evidence of your leadership capacity and/or potential? (500 words)

If you have not displayed leadership in previous essays, choose this option. If you have, you can still choose this option or the next one to show a facet of your experience and background not revealed in previous essays.

  • 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)

If your previous essays show leadership and teamwork, then use this essay to show breadth or simply to reveal something distinctive about your background. Wharton values breadth so if you started a small business in college or along side your full-time employment, this essay may be a great place to bring out that side of you. Or the fact that you are a singer, guitar player, butterfly collector, marathon runner, mountain climber, environmental activist… the list could go on and on. Take an anecdotal approach and let both your the breadth of your experience and your individuality shine through.

OPTIONAL:

5. If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, TOEFL waiver request, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application). (250 words)

Re-applicant Essays

Reapplicants are required to complete three essays, with the option of a fourth essay that may be used to address extenuating circumstances. (Please note: re-applicants essays are for Fall 2006 or Fall 2007 applicants only. Reapplicants from prior years are to complete the first-time applicant essays).

REQUIRED:

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? How has your candidacy improved since the last time you applied? (1,000 words)

2. Tell us about a situation in which you were an outsider. What did you learn from the experience? (500 words)

3. Please Complete One Of The Following Two Questions:

  • Where in your background would we find evidence of your leadership capacity and/or potential? (500 words)
  • 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

OPTIONAL:

4. If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, TOEFL waiver request, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application). (250 words)

If you are a reapplicant<
/a> you need to focus on recent activities and ensure that this application addresses issues raised in the feedback session you should have had. Don’t simply submit your essays from last year; they didn’t work last year, and they are less likely to work this year. Show growth, more responsibility, more impact, and more maturity this time around.

If you are aiming towards round 1 deadlines, now is a great time for you to start on your Wharton application essays, as well as the essays for the other b-schools that have published 2008 MBA essay questions. Not only will you really be ready when those deadlines roll around, you can save 10% on Accepted’s (non-rush) MBA essay editing and advising services as well as our Wharton Comprehensive Packages if you purchase on or before July 31.

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  • obsessedwithMBA

    Hi Linda

    I have a query on the third question in the Wharton application – the new "Outsider" essay

    How different is this question from the standard Culture shock Q by Insead.. Your advice here is to reflect on the cultural sensitivities/adaptation process in a new surrounding… international setting.. but i dont know whether this reflection is an end itself – highlighting the adjustment process or a means to an end where you are trying to make a change in an "outsider" context… The word outsider seems to demand some level of conflict

    Pls help.. am really stuck..

    Thanks

  • Linda Abraham

    I think this is a broader question than INSEAD’s and gives the applicant more latitude. You could be an outsider in your home town, if you change. Being an outsider is a state of mind not necessarily geography. To me the word outsider implies adjustment and adaptation, not necessarily conflict.

    I don’t think for purposes of this question that you have to be making a change as an outsider. The change may be internal and is a result of the reflection. You may decide that something you took for granted is worth giving up in order to better fit in. You may decide that you will maintain your outsider status because of certain values you hold dear.

    Whatever route you take, the essence of the question, is what did you learn?

    I hope this helps. Don’t read too much into the question. Tell your story and the lessons you learned.

    Good luck!

  • X

    Where can I find the Recommender Questions for Wharton MBA Application?

  • Linda Abraham

    It’s available in the online application site: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=UPENN-GSB

    Good luck!

  • Luca Kletante

    Linda,
    I have been reading your essays for months and I now have a question in turn, regarding Wharton’s #3:

    There are 2 definitions (1A & 1B are similar) of outsider possible:

    1A) One who is excluded from a party, association, or set.
    1B) One who is isolated or detached from the activities or concerns of his or her own community.
    2)A contestant given little chance of winning; a long shot

    How do we know which one to pick because it makes a lot of difference! I see you have opted for 1A/1B in your comments…

    Thanks for the huge help you provide to applicants!

    Best,

    Luca

  • Linda Abraham

    I have opted for 1A/1B. I’m not familiar with that meaning of "outsider." There is a difference between an "outside chance," which would conform with your #2 and an "outsider." I’m afraid that if you go that route, you may go into the area of not answering the question asked.

    Between 1A and 1B, go with the option that allows you to best present yourself.

    Good luck!

  • X

    Linda, when can we expect to see the chat transcript for the Wharton Chat with Thomas Caleel on 20th Sept…

  • Linda Abraham

    End of next week. Thanks for your interest.

  • mba_scout

    Regarding the outsider essay,
    I was wondering, if the situation when I left my own thriving professional practice to join a bigger professional practice in order to gain better experience count me as an outsider to the firm, initially?
    Or observing the way a another guy interacted with his team, count as an outside experience
    thanks for your comments

  • X

    Linda, pls post the Transcript of Wharton chat held on 20 Sept.

  • http://RegardingEssay4.aevidenceofleadershipcapacity MBA2008

    Linda,

    In essay 4.a, do you think it is good to talk about a single experience that shows leadership potential or list all the experiences since my college.

    Thanks,
    MBA2008

  • Linda Abraham

    mba-scout,

    Certainly joining a new firm could initially make you feel like an outsider. I don’t see how the other example could work because the question asks about your experience as an outsider and the second example you give above is about someone else.

    Good luck!

  • Linda Abraham
  • Linda Abraham

    It depends how many "all" is. Given the 500-word limit, I suggest you focus on 1-3 of your most impressive leadership experiences.

  • smb

    Hello,

    I am a reapplicant for Fall 2008. From the online application essays, I see that we need to answer 3 questions. On the third question, we have a choice between the following:

    3. Please Complete One Of The Following Two Questions:

    Where in your background would we find evidence of your leadership capacity and/or potential? (500 words)

    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)

    I was told that, as a reapplicant, we are encouraged to answer both questions if we feel that there is "other" information I haven’t had a chance to convey to the adcom, and I was wondering if this was really the case. I would like to answer the question, but I do not want to seem like I am not following instructions.

    Can you pls advice?

  • Tarun Vatwani

    Hi Linda,

    Regarding the outsider essay, would it make sense to detail an account of working with a customer? Why I felt outsider was because of the behavior of the staff, people outside the office and my inability to communicate owing to language problems.

    Please advise.

    Regards,

    Tarun Kumar Vatwani

  • Linda Abraham

    smb,

    If this information is info you got from Wharton, then you can rely on it and take advantage of it. If you got it from another applicant, then confirm it with Wharton either by emailing them or asking the question on their student2student board.

    Good luck!

  • Linda Abraham

    Tarun,

    That could work, but the details and how you handle the topic will make it or break it.

    Good luck!

  • Raul

    Hi Linda,
    I had a post on here, but it was deleted. Was there something that needed to be removed? Any feedback on my questions would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you

  • Linda Abraham

    Rahul,

    I must ask you to repost. I deleted it by accident before reading it while cleaning out some spam. Sorry!

  • Raul

    Hi Linda,
    I think I am ok with Essay 2 now. My concern is with Essay 4. Do you recommend that the leadership event take place within the workplace? I have one which is within a volunteer group that I was a director for.

    Thanks!

  • Ming

    Hi Linda,
    My post must also have been deleted. I am inquiring about Essay3. Do you think it would ok to highlight that I feel that I have always been an outsider in some form (minority, work abroad, youngest in industry forums, etc) and how I still thrive? Or would it be best to focus on one particular situation?

  • Sonia

    Hi Linda,

    Your feedback is tremendously useful. Thank you!
    Quick question re Outsider essay: I am thinking of one of two extra curricular activities where I had to work with groups of people with different social and cultural background. Would that work?

  • Linda Abraham

    Raul,

    That would depend on the rest of your application. If your other essays demonstrate leadership on the job (assuming you can do so) and are very professionally oriented, then I would definitely recommend you use this essay to show another side of yourself, a willingness to contribute, and the fact that you lead even when others are not paid to follow.

    If on the other hand, your essays speak a lot of other curricular activities and you have a good leadership experience in a professional setting, I might advise the exact opposite.

    It all depends on your story, the context for this essay.

    Good luck!

  • Linda Abraham

    I think it would be best to focus on one experience. The question ask for "a situation."

    Good luck!

  • Linda Abraham

    Sonia,

    You’re welcome, and thanks for the feedback. It sounds like either one of your situations would work. The details of your response will make the essay.

    Good luck!

  • Raul

    Hi Linda,
    Thanks for the great feedback. I have actually decided to opt with Essay4b – I think I have enough professional/leadership coming out in the other essays.

    Thanks!

  • Amy Patel

    Hi Linda,
    For the Failure question, I have stated the failure, what I did to fix it, and what I learned about myself. Do I also have to talk about another more recent incident where I applied what I learned?
    Thanks!!

  • Amy Patel

    Hi Linda,
    For the outsider question, is it alright to use your first international experience that happened when you were 16 years old, and how what you learned affects you now? Do you have to say how specifically it affects you now with examples? Thanks so much!

  • Linda Abraham

    Amy,

    Regrading your question about the failure essay, you are not required to provide later examples, but they are an effective means to show that you have really learned those lessons and put them into practice.

    Regarding the outsider question, my answer is very similar. Particularly if you are using an example from 5-10 years ago, it would be good to show more recently how you handled a similar situation using lessons from when you were sixteen, but the question doesn’t require it.

    Basically both your questions are asking about ways to make your essays more effective and compelling. Could they work without the examples? Possibly yes, but most of them time, they will be better if you include examples to illustrate the lessons learned.

  • Jamuna Lohia

    Respected Linda,

    I need your advice regading my admissibility for the top 10 Business Schools.I am a 41 years old female,working as officer in State Bank of India, a Fortune 500 company and the biggest bank in India. Presently, I am working as Chief Manager. I was selected as Probationay Officer through an All India exam in 1988 at the age of 22. My academic record is good, I was a topper(1st position) through out all the four years of my college and was also a university rank holder(14th position) in Pre-uni class. As we have a percentage score in India, my percentage range between 69% to 66%. After I joined the job, I also did my post graduation in English Literature though the score there is not so impressive. I also did CAIIB (Chartered Accountants of Indian Institute of Bankers). The subjects during my BA were Economics, English and Music (vocal). In 2006 due to my posting in Networking deptt, I did CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) and CISM(Certified Information Systems Manager) exams conducted by ISACA, USA, both in first attempt. Thus, it is beyond doubt that now also I can go through the rigour of MBA study successfully. I have also taken GMAT and TOEFL and have scored 680 and 107 both in my first attempt.I have always felt the urge to study further because despite being a top performer academically, I/my family could not resist the offer of a decent job of an officer in a good bank.My father now retired, was a Sub Post Master in Postal Deptt, a low paying job and I have always studied on merit based scholarships.
    2. Ours being a public sector bank, the promotions are not based on performance and the employees in a particular scale become eligible for exam for the next promotion after 5 or 6 years upto scale V and I am in scale IV since 2005. Thus, I have been promoted by and large in time and I had scored 98.67 percentile in my last promotion in 2005. I have been a very good performer, a hardworking and honest employee/individual and have always got transfers to the higher offices of our bank, at present I am working in our Central Office since 2002.I have been engaged in community work since my college days, sometimes helping my classmates clear the one course and pass the compartment exams,now I am visiting one blind school and spend time with the children, distribute meals and for another organisation for the disabled in Rajasthan state of India where I send money for the polio operations of the people registered with them for this. After MBA I want to work for some foreign bank in a high position for about 10-11 years where my capability is fully utilized, as Indian economy is opening up in 2009 for foreign banks, in case my job profile and income in my present bank does not change even after MBA.After that I plan to establish an institution myself either to provide quality education to children from poor background or provide technical skills to earn a decent earning to poor people in view of deplorable education condition and unemployment among youth which is driving them to unlawful activities. I have been engaged with such activities in the past also, though on a small scale.My bank will not allow a good employee like me to be absent for two years to pursue studies in view of the present attrition rate. I will request for 2 years’without pay leave and if this is not granted I will leave the job as after Jan 2009 I will be completing 20 years of service and will become eligible for pension. This is why I want to join a program after Jan 2009 only and because of my passion to establish an institution described above, I need 2 year full time MBA degree to learn the tricks of the game fully. But my age may put the top 10 Schools off, I feel. Please guide what are my chances for MBA Finance at top schools and the names of schools with expertise in Finance.Thank you very much for your patience and guidance.

    With warm regards,

    Jamuna Lohia

  • Jamuna Lohia

    Respected Linda,
    I need your advice regading my admissibility for the top 10 Business Schools in USA.I am a 41 years old female,working as officer in State Bank of India, a Fortune 500 company and the biggest bank in India. Presently, I am working as Chief Manager. I was selected as Probationay Officer through an All India exam in 1988 at the age of 22. My academic record is good, I was a topper(1st position) through out all the four years of my college and was also a university rank holder(14th position) in Pre-uni class. As we have a percentage score in India, my percentage range between 69% to 66%. After I joined the job, I also did my post graduation in English Literature though the score there is not so impressive. I also did CAIIB (Chartered Accountants of Indian Institute of Bankers). The subjects during my BA were Economics, English and Music (vocal). In 2006 due to my posting in Networking deptt, I did CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) and CISM(Certified Information Systems Manager) exams conducted by ISACA, USA, both in first attempt. Thus, it is beyond doubt that now also I can go through the rigour of MBA study successfully. I have also taken GMAT and TOEFL iBT and have scored 680 and 107 both in my first attempt.I have always felt the urge to study further because despite being a top performer academically, I/my family could not resist the offer of a decent job of an officer in a good bank.My father, now retired, was a Sub Post Master in Postal Deptt, a low paying job and I have always studied on merit based scholarships.
    2. Ours being a public sector bank, the promotions are not based on performance and the employees in a particular scale become eligible for exam for the next promotion after 5 or 6 years upto scale V and I am in scale IV since 2005. Thus, I have been promoted by and large in time and I had scored 98.67 percentile in my last promotion in 2005. I have been a very good performer, a hardworking and honest employee/individual and have always got transfers to the higher offices of our bank, at present I am working in our Central Office since 2002.I have been engaged in community work since my college days, sometimes helping my classmates clear the one course and pass the compartment exams,now I visit one blind school and spend time with the children, distribute meals and for another organisation for the disabled in Rajasthan state of India where I send money for the polio operations of the people registered with them for this. After MBA I want to work for some foreign bank in a high position for about 10-11 years where my capability is fully utilized, as Indian economy is opening up in 2009 for foreign banks, in case my job profile and income in my present bank does not change even after MBA.After that I plan to establish an institution myself either to provide quality education to children from poor background or provide technical skills to earn a decent earning to poor people in view of deplorable education conditions and unemployment among youth which is driving them to unlawful activities. I have been engaged with such activities in the past also, though on a small scale.My bank will not allow a good employee like me to be absent for two years to pursue studies in view of the present attrition rate. I will request for 2 years’without pay leave and if this is not granted I will leave the job as after Jan 2009 I will be completing 20 years of service and will become eligible for pension. This is why I want to join a program after Jan 2009 only and because of my passion to establish an institution described above, I need 2 year full time MBA degree to learn the tricks of the game fully. But my age may put the top 10 Schools off, I feel. Please guide what are my chances for MBA Finance at top schools and the names of schools with expertise in Finance.Thank you very much for your patience and guidance.

    With warm regards,

    Jamuna Lohia

  • Linda Abraham

    Jamuna,

    I believe you emailed me and I responded offline.

    Linda