Breaking down the new wharton essays 2012-2013

Breaking Down the New Wharton
Essays - 2012/2013

http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/

Breaking Down the New Wharton
Essays - 2012/2013

By the Amerasia Consulting Group,
Boutique MBA Admissions Consulting

MBA Admissions Consultant | http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com

Breaking Down the New Wharton Essays - 2012/2013

The new Wharton essays are out, candidates are
stressed, and in reality its going to be one of the
easier applications to deal with this year from a
strategic standpoint.

In other words, it’s exactly like the last three years.


We’ve taken to calling it the Wharton Weave – the art
of taking the usual tenants of a career goals question
and weaving them throughout an entire (and
superficially tough) Wharton application.

In the Summer of 2010, we found that our clients
were really stressed and somewhat confounded by
the tiny Required Essay of 300 words that asked for
professional objectives. We walked them through
how to use the Create a Class essay to place parts of
a typical goals essay and the result was a series of
really clear, strong essays.


Last year, Wharton must have decided that A) they
were making their admissions officers read too many
words, and B) the Create a Class concept was not
being as deftly handled by the majority of applicants.
So out with last year’s optional choices and in with a
new set – from which candidates could choose two of
three. And in with even more confusion.

This year, they have done it again – slightly altering
the goals question (up to 400 words, includes the
“why Wharton” part) and completely shuffling up the
three “choice” essays. It’s enough to make a
candidate want to give up.


Luckily, we have the Wharton Weave solution.

It starts with understanding what must go in a
traditional career goals essay. We don’t mind
sharing the secret sauce on this because we’ve
posted it all before and share it on consult calls
anyway.


But a rock solid career goals essay in a typical 600-
1000 word setup will need to feature the following:

WHAT (defined goals)

WHY (the motivator behind an MBA and especially the long-
term goal)

HOW (the proof that you can get the post-MBA jobs by
pointing to transferable skills – we’ve written about this at
length)

WHEN (why now is the right time)

WHERE (why School X)


For instance, a good Columbia Essay #1 includes all
of that, in that exact order, in five balanced
paragraphs. In many applications though, parts of
that sequence have to be farmed out to other essays.
Wharton – and its 400-word goals statement – is the
ultimate example.

So here is where everything goes:

Required Question (400 words) – How will Wharton
help you achieve your professional objectives?


Include:

WHAT – Define your goals.

HOW – Indicate the experiences that have given rise to the
necessary transferable skills to achieve them.

WHERE – Why Wharton.


Optional Question 1 - Select a Wharton MBA course,
co-curricular opportunity or extra-curricular
engagement that you are interested in. Tell us why
you chose this activity and how it connects to your
interests. (500 words)

This is where you reinforce Why Wharton, but, more
importantly, explain WHY you are pursuing an MBA
and devoting yourself to your life-long goals (which
were stated in Essay 1). As you would (or should, at
least) in Stanford’s Essay 1-2 sequence, be sure to
tether your strongest interests and passions to what
you are declaring as your long-term goal.


Optional Questions 2 and 3 (500 words) -

2. Imagine your work obligations for the afternoon
were cancelled and you found yourself “work free”
for three hours, what would you do? (500 words)

3. “Knowledge for Action draws upon the great
qualities that have always been evident at Wharton:
rigorous research, dynamic thinking, and thoughtful
leadership.” – Thomas S. Robertson, Dean, The
Wharton School


Tell us about a time when you put knowledge into
action. (500 words)

These questions go together because they are the
truly optional piece, in our opinion.

Essay 2 is a fluff ball of a question that we don’t
particularly love, while Essay 3 stems from the same
structure as the “innovation” question from last year
(using a Dean Robertson quote, advertising Wharton
tenants within, etc.).

Whichever you choose, this is your chance to explain
WHY NOW for an MBA.

If you were to follow our blueprint throughout, there
won’t be another shot to address the timing issue, so
the best use of this space is to pick a story that can
be concluded with a realization of sorts – “what I
learned from this experience is that now is the time to
pursue my MBA” or “in fact, the very idea of three
free hours to explore who I am and what I am all
about is further proof that I am ready to embark on
this MBA adventure.”

That kind of language can transition you out of the
specific essay prompt and into a broader
commentary on why now is the right time.


We hope this helps all of you aspiring Wharton candidates out there. Good luck!

If you are interested in our services for Round 1 applications, email
mba@amerasiaconsulting.com to inquire about packages, prices, or setting up a
free initial consultation.

http://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/

Breaking down the new wharton essays 2012-2013

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