Wharton MBA

Wharton MBA Application Deadlines

Wharton MBA Application Essay Tips

Essay 1: How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long-term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

Quick essay Tips – To write career essays for Wharton MBA program, a very simple structure to follow is

1. Explain your current position and work experience → 2. State your short and long term goals → 3. Skillsets you have acquired throughout your career so far → 4. Explain what you currently lack to attain your short and long term goal → 5. Show how an MBA from school like Wharton can help you bridge the gap in your skills to achieve your short term goal.

Detailed Essay writing Tips – The best and an easy approach to write this Wharton application essay is to break it into two parts:

• First Half – explain “what are your goals and why you need an MBA”
• Second Half – establish ”Why or how the Wharton MBA program is the perfect fit for you?”

First Half – Goals and why MBA?

Start with a strong introductory paragraph on who you are and what are your desired goals from an MBA.

Eg: “I am an engineer with four years of experience in the IT sector leading projects for clients across multiple countries. In the short term i want to transition from a software developer role to a product manager role” 

For the main body, start on a strong note, show what skills you already have. B-schools in general prefer to see strong academic track record, progress in professional career, client management exposure, leadership and international experiences. Highlight some of your key achievements with numbers or awards that you may have received. Show your outstanding performance via the promotions or opportunities to lead or international deputation.

After establishing the strengths of your profile, move on to show how the limitation of your current role and skills are hindering your future career progress or desired transitions. Establish the need for upskilling yourself which can only be done via an MBA at this stage of your career. Talk about how an MBA can enhance your business acumen, leadership skills, soft skills for communication and presentation or provide you the network to grow your career or business.

This sets the context for your “Why MBA” argument. The first half of the essay explains what you already have and what you lack to grow in your career. Lastly how an MBA can unlock opportunities for you to grow. 

Second Half – Why Wharton MBA?

To answer the – “why Wharton MBA” part of the essay, build your argument on 3-4 points which helps you fulfill the gaps in your skill set and achieve your goals. Reasons to choose the Wharton MBA program should align with your reason to do an MBA as mentioned in the first half of the essay.

Ensure your reasons portray a holistic approach to how you intend to gain/upskill from the MBA program. An easy way to structure can be to break it down across three buckets –

• Inside the class – what excites you the most about the Wharton MBA program in regards to the academic curriculum? Is it a particular specialization? Range of Electives? Quality of Professor?  Feel free to name drop a few.
• Outside the class – outside of the academics, how do you plan to make the most of the opportunities available at Wharton? Clubs? Networking event? International exchanges? Leadership seminar? Speak with Alum, current students and find specifics which perfectly aligns with your needs to achieve your goals in a particular industry or function.
• Outside of campus – show how the overall school brand, alumni network which you would carry and be a part of long after your campus stint can help you build a successful career in the long term.

Closing argument

Summarize your entire essay in 3-4 lines and confidently portray how you believe the Wharton MBA program is the perfect next step or logical step for you to achieve your career goals and how you would be a great fit and valuable addition to the class if selected.

For Wharton MBA essay samples, you can also read some of the great essays written by our clients here on the sample essays page.

Essay 2: Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton community? (400 words)

To approach this question, jot down the extracurricular activities that you have been involved with. These could include your passions and hobbies – are you a scuba diver? Guitarist? Theatre artist? Founder of an NGO? Marathon runner? A dancer?

Once you have picked two to three activities, weave a cohesive sto A structure to weave a good story is the STAR methodology. Situation → Task → Action → Result

Explain your background, in this case your passion, to the reader.  Then explain how you developed this passion over time – In due course of pursuing your passion, what were the achievements or results? Did you create value for a group or community? Did you overcome significant challenges? Have you won some awards? Then show the reader that this passion you possess will help you contribute to the Wharton community – through Wharton Student Clubs or activities.

Optional Essay: Please use this space to share any additional information about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application and that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee.

Use the optional essays only for specific reasons. If you have a career gap or are currently unemployed or have a low GPA, only then consider explaining yourself in this essay.

Additionally, you can also use this essay to explain your choice of recommender. It may so happen that you do not want to tell your current employer of your MBA plans and hence seeked recommendation from others. You can explain this to the admission committee if this is the case.

One common pitfall candidates do is to elaborate on certain extracurriculars that they have already mentioned in other parts of the application. Please do not use optional essays to repeat whatever is already described in your application or resume.