Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
mbamission.com
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips,
2022-2023 | mbaMission
mbaMission
13–16 minutes
As a pair, the prompts for the Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania’s two required application
essays essentially ask applicants to describe a kind of give-and-
take with respect to their engagement with its MBA program. For
Essay 1, you must discuss what Wharton can do for you, and for
Essay 2, the focus is on what you can do for Wharton. Your
greatest assets in crafting strong essay responses for both will be
(1) a profound understanding of the school, its culture, and all it
offers and (2) your ability to infuse your essays with a high level of
detail. So, be knowledgeable, be authentic, and be thorough, and
you should be well positioned to submit compelling, effective
essays. In our analysis that follows, we provide more in-depth
guidance on each of Wharton’s 2022–2023 questions individually.
1 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
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)
In just 500 words, you must discuss your career aspirations
—giving sufficient context for why they are realistic for you—and
illustrate how you believe Wharton will help you pursue these
goals by demonstrating a thorough understanding of what the
school offers and a well-thought-out game plan for availing
yourself of particular resources. To effectively do this and write a
reasoned, nuanced essay, you must first familiarize yourself with
Wharton’s various offerings, events, and extracurriculars and
pinpoint those that truly pertain to you and the direction in which
you hope to move. Go the extra mile in learning about the school
—connect with multiple students and alumni, attend admissions
events in your area, read recent press releases from the program
and any news stories about it published elsewhere, check out the
Wharton School YouTube channel, and especially, visit the
campus if at all possible. This will provide the kind of in-depth
insight that will show the admissions committee you are really
serious about Wharton and are confident you belong there. Simply
presenting a list of classes and clubs you think sound interesting
will not suffice, and absolutely avoid vague, pandering statements
about how great the school is. You must reveal clear connections
between your aspirations, what you need to achieve them (e.g.,
skills, experience[s], connections, exposure), and what Wharton in
particular can provide that will enable you to fill those gaps.
That said, take care to not talk exclusively about the Wharton side
2 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
of this equation. The admissions committee wants to more fully
understand the vision you have for your future career, how you
have developed this vision, and why you believe it is feasible and
fitting for you (with respect to your interests, work style, strengths,
values, and/or other such factors). In a post last year about the
essay prompts (which have not changed for this season), Blair
Mannix, Wharton’s director of admissions, noted, “We made slight
revisions to Essay 1 to ensure that the question remained
applicant-centered while still requiring applicants to think carefully
and specifically about how they can maximize two years at
Wharton to prepare for their future career goals” (emphasis ours).
Connect the dots, so to speak, between what you are bringing to
Wharton yourself as a student and what you feel Wharton will
provide to complement and strengthen that to set you on the path
to success.
Note that Wharton asks you to address only the professional
aspect—not the professional and personal aspect—of your
business school goals. This means you should focus solely on
sharing your career-related stories and ambitions here and then
use the other essay(s) to discuss non-work aspects of your life,
thereby providing a more complete and well-rounded picture of
yourself for the admissions committee.
In many ways, this prompt is asking for a traditional MBA personal
statement. We therefore encourage you to download a free copy of
the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, in which we offer
detailed advice on approaching and framing these kinds of topics,
along with multiple illustrative examples.
Essay 2: Taking into consideration your background –
3 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to
make specific, meaningful contributions to the Wharton
community? (400 words)
In a blog post posted when this prompt took on its current wording,
Mannix explained, “Our main goal is to get to know you the best
that we can, and the change to our second prompt was largely
motivated by that desire.” The breadth of this essay question
allows you to provide a well-rounded impression of yourself for the
admissions committee because you can discuss multiple aspects
of or stories from your life and draw from any area (personal,
professional, and/or academic), thereby allowing you to highlight
your strongest and most relevant options. However, the word
count is fairly restrictive, so you need to be concise in doing so,
without sacrificing effectiveness or thoroughness.
We recommend using approximately one-half of your allowed word
count to describe your chosen experience(s) or quality(-ties), so
that you have sufficient space in which to then explain how it/they
will enable you to contribute to the Wharton community in a
meaningful way. Do your best to “show,” or really spell out, your
story—rather than just flatly presenting or stating it—to give the
admissions reader some perspective and context. You then need
to demonstrate both self-awareness and, again, a thorough
understanding of the Wharton MBA experience by drawing
connections between this aspect of your background and what you
can subsequently bring the school as a member of its community.
For example, a past project might have given you some critical
insights and skills you could now pass on to your classmates in a
related class or club. Or maybe a personal challenge gave you an
4 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
interesting new perspective on commitment, determination, or
other valuable quality. What is most important in this essay is
conveying how you envision applying the knowledge or quality you
can offer as a student in the Wharton program.
In addition to the suggestions we offered earlier for ways of better
familiarizing yourself with Wharton, be sure to download a free
copy of the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Wharton School of
the University of Pennsylvania, which provides an insider’s
perspective on the school’s academic program, unique offerings,
social life, and other key characteristics.
Required Essay for All Reapplicants: Please use this space to
share with the Admissions Committee how you have reflected
[on] and grown since your previous application and discuss
any relevant updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your
professional life, additional coursework, and
extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)
Thankfully, this essay is pretty straightforward. Whether you have
improved your academic record, received a promotion, begun a
new and exciting project, increased your community involvement,
or taken on some sort of personal challenge, the key to success
with this essay is conveying a very deliberate path of achievement.
Wharton wants to know that you have been actively striving to
improve yourself and your profile, and that you have seized
opportunities during the time since you last applied to do so,
because a Wharton MBA is vital to you. The responses to this
essay question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next,
because each person’s needs and experiences differ. We are
more than happy to provide one-on-one assistance with this highly
5 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
personal essay to ensure that your efforts are presented in the
best light possible.
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. This space can also be used to
address any extenuating circumstances (e.g., unexplained
gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders,
inconsistent or questionable academic performance, areas of
weakness, etc.) that you would like the Admissions
Committee to consider. (500 words)
With this prompt, Wharton is acknowledging that some candidates
have aspects of their profiles that might need a little special
clarification. This essay is therefore your opportunity—if needed—
to address any lingering questions that an admissions officer might
have about your candidacy, such as a low GRE or GMAT score, a
legal or disciplinary incident, or, of course, one of the extenuating
circumstances the school suggests. However, keep in mind that by
submitting an optional essay, you are requiring the already
overtaxed admissions readers to do additional work on your
application, so do not rush to fill this space just because you fear
that not doing so will somehow count against you (it will not), and
also avoid being overly verbose or sharing more information than
is truly necessary just because you technically can. You must
ensure that the admissions committee’s extra time and effort are
truly warranted. If you feel you might have a valid reason for
submitting this additional essay or are not sure if the issue you are
considering would warrant doing so, we encourage you to
6 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
download a free copy of our mbaMission Optional Essays
Guide, in which we offer detailed advice on when and how to take
advantage of the optional essay, along with multiple sample
essays.
Wharton MBA Essay Examples
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)
After transitioning from banking to private equity, I first found the
faster pace and expanded scope startling, but ultimately
invigorating. Shifting from agent to principal, I leapt into formulating
a go-forward strategy for rewardify.com’s rapidly growing
consumer data analytics business and explored a complex
carveout for the payments division of a Dutch online bank. I had
absolutely no experience with either industry, but all that really
mattered was that I could quickly learn, adapt and contribute. Over
the past two years, I have learned to appreciate the “messiness” of
investing and the vast opportunities it offers to create value via
ingenuity, collaboration and old-fashioned elbow grease. I plan to
return to technology investing after I graduate, focusing on later-
stage venture or growth equity in Seoul or Shanghai, where wired
populaces are driving innovations in consumer tech. Meantime, I
aspire to use my Wharton experience to “accelerate my
acceleration” both personally and professionally, refining the hard
and soft skills I need to thrive in my chosen industry.
As I assess my long-term needs, I recognize that to be a “full
7 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
stack” partner to management teams, I must grow beyond the
financial plain and develop my operations and marketing tool kit.
Wharton’s Marketing and Operations Management Major is
therefore ideal for me. Having an undergraduate degree in
mathematics, I find myself guided largely by intuition in these
areas and would take foundational classes like “Operations
Strategy” and “Dynamic Marketing Strategy” to then extract the
most from uniquely applicable advanced courses like “Contagious:
How Products, Ideas, and Behaviors Catch On” and “Online
Business Models and the Information-Based Firm.” Beyond
Wharton’s vast course options, I find the opportunities to unify
theory and practice to be incredibly compelling. The Startup
Challenge would allow me to partner with an entrepreneur and
engage in the entrepreneurial process, thereby making me a more
operationally oriented and thoughtful investor. And a Global
Modular Course, like “Global Supply Chain in China,” will provide
invaluable insight into the world’s most vexing business issues,
while enabling me to expand my industry-related network and form
closer bonds with classmates.
I feel fortunate to have already witnessed firsthand the role my
diverse and dynamic classmates will play in my education; I visited
my cousin Tarek Masoud (W ’19) on campus just before the
pandemic, and while there, I observed his “Managerial Decision
Making” class and attended that week’s Pub. Both revealed a
community that truly comes together to share ideas—and even
laugh sometimes at the intensity of the past week. Being a part of
this warm yet fervent community greatly appeals to me. An
intensive Leadership Venture will allow me to work with peers to
actively reflect on and hone my leadership style, and I look forward
8 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
Wharton Essay Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 | mbaMission about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fround-lake.dustinice.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.mbamission.com%2Fb...
to the awesome commitment and teamwork that characterize the
Learning Team experience. I will enter Wharton with an open mind,
ready to listen, absorb, and share, knowing that by bringing the
entirety of my energy to the experience, I can confidently embark
on the next phase of my career.
The Next Step: Mastering Your Wharton Interview
Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and
intimidating, but mastering this important element of the
application process is definitely possible—the key is informed
preparation. To help you attain this high level of preparedness, we
offer our free Interview Guides. Download a complimentary copy
of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Interview
Guide today.
To learn more about the essays for other top business schools,
visit our MBA Essay Tips and Examples Resources Page.
9 of 9 4/11/23, 8:26 AM
