Wharton MBA Essay Analysis 2022-23
我的母校 Wharton 華頓商學院今年的 essay 題目出爐了！從2019年新增的第二題，學校想進一步瞭解你能為 Wharton 社群帶來什麼貢獻。兩年前開始，essay 第一題有些變化，但主要還是希望申請者能仔細思考如何善用在 Wharton 的兩年，為未來的職涯目標努力。今年申請時程沒有很大的變動，R1 是9月7日截止申請，R2 是2023年1月4日。
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)
第一題你應該把它當做 why Wharton + why MBA + career goal 的題目來回答。
我相信很多校友都會說，當初寫 essay 的職涯規劃和後來發展不同，但是不代表你就不能寫，加上完全不寫 career goal 其實很難回答到為什麼想念MBA，所以我都建議學生還是要寫大概的職涯規劃；當然，因為沒有直接問 career goal，所以在寫職涯規劃時，就不會落落長的把一堆你對某產業的趨勢、熱情全抒發出來，本題還是比較站在每個申請者的角度，把為什麼現在想念 MBA，而且是念 Wharton 的理由寫出來。
這個理由可能是：學校有哪些資源可以幫助你；你有哪些工作上的瓶頸是想藉由Wharton MBA 消除的；你畢業後、10年後想做的工作，學校可以如何幫助到你。(推薦閱讀：與Adcom有約》Leadership is a team sport！Wharton在找願意為社群付出的學生！）
值得一提的是，這道題目中，學校希望看到你過去的經驗，如何造就你未來的目標。我和智夢 CEO，同樣是華頓校友的 Eric，常常在我們提供的 Interview Intensive Package 裡面，跟學生討論自己過去的經驗，可以總結為哪兩三句，成為好的「自我介紹」，重點要是精準、讓人有記憶點的自我介紹，例如：my past experience in both investment banking and corporate FP&A made me a well-rounded professional who can help a company forecast its financial performance while taking into account the competitor landscape in the industry. 而 Wharton 的第一題，正是一個可以讓申請者，好好先規劃這個「自我介紹重點」的地方。
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)
這一題要申請者舉出一個不在其他申請文件上的事例，以及這件事可以證明你如何為 Wharton 貢獻。這就有趣了，第一題如果是比較實際的職涯發展與MBA的關係，這一題應該就是任何跟職涯沒有關係的 personal / achievement essay 吧！
很多學生寫 Why school essay 都是把學校名稱換掉，就可以投其他學校的申請，沒什麼其他需要更動的地方；但是學校其實都看得出來誰有做足功課，誰沒有，所以準備這一題，你真的要花一些時間研究學校：你如果覺得2018年畢業、以前曾是 NFL 選手的的 Justin Tuck，他在 One for the World（2014年 Wharton 畢業生創辦的組織）做的事情很有意義、很酷，或者 Cindy Liu 修的雙學位 (MBA/MSEd) 是你有興趣，也想要幫助學校發揚光大的，那麼應該舉一些你自己過去的社團領導經驗、志工服務經驗，甚至是一個個人耕耘很久的專長、興趣，來佐證自己也可以像 Justin, Cindy 這樣，為學校貢獻，盡自己的心力讓學校更好。
這一題可以算是一個 behavioral question + contribution question，所謂 behavioral question 就是問你曾經怎麼體現，你是一個有團隊精神的 team player，同時，試著想像 Wharton MBA 裡面，所有的班上討論、team project、社團、會議、job hunting，甚至是 trek 或旅遊，你可以扮演什麼角色。
Why school 的問題不好回答，因為網路上資訊太多，很多學生都跟我說不知道要寫哪些社團、課程，所以有時候我會幫學生介紹校友或在校生問近幾年的學校資源，我也很感動學生有時候還會介紹他們其他的朋友幫忙。
Additional Question (required for all Reapplicants):
- Explain how you have reflected on the previous decision about your application, and discuss any updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)
另外，我當然要鼓勵大家申請 Wharton，過去這五年，大概除了2022年比較少錄取生以外，平均台灣有5-8個錄取生，很開心成為他們的學姊。我跟幾個校友過去幾年在台灣MBA高峰論壇的 Wharton info session 上，都有提到學校的舊金山校區、STEM 主修，都是 Wharton 除了最有名紮實的金融課程外，與別校不同的地方；但一樣的是，身為申請者的你的，essay 應該要精準地講出學校問的問題的答案，要表達 ”real you” – 意思是，希望 Adcom 看完你的兩篇 essay，對你這個人，能夠留下比履歷表的你，更有人性的印象。（同場加映：2019台灣MBA高峰論壇》Wharton讓金融能力成為血液，搭配豐富資源多元發展！）
Wharton TBD Interview
最後，跟大家分享，Wharton 獨有的面試方式 – Team-Based Discussion，5-6個申請者，在面試前會收到類似以下的問題（下列為2021-22申請年度的面試題目），需要在35分鐘內討論、做簡報，我有分享過關於這個面試的文章，可以參考。也由此可知，Wharton 很重視團隊精神，希望錄取者都可以是 an individual contributor, as well as a group contributor。
Prompt:
Wharton recently announced the official launch of Wharton Interactive, a venture dedicated to transforming teaching through interactive games and simulations. Wharton Interactive has a unique team of interactive fiction writers, pedagogy experts, game designers, and programmers. This venture is the first major effort by any university to create a scalable and fully automated platform built on simulations, interactivity, and games with a foundation in the latest pedagogical research.
The current offerings through Wharton Interactive are called Alternate Reality Courses (ARCs). ARCs combine aspects of simulations and games with class-based instruction, and create engaging learning experiences based on interactive stories while providing personalized guidance as learners progress. In an ARC, learners make decisions just as they would in real life, through simulated emails, Zoom calls, data analysis, presentations, and more. The ARC reacts to their choices, allowing learners to practice and build skills in a place where failure isn’t critical — so that they can transfer successes from the course to the real world.
For the purpose of this discussion, you and a few of your classmates have been invited by Wharton Interactive to be part of a team tasked with creating the next ARC course to be introduced into the MBA curriculum. As a team, decide on the following:
- The name of your course and the Wharton department in which it belongs
- An overview of the business problem and/or scenario of the ARC game
- Two learning objectives (knowledge you will gain in the ARC)
- Two practice objectives (specific experiences you will encounter in the ARC, so that when you see them in the real world, you will know what to do)
Format:
- Your TBD group will be comprised of 5-6 applicants, and the teams are randomly assigned. Each TBD will be facilitated by a member of the Admissions Committee. At the start time of your Team-Based Discussion, your facilitator will join the Zoom meeting to greet you and provide a brief reminder of the TBD format and then start the timer for 35 minutes.
- When the timer begins, each team member will share their ideas/reflections on the prompt in 60 seconds or less before moving into the group discussion. Your team is responsible for monitoring the time and ensuring you have at least 5 minutes at the end of the TBD to present your team’s final proposal.
- After the completion of the 35 minute TBD exercise, the facilitator will share the order in which one-on-one interviews will be conducted. You will remain in the main group Zoom session until you receive an invitation to join a Zoom breakout room for your 10 minute one-on-one interview.
Application Deadline:
- Round 1: September 7, 2022
- Round 2: January 4, 2023
- Round 3: March 29, 2023
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