Wharton MBA Essay #2: Describe an impactful experience or accomplishment that is not reflected elsewhere in your application. How will you use what you learned through that experience to contribute to the Wharton community? (400 words)
He invented a new genre inspired by the soothing lullaby he heard as a toddler; a pattern and rhythm unique to his tribe.
By joining a Technology Giant as a Software Engineer, and in just 2-years earning the promotion to lead the product development, the applicant’s professional accomplishment was one groundbreaking technological and leadership example after the other. When asked to list his personal accomplishments, he didn’t list the cliched list of Volunteering in Africa or ‘Habitat for Humanity’ but cited two examples: Math Tutoring and releasing ‘avant-garde’ instrumental music.
The sessions were free with one condition – the attendants should not be able to afford regular classes in premier tutoring services.
In the resume, the Math tutoring and releasing 12 albums in 2 years were just two entries under Additional Information. There was no reflection on who he was, where he has been and what drives him to take on mentoring
For such an applicant, if the achievements were measured through the narrow prism of software development and leading a multi-cultural technical team, the admission team would have missed how the candidate’s mind works.
Wharton MBA admission team is taking the right step in uncovering your personality that is not easily captured in a resume or the ‘professional gains’ essays.
Spend the first half of the essay highlighting your unique backstory.
Sample Essay #2: Math Tutoring and Experimental music’s value for the Wharton Community (388 Words)
My mother used to sing lullabies even when I was a 4-year-old. Living in one of the remotest villages in India, near the Sundarbans, brought the stress of Tigers and Flooding in our daily existence. Her calming songs had phrases that repeated 6-8 times. I fell asleep counting. Being close to nature drives one curiosity to patterns. I found a rhythm in the bird’s stances, and even in Tiger’s growling.
We moved to Kolkata when I was 12. When a problem was written on the board, I waited and imagined paths to the solution. The unusual journeys made Math a creative exercise. As I grew old, music became a part of my math practice hours. Curious to create my rhythms, I asked my mother to sing a sample of the Lullaby, which became ...
