Wharton Essays 2011 - 2012 Tips and Analysis

One of our founders, and most active reviewers at Essay Critique is a Wharton alum, so  we asked her to write up some tips on Wharton's essay questions for this season, and here they are!

What are your professional objectives? (300 Words)

• Strike a balance between your "visionary" objectives and some tactical post-MBA next steps in this question - state the idealist long term, but support it with pragmatic commentary about your near term plans
• If you're going to describe objectives in a high-buzz area like micro-finance or renewable energy, be cautious - make sure your objectives are articulated such that they tie in well with your background and experiences - the two shouldn't appear disjointed

Reflect on a time when you turned down an opportunity. What was the thought process behind your decision? Would you make the same decision today?

• This is a difficult question - and most people struggle with it - it's not easy to come up with an opportunity, and even less to recreate it in your current situation
• A good idea for this question is to come up with 2 or 3 situations, write them up in draft, and this will give you a good idea of which one to move forward with
• The question we get from a lot of candidates for this is - do I have to answer "no" to the last part of the question - i.e., would you make the same decision today?  No - you don't have to - it's perfectly okay to say that you would make the same decision today
• It's important to articulate the thought process behind your decision - this is the meat of the question - what were the elements of your decision?  What was most important to you?  If you are going to say that you would not make the same decision today, explain why - candidates can use this to highlight their growth and evolution

Discuss a time when you faced a challenging interpersonal experience. How did you navigate the situation and what did you learn from it?

• First, what is an interpersonal experience?  A challenging inter-personal situation could be an exchange with people in the workplace, with a client, with family, or with other important players in your life that was difficult
• It could be a situation that was challenging because of the context that it was set it (regardless of the roles), or because of the people involved - the former is much better than the latter
• My LEAST favorite responses to this question are ones in which candidates find faults with others that they worked with - or a situation in which they glowed spun around differently - most frequently these essays fall flat, because they sound immodest and immature

“Innovation is central to our culture at Wharton. It is a mentality that must encompass every aspect of the School – whether faculty research, teaching or alumni outreach.” – Thomas S. Robertson, Dean, The Wharton School. Keeping this component of our culture in mind, discuss a time when you have been innovative in your personal or professional life.

• Don't mix up innovation and invention; and please, don't try to force an innovation story into one of invention
• Innovation can happen in your day-to-day at the workplace, or at home, or with your friends - any situation that you contributed significantly to make it better, either for yourself, or others

We are reviewing Round 1 Wharton essays now!  Email us if you have questions, or give our review services a try - essaycritique@gmail.com

Duke Fuqua 2011 - 2012 Essay Guidance and Tips

Starting with a bit of Fuqua trivia:  Tim Cook, new Apple CEO, is a Fuqua alum!  Important Note:  Duke doesn't have a word limit but asks that you limit your responses to 2 pages each, 1.5 line spacing, and at least 10 point font.  

Describe your vision for your career and your inspiration for pursuing this career path.

• Career vision essay - this is a asking for a more long term view on your career - where do you see yourself 10 - 15 years after business school? 
• Your inspiration for the career path should ideally be tied to experiences of the past - if they aren't, be sure to explain why you have an interest in the area / vision you are describing
• People struggle a fair bit with this essay - so don't be surprised if you do - the dilemma often is, how grandiose should a vision be?  How real should it be?  It should ideally be a balance of the two - the idealistic, supported by a pragmatic view of your experiences and background. 

How will your background, values, and non-work activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to Fuqua’s diverse culture?

• This is very clearly an essay on personal attributes - don't try to mix up professional experiences or strengths in here
• Think long and hard about your personal strengths and how you can contribute to Fuqua - remember, the school is big on global and cultural diversity
• Bring out your real personality - a great way to test this - if a fellow student was reading this, would they be interested in being your classmate? 

Why Duke? (If you are interested in a specific concentration, joint degree, clubs or activities, please discuss how you would contribute to these in this essay.)

• Check out the Duke MBA Association's webpage and the Fuqua Campus Group site to do your research; you should also try and visit the campus and / or speak to current students and alums about the school
• Make sure that the activities that you're interested in are clearly tied to your background and experiences - the two shouldn't be disjoint. 

If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Admissions Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weakness in your application).

• Don't use this essay unless you have to.  If you have academics that don't reflect your abilities, or don't have a direct supervisor recommending you, or gaps in your professional experiences, take this opportunity to explain, but keep it brief and to-the-point.  Many times, these essays come off sounding like lame excuses and you have to be really careful to avoid it if you do use it. 

INSEAD Essays 2011 - 2012 Tips and Guidance

INSEAD, with campuses in Asia and Europe, has a 10-month MBA program, and their first round deadline is coming up soon, on September 28th!

Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)

• Questions 1 & 2 go together; between the two, they should cover the breadth of your professional experiences, as well as be an articulate point-in-time snapshot of your career as it stands today
• Regardless of whether you are an individual contributor, or the manager of a small or large team, be candid about your day-to-day; the AdCom really wants to understand what you do
• Re-read your answer to confirm that it would make sense to someone who knows little about your industry or function; start at the top and provide some context if necessary

Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)

• Very similar to question 1, even more important to (a) provide context about your industry, function, role and (b) avoid technical jargon, especially if it comes across forced. 

Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)

• Try to limit to two strengths and two weaknesses 
• The best essays will have a coherent description of your personality - supported by some examples - where the strengths and weaknesses will jump out to the reader without being called out explicitly. 
• It's important that all of these attributes come together to describe you!  Avoid sounding bipolar or schizo as you describe it

Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)

• Covered in our HBS Essay Question Review

Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)

• Also similar to the HBS question on setbacks - don't try to disguise behind a strength or accomplishment - remember, it's not as important that you failed in the major leagues than that you played in them!

Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career. (500 words approx.)

• Three parts - describe the path that you're on, what skills you need to add to your repertoire, and tie it in to INSEAD's offerings
• Especially if your career goals include high-buzz areas like "micro-finance", "renewable energy", or a high-tech entrepreneurial project, a word of caution:  please make sure it's clear how your path so far, and future goals are tied together - a LOT of people have similar goals, so it's important to distinguish yourself!

Please choose one of the following two essay topics:

a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.), or

• Why do schools ask this culture shock question?  They do it to understand what you've adapted to you in your past - so it doesn't have to be moving to a new country - it could be a new job in a very different industry, a new culture, etc. 

b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)

• Great question - regardless of what country you're from!  Strongly recommend that you answer this - your opportunity to make your country sound welcoming, exciting and warmly embracing.  Think of how you'd project it to a classmate - and you'll get great results!

Cambridge Judge Essay Questions 2011 - 2012 - Tips and Guidance

Looking for a year long general management program?  Cambridge's Judge Business School would be an excellent choice.  Their first round deadline is also early, on September 23rd.

What are the key issues facing organisations in your sector over the next three years? What course of action would you recommend to such organisations? (300 words)

• The balance you have to strike in this question is being in-depth enough (which sometimes requires the use of technical jargon), but yet articulating in a way that a layman would appreciate your understanding of your industry
• Using the jargon can sometimes be important, especially if you are in certain industries - so don't shy away from this if you must use it, but at the same time, don't stick in big words just to sound intelligent :-) 

What did you learn from your most spectacular failure? (200 words)

• The choice of the word spectacular is intentional; it is designed to invoke your most embarrassing or high-stakes failure 
• 200 words is tight - describe the failure in a sentence or two, and then quickly get into what you learned from it

What are your short and long term career objectives? What skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you to achieve them? What do you hope to gain from the degree and how do you feel it will help you achieve the career objectives you have? (please do not exceed 500 words)

• Somewhat similar to Kellogg's leadership + assessment questions, you can start by describing what you've done so far, and what leadership areas you want to develop at business school
• A writing tip for this essay -  first, write this essay without the second half (why the degree?).  Write your career objectives, and as you read them (or a reviewer reads them), it should be plainly obvious what your needs are.  Those needs should then be articulated in a few sentences for why Judge, why the degree, but those sentences should be a natural conclusion to your first half.  

Good luck folks!  Write us at essaycritique@gmail.com to get your essays reviewed. 

Kellogg Essay Questions 2011 - 2012 - Tips and Common Mistakes

Kellogg's Round 1 (Part 1) Deadline is on September 22nd!  Don't forget to send in Part I of your application before then.  You can view our Deadlines page to save this and other deadlines directly to your Gmail calendar. 


Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing an MBA. (600 word limit)

• Not only describe your career progression so far, but also assess it - what went right, what not quite?  This should just naturally lead the reader into thinking - "of course this candidate needs an MBA!"
• Candidates who try to answer the "Why Kellogg" question won't have enough words to fit in the real answer for this essay - keep it simple, answer what is asked - why an MBA? 

Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences (600 word limit). 

• What are leadership experiences?  Situations that you've been in that you've been tested in, where a lot has been at stake, and you have led the way.  They can be personal or professional, but you should cite at least one professional experience
• Limit to three experiences at most
• What are leadership areas?   The most obvious one here is the one that Kellogg touts the most - "team leadership" or "community leadership".  But to write a truly compelling essay, think beyond -- what specific leadership areas are you looking to develop, that will tie in to the first part of your essay?   Motivating and empowering large groups of people, leadership in the community, product leadership in an industry, executive communication skills, etc. 

Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would you and your peers select you for admission, and what impact would you make as a member of the Kellogg community? (600 word limit). 

• This is your "why Kellogg" and "why you" question - go all out and present yourself as the package that brings a mix of professional, personal and community based leadership experiences to the table
• Make it fun - describe yourself in a way that others would truly want to learn more about you!

Complete one of the following three questions or statements. (400 word limit) 
a) Describe a time you had to inspire a reluctant individual or group. 
b) People may be surprised to learn that I….. 
c) The riskiest personal or professional decision I ever made was….. 

• This is a wide-open essay, use it to demonstrate a part of your personality that may not have come through in your application thus far - you want the reader to feel pleasantly surprised about you after this - i,e., "Wow, he / she did x, y AND z?!  That's pretty awesome."

Get your Kellogg Essays reviewed by our reviewers!   Email us at essaycritique@gmail.com