2019–2020 MBA Essay Analysis: NYU Stern, Wharton, Yale SOM
How can you write essays that grab the attention of MBA admissions committees? With these thorough essay analyses, our friends at mbaMission help you conceptualize your essay ideas and understand how to execute, so that your experiences truly stand out.
This week, we round up essay analyses for the New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and The Yale School of Management (SOM).
NYU STERN ESSAY ANALYSIS
2019-2020
After slightly modifying its MBA application essay prompts last year, the New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business has opted to make no changes this season. Candidates must obtain and submit two EQ (emotional intelligence) endorsements as part of their application, which provide the school’s admissions committee with valuable complementary insight into applicants’ personalities—“things that people don’t necessarily talk about themselves,” as Associate Dean of MBA Admissions and Program Innovation Isser Gallogly told Poets & Quants when the EQ element was added last year. As for what candidates must write themselves, the program requests a rather classic personal statement and the challenging but very revelatory “Pick Six” submission, which seems appropriate in these days of rampant social media. As a result, you should be able to present a good balance of your professional and personal sides for the admissions committee. Continue reading for our more thorough application essay analysis.
WHARTON SCHOOL ESSAY ANALYSIS
2019-2020
After making some small adjustments to its essay prompts last season, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania appears to have settled on questions that elicit the kind of information it is seeking from its applicants, because they have not changed for 2019–2020. Together, the prompts ask that you outline the kind of give-and-take you foresee from your engagement in the Wharton experience. Question 1 asks what Wharton can do for you, and question 2 asks—via the story of a significant achievement or other experience—what you can do for Wharton. Your greatest assets in approaching both prompts will be your knowledge of the school and the level of detail you infuse into your essays. Be knowledgeable, be authentic, and be thorough, and you should be well positioned to submit persuasive essays. Read on for more guidance on each question individually.
Watch: mbaMission’s Nisha Trivedi helps you tackle Wharton’s 2019–2020 application essay questions…
YALE SOM ESSAY ANALYSIS
2019-2020
The Yale School of Management (SOM), like Harvard Business School, takes a bit of a “go big or go home” approach with its application essay question in that it poses just a single query to its applicants, giving them only one shot to make their desired impression on the admissions committee. The Yale SOM prompt is less open-ended, however, and requires candidates to focus on a significant past commitment and its underlying reasons and value. It also limits applicants to 500 words, so you will need to be clear, direct, and rather succinct in your response, without much preamble or extraneous text. Read on for our full analysis of the Yale SOM essay question for 2019–2020.
Download: Before you apply, be sure to check out the following free resources from mbaMission…
Insider’s Guides:
For a thorough exploration of each business school’s academic program, unique offerings, social life, and other key characteristics and resources, we recommend downloading a complimentary copy of our school-specific Insider’s Guides. Informed by firsthand insight from students, alumni, program representatives, and admissions officers, our Insider’s Guides offer a detailed look at each business school’s most defining characteristics. According to Poets & Quants, “A more thorough analysis of a school will not be found elsewhere on the web.”
- Insider’s Guide to NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business
- Insider’s Guide to The Wharton School
- Insider’s Guide to Yale School of Management
Interview Guides:
Take the next step towards mastering your business school interview by downloading mbaMission’s free Interview Guides. 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. And, on your way to this high level of preparation, we offer our free Interview Primers to spur you along.
- NYU Stern School of Business Interview Guide
- The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania Interview Guide
- Yale School of Management Interview Guide
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