Chicago GSB Fall 2009 Slide Presentation

This is the third post in a four part series. Part 1. Part 2. Part 4.

This is the second year that the University of Chicago GSB has required a slide presentation. Based on working with a client who was admitted there as well as with a couple of clients whose applications resulted in interview invitations, I am confident that the advice I offer below is effective. Actually, my Chicago GSB results for Fall 2008 admission were one admit, one post-interview waitlist, and one post-interview ding. None of my clients were dinged without interview, which indicates that their applications were strong.

It is not often that a school’s essay question gets the attention of the press, but the University of Chicago GSB’s Question Three did that last year. While the mandatory use of PowerPoint is novel, is this question so odd? See below!

After I analyze GSB's PowerPoint question, I conclude with some specific suggestions for how to brainstorm for your answer.

While Chicago GSB has proven itself to have an absolutely brilliant PR strategy by issuing press releases and otherwise making it appear that this is totally new, I think this is only partially the case, as I will discuss below. Chicago is the first school to require a PowerPoint as a part of the application, but it is not the first to allow the use of one as part of the process.

Slide Presentation
In four slides or less please answer the following question: What have you not already shared in your application that you would like your future classmates to know about you?

We have set forth the following guidelines for you to consider when creating your presentation.

1. The content is completely up to you. There is no right or wrong approach this essay. Feel free to use the software you are most comfortable with. Acceptable formats for upload in the online application system are PowerPoint or PDF.
2. There is a strict maximum of 4 slides, though you can provide fewer than 4 if you choose.
3. Slides will be printed and added to your file for review, therefore, flash, hyperlinks, embedded videos, music, etc. will not be viewed by the committee. You are limited to text and static images to convey your points. Color may be used.
4. Slides will be evaluated on the quality of content and ability to convey your ideas, not on technical expertise or presentation.
5. You are welcome to attach a document containing notes if you feel a deeper explanation of your slides is necessary. However the hope is the slide is able to stand alone and convey your ideas clearly. You will not be penalized for adding notes but you should not construct a slide with the intention of using the notes section as a consistent means of explanation. (200 words maximum, see online application).

Two Prior Uses of PowerPoint in the MBA Application Process:
I think it is important to realize that Chicago GSB is not the first school to allow for the use of PowerPoint or other presentation slide content as part of the application process.
The use of slide presentations has long been a possibility for both NYU Stern and HEC.

NYU STERN
First, it has been possible to create a short PowerPoint presentation as part of the NYU Stern process for years. The Stern question reads:
Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.
One such method for doing so is an actual presentation. Whether made with PowerPoint or other tools, applicants have been doing this, both successfully and unsuccessfully, for years.

HEC
HEC (Ranked Number 1 in Europe by the Financial Time, see full rankings here) requires presentations as part of its interview process. The relevant part of the instructions are as follows:
The interview starts with a 10-minute presentation made by the candidate on the subject of his/her choice. The main objective of this presentation is to judge the candidate's communication and presentation skills, the capability to synthesize a subject in 10 minutes while keeping the interest of the audience. The candidate may use any presentation method he or she wishes, such as transparencies, notes, slides, etc.
The presentation is then followed by 30 to 40 minutes of questions and answers, first on the presentation, then on the candidate's motivation and other elements mentioned in his/her application.
Actually, HEC candidates have to make this presentation twice to different interviewers. Now, while it is possible to not use PowerPoint to make one’s HEC presentation, I have never worked with anyone who did that.

I point out the above two examples out merely to show that while GSB's use of PowerPoint is certainly novel, it is not without precedent.

MAKING A PRESENTATION IS A PRACTICAL TEST OF BASIC BUSINESS ABILITY
Consider some of the standard parts of the application and how they reflect on the applicant's abilities:

RESUME: Ability to effectively convey one's core professional, academic, and personal experience for the purposes of getting selected for an interview.

GOALS ESSAYS: Ability to clearly articulate a plan.

INTERVIEW: Ability to effectively convince an interviewer that you are good fit for the organization (in this case as a student in B-School).

RECOMMENDATIONS: Ability to obtain powerful endorsements designed to help convince a selection committee.

Looked at from this perspective, PowerPoint is a fundamental business skill. Like MIT Sloan's cover letter and every school's resume, at some level, Chicago 3 is testing the applicant's basic business skills. Why not test for it?

Anyone who has been or wants to be a businessperson will have spent countless hours preparing and delivering presentations. If you want to go do IPO Roadshows, sell a room of people your services, convince a Board of Directors, etc, you will need slides and those slides will be made with PowerPoint. It seems totally reasonable to me to ask anyone to use it because they will have to anyway.

Especially if you don't know how to use PowerPoint, my suggestion is NOT to focus on style, but on your content. That actually is true for anyone (even those who are PowerPoint Gurus) and is clearly the message that GSB is delivering: This question is not designed to evaluate the applicants’ PowerPoint expertise, but rather to reveal how people think and communicate their ideas. This question, like the rest of the essay questions, is designed to provoke critical thought and self-reflection, not just their creativity. It is the message within the slides that is important, not the presentation.

Rose Martinelli's comments above clearly indicate that the focus is on the message, not the overall aesthetics of the presentation.

IS THIS REALLY A TEST OF PowerPoint SKILLS?
NO. I think it is a test of your ability to prepare a very simple presentation about yourself. Remember that you are preparing slides for a presentation that will only be delivered on paper and unlike a presentation that you would deliver, you are not able to take advantage of what PowerPoint can do:
Slides will be printed and added to your file for review, therefore, flash, hyperlinks, embedded videos, music, etc. will not be viewed by the committee. You are limited to text and static images to convey your points. Color may be used.

In fact, for anyone who has actually is good at PowerPoint, they may find it necessary to compromise on their aesthetics and technical skills in order to most effectively answer the question. Especially those who believe in providing a minimal amount of content per slide might find it necessary to increase the amount of content they include.

As someone who spent the last four years making the transition from text heavy slides to minimalist ones when delivering sales and marketing presentations, I know that if I had to answer this question, I would have to compromise on what I consider to be my own best practices for making PowerPoint slides.

NOT A TEST OF YOUR ABILITY TO DELIVER A PRESENTATION, BUT A TEST OF YOUR ABILITY TO PREPARE ONE
Always remember that you are being tested on your ability to prepare a presentation, not to deliver one. Hence, you should always first think of this as a text that will be read, not one that will be spoken.

If you still think you need to learn more about PowerPoint, I suggest reading Presenting to Win by Jerry Weissman, the Silicon Valley PowerPoint Guru. When I first read Chicago's question, I looked for a book focused on the story telling aspect of PowerPoint and I think this is it. You can read my mini-review and buy the book here. Visit Weissman's site here.

WHAT ABOUT THE NOTES?
Given GSB's very specific instructions about the Notes, you should think about them as an opportunity to explain something in the slide in greater depth, but not as a speech for the slides:
You are welcome to attach a document containing notes if you feel a deeper explanation of your slides is necessary. However the hope is the slide is able to stand alone and convey your ideas clearly. You will not be penalized for adding notes but you should not construct a slide with the intention of using the notes section as a consistent means of explanation.

Let's Think About Length
You will have four slides plus 200 words for the notes to communicate your message. Regarding the notes, Rose Martinelli has further stated that the notes document "should not exceed one paragraph per slide." Depending on your perspective, this might seem like a great deal of text or not very much. Given that the notes give you about 50 words to further clarify each slide, the actual total amount of content is really likely to be in the 300-600 word range depending on what you do with the slides.

IS THIS AN ESSAY IN DISGUISE?
Rose Martinelli says:
In many respects we are looking for similar things in the slides as we would in the essays. We are looking for organized thoughts, strong communication skills, and the ability to convey ideas clearly. We will also be looking at an applicant's ability to be insightful and their willingness to express themselves in a new medium. In some respects, this question adds an element of risk to the application that has not been there before.
I think it is helpful to conceive of as have exactly the same function as an essay, but you should consider...
including visual imagery AND/OR
using bullet points AND/OR
using metaphors AND/OR
being non-linear AND/OR
minimizing or eliminating introductions and conclusions.
Rose Martinelli states:
Well, as you know, the Chicago GSB has a reputation for challenging norms. In some respects that is what the PowerPoint is doing. Traditional essays, although helpful in the application process, tend to be confining. Essay questions do not allow applicants to fully stretch beyond the question and communicate their strengths, weaknesses, passions etc. The PowerPoint slide is our way of giving applicants a blank slate on which to communicate with us. There aren't many restrictions for an applicant, and they have free reign to communicate to the committee whatever they feel is valuable for us to know. An applicant can expand upon their application or they can go beyond it and reveal something completely new. This is their opportunity to express themselves without guidance or restriction.
Thus you would best advised to not simply take an essay and divide it among the four slides. Instead, show creativity. One effective way to organize your slides is to have each slide make one key point or communicate one key idea about you. And in a real sense, this is no different from what a good paragraph should do.

Now that we have looked at the overall context for this question, let’s think about what is actually being asked.

What was the question again?
THE CORE PART OF THE QUESTION: What "you would like your future classmates to know about you" is very simple. I could restate it as "please help your future classmates understand who you are and why they would want you to be their classmate."

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT WRITE ABOUT:
1. As the beginning of the question states, Chicago GSB has already asked for "a great deal of information throughout this application." This is stated in contrast to what they want you to tell them. Therefore don't focus on facts that they can find elsewhere in the application.
2. In Essay 1, you have already discussed your goals and why you want an MBA from Chicago, so don't discuss goals and why MBA here.


SO WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO WRITE ABOUT?
IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU!
Some Questions to get you brainstorming:
1. What do you want Chicago GSB to know about you that would positively impact your chances for admission?
2. What major positive aspects of your life have not been effectively INTERPRETED to the admissions committee in other parts of the application?
3. If you were going to tell admissions four things about you that would not be obvious from rest of the application, what would they be? Why should GSB care?
4. If there was one story about yourself that you think would really help admissions understand you and want to admit you, what is it?
5. Do you have a personal interest (painting and poetry for example) that would work effectively in a PowerPoint?
6. If you have a sense of humor and/or creativity, how can you express it here? I suggest doing so if you can.

As you can see, these questions would lead to very different kinds of responses. There is no one way to answer this question, but I believe there are right ways for every applicant to do so.

Last year, one of my readers asked three very good questions about the Slide Presentation. I am reprinting them in slightly altered form below.

1) In your opinion, should one use a minimalistic approach involving images to convey one's ideas?

I think this will really depend on you. The important thing is to effectively convey something important about who you are to the admissions committee. If that can be done effectively with more images that is great, if it can be done effectively with minimal or no images that is also great. The important thing is that your reader understands the significance of any images you use. Luckily, you have the notes for that purpose. Just as in "real" PowerPoints, images or any graphic element can be used effectively or badly. Always ask yourself, "Why am I using this image? Does it really help them understand me?" If it does, keep it. If it is mere decoration, think about eliminating it or replacing it with something that will have a positive impact on Chicago GSB's ability to understand who you are.

2) Would a little bit of humor do good e.g. a cartoon?
Keeping in mind what I just wrote above, I think humor can be used effectively. You must practice extremely good judgment when using humor for any application. Don't make a joke simply to make one. Use humor if it is effective in conveying something that will compel Rose and her colleagues to want to interview you. That said, I have had a number of clients who successfully used humor in their applications for Chicago GSB.

3) Is GSB looking for an analytical assessment of one's personality in these slides?

I think they are looking for a meaningful assessment of your personality. I will not say "analytical" because that is just one possibility. If by "analytical" you mean a detailed explanation for your character making use of standard forms of argument, it is fine to do it that way, but not the only way. I use the word "meaningful" because it does not necessarily require logic or analysis to do so. For example, an image with some kind of description may provide Chicago GSB with great insight into who you are. Since Chicago is specifically being "non-traditional," you certainly can be also so long as you answer the question.

Finally, think big and be creative. To answer this one effectively will take time, but if you want to get into Chicago GSB, put in the time.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markus
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シカゴ、ビジネススクール, MBA留学

Chicago GSB Fall 2009 Essay 2

This is the second post in a four part series. Part 1. Part 3. Part 4.

The biggest change to the University of Chicago GSB's application for Fall 2009 admission is Essay 2:

Please select one of the following two questions to answer. (1000 word maximum)

Option 1

a) Please provide an example of a time when you had to make a choice between two equally important obligations. How did you decide which obligation deserved your attention? b) Did you try and predict other people's reactions to your decision? If so, how accurate were you? Why do you think you were or were not accurate in your prediction? c) Reflecting on this experience, how do you think an MBA from Chicago GSB might have aided in your decision making process?

-or-

Option 2

a) Have you ever made a decision that caused you to go against popular opinion? Please describe that situation and your rationale for you decision. b) Did you feel at any point that people misperceived your motives? Explain. c) In retrospect, how do you think an MBA from Chicago GSB would have affected your decision?

Before analyzing each option separately, I think it is useful to analyze what they have in common. Both options relate directly to Chicago GSB's only required course, Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) Program. According to the LEAD Program website:

Leadership depends on your ability to:

• motivate people
• build relationships
• influence outcomes

If you think about the topics for both of these questions, they very much involve these three elements of leadership. More specifically Part a) relates to influencing outcomes and Part b) relates to building relationships and/or influencing people.

Both options specifically relate to decision-making, a subject Chicago GSB takes quite seriously. Chicago GSB has a Center for Decision Research:
The Center for Decision Research is devoted to the study of how individuals form judgments and make decisions. Researchers at the Center examine the processes by which intuition, reasoning, and social interaction produce beliefs, judgments, and choices. Understanding how and why people make decisions has important applications in a range of contexts, including management, marketing, finance, and public policy.

Decision making at GSB is not an abstraction, but something that is subject to intensive scholarly research. You might want to consider how you could take advantage of such an academic approach to decision making when considering Part c).

I think it is important to see that the question on the one hand is a leadership question and on the other is your self-assessment about how a University of Chicago GSB MBA would enhance your own abilities.

PEOPLE PLEASE!
Both options for this question have a Part b) focused on how you related to other people. I would treat this as formal constraint on the kind of story you tell. Chicago wants insight into how other people play a role in your decisions, so make sure that you effectively explain the role of others in the story you write about.

ASSESS YOURSELF
As I mentioned in my analysis of Essay 1, it is helpful to think about the gap between your current abilities and those required for your intended future. My GSR table will actually help you do this.
Given that you will need to tell a story in Parts a) & b) of the question that will lead to you being able to talk about what you want to learn at GSB, I suggest you do a self-assessment before selecting a specific topic. Of course, some will find it easier to begin with Part a) but from my perspective, thinking about Part c) first can actually help you determine which story will work best here.

SHOULD IT BE ON A PROFESSIONAL TOPIC?
That will really depend on your experience. My suggestion is that if you have a great story that fits this question, regardless of whether it is professional or not, use it. As mentioned above, I think a more important consideration is that you have a story that fits Part c) of the question

THINK SMART, ACT SMART!
The University of Chicago is one of the most intellectually vibrant places on the planet. Anyone who wants to go there had better figure out how to make full use of the vast financial, economic, and management scholarly resources that it offers. I think Essay 2 is an excellent way for admissions to determine the extent to which you are compatible with the core mission of the GSB:

We are the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Since 1898, we have produced ideas and leaders that shape the world of business. Our rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education transforms our students into confident, effective, respected business leaders prepared to face the toughest challenges. At Chicago GSB, we constantly question, test ideas, and seek proof. This extraordinarily effective approach to business leads to new ideas and innovative solutions.

Therefore when you are thinking about Essay 2, think about how the story you tell will demonstrate to the admissions committee your potential for being the kind of business leader that the University of Chicago is committed to cultivating.
Given that you have 1000 words to answer this question, I would suggest you reserve at least 30% of them for answering Part c). This really is the "Why Chicago?" portion of the essay set. Therefore, give multiple reasons for why what you would learn at Chicago GSB would have improved your decision making. I suggest you specifically discuss those aspects of the GSB that make you want to apply there.

Option 1

a) Please provide an example of a time when you had to make a choice between two equally important obligations. How did you decide which obligation deserved your attention? b) Did you try and predict other people's reactions to your decision? If so, how accurate were you? Why do you think you were or were not accurate in your prediction? c) Reflecting on this experience, how do you think an MBA from Chicago GSB might have aided in your decision making process?

PART a)
Without calling this an ethical dilemma, it is one. Many applicants will find that if they write on this topic, they will be in a good position to reuse this essay for any ethical dilemma topics they encounter with another school's essays. Additionally the story will be useful for interviews. Here is how I suggest you structure Part a) of this essay:
1) Briefly explain the context for your decision.
2) State clearly why each obligation was of importance and be convincing about why they were of equal importance.
3) Describe your decision-making process.
4) Describe the outcome.

PART b)
In this section, you need to consider the role of others in your decision-making process. By asking about whether you tried to predict how others reacted, I think admissions is specifically trying to measure your intuition and social imagination or, in other words, your emotional intelligence. If you failed to consider how others would react or did not fully predict their reaction, you will find that Part b) will help you write Part c).
For part b), even if you did not try to predict other people's reactions, explain why you did not. Actually doing so should help you discover an area of improvement you can write about in part c).

If you did try to predict other people's reactions and were inaccurate or were only partially accurate you have a good topic of Part c) of this essay.

If you successfully predicted how other people would react, you will not find your answer to Part c) in Part b). That is fine. Just focus on some other aspect(s) of the situation to get your answer to Part c).

PART c)
My general comments above regarding Part c) apply here. Basically, I think it is important that connect what would have enhanced your ability to make a decision to why you want to attend the GSB.

Option 2a) Have you ever made a decision that caused you to go against popular opinion? Please describe that situation and your rationale for you decision. b) Did you feel at any point that people misperceived your motives? Explain. c) In retrospect, how do you think an MBA from Chicago GSB would have affected your decision?

PART a)Questioning popular assumptions is a core part of the University of Chicago's culture. That is one reason why there are so many Nobel Prize winners among Chicago's past past and present faculty. This option gives you the opportunity to show how you too have questioned such an assumption. But that is only one aspect of the question, as this is also about your ability to make a decision. It takes courage to go against the tide of popular opinion, but great leaders have to be able to do that. Show how you have the potential to be such a leader. I suggest structuring Part a) as follows:
1. Describe the situation and state clearly what the popular opinion was.
2. State your reasons for going against popular opinion.
3. Describe the outcome.
PART b)
Being aware about how others perceive you is a core part of being organizationally effective. Actually understanding how others perceive you is very much an integral part of LEAD. Especially in a situation where you are likely to be in conflict with other people, how did you handle their reactions? The likelihood of being misperceived when you disagree with others is high, so if you managed to avoid this, how did you do so? If you were misperceived, what did you learn from that experience and what could you learn at GSB?

PART c)My general comments above regarding Part c) apply here. You should explain how a Chicago MBA would have helped you make a better decision. Link what you want to learn at Chicago directly to this situation.

CONCLUSION
A 1000-word essay should give you plenty of space to provide a thorough answer to Essay 2. One of the nice things about both options is that you are likely to find that the topic you write about will be useful when writing essays for another school. That said, an effective answer here requires you to have a detailed understanding of why the Chicago GSB is right for you.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markus
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シカゴ、ビジネススクール, MBA留学

Chicago GSB Fall 2009 MBA Essay 1: Why now?

This is the first of a series of four posts on the University of Chicago GSB's MBA application essays for Fall 2009 admission. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

This first essay question is very standard. It is greatly simplified and the maximum word count has been shortened in length by 50% from last year, but the most essential part of last year's question has been preserved. While Essay 1 is now shortened, part of the content that went into it previously has now been moved to Essay 2. Specifically the "Why Chicago GSB" part of the question can be found in Essay 2, but, as I suggest below, that does not mean you should ignore Chicago GSB when answering Essay 1.

The question:
Essay 1. Why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your career? (750 word maximum)

Before reading my analysis of this question, please keep the following advice from Rosemaria Martinelli, Associate Dean, Student Recruitment & Admission, University of Chicago GSB, in mind:

1) Self-reflection – Know why you are applying for an MBA. Know your strengths, weaknesses, and why you think an MBA will prepare you for the future. Know your goals and be able to communicate how you think you can achieve them.
2) Understand fit – Every school is different in terms of culture, courses and extra-curricular offerings, so make sure you know what makes an MBA from a specific school so important for you to achieve your goals. If you know yourself and you know how each school can help address your needs, you can make a compelling case in the application. If you do not fully understand or reflect on either of these points and rely solely on your credentials to carry you, chances are you will fall short in a very competitive application process.

Her advice directly relates to writing both essays and the slide presentation effectively. It is also great advice that can be applied to other schools.

Actually this question is one that Ms. Martinelli previously asked when she was the Admissions Director at Wharton. Wharton still includes this same question in its essay set:
1. Describe your career progress to date and your future short-term and long-term career goals. How do you expect an MBA from Wharton to help you achieve these goals, and why is now the best time for you to join our program? (1,000 words)

While both schools clearly expect an answer to Why now? (and not next year or last year), Chicago is emphasizing that this is the critical question to answer. However you structure your essay, you had better focus it on answering this critical question. Getting an MBA is not obvious. It is something one does because it fits into an overall plan for one’s career and life.

Why is now the time? Explain both analytically and with examples (stories) why you need an MBA now. To answer this question you need to think about the past. After all, if now is the right time, what factors have led you to this point?

Here a basic way to structure this question:

1. NOW IS THE RIGHT POINT TO PURSUE AN MBA because
Argument 1: RELATED TO YOUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT. Discuss your career up to this point. Explain why now is the time. Write about your present, your goals, and the gap between them.
Argument 2: RELATED TO YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. Discuss the intellectual and/or experiential reasons for wanting to do an MBA. Write about your strengths & weaknesses, your intended future and the gap between them.
Argument 3: RELATED TO THE WIDER WORLD. What opportunities and threats exist in your present and intended future that an MBA can support (opportunities) or mitigate(threats)?

I suggest using my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). In regards to Chicago's question, Argument 1 relates to a Gap Analysis and Argument 2 and 3 to a SWOT analysis. This table will also help you with Essay 2. I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for the Businessweek MBA ROI calculator. Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI. )
(To best view the following table, click on it. For a word version, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com)

How to use this table:

Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?

Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. REMEMBER:WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?

Next, analyze the environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your graduate degree. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4 than you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals? Thinking about these issues now will help you to develop a fully worked-out strategy for how you will best present yourself both in the application and in an interview.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT CHICAGO GSB
While one could theoretically answer this question without reference to Chicago GSB specifically, I suggest you don't. Instead provide an answer that addresses why you need an MBA now and from GSB specifically. You will certainly have space in Essay 2 to fully elaborate on what you hope to gain from GSB. To really answer both of these questions you need to know about Chicago GSB. Given that GSB has great online sources available for this purpose, even if you don’t visit, you can learn about it. Start here. In particular take a good look at Chicago GSB Dean's Student Admissions Committee (DSAC) blog. To learn more about the GSB's research, see University of Chicago GSB's Working Papers and The University of Chicago's Capital Ideas. I also strongly suggest listening to the GSB podcast series. This a great series of podcasts that should help get you thinking about business at the kind of intellectual level required for success at Chicago GSB.

Japanese applicants should most certainly visit the MBA J-Book.

ARE YOUR GOALS HOT?
Making career goals exciting requires thinking about whether your goals are compelling. Admissions committees ask applicants to write about their goals after graduate school, but can applicants actually know what will be on the cutting-edge in two or three years? While many applicants will be able to successfully apply with relatively standard goals ("I want to be a consultant because..."), communicating aspirations requires going beyond the typical.
Be informed. Chicago GSB Admissions needs to believe you know what you are talking about. If you are changing careers, no one expects you to be an expert, but you should come across as having a clear plan based on real research into your future. If you are planning on staying in your present industry, you should be well informed not only about the companies you have worked for, but also about the industry as a whole. If you are not already doing so, read industry related publications and network.
Those who are changing fields should most certainly read industry related publications in their intended field. Additionally I suggest conducting informational interviews with at least one peer level and one senior level person in that field. Conduct a peer level interview to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually work in that industry. Conduct a senior level interview to get the perspective of someone who can see the big picture and all the little details as well.
Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center.

LEARN WHAT IS HOT. No matter whether you are changing fields or not, learn what is hot now and try to figure out what will be hot by the time you graduate. Now, of course, this is just a plan and chances are that what is hot in your industry or field now may very well be cold in the future. The point is to come across to Rose and her colleagues as someone who is not only well informed, but has CUTTING-EDGE knowledge. Some great general sources for learning what is hot:
From the Business Schools: Feed your brain with cutting-edge ideas from the best business schools in the world. In addition to the Chicago GSB resources I mentioned above, other great sources of information include Stanford Social Innovation Review, Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing, Knowledge @ Wharton, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

You may also want to do a search on itunes for podcasts: My favorites in addition to Chicago's podcast are Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (from the Stanford School of Engineering, but totally relevant) Net Impact, and Harvard Business IdeaCast. INSEAD, IMD, LBS, and Wharton also have podcasts.
LinkedIn Answers: I would suggest that everyone join LinkedIn and make use of LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers is a great way to tap into cutting edge expertise (including my admissions advice!). Follow LinkedIn's rules and you will often be able to obtain excellent information.
Hoovers: For information about specific companies, Hoovers is just a great way to learn about key facts including competitors (a very useful way of knowing who else you might want to work for and to learn about an industry). While primarily focused on the US, Hoovers does have listings for companies worldwide.
Vault: For scope of coverage, this site is a must. Vault includes both career and admissions information. It includes both company specific and industry-wide information.
Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books that relate to your intended field.
Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.-Adam Markus
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シカゴ、ビジネススクール, MBA留学

Kellogg在校生・卒業生による学校説明会

By request, I am posting the following announcement for Japanese who are interested in applying to Kellogg's MBA Program. Also see http://www.kelloggalumni.jp/kellogg_life/.
--Adam Markus
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「Northwestern大学Kellogg School of Management 在校生・卒業生による学校説明会」のお知せ

7月27日（日）に、Kellogg在校生・卒業生による、MBA受験生の皆様を対象とした学校説明会を開催します。 参加をご希望の方は以下のリンクからお申し込み下さい。

http://kellogg.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eEYK4XnhKIq0XPu&SVID=Prod

概要
毎年数多くの受験生を集めるNorthwestern大学Kellogg School of Management。マーケティング・ファイナンスをはじめとした世界最高峰のカリキュラム、多様かつ複雑な課題を解決するスキルを体得できるグループワーク、授業や課外活動に散りばめられたリーダーシップ・プログラム、配偶者や子供同伴の方でも安心して暮らせる生活環境といった多彩な魅力が、日本からだけでなく世界各国の若きビジネス･リーダーたちをひきつけています。説明会の前半では、こうしたKelloggの強さ・魅力を在校生や卒業生がたっぷりとお伝えします。 また後半は小グループに分かれ、在校生や卒業生が皆様の疑問・質問にお答えします。 主な対象は現在出願準備中、あるいは将来出願を検討されている方です。

在校生・卒業生の体験談、なぜKelloggを選んだか、どんなスキルが得られるのか等、学校主催の公式説明会ではなかなかわかりづらい情報が得られる機会です。是非ご参加ください。

尚、当日はご家族・パートナーの方の同伴もウェルカムです。ご家族の方にMBA留学全般、及びそこでの生活にに関する理解を深めて頂く機会として是非ご活用下さい。また、服装はカジュアルなものでお越しください。

日時:　7月27日（日）15:00開場、15:15開始
　●約2時間の説明会の後、小グループに分かれて個別に在校生／卒業生に質問／相談す

　　る時間を30分ほど設ける予定です。
　●また、その後、会場付近にて、希望者を対象にカジュアルな懇親会も開催予定です。

場所: 学士会館（東京都千代田区神田錦町3-28）

地下鉄都営三田線・新宿線、東京メトロ半蔵門線「神保町」駅下車徒歩１分

　　　東京メトロ東西線「竹橋」駅下車徒歩５分

http://www.gakushikaikan.co.jp/info/access.html

＜構成＞

第一部：在校生・卒業生によるKelloggスクールの紹介

第二部：卒業生によるパネルディスカッション –MBAとキャリアについて -

• 加治慶光: オーテックジャパン 海外事業部部長 　Class of 1997
  （タイム・ワーナーエンターテイメント映画宣伝部長、ソニー・ピクチャーズエンタテインメントマーケティング統括バイス・プレジデント、日産自動車マーケティング本部マーケティング・ダイレクターなどを歴任）
• 苅田修: ボストンコンサルティンググループ　 マネージングディレクター&パートナー Class of 1997
  （日本興業銀行を経て現在に至る。医薬、メディア・エンタテインメント、消費財等の幅広い業界に対し、全社・事業戦略やM&A・提携戦略の策定・実行支援、新規事業立上げ支援、営業・マーケティング・研究開発のオペレーション革新等のコンサルティングを手掛ける）
• 若月 雄一郎: メリルリンチ日本証券 投資銀行部門マネージングディレクター 　　　　Class of 1996

（日本興業銀行、シュローダー証券会社を経て現在に至る。日米欧異なる企業文化を有する3社にてＭ＆Ａ業務を経験し、現在も情報・通信・テクノロジー業界を中心に様々な業界でのＭ＆Ａ、投資銀行業務に携わる。特にクロスボーダー（多国間）Ｍ＆Ａを中心に、案件に応じて日本及び海外両方のクライアントに対するアドバイザリー業務を実践中。）

• その他、多数の卒業生、在校生が参加予定です。

問い合わせ先

説明会の申込に関する問い合わせは、下記にご連絡下さい。

kellogginfo_2008summer@yahoogroups.jp

また、Kellogg日本人在校生では受験生の皆様への情報提供を目的として、Webサイト並びにブログを運営しております。ご興味がございましたら、ぜひ一度ご覧ください。

Websサイト: http://www.kelloggalumni.jp/Prospective/

Wharton Fall 2009 Admission: Application Essay Questions

Note: In addition the post below, see here for my analysis of the Wharton online application form.

In this post, I will analyze the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania's Fall 2009 (Class of 2011) MBA essay application questions for first-time applicants. You can find the full list of questions on the Wharton Admissions Blog.

LEARN ABOUT WHARTON
Even if you can't attend a Wharton event or visit the school, you can learn a huge amount about it. First, I suggest you view their online presentation. You should also make use of the student2student (s2s) discussion board and the MBA Admissions Blog! as these are great resources for becoming informed about Wharton.

WHY WHARTON IS A GOOD SCHOOL TO START WITH
The nice thing about Wharton is that you can write up to 10% over for any of the questions:

Essay length? We often get asked about essay length, specifically whether it is OK to go over the number of words suggested. Recognize we do not count words (this would take longer than actually reading the essay), nor does our online system count words (and therefore does not truncate the essay at the specific limit etc.)

+/- 10% is going to be fine (and remain unnoticed). Any more than this and it may become an issue as writing succinctly is a skill that is useful in business and business school. You should also realize your readers are reading multiple essays from multiple applicants so writing long essays is not likely to be a positive.

The exceptions to the above may be if you have a more unusual background (by business school standards) and feel you have a little more to explain (about your less traditional goals, experience etc.) In this case you may need to explain the nature of your experiences in more detail, but this does not give you the license to write at will!

I don't think there is a case where it makes sense to write much less than the suggested word count as the essays are going to be an important component to your application and should be used as such.

Thus over 10% is fine. In exceptional cases, more than 10% is fine. Say everything you need to say, but use good judgment. That flexible standard on top of a large word count, as well as the fact that Wharton has always asked mostly standard essay questions, makes Wharton a good school to start with. If someone is planning to apply to Columbia, Wharton, Stanford, and HBS, I would most certainly start with Wharton not only because of its essay questions, but because it is the easiest one of these schools to be accepted to. That said, it is no easy school to accepted to.

1. Describe your career progress to date and your future short-term and long-term career goals. How do you expect an MBA from Wharton to help you achieve these goals, and why is now the best time for you to join our program? (1,000 words)

The question breaks down into the following five components:
-Describe your career progress to date.
-Describe your future short-term career goals.
-Describe your future long-term career goals.
-How do you expect a Wharton MBA to help you achieve these goals?
-Why is now the best time for you to join our program?

It is not necessary to answer these five questions in the order that they are being asked (and as you will see, I don't do that either), but a good answer to this question will include all five components. 1000-1100 words may seem like quite a bit when compared to most other schools that ask a similar question, but if you provide a complete answer to this question you will likely find yourself initially exceeding this word count.

BEFORE YOU WRITE
Before writing this essay, I suggest going through a formal process of goals analysis because it will really help you determine the most important things you need to tell Wharton. You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for the Businessweek MBA ROI calculator. Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI. )

(To best view the following table, click on it. For a word version, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com)

How to use this table:

Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?

Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. REMEMBER: WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?

Next, analyze the environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your graduate degree. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4 than you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals? Thinking about these issues now will help you to develop a fully worked-out strategy for how you will best present yourself both in the application and in an interview.

WHY WHARTON?
One very strong point of Wharton is that it can be used for a great variety of purposes. With 19 majors, over 200 electives, and a faculty of 250 students at Wharton have truly rich options to choose from. The downside to this is that many applicants just see the options, but don't focus enough on what they need from Wharton. Going through a formal process like the one I have outlined above will help you determine what you really need from Wharton. The more specific you are about that, the better. In addition to what you want from Wharton, think about what you can contribute to it. Think about Wharton's learning teams and clubs.

GOALS
You need to make admissions excited about your future. To do so, you should think about whether your goals are compelling. Admissions committees ask applicants to write about their goals after graduate school, but can applicants actually know what will be on the cutting-edge in two or three years? While many applicants will be able to successfully apply with relatively standard goals ("I want to be a consultant because..."), try to go beyond the typical answer to make your goals compelling.

Be informed. Wharton Admissions needs to believe you know what you are talking about. If you are changing careers, no one expects you to be an expert, but you should come across as having a clear plan based on real research into your future. If you are planning on staying in your present industry, you should be well informed not only about the companies you have worked for, but about the industry as a whole. If you are not already doing so, read industry related publications and network.

Those who are changing fields should most certainly read industry related publications in their intended field. Think about conducting informational interviews with at least one peer-level and one senior level person in that field. Conduct a peer-level interview to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually work in that industry. Conduct a senior-level interview to get the perspective of someone who can see the big picture and all the little details as well.

Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center.

LEARN WHAT IS HOT. No matter whether you are changing fields or not, learn what is hot now and try to figure out what will be hot by the time you graduate. Now, of course, this is just a plan and chances are that what is hot in your industry or field now may very well be cold in the future. The point is to come across to Wharton as someone who is not only well informed, but who has CUTTING-EDGE knowledge related to their goals. Some great general sources for learning what is hot:

From the Business Schools: Feed your brain with cutting-edge ideas from the best business schools in the world. Start with Knowledge @ Wharton. Other great sources of information include Stanford Social Innovation Review, Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing, University of Chicago GSB's Working Papers, The University of Chicago's Capital Ideas, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

You may also want to do a search on iTunes for podcasts: My favorites are Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (from the Stanford School of Engineering, but totally relevant to the GSB), Chicago GSB Podcast, Net Impact, and Harvard Business IdeaCast. INSEAD, IMD, LBS, and, of course, Wharton also have podcasts.

LinkedIn Answers: I would suggest that everyone join LinkedIn and make use of LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers is a great way to tap into cutting edge expertise (including my admissions advice!) Follow LinkedIn's rules and you will often be able to obtain excellent information.

Hoovers: For information about specific companies, Hoovers is just a great way to learn about key facts including competitors (a very useful way of knowing who else you might want to work for and to learn about an industry). While primarily focused on the US, Hoovers does have listings for companies worldwide.

Vault: For scope of coverage, this site is a must. Vault includes both career and admissions information. It includes both company specific and industry-wide information.

Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books that relate to your intended field.

WHY NOW?
Assuming you have determined what your goals are and why Wharton is the right place to pursue them, you need to really explain why now is the right to time to go to Wharton. From my perspective, you really want to answer "Why now?" before describing your career progress because what you need to tell Wharton about your past experience will directly relate to why you want to go there now. After all, if now is the right time, what has led to it?

Here is a way to structure this part of the question:
1. NOW IS THE RIGHT POINT TO PURSUE AN MBA because it is:
Argument 1: RELATED TO YOUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT. Discuss your career up to this point. Explain why now is the time. Write about your present, your goals, and the gap between them.
Argument 2: RELATED TO YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT. Discuss the intellectual and/or experiential reasons for wanting to do an MBA. Write about your strengths & weaknesses, your intended future. and the gap between them.
Argument 3: RELATED TO THE WIDER WORLD. What opportunities and threats exist in your present and intended future that an MBA can support (opportunities) or mitigate(threats)?

If you use the "GSR Table" that I presented above, Argument 1 relates to a Gap Analysis and Argument 2 and 3 to a SWOT analysis.

CAREER PROGRESS
I think describing one's career progress is something many applicants actually have a great deal of difficulty with. The primary reason is that they don't actually think strategically enough about what they say about themselves. Wharton is asking one question with five parts to it, but the parts really do need to work together for the essay to be effective. Therefore interpret your career to connect it to your goals, why you want to go to Wharton, and why now is the right time to do so. Your resume will provide Wharton with a description of your career, but in this essay help them understand what it means by interpreting your career for them.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: YOUR STORY
When you initially write Essay 1, you might find that it does not seem to be coming together as a single essay. If that is the case, you might simply not be telling your story in the right way. The way you tell your story will depend on your situation. Applicants with extensive experience whose goals connect directly to their past experience will be telling a story based on continuity, while applicants looking to change careers will be telling a story based on discontinuity. A story based on continuity is often easiest to tell in a fairly linear way because the future is based directly on what happened in the past. By contrast, a story based on a discontinuity should be told to emphasize the need for the change In either case, it is critical to explain why you want an MBA from Wharton.

2. Describe a setback or a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself? (500 words)

For a number of years, Wharton has asked MBA applicants to analyze a failure or setback that they learned from. While the wording has changed over the years, the Fall 2008 application is no exception.

It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. And your learning about yourself has to have been be important, otherwise why tell admissions about it? Therefore the key constraint of this question is that whatever the failure or setback is, you have learned something important from it. While not stated, you may very well find that one way of showing what you learned is to discuss how you applied your lesson to a new situation. What is the difference between a failure and a setback? I think the easiest thing to do is look at standard definitions of both words:

FAILURE: 1. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends: the failure of an experiment. 2. One that fails: a failure at one's career. 3. The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short: a crop failure. 4. A cessation of proper functioning or performance: a power failure. 5. Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission: .failure to report a change of address. 6. The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment. 7. A decline in strength or effectiveness.

SETBACK: An unanticipated or sudden check in progress; a change from better to worse.

All setbacks can in some sense be understood as failures in sense of the seventh definition of failure cited above, but actually the difference is one of nuance: a setback does not carry with it any sense of finality. A failure conveys that sense of finality. To use the experiment example above, "a setback in an experiment" means the experiment could still succeed, but if the experiment is a failure, there is no chance for success. The only option is a new experiment.

I think it is useful to compare the Wharton question with Harvard's Essay 2: What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit) First, let's look at the definition:

MISTAKE: 1. An error or fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness. 2. A misconception or misunderstanding.

A mistake is wider in scope than a failure because not all mistakes necessarily lead to failure though human failures are certainly the result of mistakes. A mistake may lead to either a failure or a setback. A mistake may actually lead to a positive unintended outcome. Like with the Wharton question, HBS emphasizes learning. I would, in fact, argue that the heart of any sort of "failure question," whether it is an essay question or an interview is what you learned. Also depending on what your role was, how you reacted to the failure, setback, or mistake is also very important.
The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the failure or setback was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Explain how you reacted to the situation.
4. Explain what you learned.

Depending on how you write this essay, you may find that if you are applying to both HBS and Wharton, it is possible to use the same topic. Given that you have 500 words (or more) for Wharton, if you are applying to both schools, I would start with Wharton first and than cut it down for HBS. I wish you every success in your failure story!

3. Where in your background would we find evidence of your leadership capacity and/or potential? (500 words)

Given the importance that Wharton places on leadership, I think you should think about your leadership capacity and/or potential not only in relation to your future professional objectives, but to your ability to be a leader at Wharton. You don't necessarily have to focus on a single story, but most applicants will in order to provide a fully developed example.

I have developed the following grid to help you outline leadership stories. The categories this grid employs may go beyond any particular schools essay requirements. Filling it out completely will help you write about your leadership in a way that will help convince admissions of your leadership potential. CLICK TO ENLARGE. EMAIL me at adammarkus@gmail.com if you want the original excel version.

How to use the grid:
1. Decide on a specific story.
2. Identify the most significant things you did in the situation, these are you action steps.
3. For each action step identify:

• What skills or qualities you demonstrated to complete this step.
• The strengths you demonstrated to complete this step.
• The kind of leadership you demonstrated.
• What you still need to learn about leadership.

4. Think about the results and identify how they relate to your action steps. So, at minimum, you should be able to state the impact on others and/or yourself.

5. After completing the chart you will see that some aspects of your action steps may be repeated. If there is a total duplication and nothing new is shown, either you need to redefine the action step or you may decide not to focus on it very much.

6. Once you think you have two to four fully worked-out action steps, start writing your essay.

7. Next start re-writing. Eliminate duplicate points made between action steps. Make choices about what parts of each action to step to highlight. Given that there are usually word limits, you will have to make some decisions about what to include. Simply providing a description of your actions, is not enough. Consider what it signifies about you. Consider what your actions reveals about your leadership potential.

Finally, thinking and writing about leadership is an important part of preparing for interviews because you can be certain that you will have to talk about leadership. So, you might find that the parts of the outline you jettison now will become valuable when you will want to have alternative stories for your Wharton interview.

4. Please respond to one (1) of the following questions:

a. Describe an experience you have had innovating or initiating, your lessons learned, the results and impact of your efforts. (500 words)

b. Is there anything about your background or experience that you feel you have not had the opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee in your application? If yes, please explain. (500 words)

Before analyzing these two questions, I would point out that if you answer option a., there is no other question that specifically requires you to discuss anything outside of work. I think that is fine as long as you have given admissions insight into your personality. It is quite possible that you will have done so through what you write about in essays 1,2 and/or 3. I see no great advantage to writing about your hobby, international travel experience, if you don't feel you have a good topic. I have worked with many applicants who really were not interested in discussing their college tennis club or anything of that nature and I am glad that Wharton is making it easier for such applicants to avoid writing on such a topic.

a. Describe an experience you have had innovating or initiating, your lessons learned, the results and impact of your efforts. (500 words)
This is a new question for Wharton. It is a very open-ended question. While some will write about a work-related topic here, I don't think that everyone must. The key thing is to show your ability to effectively innovate or initiate. I would not write about failure here as you should do that in Essay 2. Instead, focus on telling a particular kind of leadership story which emphasizes your ability to innovate or initiate. You can actually use the Leadership Essay Grid above for this question as well. Make sure that the leadership story, or stories, that you tell in essay 3 complement rather than repeat the same story you tell in essay 4. I think a good structure for this essay is actually suggested by the question:

1. Clearly state what you innovated or initiated.
2. What actions you took to innovate or initiate something
3. The result and impact of your actions
4. What you learned

b. Is there anything about your background or experience that you feel you have not had the opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee in your application? If yes, please explain. (500 words)
Here you can write about anything that you think the Admissions Committee should know about you. I suggest writing the other essays first and then determining what aspect or aspects of your background or experiences you most want to emphasize.

Some applicants will have a particular story in mind, but for many this could actually take the form of a contribution essay.

One way I like to think about contribution questions is to use a matrix such as the following:

CLICK ON THE ABOVE TO ENLARGE. For an excel version, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com.
I use the above matrix for all types of contribution questions, modifying the categories to fit the question. When it comes to contribution questions, I think it is important to tell specific stories that highlight specific ways you will add value to your future classmates.

Sometimes people write about aspects of their background that don't have any really clear added value and these are rarely effective. Yes, you may love reading science fiction in your spare time, but why does Wharton need to know that about you?

When you think about what to select here, closely consider what you are writing in the other essays and use this space to help Wharton learn even more about you.

You might very well find that you have unique contributions based on your international experience. While writing about international experience can be effective, it will not be if it becomes little more than writing something like "I am Japanese (or American, French, etc) so I can contribute a Japanese perspective." That is not good enough because it merely means that any Japanese candidate and not necessarily you could make this contribution. In such circumstances, dig deeper and come up with something better.

Finally, keep in mind that whatever you write, it should reveal something positive about you that will help Wharton determine why you belong at their school. Consider the following from the Wharton blog:

In fact, we find that ~75-80% of all applicants are admissible based on academic and professional experience. All things being equal, it is the more qualitative measures that come to the forefront in the evaluation process. Key differentiators in many applications become personal qualities such as leadership, management, communication skills, initiative, contribution to community, and integrity.

Your essays are one of the major places where these key differentiators are made explicit. 4 b. gives you the ability to completely control what personal qualities you emphasize, so make certain that you are using this essay to help Wharton reach the right conclusions about you.

OPTIONAL: If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, TOEFL waiver request, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application). (250 words, maximum)

At their presentation in Tokyo in 2007, Wharton admissions specifically encouraged applicants to use this space if they need to because it is better to tell them the reason then to make them guess. Don't write anything if you have no concerns. If you read the above, it should be clear enough that this is the place to explain anything negative or potentially negative in your background. Wharton gives you four questions and 2500 words or more to talk about all the good stuff.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

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