Booth Interview Video Question Analysis for the MBA Class of 2023 Round 2

 For my overall suggestions on Chicago Booth MBA  interviews, please see here.

 

 

For the current admissions cycle, Booth started asking for one minute video for those who receive interviews:

 

"Please submit a video response to one of the following two prompts:

• Tell us about something new you learned recently that shifted your worldview. How did it influence your behavior and/or actions?
• What is something you wish people knew about you, but you’re not sure that they do?

Please note the following:

• The length of the video submission should be no more than 60 seconds.
• You will not be evaluated on the styling and editing of the recording, only the content of your submission.
• Feel free to record the video with a cellphone, computer, or other video recording device."

 

Overall suggestions:

In general, I recommend discussing  something new that is not at all or is only minimally discussed in your application. Given that Booth has already asked a lot about you in the main essays, you should certainly give an answer that is consistent with what is found there.  However this is an opportunity to give them new perspectives and/or elaborate on  a theme found only briefly in your essays. If you choose to write about something that has already been covered, really consider whether what you are adding is really strong enough to make a difference.

 

Given the length is just 60 seconds, obviously you cannot write script in huge detail, rather think of these as one-point or two-point answers. Somewhere between 90-120 words is the likely length of a script that can be communicated effectively in one minute.

 

While video is not directly connected to the interview as the interviewer will not have access to them, do keep in mind that they will be analyzed in relationship to your application and the interview report

 

Technical considerations: The most important thing is that they can hear you and see you clearly. Don't worry about editing this or making it fancy. Focus on your content and performance, not on technical issues. Don't go for some outdoor location if you can't get good sound quality. Don't focus on any props or provide visuals just on you and your message.

 

Question Analysis

• Tell us about something new you learned recently that shifted your worldview. How did it influence your behavior and/or actions?

The point here is to focus on something you learned altered your perspective. A worldview is a rather wide perspective, so the learning should be significant and not minor.

1. Focus on a specific thing you learned. Make sure that this was a new learning.  A new learning is just that, something that you would have not known previously.

 

2. Make sure this happened recently. Recently is vague but I think the last 1-2 years would be a good timeframe.

 

3.  The topic possibilities here are really unlimited as this could be everything from a lesson learned through failure or success, a leadership story, a teamwork story,  an intellectual journey, an interpersonal dynamics (EQ) situation,  a story of your motivation towards something personal/academic/professional, etc.

 

4.  Make sure it is very clear that the following underlying pattern is present in your response:

NEW THING LEARNED RECENTLY= N

SHIFT IN WORLDVIEW= S

INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOR/ACTIONS= I

→= leads to

N→S →I

 

• What is something you wish people knew about you, but you’re not sure that they do?

I would say the biggest limiting condition to what topic should be covered is that it must be relevant to Booth’s admission decision. As such you should be able to show how the thing you wish to people knew about you effectively answers one or more of the following:  Why would someone want to be friends with you?  Why would they want to work with you in and out of class?  How will add value to them? What does this does this surprising thing reveal about your intelligence/personality/leadership/teamwork/abilities?  The point here is to focus on something that is not obvious about you but is more than a meaningless curiosity. For example, my thumbs are  double jointed and while this can be briefly amusing when demonstrated, it is not really the kind of thing that would be worth consideration here.  You want to show something about yourself that gives Booth another reason to admit you.

 

Recommended Process for making your video

Here is what I typically do with my clients:

1. They formulate ideas for their script.
2. We either discuss them or just exchange ideas about what topic to focus on.
3. They write their script.
4. I review the script.  If it looks good,  I might give editing feedback if needed. If the script is not good, we discuss it.
5. Once the script is done, they make a video.
6. I review the video and give feedback. This might also involve editing the script.
7. They revise the video and show it to me again. They alter this as many times as necessary before submitting it.

Getting Technically Ready for Online Admissions Interviews

One of the frustrations I regularly experience with clients and potential clients is their lack of technical readiness for having Zoom (or Skype or Google or FaceTime) sessions with me.  This especially freaks me out when we are doing mock interviews for MBA and other programs.  There are just some basic technical things I expect and that are critical to effective training sessions and actual interviews:

 

Be on a good internet connection. While some poor connection situations are unavoidable (power outages, location in a low bandwidth environment), most are not.  Make sure you will be interviewing in whatever optimal location you have for a high bandwidth connection.  If necessary and financially viable, if your home connection sucks get your hands a mobile connection with higher bandwidth.

 

Use a computer, tablet, or other device that Zoom (or other platform) ready.  This means making sure you have device that can handle the platform you are on consistently and effectively.  Beyond doing updates, check your device and the platform you will be on in advance.  Have a friend do a test with you.

 

Getting visual: Make sure your camera is working, your setting is acceptable, and your lighting is good.  This means checking these things in advance. Cameras are usually not the problem (unless, of course, you have failed to authorize the application to access the camera).  Lighting is important. I am not an expert on this. Google it. Tons of stuff will help you figure it out.   It is fine to use a virtual background as long as your device and bandwidth can handle it.  I am not an interior director but do try to create some sort of home office, office,  conference room type setting. Find a friend (s) to give you feedback on your setup.

 

CAN YOU HEAR ME? Be audio ready.  I have saved the most important for last. Actually sometimes bandwidth issues will make video difficult but audio is critical. Check your set-up carefully.  Some computers have great audio input (mic) and output, others don't.  Whatever the situation make sure you have an audio situation that is optimal. No echoes, no muffled speaking, no mikes that are moving around and not picking your voice in a consistent way. Just make sure you sound clear and consistently. Again, have a friend(s) help you out.

 

Finally, I would have thought that the above post would be unnecessary to write but after the last year where almost everyone has been using Zoom, I  find myself still surprised about how many people (typically 20-30 years younger than me) haven't sorted out the above issues. Given that all interviews for the foreseeable future will be online, it is critical to be technically ready for them.

Good luck!

 

Advice on Scheduling MBA Interviews

 Clients frequently ask me questions about the interview scheduling process for MBA programs. Below I have provided advice on the topics I am most frequently asked about both for interviews that are scheduled using online scheduling systems (usually interviews with admissions officers and second year students) and those that are scheduled with an alumnus.

 

 

This post is being written in January 2021, so it assumes all interviews are being conducted via Zoom, Skype, or other online platform and not in-person on or off-campus.

 

 

Scheduling Interviews for MBA Programs That Use Online Scheduling Systems

 

1. If you are invited for an interview and the school uses an online scheduling system, I recommend that you schedule as soon as possible because slots will fill quickly. This is especially true for HBS and Wharton.

 

 

2. If you want more time to prepare for an interview, schedule the session at a later date.  There is no inherent disadvantage in terms of admissions outcomes for taking a later date.  There is no inherent advantage for taking an earlier date in terms of admissions outcomes.  Some applicants who feel ready to interview or want to get an interview out of the way as soon as possible will take earlier dates by choice. Many applicants prefer having more time to prepare. Whatever the case, the important thing is to try and schedule when you think you will be ready.

 

 

3.  You should schedule at a time that is best for you. With respect to time, to whatever extent it is possible to do so, try to interview at the time of the day or evening when you feel you will perform at your best. Some of us are night people, maybe some are afternoon people, and some are day people.  It is not always easy to get a good time but to whatever extent you can try to do so.

 

 

4.  With exception of MIT Sloan, you most likely will not know who your interviewer is in advance. MIT Sloan always lets you know who your interviewer will be but most programs don't provide that information in advance.

 

 

 

Scheduling  Alumni Interviews

 

1. If you are invited to interview with an alumnus, the MBA program will assign one to you and you will need to make contact with alumnus to arrange a time for your interview.

 

 

2.  For most schools you will usually have about a two-week window to complete the interview but this varies from school to school and can be extended due to extenuating circumstances (see below).

 

 

2. It is best to make contact with the alumnus within 24 hours as it looks odd if you wait much longer than that. If you don't get a reply from the interviewer in around  2 business days, feel free to send a follow-up email but I would suggest contacting the school if you have not heard anything within 4 business days.

 

 

4. Be aware that just because you are assigned an alumnus to interview with, there is no guarantee that this person will be available.  It is often the case that alumni agree to be interviewers but are not available when asked to conduct an interview. Schools where this frequently happens include Columbia Business School, INSEAD, and Kellogg. It even occasionally happens with Stanford GSB where alumni interviewers are more intentionally selected than at other business schools.  If this should happen contact the admissions office so that they assign another interviewer to you. They also usually extend the deadline for completing the interview based on assigning a new interviewer.

 

 

5.  I highly recommend checking online to learn about your interviewer.  LinkedIn is an obvious first way to learn about the interviewer as most will have a listing there.  Knowing who your interviewer is important with respect to:

-Understanding to what extent they may have a similar or different background from you. This will help you be strategic in the way you communicate about yourself.

-Being aware of when they graduated from the MBA program so you can tailor questions to them accordingly (Example: Asking new grads about a program is very different from asking someone who graduated from it 5 or more years ago).

-Determining whether you know anyone who knows the alumnus so you can get information about them (Be careful with the way you handle this).

- This one is unlikely: determining whether there is some reason why interviewing with this alumnus would be problematic (Examples: a conflict of interest situation, someone from your past who you would not want to interview with, or someone who based on their background would likely have a bias against you. If this is really an issue contact the admissions office and explain the situation. I have been an admissions consultant since 2001 and have only encountered a few cases where this was an issue.

 

 

6. Finally, it is to a large extent the alumni interviewer's choice of when to conduct the interview, so I do recommend being flexible about this so as not to give the interviewer a bad impression even before you interview.

 

 

Best of luck with your interviews!

Preparing for Wharton Interviews for the Class of 2023

 In this post, I discuss how to prepare for Wharton Interviews for fall 2021 entry.

 

There are two parts to the Wharton interview, the team-based interview and one-to-one interview.  Each part can be prepared for. I am assuming anyone who is reading this post has actually been invited for a Wharton interview and has reviewed the official information regarding it.

 

TEAM-BASED DISCUSSION

I will not disclose the contents of the specific team-based question that Wharton has asked  interviewees to prepare. I do know the question and it changes every year, but the question itself  is not really that different: Different topic, but requiring the group to reach consensus on a proposed topic related to Wharton.   I do provide analysis of the TBD discussion question to my own clients, but will not do that here.  

 

 

Here are some basic group interview strategies to keep in mind:

1. Be someone who makes clear and effective points in the conversation, but does not dominate the conversation.

2. Don't be rude to others. Rude jerks are the easiest people to get rid of when evaluating participants in a team based discussion. I had such clients and they were dinged. I warned  them.  Stanford Professor Bob Sutton's No Asshole Rule surely applies here:  CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT IF YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE. If you are, take corrective action.  Of course, most assholes wouldn't check this out.

3. Listen closely enough to others in order to say something that builds on or reacts against what other people are saying. Refer to what others are saying in order to build consensus. Those that actively listen seemed to have a better outcome in previous years of the TBD.

4. Try to provide constructive communication that moves the discussion forward to a positive conclusion. Make an effort to include others in the conversation.

5. Don't be afraid to make a less than perfect point. If  you were about being perfect, you will never get enough speaking time and perceived as shy and ineffective in team situations. That will get you dinged.

6. Synthesize and summarize the team's conversation in order to move the conversation forward.

7.  Use hedging language and other forms of consensus building language. Try to avoid being dismissive of the views of others.

8. If you are having difficulty understanding someone because of their accent or because of your poor English listening skills, still engage in non-verbal demonstrations that you understand what they are saying.  Non-verbal communication will surely be observed, so if you look confused or frustrated that could be used against you.

9. Smile and show eye contact with other people.

10.  Make sure that you don't slouch , but are sitting tall and look like a positive and engaged person.

11.  If possible make every effort to bond with or at least meet your fellow participants prior to the actual interview.  You will have 10 minutes for the purpose, so be on Zoom 15 minutes before the scheduled start time, so you can enter into the Zoom room as soon as possible.

12. Appearing effective on video is really important. This involves setting and performance.

Setting: Make sure your internet connectivity, lighting, and the space you are in is optimal.

Performance:  I think it is worth focusing on facial expressions and body language as they appear in video. To that end,  please see https://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/body-language-on-camera-how-to-use-facial-expression-to-communicate-context-and-emotion--cms-29640  Previous clients have found this site to be helpful. If you know of any other good resources for this purpose, please let me know.

13.  Keep in mind that you are being observed by two Admissions Fellows, so your performance is being evaluated by a peer-level individual and not an admissions officer.  Hence you are being judged by someone who can easily consider how well you would fit in at Wharton.

 

How I prepare my clients for the team discussion: The main thing I can do is go over the question and make sure my clients are prepared for the topic.  The nice part of the Wharton team discussion is that you do have the question ahead of time.  I assess their content on the following basis:

1. Does the suggested answer address the topic directly?

2. Is the suggested answer one that other group members and the interviewer can easily understand?

3.  Can the answer be communicated very briefly? Given time limits you will need to communicate it very briefly.

4.  Is the answer interesting/original/creative?

5. Are there any negative aspects to the proposed answer?

6. Are they providing an effective 1-minute opening statement?

7. Do they have different approaches to their 1-minute to adjust to what others might have covered first?

 

 

I can't effectively prepare someone for the actual dynamics of a group conversation on a one-to-one basis, but by at least making sure my client's opening is solid, I know they will at least be well positioned to start strong.

 

TBD Simulations

I don't run a TBD simulation.  In past years, I would direct clients to 2 options:

Simulations in their locality:  When TBDs consisted primarily of applicants from a particular country (In my case India, Japan, or South Korea) where colleagues hold TBD practices, I was encouraging clients to attend such practices, especially as it was an opportunity to meet with possible team members before the actual event.   However, given the altered situation since R2 for the Class 2022,  this is not inherently helpful.  Fine to use such services but a Zoom-based session is the only effective way to prepare.

Online TBDs: My colleague, Andrea Sparrey, has been doing online TBDs for a couple of years. Please see  http://www.sparreyconsulting.com/page/wharton-group-interview-prep. I consider this to be the best practice for the Wharton TBD now that they all will be conducted online.  Past clients have liked doing Andrea's session. Please let her know I sent you.

 

SHORT INDIVIDUAL DISCUSSION (ONE-TO-ONE POST TEAM-BASED DISCUSSION INTERVIEW)

This is the standard part of the interview but it is incredibly short.  If you are doing more standard interviews, it will be easy to prepare for this part.  For advice on more standard interviews, please see my MBA Application Interview Strategy. I highly recommend reviewing your resume and Wharton essays as part of your preparation.

In recent years clients have reported the following:

 

Class of 2022 two recent reports for interviews conducted online.

 

1. A second-year student called me  after finishing an interview with another applicant. She said that it was strictly a 10-minute interview and read out an instruction that she’d ask why MBA/Wharton questions which will be followed by a Q&A session. My friend who had a virtual interview a day before me had told me that his was a phone interview, so I prepared a script for why MBA/Wharton questions.

 

2. For the one-on-one, the interviewer mentioned that we had 10 mins and his "one & Only question" was "Why MBA and why Wharton?". Once I finish answering the question, I could ask him any questions I may have regarding the student life at Wharton"

 

All  Class of 2022 and 2021 reports indicate the same thing. While in the past (Class of 2020 or earlier), interviewees were asked to assess how the TBD went, this has not occurred in the last two cycles.

 

We can break Why Wharton and Why MBA into into one part of two parts but essentially you should prepare a long but clear answer that assumes the interviewer knows very little about you and hence briefly introduce yourself when answering this.

 

Have questions ready for your Admissions Fellow (2nd year student) as according to the instructions, they and only they will be the interviewers.  According to this year's instructions admissions officers will not be.

 

How I prepare my clients for the individual interview: I would typically ask my clients these two questions in a mock interview.  It would not be completely realistic because I would go over all the above questions just to make sure that my client was covered for all the above topics. If we were preparing for more standard interviews (Booth, Columbia, Kellogg, Haas, etc.), it might not really be necessary to go over this part of the interview for Wharton. For more about my interview services, please see http://www.adammarkus.com/services/.

Best of luck with your Wharton interview. I hope that you get admitted to the Class of 2023!

Cheers,

Adam

Wharton MBA Essay Questions for the Class of 2023

In this post, I analyze the essay questions for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for Fall 2021 admission. You can find testimonials from my clients admitted to Wharton in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020  here.  For my most recent posts on Wharton interviews, please see here.

My clients have been admitted to Wharton every year since 2002. Since I started my own counseling service in 2007, I have had 79 clients admitted to Wharton (68 admitted to Wharton and 11 admitted to Wharton Lauder), which is my biggest total for any school (HBS,  Columbia, Booth, and INSEAD follow, in that order, in terms of highest totals). My clients' results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application consulting on Wharton, I regularly help additional candidates with Wharton interview preparation.

The thing I like most about Wharton is that they really do admit a very diverse class. The class size certainly helps  But beyond that, Wharton is a school where applicants are evaluated holistically and one need not be perfect to gain admission.  Such factors as a less than stellar GPA, a less than super GMAT or GRE, an older age or work experience in companies that are not necessarily prestigious are not inherent barriers to admission to Wharton's MBA program.  I have worked with clients who had such issues, but also had amazing strengths which helped them gain admission. This could also happen at HBS or only rarely at Stanford, but it happens more at Wharton.  The school's diversity is also shown through the range of courses offered and the many international programs.  Some people think of Wharton narrowly as a finance school, but to do so is to ignore the huge course catalog, numerous clubs, and diverse recruiting results.

Essays Class of 2023:
"First-time applicants and re-applicants are required to complete both essays.
The Admissions Committee wants to get to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, candid and succinct. Most importantly, we suggest you be yourself.
Essay 1: What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (500 words)
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)
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)*

*First-time applicants may also use this section to address any extenuating circumstances. (250 words)"

The Required Essays

Essay 1 is the same for 2021 admission as it was for 2020. The wording for Essay 2 changed, but it is a still a contribution question (actually the easiest kind of contribution question). As you can see, Wharton’s essay set is transactional in the most basic sense because Essay 1 is about what Wharton can give you and Essay 2 is about what you can give Wharton. This reflects the core pragmatism of the school’s culture and specifically the culture of the admissions office.

Essay 1:  What do you hope to gain professionally from the Wharton MBA? (500 words)

 WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM WHARTON?

Wharton is continuing to ask this question. An excellent answer to the Wharton essay question would identify those specific aspects of Wharton that you will most benefit from. It is a future focused question.  A general characterization of Wharton- data driven, but also a place with a commitment to experiential learning, East Coast focused but with a San Francisco campus that is now become integrated into the MBA program, highly international, highly flexible with strengths in a large number of areas, including healthcare, finance, real estate, and marketing- is  helpful to keep in mind when writing this essay. Wharton has a lot to offer and, while some have characterized it as a CFO school, a finance school, a Wall Street school, all too some extent true, this is not so helpful when you consider that, for example, Sundar Pichai, Google's guy in charge of Chrome, Android, and Google Apps, is a Wharton alumnus. Wharton is a huge program with so many strengths that the point is not to think about some big overall image of the school, but to focus on what you want to get out of it. Which specific resources you want to use and why. Keep in mind that Wharton is much bigger than HBS because of the undergraduate program. The range of courses, research, and opportunities is huge. The point is to provide a specific game plan on how you will use Wharton for your professional and personal growth.

An effective essay here will do the following:

1.   Professional means providing Wharton with a clear understanding about what you want from your professional future.  In other words,  what do you want to do and/or how do you want grow as a professional?
2.   Think widely about what you want from a Wharton MBA.  The point is to give Wharton a sense of the best of who you are so don't limit yourself too narrowly, but if you try to cover too much, you will end up not covering anything effectively. Focus on specific factors that will help you achieve your professional objectives.

If you are having difficulty determining what your goals are and/or why you need an MBA in general, please see my analysis of Essays 1 and 2  in my Columbia Business School and/or Stanford Essay B analysis. In those posts I provide a detailed method for thinking about goals and need for an MBA. Except for length, there is little difference between Stanford Essay B and Wharton Essay 1 as both questions ask what one wants from the school. CBS gives 750 words (Essay 1 is 500 words and Essay 2 is 250 words) for what you need to cover in Wharton in 500 words.

Make the assumption that an MBA from Wharton will be a transformative experience for you.  If you don't make this assumption, you will likely find it particularly hard to explain what you want from the experience and will also probably come across as rather dull.  Your job is to engage the admissions reader so that they understand what you want from Wharton for your future.

What are your aspirations?  You need to give Wharton admissions a very clear image of your professional objectives for attending the MBA program.  You might include a clear post-MBA career goal and a longer term vision/goal, but depending on how you answer the question, you might express what you want from Wharton more in terms of the kind of person and kind of professional you want to become. You might express it in terms of your present situation and how you hope to be transformed by your Wharton experience.  A purely abstract dream or visionary statement could easily come across as unrealistic or ungrounded if not handled carefully, so be careful to connect your aspirations to  your past actions and/or clearly defined goals. Career changers (those planning on  changing industry and/or function after MBA) should explain why they want to change their careers and how Wharton will enable that. Career enhancers should explain how an MBA will enhance their careers to continue along the pathway that thy are already on.

You should be explaining why you need a Wharton MBA in  particular. You should  learn about the curriculum, clusters / cohorts/ learning teams, Learning @ Wharton, community involvement, clubs, and WGA in order to determine what aspects of Wharton really relate to your professional objectives. You need not mention the names of particular courses as long as it would be clear to your reader that your aspirations align well with Wharton's offerings. For example, it is really a waste of word count to mention the names of particular finance courses if the main point you are simply trying to make is that you want to enhance your finance skills. Every admissions officer at Wharton is well aware of the programs major offerings.  If you have a particular interest in a more specialized course or studying with a particular professor, it might be worth mentioning it as long as it is an explanation of why you want to study the subject and not based on circular reasoning.

An example of circular (tautological) reasoning:  "I want to take Advanced Corporate Finance because I am interested in developing advanced corporate finance skills." This kind of bad circular reasoning is so common in early drafts I see from my clients and in the failed essays of reapplicants that I am asked to review. Usually it takes place within a paragraph consisting of many such sentences. These sentences actually convey nothing about the applicant. The admissions reader wants to learn about you, not about their own program. If you don't explain what you need and why, you are not actually answering the question, you are just writing something dull, surface level, and without positive impact.

An example of an actual explanation:  "While I have been exposed to finance through my work at MegaBank, I presently lack the kind of comprehensive understanding of corporate finance that I want to master at Wharton to succeed as a future leader of cross-border M&A." By focusing on very specific learning needs and explaining those needs in relationship to one's goals and/or past experience, admissions will be learning about you and really be able to understand what you need from Wharton. Mentioning a course name is not important if the learning need is already something obviously obtainable at Wharton. A more complete explanation would include additional details about the kind of issues that the applicant is interested in learning about and/or specific ways the applicant intended to apply what he or she would learn at Wharton.

Finally, remember that if you have something that you really want to discuss about what you contribute to Wharton or wish to mention particular classes, clubs, and events at Wharton that you could not fit into the essay, you can always discuss that in the optional essay.


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)
WHAT CAN YOU GIVE TO THE WHARTON COMMUNITY?
The 2020-2021 version of the question is so much easier than the last year's version because Essay 2 for 2021 admission is the most general kind of contribution question. Last year, it was also a contribution but had all sorts of limitations built into the wording. I think admissions wanted a less confusing question and one that was easily answered. Given all the uncertainties today, no reason to make essay questions hard to understand or answer, especially if you are trying to maintain and/or increase the number of applications.

I have been an MBA admissions consultant since 2001 and the contribution question is one that I could explain to a client in my sleep.  I have done it on this blog many times before. Here is one of my old (2008) favorites, which includes a table that I have also used below.
One of the chief functions of an MBA admissions committee is to select people who will add value to the community.  The director and the rest of the committee have done their job properly if they have selected students who can work well together, learn from each other, and if these students become alum who value the relationships they initially formed at business school. Your contribution(s) need to clearly connected to the community. Maybe it will be through the way you work with others, the knowledge you share, or the activities you organize but make sure the reader can fully understand how this be a contribution at Wharton.  You should know enough about the Wharton community to show specific ways you might contribute.
Within the context of the Wharton application, Essay 2 is really one of the important places to show why you will add value to Wharton.  One way, I like to think about contribution questions is to use a table like the following:

CONTRIBUTIONS	Is it a personal, professional or academic experience?	What skill, value, or unique experience is being showcased?	So what will you contribute  to the Wharton community?	Is this special? Why?
Story 1:
Story 2:
Story 3:
adammarkus@gmail.com. Free to use, contact me if you republish it.

I use the above table for all types of contribution questions, modifying the categories to fit the question.  What this kind of table does is force you to think about exactly how something from your background is meaningful enough to add value at Wharton.
ADVICE:

1. Tell your best story or stories that highlight how you will add value at Wharton.  Help the reader understand what is special about you, about the story you tell, and the contribution you make.
2. Learn a lot about Wharton so that you can write about really meaningful contributions.  Talk to alumni and current students, attend online chats, and dig through the website and otherwise.  Google and network your way into Wharton expertise in order to be able to have really deep contributions.
3. With respect to the kind of contributions you make, don't fall into the "Obvious Knowledge Trap."  What do I mean? Here is an example: "As my work on the Tesla/McDonalds Merger and Acquisition shows, I have deep knowledge of  finance and accounting which I will use to help my classmates without a finance background." This topic is bad for a number of reasons. First, that you have such knowledge will be obvious from your resume, application form and/or transcripts, so it is better to focus on something that the reader will not already know about you. Second just sharing knowledge is not enough, better to focus on how you would do that. For example, instead of writing about your knowledge of a topic, write about how you helped others learn something and how you will use that to make a contribution at Wharton. Then specify the Wharton specific context (Classes, clubs, activities, Learning Teams) where you will make that contribution.

SPECIFIC ESSAY 2 REQUIREMENTS: Since the question calls for contributions, my suggestion is to include at least two contributions.  The question does not indicate how many aspects of your background you need to focus on. So you can focus on one story from your background or multiple stories. In 400 words, I think 4 topics would be a maximum from your background to focus on but that 2-3 topics makes more sense.

ESSAY STRUCTURE:
It will depend on whether you cover 1 or more topics.   Here are two sample structures that I think are most common:
One Background Topic Essay Structure:

1. Discuss one personal, academic, or professional story.
2. Explain one specific and meaningful contribution that you will be able to make at Wharton based on what you do or learn from this story.
3. Explain another specific and meaningful contribution that you will be able to make at Wharton based on what you do or learn from this story.

Two or Three Background Topic Essay Structure:

1. Discuss one personal, academic or professional story. Explain at least one specific and meaningful contribution that you will be able to make at Wharton based on what you do or learn from this story.
2. Discuss another personal, academic or professional story. Explain at least one specific and meaningful contribution that you will be able to make at Wharton based on what you do or learn from this story.
3. Discuss another personal, academic or professional story. Explain at least one specific and meaningful contribution that you will be able to make at Wharton based on what you do or learn from this story.

Both of the above structures can work well for this kind of essay. It just depends on whether you want to cover one story in depth  and then show two or more contributions from it or show greater diversity of your experience and focus on 2-3 stories.  To tell a story about your background sufficiently and also explain what it shows you will add value at Wharton is very hard to do really effectively in less than 100 words, so 4 topics would be a maximum from my perspective. That said, I will encourage my clients to focus on 1-3 topics.

 

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)*

*First-time applicants may also use this section to address any extenuating circumstances. (250 words)"

First for reapplicants, an effective answer here will do the following:

1. Showcase what has changed since your last application that now makes you a better candidate.

2. Refine your goals. I think it is reasonable that they may have altered since your last application, but if the change is extreme, you had better explain why.

3. Make a better case for why Wharton is right for you.

For more about reapplication, please see "A guide to my resources for reapplicants."

*First-time applicants may also use this section to address any extenuating circumstances. (250 words)"
Second, for addressing any extenuating circumstances: As with the school's other optional question, do not put an obvious essay for another school here. 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. If you have no explanation for something negative, don't bother writing about it. For example if your GPA is 2.9 and you have no good explanation for why it is 2.9, don't bother writing something that looks like a lame excuse. This is more likely to hurt than help you. In the same vein, don't waste the committee's time telling them that your GMAT is a much better indicator than your GPA (the opposite is also true). They have heard it before and they will look at both scores and can draw their own conclusions without you stating the obvious. That said, if you have a good explanation for a bad GPA, you should most certainly write about it. In addition to GMAT/GRE, TOEFL, and GPA problems, other possible topics include issues related to recommendations, serious gaps in your resume, concerns related to a near total lack of extracurricular activities, and  major issues in your personal/professional life that you really think the admissions office needs to know about.

Best of luck with your Wharton application for the Class of 2023!

-Adam Markus