Wharton Class of 2028 Essay Analysis

Wharton's 2025-26 essays have been released, with a change to the first essay prompt, and a smaller word limit for the second essay prompt. Perhaps most significantly, Wharton changed the questions it asks recommenders to match the questions commonly used by most other schools use. This will alleviate a significant pain point that applicants have faced in prior years.

2025/26 essay questions

• Essay 1: Two short-form questions:

What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 words)

What are your career goals for the first three to five years after completing your MBA, and how will those build towards your long-term professional goals? (150 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? (350 words)

• Required Essay for all Reapplicants: Please use this space to share with the Admissions Committee how you have reflected and grown since your previous application and discuss any relevant updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, and extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)

• Optional Essay: Please use this space to share any additional information about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application and that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee. This space can also be used to address any extenuating circumstances (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, areas of weakness, etc.) that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider.

2025/26 essay question analysis

Essay 1

Taking together, the two parts of this essay seek a trimmed down version of what Wharton asked for in Essay 1 last year. Both this year and prior years, Wharton is seeking to understand your post-MBA goals. The main difference is that applicants are unlikely to have room to deeply explain their motivations for pursuing their stated goals, nor explain in great detail how they will use Wharton to achieve those goals.

We believe the shorter word limit will help clients avoid the trap of using a lot of words to narrate their goals in detail and with significant nuance. The challenge for some applicants is that it may be more difficult for applicants who are seeking to make significant career changes to explain why they are seeking to make that change. While the optional essay may be a place to explain some of that, we caution against treating the optional essay as a de facto "why Wharton" essay. Rather, applicants should try to position their future goals in essay 1 with some connection to what they have done in the past.

Essay 2

Similar to prior years, aim to articulate a compelling contribution. The more specific and tangible you can make the contribution, the better. Organizing seminars tied to your unique experiences or creating new partnerships between disparate clubs are great starting points, whereas committing to passionately contribute in class won’t differentiate you sufficiently.

Some clients are wary of specialized contributions, for fear of appearing elitist and/or exclusionary. However centering a contribution around a specialized activity (i.e. fencing, football, Middle Eastern cuisine) can be powerful if you structure it to be inclusive. For instance, starting a fencing club doesn’t have to involve including only (or even, mainly) people who already know how to fence. If you’re good at fencing, you can offer to teach, or find another teacher. Organize socializing around the event (i.e. a potluck meal after practice), and soon the event will be about bringing diverse people together around a common interest and passion for self-improvement!

Optional essay

It is important to note that two years ago, Wharton made a change to their optional question, that we believe makes it important for a candidate to consider what to include in this question. Previously, it asked candidates to address any extenuating circumstances (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, areas of weakness, etc.) that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider as it does in the second part of the question today. However, we encourage candidates to consider any additional information about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application and that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee as is highlighted in the first part of the question. This is not an invitation to repeat details found elsewhere. However, it is an opportunity to make sure that you've made your most effective arguments before closing out your application. Please talk with your coach about what you might consider including in this section.

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