Ask Jason@沃顿 (my essays inside!) Free essay advice again~

zhuyi19870813

you are the best!!!thank you so much for the info.


one more question is since ur saying that my manager or someone will need to write the letter and submit by themselves. so if I apply for several schools they will need to do it multiple times? it's a little annoy for them. hehe


thank you again.

zhuyi19870813

another question.
still regarding to the recommendation letter. I only worked for one company for full time. Do I just let my mangaer wrote one and my Director wrote one? or better from different source see other than my manager, let my professor in school or supervisor for my Volunteer in Olympic? which way is better? still this question kinda go back to how important Warthon will consider on my working experince.

and also, how important is GMAT? I know there's a limit or a line. And I assume the more the better but since you have been there. Can you please tell me what is the lowest score you have ever heard in Warthon? Do I have to have a 730+ to apply?

Thank you again and again. And sorry for so many questions since I just decide to go this path for my life.

cannedpineapple

Yup, it's annoying. That's why you need to have good relationships with them, and don't apply to too many schools.

Again, as for the choice of recommenders, go with who can best write a vivid account of who you are. It doesn't matter how they know you, although professor from school is not generally a good choice.

GMAT: I've heard of below 650. But in general, for Wharton, we think you can stop worrying if both your verbal and math components are above 80%.

Hope this helps!

cannedpineapple

Tell us about a situation in which you were an outsider. What did you learn from the experience? (500 words, Wharton 2008)

Volunteering to teach English in Nongkhai, a poor rural area in Thailand, placed me outside my comfort zone of social interactions. Compared to my students, I was from a wealthier socio-economic class and did not speak Thai. As a first-time visitor I also quickly perceived some other differences with my pupils. For my first assignment, they wrote about aspiring to become singers, tour guides and to run their own restaurants. This was new to me, as Singaporeans generally dreamt of becoming doctors, lawyers and bankers. Also unlike my countrymen, the Nongkhai residents were always greeting one with a smile. From an outsider's perspective, both these points seemed to evince their laidback and easy-going cultural mindset. I was wrong.

In Nongkhai, most locals spoke no English, and our interactions typically began and ended with a mutual smile. In order to communicate more, I had to learn Thai. With my increasing language ability, Thailand showed itself to be not just metaphorically but also literally the "land of a thousand smiles". I'd been mistaken: Thai smiles did not reflect a single joyful mindset. Instead different ones were used in diverse occasions to express various moods.

Furthermore, conversations with Thai colleagues soon convinced me that my initial take on my students’ aspirations had missed a broader picture. My star pupil, Nok, had aimed merely to open her own local restaurant, despite her obvious potential. Her older sister Lek, on the other hand, worked in the capital Bangkok. Thinking it a waste that the talented Nok did not emulate her more ambitious sister, I consulted with local teachers on their opinion. Their words would help me develop an insider perspective.

Prostitution had, not so long ago, been rampant in Nongkhai. Recently, however, the government had improved things, building more schools and improving literacy. Better education had brought new economic options, and the youth had stopped turning to prostitution in droves. Nevermind aiming to be a doctor or lawyer; in local eyes, that Nok was even in school and looking to earn a respectable keep was evidence of incredible progress. Colleagues told me that Lek, for instance, did indeed work in Bangkok: but not as a hotshot banker, as a call-girl. Nok's vocational choice had nothing to do being laidback and a settling for easy work. Unlike her sister, she had been afforded an education, and was actually reaching for a more decent job.

As an outsider I had wrongly brushed aside the Thai smile and my students' aspirations as examples of their easy- going nature, and by the end I had learnt an important lesson. It was crucial not to oversimplify a people's culture. The myriad smiles and socioeconomic history of Nongkhai were all nuanced parts of its culture, parts I had initially missed by pigeon-holing the locals as 'happy-go-lucky'. In Nongkhai I have also seen, first hand, how schooling had achieved amazing progress in an under-developed region.

lndeed this experience has confirmed that my future social enterprise will similarly be a project in youth education.

cannedpineapple

Analysis of my essay

1) As with my previous essay, I begin the essay by immediately and succinctly explaining the situation in which I was an outsider.

2) I end by answering the question once again. "... and by the end I had learnt an important lesson. It was crucial not to oversimply a peoplle's culture"

3) This once again shows my ability to analyse. I look beyond the obvious ('all Thai people are the same'), and start looking for more nuanced explanations. Perhaps the adcom also saw this as maturity.

4) I show proactiveness, going to learn Thai when I needed to. I also show curiosity about another culture, and finally compassion for having done this volunteer work in the first place. This is relevant because it ties in with my stated long term career goal- social work.

5) This is, at heart, an essay testing if one can change their perspective. I show this with this crucial sentence: "Nok's vocational choice had nothing to do being laidback and a settling for easy work. Unlike her sister, she had been afforded an education, and was actually reaching for a more decent job."

needthat

First of all, a big thanks to Jason! I learned a lot during these few days.

I started reading Jason's thread a couple of days ago and his post about engineers not being able to elaborate the WHY and the HOW caught my eyes. I started ask more questions about this and eventually send one of my essays to Jason for review. Here's what I learned.

- WHAT, WHY and HOW are closely intertwined. Still focus on the WHY and HOW!

- Explain the facts which you think are trival and treat the admin as your grandmother.

- Write as if you were writting an essay for the GMAT with a clear structure. Be concise and straight to the point. Don't let the admin guess where you were going in the essays.

- Use the analysis approach in decribing the background situation. This is indeed what the admin wish to see in a potetial candidate.

- I also start to feel that writing application is more about the mindset rather than your writing skills.

Good luck with the applications!

antony880805

好帖子居然到现在才发现，该打该打！mark 常来学习！

Goosepumper

Hi Jason,

I find your posts gave many different perspectives, quite interesting.  I have two questions and would like to seek ur views on them.

First, in relation to the goal essay.  If being honest, the future goal that i have would be quite different from my past experience.  I understand that it is important to be honest to oneself in the essay.  But I heard the goal should also reflect the realistic evaluation of oneself and bridge the connection between past experience and the future choice.  What if the past experience does not have much connection with the new onw?  How to make the goal sounds more realistic and achievable?  

A second question is about the research one schools.  Apart from researching on courses and clubs, what other aspects do you consider as the important areas to research on so as to demonstrate that the school is a good match?  

Thanks very much

cannedpineapple

Goosepumper,

If your goal isn't realistic, that's typically a sign for yourself that you need to think more about your goal. Realistic does NOT mean 'bridge past experience and future choice', since many people go to business school to change jobs. Rather, it is realistic given your current level, your current skillset, what you might achieve at business school, and so on. If, after considering all that, you still think it's not realistic, then maybe you need to think more about whether this is the right choice personally.

Schools:
1) Look at size of school. Big vs small means very different social experience and networking.
2) Look at location.
3) Look at number of courses in the area you want to study.  Look at diversity of courses. Look at flexibility of curriculum. Is it a core system (not flexible, but everyone has a common base of knowledge which makes discussions more fruitful, and all employers know exactly what to expect as a minimum from the students?) Or is it a very flexible one? (good to customise your course, but sometimes your discussions wont be as deep.)
4) Look at culture, which is not an easy thing to consider, but some proxies include: what industries do their students come from? (finance dominated vs marketing dominated, for instance, has very different culture). What industries their graduates go into? Look at how many graduates change careers.
5) Look at size of alumni base. Look at size of alumni base in the location in which you are interested in working.
6) Look at the marketing materials. What is the key slogan of the school? For instance, Chicago's first words on its brochure are, "challenge everything"- that tells you that above all, it wants critical thinking in its students.
7) Look at whether famous professors teach classes, or whether they leave classes to the rookie professors.
8) Look at whether there is grade non-disclosure. This will affect culture and recruiting.

Some other things you can look at, which I don't really care about, are a) interaction with alumni b) interaction with students c) interaction with adcom. 'Cause for me, interaction with people is sometimes random. You can click with (or not click with) people from any school or industry. But the factors I listed above are facts. Facts can't be changed, and don't depend on luck.

This is a short list. Not all will be relevant to you and to your personal likings and to your career choice. I will be adding to this list as I think of more...

tracytrace

aren't people (interaction) part of the culture, then?