I’ve been looking at it for a few days now and to be honest I’m a bit distraught. It seems like the question is so austere and ambiguous that it almost sets you up to write some cliché bs that they hear all the time. I can’t think of a way to really make it unique as it seems that what they are wanting is for you to say that you would go to class and study hard and pretty much delineate your everyday life there. Am I missing some creative leeway in the question or are they really throwing us this question to see how creative you can make it?
I think this is the same supplement (or very similar) prompt I had when I applied almost three years ago. Don’t think too hard about it really. I think they just want to know why you would want to go to Penn. How can Penn, especially, help you reach your end goal? This might be a way for admissions to see if students are really going there because there are some resources or opportunities that might not be as readily accessed or available at other schools.
@pmsleepy I’m applying to wharton so do you think it might be too trite to say that wharton is one of the (if not the) best business schools in america and I would have a much easier time finding a job if i went there. I feel like that sounds very shallow but if I’m being honest, I want to go to wharton because its a great school and it will open up alot of doors after college…
LOL - just like someone applying to Harvard should say “I am ONLY applying to Harvard because of the name recognition and job prospects”.
Do you not get that when you are accepted, they are asking YOU to bring YOUR attributes and skills to THEIR community and in that regard, ENHANCE their community? Wharton wants you ONLY if they want you; your stats get you to the first step, but putting in an essay that they are “one of the best business schools in america” and “I would have a much easier time finding a job if i went there”, that just means that YOU have nothing to offer THEM, you just want to glom on to their positive reputation and use them.
Think about WHY you want to go to Wharton - I hate to tell you this, but most students at Penn AREN’T Wharton students! And there are some great reasons to want to go to Wharton which you can only find out by learning more about Wharton, more than is listed by USN&WR.
You will be very miserable at Penn if you don’t truly want the experience of being at Penn. Read up on Philadelphia. Compare it to Cambridge and other top business school locations. Look at how Wharton awards degrees and treats majors. And so on.
The experience of being in college for four years is going to outweigh the result of having the degree. Pick out the top ten undergrad business schools and see how each campus and program differs, and THEN, only THEN, tell the folks at Penn why you want to go to Wharton.
@rhandco Thanks! I’m a little confused on what exactly you were trying to convey when you said that most penn students aren’t at wharton. Are you trying to say that it is much harder to get into wharton than even penn or wharton isn’t that appealing or what?
No, I’m saying that Penn has multiple undergrad schools, plus many grad schools, so don’t go there thinking it will be the ultimate business school experience. All undergrads are mixed in together, and at Penn everyone can take classes in every college. Some colleges do not let business majors take engineering or nursing or fine arts or vice versa.
Recently it’s actually Penn’s engineering school is the most difficult Penn college to get into per the outgoing Dean of Engineering.
@rhandco the interdisciplinary studies system that penn has implemented is actually one of the reasons that I want to go there so much. I don’t want to just do business I’d love to do something in math or physics so what you just described is actually a huge plus for me. Thanks!
Yes, it is great, go to the campus and check it out. It is always beneficial just to see what students are like and how students in your major fit in.
All the stereotypes about going to college and having a life-changing positive experience were true for me and my best friend who both went to Penn. Not saying thing bad about other colleges, but do some visits and see where you really want to apply. It’s going to be your home for four years.
@rhandco I actually have visited the campus and I loved it. When you were there did you find that the pressure of perfection was pretty visible. I’m just seeing a lot of articles now about that especially in the wake of all of those student suicides
@rhandco also at a lot of schools I find that people seem to be defined by their majors yet I don’t get the sense that that is at all the case at Penn. Am I correct in assuming that?
@mat324 “When you were there did you find that the pressure of perfection was pretty visible”
DD is a rising sophomore at Penn.
I think that students who feel pressure to be perfect are either putting that pressure on themselves or their parents are putting it on them. Having said that, it is a challenging school for almost any student. The average incoming student had a 3.91 GPA in high school and I am told that the average at Penn is a 3.3 or 3.4, except Engineering where grades are slightly lower (3.2-3.3 range). For students who define themselves by their near perfect grades, they are likely to be in for a difficult adjustment. Students who think admission to Penn is a reward for the hard work they did in high school are also in for a rough ride.
Students who get involved, want to capture as many opportunities as possible, contribute to the community, and are more interested in learning as much as possible than defending a GPA will fair a lot better. That does not mean not working hard. Working hard is a given. I mean that you may work hard and get some B’s and C’s anyway. Most students do. It isn’t a big deal. It can become a big deal if you do not react to it effectively. Keep going, don’t let it get in your head, and do your best on the next class. That is all you or any student can do, be resilient.
@mat324, I agree with rhandco. The prompt isn’t so much of addressing the supplement with a creative spin. It’s more of what you would like to utilize at Penn and how these resources/groups/opportunites and whatnot can help you. There’s not one way to answer this because it is expected that everyone wants to enter Penn for different, specific reasons. I guess you could put in that Wharton is one of the best business schools, but what else can you say about the school?
@pmsleepy do you think it would be off topic to talk about the social life there as one of the reasons I want to go there given the prompt is specifically asking for intellectual/academic reasons?
@mat324 I’m about to start my freshman year at Wharton, so I can share some advice regarding the essay. There are a few important things to note. First of all, make sure to be very specific about what it is you like about Wharton/Penn. Saying it’s the best business school is fine, as long as you add specific examples of what you want to do there. For example, you may want to participate in a certain program at Wharton, or you might want to delve deep into marketing (in which case mention specific courses you’d like to take). Research professors, and explain why you want to learn from those specific people. You mentioned that you like the interdisciplinary approach that Penn takes. Mention that, and explain why it’s important for you to, say, balance a business education with the liberal arts. You can definitely make the essay about what Wharton/Penn can offer you (that’s what I did), as long as it doesn’t sound cocky. It’s a fairly straightforward prompt, but you’ve got to answer it in detail.