The Wharton School has confirmed the 2025-2026 MBA application deadlines and essay questions.
Founded by a Wharton MBA graduate, Personal MBA Coach is intimately familiar with the Wharton MBA program and the culture at Wharton. Just last month, Scott Edinburgh, Personal MBA Coach’s founder, visited Wharton MBA Alumni weekend!
Below, Personal MBA Coach shares our insights on Wharton’s 2025-2026 application! If you are hoping to join the Wharton MBA class of 2028, please find this year’s Wharton application deadlines along with Personal MBA Coach’s analysis of this year’s Wharton MBA application essays.
The Upcoming Wharton MBA Application Deadlines Are As Follows:
Wharton MBA Round 1 Deadline: September 2, 2025
Wharton MBA Round 2 Deadline: January 6, 2026
Wharton MBA Round 3 Deadline: April 1, 2026
2025-2026 Wharton MBA Essays
Wharton has changed its application essays for 2025-2026 applicants. Find out what has changed and how to approach this year’s essays! Plus, watch this testimonial from a Wharton admit to find out how Personal MBA Coach can help you with your Wharton applications.
Wharton MBA 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)
Unlike in prior years, Wharton is asking applicants to share their goals only in the first MBA essay. This means you should no longer talk about your past career or why you want a Wharton MBA but instead focus on your specific career plans.
For this two-part question, begin by clearly starting your short-term post-MBA goal. As Personal MBA Coach has shared in the past, this goal should be specific and achievable for you! Find out more about how to think about your post-MBA goals here!
Wharton’s second short-form essay question gives applicants the chance to expand a bit on their goals by detailing what they plan to achieve over the first three to five years of their careers. Be sure that you go beyond writing your job description and really show Wharton the impact you hope to have in your early career.
Next, share your long-term career goal, making it clear to the reader how this goal connects to your post-MBA role. While it is always important that one’s short- and long-term goals align logically, Wharton is asking applicants to clearly map out that progression for the reader. This means it is crucial that you think about your career path holistically.
While you will feel very limited with this new essay, this shift from Wharton aligns with a broader trend Personal MBA Coach has seen: schools are prioritizing applicants with well-articulated post-MBA goals.
Wharton MBA Essay 2: Taking into consideration your background – personal, professional, and/or academic – how do you plan to add meaningful value to the Wharton community? (350 words)
Wharton’s Essay 2 prompt changed slightly this year. Wharton gives this direction to applicants when explaining the rationale behind the subject change: “center on the impact you’ll bring to the Wharton community, rather than how you’ll spend your time while in the program.”
In addition, the word limit was reduced from 400 to 350, requiring applicants to be more concise and deliberate in their responses. This second Wharton MBA essay gives candidates the opportunity to share past accomplishments and detail how they will leave the Wharton community better than they found it.
To approach this essay, think about what you have done beyond what is in your resume. Consider items you wish you had space within your resume to elaborate on. Ask yourself what makes you special or unique.
This question gives you the freedom to consider talents, impressive extracurricular accomplishments and/or unique professional skills. We advise candidates to think broadly here about what makes them unique and how they have succeeded both professionally and personally in the past.
Then, consider how you might share these passions, experiences, and successes with your future peers. Tell the reader how you will improve and enrich the Wharton campus. Be sure to do your research on all that Wharton has to offer and to be specific about the contributions you will make. Is there a club you want to join? Perhaps there is a talent you want to share.
Avoid listing items. Instead, select a few unique areas where you will contribute and discuss the mark you hope to leave. Then, as you discuss the specific contributions you will make, tie these to the past experiences you have just brainstormed. A strong essay will cover multiple contributions that flow naturally from your personal story, your passions and your career goals.
Personal MBA Coach’s Tips for Wharton Reapplicants
Wharton also has a required reapplicant essay: 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)
We advise candidates to review our tips for reapplicants before tackling this essay.
Finally, the Wharton MBA application includes one optional essay.
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.
Find out more about how to approach optional essay here!
Looking for more information on Wharton’s MBA program?
Check out our Wharton guide to find out what sets the program apart, get the latest class profile information, and more.
Ready to apply to Wharton MBA? Reach out to Personal MBA Coach and find out how we can help you today!
