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• Challenging interpersonal experience From: 2012_applicant  Sep 13, 2011 Posts 1

  Hi, For the essay on a challenging interpersonal experience, does the subject matter have to cover an actual interpersonal relationship (e.g. a difficult co-worker or micromanaging supervisor)? Or could it be about an individual incident that was rectified, such as a meeting gone wrong and then eventually remedied later on? The question seemed pretty open ended to me, but perhaps the wording could imply that Wharton is looking more for how we dealt with challenging relationship experiences. Thanks. Reply

• Re: Challenging interpersonal experience From: Fanaticalfan  Sep 14, 2011 Posts 1,065

  In reply to

  The wording of questions is deliberately broad, to give applicants the maximum scope to answer them in the way that best suits the applicant's particular circumstances. There aren't really right or wrong answers here about the situations themselves. The essays are more about your response to the situation, and how well you communicate this to the reader. FF Reply

• Re: Challenging interpersonal experience From: timpowers  Sep 24, 2011 Posts 3

  In reply to

  Hi there,  Here are some tips we posted on our blog, EssayCritique.blogspot.com: First, what is an interpersonal experience?  A challenging inter-personal situation could be an exchange with people in the workplace, with a client, with family, or with other important players in your life that was difficult It could be a situation that was challenging because of the context that it was set it (regardless of the roles), or because of the people involved - the former is much better than the latter My LEAST favorite responses to this question are ones in which candidates find faults with others that they worked with - or a situation in which they glowed spun around differently - most frequently these essays fall flat, because they sound immodest and immature Please feel free to contact me at essaycritique@gmail.com with further questions. Thanks, Tim  Reply

• Re: Challenging interpersonal experience From: victormlee  Sep 24, 2011 Posts 2,142

  In reply to

  I agree for the most part with Tim. An essay that focuses more on the failings of others is often the kiss of death for an application. AdCom is looking to get more insight into how you interact and deal with other people - especially in challenging situations, environments, etc. The Wharton MBA program has many activities and classroom exercises that involve personal interactions, and AdCom would like better to understand your style, personality, insights, etc.  The question is intentionally broad and open to reasonable interpretation, but don't forget the core purpose(s) of the question when composing your answers. -Victor WG '11 Reply