My essay was for the Wharton School. I wrote in the style of an interview, as if I was a successful alumni being interviewed for the university magazine. The questions I had for myself were: Q: This interview will be for the 150th anniversary edition of the alumni magazine. As a new member of the Asia and Pacific department at the IMF, you must be ecstatic. What sparked your interest in this field of work? Q: Your passion is clearly...

For Dartmouth (accepted), I chose: Tell us about an intellectual experience, either directly related to your schoolwork or not, that you found particularly meaningful. I wrote about my experience with literature, namely Oscar Wilde, who is my favourite author. I wrote the essay in the style of one of his plays, using similar grammar/diction. The idea was that I had traveled back in time to meet an omniscient Wilde who gave me valuable advice. The piece was therefore quite...

I would definitely procrastinate less with my essays and start earlier...

I did use a private admissions counsellor, who helped with university research, choosing...

I had interviews with UPenn, Princeton and Oxford. The UPenn interviewer was very friendly, and his main questions were about why I wanted to study in Wharton. An interesting question was which 3 people from any time...

For Wharton, definitely focus on your goals such as your career prospects. However I would say stay...

You should first figure out what exactly it is that you want to study. I was...