Wharton 2012 - Calling All Applicants

xerox, thank you so much for these details. This makes me even more interested in Wharton because these things will be critical to the work I want to do post MBA. It's nice to see that even though it's known as a finance school, Wharton doesn't ignore things like corporate communications and public relations. Again thank you so much.

In for Round 1. Anyone has any idea when the application will go live?

A high math percentile is EXPECTED from engineers or number crunching finance types. So in cases where such people fall out of that pattern, adcom starts questioning the applicant's professional qualities. At the same time, these applicants need to worry more about their verbal scores as in their case they are scrutinized more and give more insight into the balance in the initial skill set.

On the other hand, if your background did not involve much of the quant work engineers or equity analysts do, then it is EXPECTED that your verbal score should be in the high range. The focus then shifts to the Quant score, and the goal of the applicant then becomes mitigating the concerns the school may have about the ability of the applicant to handle the quantitative rigor of the program (and Wharton is often considered the most challenging top school from that perspective).

So here's where the 80/80 comes in: it is a universal solution, which eliminates the need to mitigate the GMAT component weaknesses in other parts of the application.

I would say that a higher math score will level the playing field for you at Wharton. Combine that with your UC Extension success, and you've got that part covered in full.

I attended the Wharton admissions event yesterday in New Delhi, India. My notes:

1. The alumns were highly disappointing except a couple of them who really outshone - so basically, out of 6, 2 guys were really good and the others completely negated the 'wow' a Wharton Alumn is expected (Rather I expected) to have
2. The admissions officer gave a 10-15 minute presentation - highly generic, nothing that I or anyone else there didn't already know
3. Post the presentation - the room was opened to questioning the alumns. As mentioned, 2 of them were really good, gave great insights. The others were quite perplexed and confused to say the least
4. Met some students who are going there this year as well. Very low on confidence and they made it seem as if getting in was a fluke for them and they couldn't believe they were in
5. Met some lauder students there - who were very impressive
6. The meeting was sponsored by Yes Bank - and it was the worst presentation I have ever attended in terms of venue selection (drove past it twice and din't notice where it was - even though it is on one of Delhi's premier roads. Wharton didn't post any map), facilities (mic not working, broken chairs anyone?) and high tea (there wasn't much tea or anything else on offer).

To give you a perspective, I have attended admissions events of Tuck, Wharton (last year which was much much better), Darden, Indian School of Business and Chicago Booth. For Chicago as an example, the venue was a 5 star hotel, students and alumns were highly impressive - they knew their stuff about admissions and the school life itself, and the overall process felt highly professional.

The Wharton event yesterday was extremely unprofessional - the venue was dysfunctional and shoddy appearance of the admissions guy + alumns. You know, these events by the schools aren't really an 'attraction' meet as much as they are 'informative' meets. Even if Wharton didn't come to India - i would have applied. So just because they had a bad venue doesn't really mean the school isn't good or I won't apply. However, the primary purpose (which is information does need to be supplemented with a professional demeanour that reflects well on the school as well. I don't think it's hard to argue that for one of the most professional and well respected business schools in the world, it was a poor show. Not Impressed!

str1der ... interesting post, as I had completely the opposite experience at the Wharton reception in Paris, I attended on Tuesday. The venue was the impressive Bain office in Central Paris, great arrangements, nearly 20 alums - ranging from people who passed out in 1978 to students who have just joined ... all in all I was really impressed ... the alumni spent a lot of time afterwards to answer questions ... though I still wanted to ask more questions before the end, I was impressed by the patience and pertinence of the replies ... I guess that clarity in thought is what separates the students from the top MBA programs.

Just to add that unlike you I was not still completely sold to Wharton before attending the event ... I still had not figured out if Wharton was a fit for me ... but I received only positive vibes at the reception ... will attend a couple of more events to compare, but already I have a much better idea of the values that a Wharton MBA would add to me.

Just curious on everyone's thoughts on this: does it greatly decrease your chances if you do not do an in-person campus visit and schmooze with the admissions staff?

From the replies I got at the Wharton reception ... absolutely not ... it is an opportunity for students to come and feel the Wharton MBA community, but a visit to campus is never taken into account for MBA decisions

Well i am targeting a switch to Finance so Wharton was a permanent fixture on my list in a way. Glad to hear you had a positive experience in Paris. Unfortunately I can't say the same.

Interestingly, one of the alumns here also was a Bain partner. But I guess as Yes Bank was hosting the event, Bain's office in Gurgoan would have been ruled out nonetheless. Also I don't know how many people attended Paris. In delhi, it was atleast 75

I think a few more details would help. "Disappointing" and "good" sounds a bit generic.
What exactly did you expect?
What would have been considered "good"?

Sure - here goes:

1. With respect to the alumni, disappointing as in overall presentation which was too casual and ineffective answers towards handling the application process. The couple of them who were really good answered very well on all questions people posed to them also injecting some humour to keep the conversation engaging. They answered specifically (both had been on the adcom and had read applications) to all types of questions. The difference between the former and latter group is the former gave very very generic answers (things like believe in yourself, reapply even if you get rejected 10 times) vs. more logical answers (someone asked I am 35, will this go againts me? The alumn said do you have a cutoff age for becoming a CEO? There are no cutoffs in life for such things - if you feel you are ready, you are ready). I guess the way of putting thoughts forward rather than the overall though was the differentiator

2. I expected the admissions representative to give in depth knowledge of how Wharton engages students differently from other schools, what sets it apart and what are some of the more recent initiative in this regard. For example, everyone knows the school is top notch for finance - what about someone like me who may be thinking non traditionally at say a MBA with exposure to media and entertainment? What kind of support can I expect. You may say well you could have asked him - I tried, raised hands etc. but didn't get around to it. When i asked him later during the informal 1-1 he said you can read more on the website.

3. From an overall perspective - I expected a) The venue to be professional with adequate 'meeting'/'conference' like facilities - proper seating, mic and projector/big screen. The venue where this happened, the lift was faulty, entrance was through a side door which we walked past twice before realizing it was there, the notice board on the Ground floor said Yes Bank Conference (2nd Floor) - no mention of Wharton - and for someone like me who was well aware that Yes Bank was sponsoring the event, it was OK. Someone who didn't know this could have been quite lost. The chairs inside were broken, mics weren't working properly and there were no movable mics which hence meant that when the admissions guy spoke (he was away from the mic area) he wasn't exactly very audible. Tea etc. was improper. In contrast, Chicago Booth (I have mentioned it again and again but then thought of keeping the contrast constant) hosted their reception last (or was it last to last) year at the Taj - one of India's premier hotels. Seating was wonderful, tea/food etc. immaculate. The presentation quality was superb with proper A/V arrangements, enabling the host to move about in the room while addressing us. She specifically stressed on 'Why Chicago Booth' rather than 'What is Chicago Booth' as it should be a given that you know the school well before you come for the sessions in a way.

Also - I was the only (yes - Only!) person in the room, who wasn't al alumni or representing Wharton who wore a business suit! Mostly everyone there was in Jeans/T Shirts and even slippers. The admissions guy wore a shabby suit, sorry to say, and only 1 alum wore a suit, rest everyone was in shirts trousers.

Now, that this detailed debrief is over, more important issues to address. When do you think the essays are coming out? Also, are there people here who would like to exchange notes on each other's essays?

str1der: I would have loved to attend that Wharton meet, but had to miss it because of my office.
And Yeah, I really want to exchange notes on essays. Do they offer any advice on how to approach essays ?
Thanks

Sounds like you got the answers



It is sad that they blew you off like that. Check out the Wharton Interactive Media Initiative for a start: marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/ideas/wimi/wimi_exec_summary.pdf


You won't see too many people at Wharton wearing suits, unless they are interviewing for a job. This is in line with what the school really feels like. Lots of people dress preppy, so flip-flops and shorts are not unusual. The admissions guy should not have looked shabby though -- it is surprising to hear this as admissions people are usually dressed very well.


They usually post questions in early August, and I do not see why this year should be any different.

It is unclear how exchanging notes on essays could help anyone differentiate themselves, though... I am a bit puzzled here because sharing that information achieves exactly the opposite: similar approaches are born and recycled, and it does not help anyone to stand out.

If you get in at Wharton, on average your life will be $3,340,334 better. I wonder what the standard deviation is.

https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/co ... 989005.htm

hoping to be in by round 1. will be tight given a full work schedule but hopefully make it there.

i've always wondered how effective shameless networking is during a school visit. often get the sense that it is easy to leave a bad impression on someone by being overly aggressive given that there are always individuals trying to monopolize the attention of current students/admissions staff.

It is usually a bad idea to come through as a complete d..k, but other than that there is no shame in active networking. If I were you, I would schmooze like there is no tomorrow at every school I visit.

xerox, how would you describe the culture and environment at Wharton. Would you say that the student body is close-knit and collaborative? Is there a lot of competition amongst the students?

I am eagerly awaiting the application process. I've already lined up my recommenders, fine tuned my resume, finished gmat, now it's just a matter or putting those essays behind me.

Profile at enrollment:
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Race: Caucasian
GMAT: 710 (49Q/38V)
GPA: 3.9+ in business admin
WE: Three years post undergrad doing corporate finance w/ Fortune 20 company with two promotions. Currently responsible for the I&E of a 900M annual revenue global product line. Two years pre-undergrad in hospitality management.
EC: Board member youth organization, finance rep for strategy team (current company), mentor at current company