{"id":34997,"date":"2016-11-09T11:21:42","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T18:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/wharton-interview-team-based-discussions-what-to-expect-and-how-to-prepare\/"},"modified":"2016-11-09T11:21:42","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T18:21:42","slug":"wharton-interview-team-based-discussions-what-to-expect-and-how-to-prepare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wharton-interview-team-based-discussions-what-to-expect-and-how-to-prepare\/","title":{"rendered":"Wharton Interview Team-Based Discussions \u2013 What To Expect And How To Prepare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wharton recently announced their round 1 interview decisions, and as former Director of MBA Admissions at Wharton<\/strong>, I can share my understanding of what\u00a0the school <\/strong>is looking for in the\u00a0team-based discussions (Wharton\u2019s interview style) which will begin soon<\/strong>. The team-based discussion is a format that the school introduced in 2012, with the goal of allowing candidates to demonstrate how they approach challenges and work cohesively towards a solution. All candidates at the interview stage are invited to one of these sessions (if you can\u2019t make it to campus, you can attend a session in a hub city) as well as a brief face-to-face interview.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the process: once invited for an interview, you\u2019ll receive the outlines of the question for your team-based discussion and how you\u2019re expected to present your idea. Usually you\u2019re allowed one minute to introduce yourself, then the discussion lasts approximately 40-45 minutes where the team of candidates comes up with a topic and presentation model that is ultimately shared with the adcom observer. The time progresses very fast; afterwards the participants have a one-on-one (10 minute) interview with the adcom.<\/p>\n

Wharton really uses the team-based discussions (TBD) as part interview and part marketing, supporting their grounds of \u201cteam based education\u201d. Therefore, the group interview is less about your own particular answer and presentation (although of course you should thoughtfully prepare this in advance) and more about how well you work together and engage with other candidates in your TBD session. This is your chance to provide a direct example of what you would bring to your future study group at Wharton.<\/p>\n

Wharton\u2019s admissions committee is looking for you to clearly exhibit your own ideas with detail and great passion, but also very importantly, they will be observing how well you listen to others and facilitate the group\u2019s dialogue. As you prepare for the\u00a0Wharton TBD, and work through your own \u201cpitch\u201d, think about the following questions:<\/p>\n

\u2022 After everyone in your group has introduced themselves and presented their one minute pitch, are you able to help facilitate the discussion to arrive at a consensus?
\n\u2022 Do you demonstrate leadership behaviors\u00a0that draw out your other team members? How are you able to support the dialogue by encouraging others to express their opinions?
\n\u2022 Are you able to reflect on the discussion that has occurred and help to further move the outcomes to support the group\u2019s final presentation to the adcom in the room?
\n\u2022 Are you solely promoting your own ideas, or are you able to collaborate and support your teammates even if you have to abandon your own?<\/p>\n

In the end, it\u2019s not whose idea is chosen for the final presentation that matters most in the adcom\u2019s assessment, but rather your ability to showcase collaborative leadership \u2013 reflecting the school\u2019s focus on teamwork. Make sure you show that you\u2019re quick to adapt to others\u2019 ideas if necessary, willing to set aside your own ideas to support others, and work towards a group process and outcome that is indicative of how you would function within the framework of the Wharton experience. Check this video for further tips<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To help you prepare, join me for an online video simulation of the Wharton TBD on Thursday, November 10 at 8:00 pm EST, or on Sunday, November 13 at 10am EST. Each session will include a pitch assessment, the team dynamic evaluation as well as an assessment of your particular contributions to the discussions. For further information and to sign up, contact us at info@fortunaadmissions.com<\/a>. I look forward to putting you through your paces and helping you shine on interview day!<\/p>\n

By Judith Silverman Hodara, Director, Fortuna Admissions; former Wharton Admissions Director<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wharton recently announced their round 1 interview decisions, and as former Director of MBA Admissions at Wharton, I can share my understanding of what\u00a0the school is looking for in the\u00a0team-based…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1831,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-fortuna-admissions","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34997\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}