Wharton MBA Program Guide 2025

The prompt was restated and the interview began with introductions. We were given 60 sec for pitch a... Read More

The prompt was restated and the interview began with introductions. We were given 60 sec for pitch and went alphabetically. Then 25 minute timer began and we had good group dynamic- kept time- maintained structure- assigned roles for presentation before we began. Kept to time and went through a mock presentation in last 5 minutes before the final presentation. He commended us telling us that we were one of the best TBD groups he saw. PI was straightforward Why mba why Wharton I spoke for 7 minutes or so but since he was not a Wharton student or alumni I didn't have questions to ask per say. Interviewer smiled at me and even called me passionate and charismatic! It was wonderful experience all together. Read Less

1. My slot was later in the day and might have been the last. The Zoom call opened 8 mins before the... Read More

1. My slot was later in the day and might have been the last. The Zoom call opened 8 mins before the scheduled time with two 2nd year students and whoever else had joined by then. The 2nd year students announced they were the moderators and went on mute. 2. At the scheduled time for the TBD to start, the 2nd year students unmuted and introduced themselves. They asked everyone to state their name, and the intended major at Wharton, which has been mentioned previously on other debriefs. After, they told us the rules. They also told us they will give us a visual indication that we have 10 mins and 5 mins remaining by holding a paper on the screen. They asked if anyone has any questions before they start the timer. 3. Once the timer is started, there was silence for about 15 seconds before someone piped up and began. Our TBD went well, we came up with a solid campaign and used the last five minutes to brief it. I didn't feel my individual performance was that great. I felt like I didn't add as much as the other participants and had a hard time getting in my comments. 4. After the TBD we go into the breakout room, the 2nd year sets a time on his/her end and asks only 1 combined question: “Why MBA? and Why Wharton?” If you have time left over, he/she will ask you to ask him/her any questions. Once the time is up, you are released into the main room. I felt nervous and rushed during the interview for my one-on-one because of my performance in the TBD. It would have been helpful to have had some quiet time between the TBD and the interview to regroup but we all talked to each other while waiting. Read Less

Here’s my TBD experience: 1. My slot was the first slot of the day, i.e. 8 am ET. The Zoom call o... Read More

Here’s my TBD experience: 1. My slot was the first slot of the day, i.e. 8 am ET. The Zoom call opened 10 mins before the scheduled time with two 2nd year students and whoever else had joined by then. The 2nd years just announced that they were the moderators and went on mute. The participants did basic introductions and waited for other participants to join in. Luckily, everyone made it on time. 2. At 8 am ET, the 2nd years unmuted and introduced themselves. They asked everyone to state their name, company they work for, and the intended major at Wharton. I had no idea this was asked. Luckily, I knew what I wanted to say since they asked me to start. Phew. They then give out the rules and read the prompt. In the rules they emphasize that we as a group have to keep our own time and ensure we keep 5 mins for the presentation/summary towards the end. They will only notify us when we have 10 mins and 5 mins remaining by holding a paper on the screen. They asked if anyone has any questions before they start the timer. 3. Once the timer is started, it was up to the group to do everything. 4. Once the TBD ended, the main room was open for everyone. They announced how they’d interview everyone - how we would be split between the 2nd Year (each would interview 3) and the order in which we would be interviewed. The order was randomly assigned from what I believe. If you’re the first one (in either of the two buckets), you won’t get any breather time in between. Before they start they announce the rules. Here they say that it’s a blind interview so please feel free to go into as many details as we want since they don’t know about our backgrounds. 5. Once we go into the breakout room, the 2nd year sets a times on his/her end and asks only 1 combined question: “Why MBA? and Why Wharton?” If you have time left over, he/she will ask you to ask him/her any questions. Once the times is up, you are released in the main room. 6. It’s then up to the participants to either stick in the main room for the rest of the time to chat with whoever is there, or leave. That’s pretty much it. Let me know if you have any specific question. Happy to answer them! Hope this helps! Read Less

With COVID, the interview took place over Skype. It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere, and while the ... Read More

With COVID, the interview took place over Skype. It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere, and while the interview questions aren't difficult, it's good to go prepared and be ready to talk about your experience, your resume and your story in a cohesive and compelling way. The essay questions on the applications tie in pretty well with the interview questions, so it's good to at least have a blueprint in mind with how you want to answer the essay questions and to have a consistent message between the interview and the essays. I went into the interview with the draft of the essays prepared, and it definitely helped to frame the conversation. Practice a few times on how you want to address certain questions so it sounds natural. As usual with any interview, go in with good questions prepared. Be genuine, confident and humble during the interview! Read Less

I interviewed over zoom and the experience was quite well. Someone from the Admissions Committee int... Read More

I interviewed over zoom and the experience was quite well. Someone from the Admissions Committee interviewed me. The discussion started with an overview of my trajectory. There were some specific questions about how I convinced people on a critical strategic decision I had described in my resume. The discussion then moved to my leadership style, experiences, and learning. The interviewer had questions about my short-term plans (if I wanted to change my company or stay here). We then talked about how would this work for me (traveling logistics...). There was a question about my thoughts on the reduced social life I would have as a result of this commitment. The discussion then went to my family and if they are okay with this decision. We then talked about hobbies. The interviewer took some time to walk me through the program, time requirements, benefits of the program... We then discussed the next steps (if I have taken GMAT/EA, which round was I planning to apply, and so forth). In the end, I was asked to bring up any question I have. The interview took about an hour and was pretty casual. It felt to me that they wanted to understand where I was coming from and where did I intend to go with this program. Read Less

I completed my interview on campus at Wharton SF on 01/25/2020. I have to admit, it was unlike anyth... Read More

I completed my interview on campus at Wharton SF on 01/25/2020. I have to admit, it was unlike anything I had imagined. The entire experience was super fun and invigorating. I had a class visit scheduled from 9-10:30 am and the interview at 10:45 Upon entering, I was greeted by the front desk and they gave me a badge and a welcome packet with some pertinent information such as class schedule, some Wharton advertisements and the graduating and incoming class schedule for the year. I, along with a couple of other visitors was shown around the campus, which is the entirety of the sixth floor. It was nice to see the facility and students getting ready for class. Once we were done we headed to the classroom. I sat in on a consumer behavior class and it was pretty interesting. We were asked to refrain from contributing to the class and sit at the back of the room. Before the class started I was able to chat with one or two students. I left the classroom 10 mins early to get settled and freshen up. I took a seat at the lobby and spent some time contemplating. The location of Wharton is so beautiful that you end up looking at the bay and your mind starts wandering off. I highly recommend you look out and down to get rid of any nervous jitters. Barbara a.k.a Barb stopped by to say hi and we spoke for a couple of minutes. At 10:45 Bernie, my interviewer, met me in the lobby and escorted me to a meeting room. The next 1hr 15 mins went by like a breeze. I think they really try to make you comfortable and want to know more about you as a person. No trick questions, everything pretty straightforward. She had a copy of my resume and a sheet of paper to jot down some notes. Started off why MBA now, about yourself, journey, why here, work life, support system. During this entire time it was a conversation and not a Q&A session. At 12 noon she took me to the lunch hall and I sat down with some students and spent the rest of the hour picking brains. Overall an awesome experience and i highly recommend sitting in on a class before the interview if possible. It just gives you more things to talk about and you can also show that you listened to something. Here are some tips : Take time to self reflect and introspect before the interview - don’t try to cram in some last minute answers. Talk to other visitors and break the ice Appear confident and know that everyone there is a professional - this is not a dorm or student union or a job interview. If you have only a little time between class and interview, like i did, take off early and gather your thoughts, use the restroom etc. Grab a bottle of water and take it to the interview - this will come in handy. Use it to your advantage. Take a sip here and there to compose yourself or even use it to get some time while you think about the question asked. Make eye contact with the interviewer - simple nods and non verbal communication is imperative to show that you are still there, with both body and mind. Appreciate the interviewer if he/she has a similar thought as you do and smile to instill confidence and break the ice. Keep one or two humorous comments handy. Something clean. Keep a quote handy - one that you can remember and that resonates with you. Try to ask 2-3 questions - something out of the ordinary. Don’t make negative remarks about anybody or anything - Especially political. Not the place or time for it. Remember that they are trying to figure you out and you want to be like an open book unlike a date where you play the mystery game. Be yourself and honest. You will feel like it was not an interview but a like minded conversation. Good luck to all applying! Read Less

I completed the EA in early August and then setup an initial call with the admissions staff. As oth... Read More

I completed the EA in early August and then setup an initial call with the admissions staff. As others have stated the call was informal but allowed me to schedule my interview. I interviewed in mid-September at the SF campus. My day started at about 10:00 with a tour of the facility, followed by a couple informal chats and my interview about 11:00. There were some surprisingly good snacks, so of course, I loaded up about the time the students were coming out for break. The interview was very conversational, with all the questions you would expect. Tell me about yourself/career, why an MBA, why Wharton, etc. Just google top MBA interview questions and I think I was asked 8 of the top 10, with no curve balls. The interview was really relaxed, and it felt more like a discussion than an interview. At the start, I talked for a couple minutes about myself and the interviewer said that she could clearly see my career path and goals around an MBA, so I felt really relaxed. As a funny side note, we were in a glass walled office, and about halfway through, the sun landed on me and it got so hot! I am sure I looked extra nervous, but I was just incredibly warm. The interviewer did mention that she would not be reviewing my application since she interviewed me – something about the interviewer and application reviews are independent, but it was not really clear and not something to waste time discussing. The interview was followed by lunch with students and class attendance. The students were awesome. During lunch I chatted with Barbara Craft, who is really awesome. It was mostly small talk and logistics of the program. I share the same industry as several students so that was a great ice breaker, but all the students were really approachable. Including myself, four applicants interviewed on my day. I chatted with a couple of applicants and they were pleasant and interesting. I interviewed at other programs (i.e., Ross-LA) and it was a pretty similar experience. My advice. 1) review common MBA interview questions, 2) think about how you would answer, 3) practice - it always sounds better the second time, 4) relax - the EMBA program are for adults and that is how they treat you in the interview. Read Less

The dreaded TBD! For those coming in blind, Wharton uses a team-based discussion (TBD) to evaluate y... Read More

The dreaded TBD! For those coming in blind, Wharton uses a team-based discussion (TBD) to evaluate you. They give you a prompt with your interview invite (something pretty generic that anyone could do, with no right answer) then you go into interview day with 5 other people, present your idea, then the 6 of you discuss and have to come up with a proposal/presentation. You have 5 minutes to present. You have a total of 35 minutes for the TBD. Two (in my case) 2nd yr students will be watching the entire time. After, you have a 10 minute one-on-one interview debrief with one of the students. I was pretty deep into the interview-hole by this point (I had three MBA interviews in the pocket already and am expecting this to be my last one), and of course, this one is the "weirdest" one. The first thing I notice is that Wharton really packed a lot of people to interviews on the day that I went. I think my day was the last or one-of-the-last for Round 2. Everyone says to get there early so you can create a rapport with your potential group members, but on my day there were so many people there that how would you even know who could possibly be in your group? I still recommend getting there early so you're not stressing out about being late and I always think it's good to meet your potential classmates. About 15 minutes before your TBD, you gather in the AdCom office and they call out your groups. The two students assigned to you will read the prompt, explain the rules, and then observe. The TBD itself was... dare I say... pretty fun actually! Our prompt this year (believe it was the same prompt as last year) was to come up with a proposal for a three-day retreat to be taken with your cohort during pre-term. I won't give away anything wild, but the 6 of us actually had a lot of ideas that overlapped. People did things differently in my group as well - I came in with a sheet of paper, one of my teammates had a notebook where he had written down his ideas, others had seemingly memorized their pitches. I think our group was fairly unique in that we actually took a little bit of each person's ideas to create a new pitch. I've heard of other groups where one person's idea is picked and he/she has to present it. I don't think it "matters" as in it would be a deal-breaker, but (and I'm a bit biased!) I liked the way we did ours :) Some hints for the TBD... It can definitely be easy to run out of time - time management is super important here. You have 35 minutes total, 1 minute per person to pitch, and 5 minutes at the end to present. This leaves you 24 minutes to discuss. However, people will go over their minute presentation and your team will need at least a minute or two to get its ducks-in-order, etc. The two observers will not be saying anything at all, so it's really up to you to make sure you're ok on time, etc. I was pretty lucky in that our team seemed to really work well together and no one was taking over the conversation/shrinking away/etc, but make sure you're not one of those people! The big thing: do not be a jerk. Don't interrupt people, don't talk over people, don't insult anyone else's ideas. Work with your team how you would like your team to work with you. Also relax and have a good time! The 10 minute one-on-one after was more challenging, IMO, after coming off of the TBD. It was pretty similar to a normal interview, but my interviewer (who was one of the observers of my group) was pretty stone-faced. Luck of the draw or directed by the school? Who knows. I did find some topics on which to connect with, so I felt good about that. Questions: - Why MBA and why Wharton specifically? - What are you looking to do post MBA? - Any questions for me? This interview left a lot of time for questions for the interviewer - I would note that you should have at least 3, preferably 5. I had 4 and felt like I could have used one more. C'est la vie! Make sure you prepare for the Why Wharton question! I think so many interviewees prepare for the TBD that they kind of skim the one-on-one. This, I'm sure, is very important as well! The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. I went during midterms so there were no class visits, though I went to class visits the last time I visited. We had a lecture + lunch as well as a tour of the campus. All in all, I enjoyed my day at Wharton and got a good feel for the school. My favorite part of the experience was getting to know my potential future classmates. Read Less

I was pretty nervous going into the interview despite researching the heck out of it and preparing a... Read More

I was pretty nervous going into the interview despite researching the heck out of it and preparing as best as I could. BUT- the moment the actual interview starts, it's really quite straightforward. So, my advice is - just breathe. Also, be open to ideas and don't try to take over the whole conversation. If you've ever had any level of experience working in a team in a professional environment, this will be straightforward for you. We were taken into a small meeting room with one table (where interviewees sat) and some chairs along the back wall (where interviewers sat), and the interviewers just read from a script and told us the time was ours to manage and from there it was all up to us. Our team worked well together and everyone assumed their roles naturally. It was, dare I say, kind of fun. The interviewers watched and took notes the whole time, and I enjoyed the TBD, and as a team we felt we did well. Afterwards, the interviewers called us out for 1-on-1s. They had a timer set for 10 minutes and that was as long as the 1-on-1 was. All said and done, I enjoyed the TBD. I also especially liked that the day allowed for a lot of interaction with current and prospective students. This is Wharton, after all-- everyone I spoke to had a great story and truly amazing outlook. Read Less

Had my TBD last week. My advice is simple: Relax. This interview is likely not going to make or b... Read More

Had my TBD last week. My advice is simple: Relax. This interview is likely not going to make or break your admission decision. I spoke to more than one current student who said they thought they didn't do well in the TBD and obviously still got admitted. You don't need to dominate the conversation or talk a lot, just be friendly and helpful to the group rather than try to "show off". Just my opinion from talking to current students and committee members: It's not Pass/fail. It's just another snapshot to add to your overall application. If you're a "borderline" candidate to begin with, perhaps an amazing performance might tip the scales in your favor, but this isn't true for everyone. Your GPA/GMAT/WE/Recs, etc matter more than the interview, I think it's something they use to get a better snapshot of who you are, and verify that you're not a jerk, can't speak under pressure, etc. 80%+ of people I imagine are going to have a perfectly fine TBD and their admit/deny decision is going to hinge more on the rest of their app than the TBD. Just my thoughts. Good luck everyone! Read Less