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bapp
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 13:02
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xerox
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I was rejected as well. This has been a very frustrating process. I'm not sure what the adcoms are looking for, but it surely doesn't place enough emphasis on quantitative measures of ability or success (GMAT, GPA, salary, job title), or I would have at least gotten an interview to one of these schools. I wonder how much the adcoms are like the old scouts ridiculed in Moneyball for having unjustifiable and subjective hunches about people.

To future applicants, I'd highly recommend contacting an admissions consultant who can help homogenize your application into the boilerplate schlock I've seen in the applications of my friends and employees who have gotten in.

Thanks to everyone on the site for your insights and lively commentary!

EDIT: removed personal stats because I didn't want anyone I work with to be able to identify me and see my sour-grapes response.

Look at the bright side: you have got another story for a setback essay for the next year. Brighten up, and reapply in six months (it is totally worth another try). Your fundamentals are solid, so it seems that in your case it might have been a problem with execution and correct positioning with schools.

I think while the question you are asking about what schools want is legitimate, the answer to that is almost universally summed up by one phrase: "unique strength".
On the other hand, if you are confident you are a good candidate, a more relevant question to ask would be why did not your message get delivered.

They definitely have no hunches against any applicant, rest assured. It is the opposite: Wharton Adcom loves all prospective students, but admission decision is not about feelings: it is a business decision.

If you decide to reapply, let's chat on your strategy.

Show more


Scottnan profile is indeed very impressive and ad-com definitely is the loser here. 28 is not old, period. If adcom is making people like scottnan rely on consultant to cook the recipe that like to see in their applications, then they are inviting bigger problems in the future. Admin consultant industry feeds off of the insecurity of applicants (who are relatively younger, and many of whom do not have exceptionally strong profiles to begin with), and any experienced person with substantial work ex can quickly notice the ludicrousness of the way admin consultants work. The only benefit an applicant derives from admin consultant is the commitment (monetary) he/she makes to the consultant, which in turn drives the applicant to be thorough and careful about all aspects of his own application.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 13:33
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saritalr
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got an invite, based out of India. Can anyone please confirm that Wharton is still interviewing candidates from the set of the 6 behavioral questions (the leaked ones ;)? Thanks

I'm a bit new to this forum mostly because I didn't really expect to get a Wharton interview invite. I'm very curious to know if this is the case as well. In general from what I can tell the Wharton interview is behavioural on steroids- the worst of the worst when it comes to those kind of questions (i.e. tell me about a time when...).

Look for one of my posts a few pages back. I interviewed R2 late last week - the questions I got were drawn from the R1 behavioral questions.
Show more

Thanks Saritalr. I found these questions from one of your older posts. Do you know how big that set of behavioural questions is that they draw from (I thought I once heard there were only six possibilities but I could be way off here).

1. Visiting campus and impressions.
2. A time when you were working on a team with conflicts between team members.
3. A time when you were on a team without a clearly defined leader.
4. A time when you had to sell your opinions to people who disagreed with you.
5. 6-7 minutes to ask her questions
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 14:55
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This has probably been answered a million times already, but I can't look throught 116 pages.

What are the statistics for the following:
-% of total applicants interviewed, and
-% of applicants accepted from interview pool.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 15:06
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kookie
This has probably been answered a million times already, but I can't look throught 116 pages.

What are the statistics for the following:
-% of total applicants interviewed, and
-% of applicants accepted from interview pool.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Show more
Generally thought to be 30-50% for both. Gives acceptance rate of about 16% which is what they publish (or thereabouts)
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 15:35
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Given that there are only going to be 3 real questions in this interview, each requiring a well-thought story illustrating past performance in that area, I wonder if it would be better to try and pick different areas of the resume to tell the stories (i.e. one story from EC, one from Work, etc.) rather than have them all come from work experience?

I am finding that I have plenty of stories to answer the questions but they ALL seem to come from my same work experience, I just worry that this will make me appear to be too 2-D to the adcom, and yet the nature of the questions seem to demand work experience stories (at least my EC's stories would seem forced in answering these specific questions)

How is everyone else coping with this issue?
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 17:53
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Scottnan profile is indeed very impressive and ad-com definitely is the loser here. 28 is not old, period. If adcom is making people like scottnan rely on consultant to cook the recipe that like to see in their applications, then they are inviting bigger problems in the future. Admin consultant industry feeds off of the insecurity of applicants (who are relatively younger, and many of whom do not have exceptionally strong profiles to begin with), and any experienced person with substantial work ex can quickly notice the ludicrousness of the way admin consultants work. The only benefit an applicant derives from admin consultant is the commitment (monetary) he/she makes to the consultant, which in turn drives the applicant to be thorough and careful about all aspects of his own application.[/quote]


Great post! I absolutely agree with your mature and clever point of view on the 2 issues - adcoms and the app. consulting industry. Deep insight also about self-commitment, couldn't articulate any better.

Share more thoughts.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 18:26
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got an invite at 3:02pm on friday! - email saying my status was updated and when i went to my app it was changed to "invited to interview". i used a consultant this year. i don't think it was just about getting me committed to the app. i do think i was able to weed out stories that were good, but not the best for highlighting "me". i recommend it. $2000 is totally worth it if you're willing to pay $200,000 to go to bschool in the first place.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 19:03
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i learned not to get overly excited over an I/V invite, after MIT, my best advice is that we all prep, convey humble and powerful stories, treat it like it is - just a conversation - usually with someone 1 or 2 years older than us who is just trying to get to know us and see what we have been through etc...... and then get excited when we get in; don't get me wrong it feels good to get an interview, but thats all it is at this point, when we get a green light on 24 march then its time to party
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 20:28
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Didn't use a consultant and still got an interview. Personally, I hate the idea of admissions consultants. One they are grossly over priced for their services - they basically prey on the fears of neurotic type a overachievers and charge what a white shoe law firm would bill at by the hour (what a joke). I bet the majority of people that use consultants have the stats and intellect to put together a solid application without them.

Secondly, I feel like it gives people with money a competitive advantage. While consultants may not write your essays for you they basically guide you to well written essays. Obviously this is the case or people wouldn't pay them egregious sums of money. It not longer makes the application your own but that of a consultants. So for the guy that can't afford the consultant his essays are potentially at a level below the guy that used a consultant purely because he used a consultant. I'd go as far as to say the use of consultants is unethical. Also, I wouldn't be surprised either if adcoms can tell when a essays has been coached vs. one that is a true work of the individual.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 20:45
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ghunar

Thanks Saritalr. I found these questions from one of your older posts. Do you know how big that set of behavioural questions is that they draw from (I thought I once heard there were only six possibilities but I could be way off here).
Show more

Here's a link to the six questions listed on Poets and Quants. Good luck!
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 21:06
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rpratt620
Given that there are only going to be 3 real questions in this interview, each requiring a well-thought story illustrating past performance in that area, I wonder if it would be better to try and pick different areas of the resume to tell the stories (i.e. one story from EC, one from Work, etc.) rather than have them all come from work experience?

I am finding that I have plenty of stories to answer the questions but they ALL seem to come from my same work experience, I just worry that this will make me appear to be too 2-D to the adcom, and yet the nature of the questions seem to demand work experience stories (at least my EC's stories would seem forced in answering these specific questions)

How is everyone else coping with this issue?
Show more

I went with 2 professional stories and 1 non-professional story. Having said that, if my 3 strongest stories happened to all be professional in nature, I would have used them. I think most of us have to make trade offs between the content of the story, and the extent to which the story answers the exact parameters of the question. My impression, is that if you have to pick - go with the story that answers the question, even if it's less exciting.

If all your stories come from the same project (or the same team/leadership experience) - I'd try to aim a bit wider. I don't think it matters if they all come from the same job, but hopefully you can pick experiences from different projects or parts of the job.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 21:08
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I’m also a bit turned off by the growing use of consultants in the admissions process. I’ve always thought that if you weren’t good enough to get into a top 10 school without someone holding your hand each step of the way, well, you probably don’t belong to begin with. I know not all of you will agree with my stance, especially those with a “get in at any cost” mentality, but I take a good amount of pride knowing I didn’t need any third party help to be competitive at the best schools in the world. To some, this satisfaction is worthless, but hey, to each his own…

However, I don’t think that the use of consultants is any more unethical than say, signing up for a professional GMAT course. Both services are geared towards those who can afford to spend the money, and in essence you are paying to get coached professionally. Much like Yale does for its law school application, I do wish all the major business schools would require each applicant to disclose how much third party help s/he received during the process. I think this added level of transparency would certainly help clarify the “holistic” picture of each application.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants Updated on: 21 Feb 2011, 06:28
Originally posted by smallwo on 20 Feb 2011, 22:23.
Last edited by smallwo on 21 Feb 2011, 06:28, edited 1 time in total.
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delete wrong message, didn't want to mislead others
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 20 Feb 2011, 22:42
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I'm sure an admissions consultant will hook you up with a replica super secret photo ID for the low price of $3000 :-D

Sounds pretty ludicrous to be honest...
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 21 Feb 2011, 00:02
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Dinged.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 21 Feb 2011, 01:04
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ke18sb
Didn't use a consultant and still got an interview. Personally, I hate the idea of admissions consultants. One they are grossly over priced for their services - they basically prey on the fears of neurotic type a overachievers and charge what a white shoe law firm would bill at by the hour (what a joke). I bet the majority of people that use consultants have the stats and intellect to put together a solid application without them.

Secondly, I feel like it gives people with money a competitive advantage. While consultants may not write your essays for you they basically guide you to well written essays. Obviously this is the case or people wouldn't pay them egregious sums of money. It not longer makes the application your own but that of a consultants. So for the guy that can't afford the consultant his essays are potentially at a level below the guy that used a consultant purely because he used a consultant. I'd go as far as to say the use of consultants is unethical. Also, I wouldn't be surprised either if adcoms can tell when a essays has been coached vs. one that is a true work of the individual.
Show more

That's funny! You think schools are not aware of the app. consulting industry, and don't implicitly endorse it?!

The whole MBA thing is an exclusive top-priced product, aimed at clients with means. And stating your pre-MBA income, or having non-native speakers compete with US-born candidates on one of the most sophisticated and tricky mass tests ever conceived doesn't seem unjust to you? What about legacy money heirs dominating HS and, partially, W, or having a parent from Ivy giving you extra-points as an undergrad, thus further easing your way to the top? As an international, can you explain to me how exactly is THAT coherent with the American ethos of overthrowing inherited unearned aristocracy?

It's just a status game: "credentialed, not educated".

You are going to the business world, and despite all the feel-good rhetorics you hear it's ultimately about competing and winning by all means, not about "fairness". It is brutal and ugly underneath. If you are not doing at least as much as your competitors, you've already lost. That's life, and life is not fair at all. Sad, but true. Face it.
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 21 Feb 2011, 02:03
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If I didn't cheat in the admissions process, spend 200k on a degree and acknowledge that an important part of the learning experience is derived from the people in my class, I am not sure I would like to sit next to somebody that shouldn't really be there...

If I played ugly to get into school I'd think along the lines of Groucho Marx: I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member.

Now, it is debatable whether the use of an admissions consultant constitutes cheating and whether he can really make the difference to get you into school. That just raises the question why use one in the first place?
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 21 Feb 2011, 04:02
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After re-reading myself I felt that employing the word "cheating" for the use of an admissions consultant was too strong, however, after checking the applyyourself site and reading the "Statement of Application Integrity" that we all signed, I think it is the accurate term as it clearly states: "The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania requires that the work in your application is completely accurate and exclusively your own."
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 21 Feb 2011, 04:33
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got an inv!
cool!
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Calling all Wharton 2011 Applicants 21 Feb 2011, 05:30
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saritalr
ghunar

Thanks Saritalr. I found these questions from one of your older posts. Do you know how big that set of behavioural questions is that they draw from (I thought I once heard there were only six possibilities but I could be way off here).

Here's a link to the six questions listed on Poets and Quants. Good luck!
Show more

Thanks a lot! And it is consensus on this forum that these are indeed the six, and the only six, questions they pull from?
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