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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 23 Apr 2020, 05:13
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in a crisis situation that everyone needs to think supportive of each other, Wharton school, in order to protect probably not more than 2-5% of its revenue, has applied such "selfish" policy to only admit US citizens. While I am sure this will impact Wharton's brand image and quality of students' pool in longer run, I think it is worth running a social media campaign against this decision of the school
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 23 Apr 2020, 06:27
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I'm appalled at how Wharton is handling Round 3 with a clear bias for US citizens. This is surprising and affects the reputation of the school. Many worthy candidates are not even being asked to interview while clearly there is a bias towards US citizens. I hope this is taken up seriously.
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 24 Apr 2020, 01:55
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prateekgh123
I'm appalled at how Wharton is handling Round 3 with a clear bias for US citizens. This is surprising and affects the reputation of the school. Many worthy candidates are not even being asked to interview while clearly there is a bias towards US citizens. I hope this is taken up seriously.
Show more

It is strange given all of the schools have been vocal about wanting international students to apply in R3.

That being said, if the concern is regarding visa availability for international students, then it does not make much sense to admit a whole bunch more (who would have the same issue). Still surprised at the level of candidates that seem to be receiving interviews, irrespective of domestic vs. international.
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 24 Apr 2020, 02:14
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prateekgh123
I'm appalled at how Wharton is handling Round 3 with a clear bias for US citizens. This is surprising and affects the reputation of the school. Many worthy candidates are not even being asked to interview while clearly there is a bias towards US citizens. I hope this is taken up seriously.
Show more

I think everyone here is making some assumptions that might not be true. For all you know these are extremely qualified candidates that fill certain niches that the current class is missing. Perhaps they are coming from underrepresented industries or have unique experiences.

Let me direct you to Wharton's own website.

https://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/class-profile/

The range for the class of 2021 was 540 to 790. That means there was at least 1 student who scored a 540.

From EGMAT,

https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wharton-mba-pr ... le-alumni/

The middle 80% GPA was 3.2-3.9. That means there was at least 10% of the student body with sub 3.2 GPA, or out of around 865 enrolled students 80 had sub 3.2 GPA's.

Given those facts, I don't think it is entirely strange that they might be interviewing some mid to high 600's if they bring a unique perspective to the class.

I've stated it over and over again, having a high GPA and a high GMAT guarantees nothing. It certainly helps and may cover some other weaknesses, but overall you have to bring something unique to the class, otherwise why should you be given an invite or an acceptance. BTW consulting, financial services and accounts for 66% of the class, so if you are from that background, obviously it is harder to get in as there are sooooo many strong candidates in those fields.

Also as an asian I hate to say it, our cultural background overvalues quantitative measures and undervalues qualitative measures. So remember this process is holistic, and some of those candidates may be more amazing than you think, and can't be judged on just the numbers they report.
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 24 Apr 2020, 02:32
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prateekgh123
I'm appalled at how Wharton is handling Round 3 with a clear bias for US citizens. This is surprising and affects the reputation of the school. Many worthy candidates are not even being asked to interview while clearly there is a bias towards US citizens. I hope this is taken up seriously.

I think everyone here is making some assumptions that might not be true. For all you know these are extremely qualified candidates that fill certain niches that the current class is missing. Perhaps they are coming from underrepresented industries or have unique experiences.

Let me direct you to Wharton's own website.

https://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/class-profile/

The range for the class of 2021 was 540 to 790. That means there was at least 1 student who scored a 540.

From EGMAT,

https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wharton-mba-pr ... le-alumni/

The middle 80% GPA was 3.2-3.9. That means there was at least 10% of the student body with sub 3.2 GPA, or out of around 865 enrolled students 80 had sub 3.2 GPA's.

Given those facts, I don't think it is entirely strange that they might be interviewing some mid to high 600's if they bring a unique perspective to the class.

I've stated it over and over again, having a high GPA and a high GMAT guarantees nothing. It certainly helps and may cover some other weaknesses, but overall you have to bring something unique to the class, otherwise why should you be given an invite or an acceptance. BTW consulting, financial services and accounts for 66% of the class, so if you are from that background, obviously it is harder to get in as there are sooooo many strong candidates in those fields.

Also as an asian I hate to say it, our cultural background overvalues quantitative measures and undervalues qualitative measures. So remember this process is holistic, and some of those candidates may be more amazing than you think, and can't be judged on just the numbers they report.
Show more


I think the shock was more at the seemingly complete lack of balance between international and domestic applicants. While everything you've said above is true / valid, Wharton historically gives out hardly any R3 interview invites at all. To see a sample size of c. 15 on sites like Clearadmit, which undoubtedly is only a small segment of the invites actually given out, with a fairly high number having frankly underwhelming stats, is surprising. While stats alone are definitely discussed on forums like this far too much, programs like Wharton do care about these things for their brand building / global perception. And while you're correct that the range includes people with a GMAT of 540 and GPAs below 3.0, these are exceptions, generally with truly extenuating circumstances or extremely unique perspectives and experiences to add to the campus. I would also be willing to bet that of the 20% falling outside of the 3.2 to 3.9 range, it is skewed towards individuals with a 4.0, and not those with below a 3.2.

These are trying and strange circumstances for everyone, but it is still ok to call a spade a spade. At the end of the day, these schools are all going to ensure that they have a full class come August. While they will all come out and say that they will not lower standards, lowering standards of acceptance is about as subjective as it gets -- having a full, tuition paying class is black and white.

In short - if it is between getting a full class and admitting / interviewing lesser qualified candidates, each and every one of these schools will choose the former. At the end of the day, they are businesses too. Anyone who says otherwise is just being dishonest.
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 24 Apr 2020, 02:51
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I think the shock was more at the seemingly complete lack of balance between international and domestic applicants. While everything you've said above is true / valid, Wharton historically gives out hardly any R3 interview invites at all. To see a sample size of c. 15 on sites like Clearadmit, which undoubtedly is only a small segment of the invites actually given out, with a fairly high number having frankly underwhelming stats, is surprising. While stats alone are definitely discussed on forums like this far too much, programs like Wharton do care about these things for their brand building / global perception. And while you're correct that the range includes people with a GMAT of 540 and GPAs below 3.0, these are exceptions, generally with truly extenuating circumstances or extremely unique perspectives and experiences to add to the campus. I would also be willing to bet that of the 20% falling outside of the 3.2 to 3.9 range, it is skewed towards individuals with a 4.0, and not those with below a 3.2.

These are trying and strange circumstances for everyone, but it is still ok to call a spade a spade. At the end of the day, these schools are all going to ensure that they have a full class come August. While they will all come out and say that they will not lower standards, lowering standards of acceptance is about as subjective as it gets -- having a full, tuition paying class is black and white.
Show more

Some clarifications on your points.

MBA2023applicant
I would also be willing to bet that of the 20% falling outside of the 3.2 to 3.9 range, it is skewed towards individuals with a 4.0, and not those with below a 3.2.
Show more

Middle 80% which I talked about GPA means that 10% are higher and 10% are lower, so there is no skewing to more 4.0s vs sub 3.2 GPA's that is not how match works. There are as many sub 3.2 GPA's as there are 4.0's essentially.

MBA2023applicant
To see a sample size of c. 15 on sites like Clearadmit, which undoubtedly is only a small segment of the invites actually given out, with a fairly high number having frankly underwhelming stats, is surprising.
Show more

Lets do some math. If 10% of the class has a sub 3.2 GPA, that means there is roughly 86 students with sub 3.2GPA's. (10% * 865 enrolled). Wharton's acceptance rate post interview is roughly 50% based on generally accepted %'s. So if 15 invites are sent out, and 8 are accepted, that would only account for less than 10% of the 86 sub 3.2 GPA's. Which is roughly in line with about what % of the class comes from R3 vs R1 and R2.

On top of the % I just calculated above, consider this. 1) This is the internet, those interview invites are self reported. Its possible many students who got interviews with much higher stats or are international may not have responded. 2) It is also possible some of the posts are troll posts especially seeing the outrage that followed the earlier ones. 3) Have you considered that in the past some truly exceptional candidates never bothered submitting apps to H/S/W because they thought their hard stats kept them out of it, but because of the Covid situation decided to throw a hail mary app? And are merely getting the same invites they would have gotten all along if they had just submitted?

MBA2023applicant
I think the shock was more at the seemingly complete lack of balance between international and domestic applicants.
Show more
I think this is again hard to quantify for reasons I listed above of self reporting, and perhaps Covid 19 scared internationals away because they didn't want to risk the $$ to apply to a program they weren't sure they would be able to attend.

Ultimately, I doubt Wharton is accepting people for the sake of accepting people. There are plenty of students on the waitlist that would be happy to take any spots that open up. I am inclined to believe there is something to these students stories that just resonated well. Wharton has enough high stats to more than easily maintain their brand and global perception.
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 28 Apr 2020, 13:41
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Fortuna has one last practice session coming up on Thursday for any of you last minute interviewees! You will do one-on-one prep with one of our expert coaches, and then a mock group interview session led by a former Wharton Head of Admissions, and a personal debrief with your coach. If you would like to participate, please send me an email ASAP at Karen.Hamou@FortunaAdmissions.com. Space is limited!
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 28 Apr 2020, 14:14
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FortunaKarenH
Fortuna has one last practice session coming up on Thursday for any of you last minute interviewees! You will do one-on-one prep with one of our expert coaches, and then a mock group interview session led by a former Wharton Head of Admissions, and a personal debrief with your coach. If you would like to participate, please send me an email ASAP at Karen.Hamou@FortunaAdmissions.com. Space is limited!
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CORRECTION: We are now aiming for the group on WEDNESDAY, due to popular demand.
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 30 Apr 2020, 06:37
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Poets and Quants breaks Wharton will be both online and in person (hopefully) and all international students can defer.

Thoughts? How will this affect you?
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 30 Apr 2020, 07:39
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coronavirus12345
Poets and Quants breaks Wharton will be both online and in person (hopefully) and all international students can defer.

Thoughts? How will this affect you?
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So a few points of clarification that I don't think you quite captured in your post. (Source: Blair Mannix's video chat with admitted students)

1) It is NOT and I repeat NOT confirmed that Fall Semester will be virtual and online. It is something they are considering but no final decision made on that and won't be until most likely middle of the summer. As of now only part of Pre Term is going virtual.

2) International students who make an honest attempt to a) secure a visa and b) transportation to campus who can not do so, will be granted a deferral. So there has to at least be an attempt made. Also unlike Harvard you can wait a bit longer to submit a deferral request to increase likelihood US consulates will open etc.

Just thought it was important to highlight the nuances as it paints the picture a bit differently than as presented.
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30 Apr 2020, 14:04
Private, WE: 180 months; United States, DC; via Email
Felt like a number during the entire process. They also don't seem to value diversity up there, not just in ethnicity, but in all other things (or this can just be sour grapes lol). [#permalink]
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 08 May 2020, 10:30
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Wharton DECISION TRACKER

Updates for the last hour:

  • Waitlisted, 10 minutes ago, from United States, GMAT:650, heard via: portal_update
  • Waitlisted, 18 minutes ago, from United States, GMAT:730 (Q47 V42), GPA: 3.59, Industry: Consulting, WE 36, heard via: email

UPDATE YOUR STATUS
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 08 May 2020, 11:30
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Wharton DECISION TRACKER

Updates for the last hour:

  • Waitlisted, 1 minute ago, from Pakistan, GMAT:690, heard via: portal_update
  • Waitlisted, 10 minutes ago, from United States, GMAT:760, Industry: Other, heard via: skype

UPDATE YOUR STATUS
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 08 May 2020, 12:14
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Is there any whats app group for admitted students?
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 11 Jun 2020, 13:03
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Hi all, I got a message from Wharton application updated, too scared to watch...My GPA is 3.8, gre of 333 with 163 v and 170q...Anyone has any information yet?
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 11 Jun 2020, 21:47
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Hi all, I got a message from Wharton application updated, too scared to watch...My GPA is 3.8, gre of 333 with 163 v and 170q...Anyone has any information yet?
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Irenemakl

What is this update about?
Denied
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27 Aug 2020, 09:08
Private, GMAT: 700, Q43, V42; GPA: 3.84; WE: 85 months; United States; via Portal_update
Dinged August 6. It won't let me update the decision received date on there though. [#permalink]
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 22 Jan 2021, 10:48
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A new Wharton Interview Debrief has just been posted: https://gmatclub.com/forum/wharton-188/interview_debrief.html#debrief-1595
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 27 Jan 2021, 00:51
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A new Wharton Interview Debrief has just been posted: https://gmatclub.com/forum/wharton-188/interview_debrief.html#debrief-1610
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Calling All Wharton MBA Applicants: 2020 Intake [Class of 2022] 02 Sep 2023, 04:16
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