Calling all Wharton Applicants: (2016 Intake) Class of 2018!!

I actually called Wharton to make sure it wasn't a typo or something they forgot to change from last year. The woman I spoke to said the 400 word optional essay is an optional part of the "first" essay and should not include anything in regard to extenuating circumstances. The 250 word optional is where you should include that information.

Cool, thanks for sharing! So there are like three essays - 500-word required essay, 400-word optional essay, and the 250-word optional essay

Yes. I covered the differences in the essays earlier in this thread, but there are three separate ones and I advise most people to make use of the second (options/400-worrd) essay in order to continue to give the adcom information and insight into their candidacy they wouldn't otherwise have through the other materials.

Hi Tia and everyone.

I found this previous post to be the most helpful in my quest to beat the gmat.

As I cannot post urls, search for "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. My method to >700." by luishector

Hope it helps you. Remember that luck favors the prepared!

Kevin

FROM Wharton Admissions Blog: Why I Became a Student Life Fellow

It was hard to believe it was just a year ago I was putting on the same yellow tutu getting ready for the Cluster Olympics during preterm. Returning as a second year Student Life Fellow to help the new class get acclimated to business school life was one of my…Read More The post Why I Became a Student Life Fellow appeared first on MBA Program.

Any re-applicants on here? I did the TBD last year after applying R2, but sadly wasn't offered a spot in the Class of 2017. I pulled together what I think is a much more solid application for R1 this year. Happy to offer advice when TBDs come around--fingers crossed I make it that far!

LPiwi , same here! I'm also a reapplicant (applied for C/O 2016) and made it through TBD's but wasn't accepted for the class. Good luck to you, my friend. Heard that Wharton's really reapplicant friendly... I hope we both get in this time around!

Did either you munkee2018 or LPiwi get feedback from the adcom after the TBD?

Did you prepare for the TBD on your own or did you happen to enrol yourself with one of the admission consulting companies? Any particular resources/tips for the TBD?

lozi LPiwi I did not get any feedback from the adcom. I contacted them after I was denied to ask for feedback but they told me that due to the large volume of requests, they weren't able to provide me any feedback. LPiwi - did you have a similar experience or did they give you feedback?

Same here. I believe they give feedback to dinged applicants for the Healthcare Management track since its a smaller subset. I worked with a consultant this go-around (Stacy Blackman Consulting-they're fantastic!) and we did our own ding analysis. I luckily had a lot of opportunity to improve my essays and select recommenders that gave a more well-rounded picture of me as an applicant. I also attended an admissions event where I spoke with someone from the AdCom and her advice was to really focus on the reapplicant essay to demonstrate self-reflection and how you've grown. She also said its encouraged to broaden your rec selection since they can always look back to your first set of recs.

I self-prepared last year and practiced with some current students. The general advice is to try to stay calm and just pretend you're in a regular work meeting. Be mindful of time limits and avoid the extremes of either a) dominating the discussion, or b) not participating. Many current students I talked to said their entire TBD group (or close to it) got in, so don't think of the folks in your group as competition, approach the situation like you're working together to collectively get in. The time goes by really fast, so the biggest thing is moving the group forward and finishing on time. That means there's no time for disagreement, try to compromise quickly and propose alternative solutions if you disagree with someone's idea. Similarly, the 10-minute one-on-one interview that follows goes by extremely fast, so its better to keep it short and specific. Remember these are all conducted by 2nd year students, so they're just human beings--try to put yourself in their shoes and think about what you would look for. It's really a great opportunity to interact with current students and your potential peers for a glimpse of what the classroom experience might be like. So really, you want to authentically fit in.

My own two cents is that the TBD really isn't a make-or-break. I stayed in touch with some folks from my group and we had an email chain going when decisions went out. One that got accepted made a couple blatant no-nos during the discussion and the other was a model interviewee. I'm pretty self-critical and don't think I did anything wrong, I think I got dinged because my application overall lacked specificity (in my essays and recs) and needed to more explicitly demonstrate fit.

Honestly, I think the whole TBD experience was what moved Wharton from my #4 choice to my #1. It's truly a great opportunity to gage how well you're going to enjoy the next 2 years.

Does anyone have an idea approximately when do we start hearing back from Wharton?

Interview invites will be sent out on 3rd Nov. it is mentioned on the website.

Thanks Completely missed it in the rush for R1 application deadlines and work deadlines.
So there are no rolling decisions- they release all the invites on 3rd?

They only mentkion 1 date of November 3rd. So I would assume that they will release all decisions on 1 day.

That would be so nice! To receive your invite/reject on a single day especially given the current scenario