Why I believe Wharton is the best MBA education for me

Question

Hello Fellow Gmatclubbers,

I was compelled to write today thanks to the continued encouragement of user bagdmba. Seeing as I have greatly benefited from the collective wisdom of the GMAT Club it's only right that I pay it forward and give you all an inside perspective of a current student. Rather than ramble aimlessly about my experience, I am happy to respond to specific questions about the Wharton program, both from an academic and a career standpoint. The social component of business school is very personal and differs from each person, depending on his or her background and on the mix of people that happens to be in his or her cohort that particular year. So I would like to offer up more objective advice, and stick to the academic and career resources.

Please fire away, and I'll try to respond to them as best as I can.

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Before I start, I just wanted to share some motivational thoughts and best practices that helped me along my MBA journey.

I remember being in your shoes a few years ago. The MBA application process can be arduous and intimidating, but I can attest that the prize at the end of the journey is surely worth all the effort. Maintain your resolve and keep pressing forward through the good days and the bad days. Once you get over the GMAT hump, it's all downhill.

Please seek encouragement and insights from current students, employees, and alumni from your target schools, as those are the people that will give you the best advice. Stay clear of MBA Admission consultants that were not accepted into the programs that you are looking at. Generic application frameworks and essays are the quickest way to get you rejected. I've seen many friends waste time and money on consultants because they felt insecure about their writing abilities. Because of my own insecurities, I applied to over 10 of the top 15 business schools, and I can attest: 1) That was a stupid and painful idea 2) Each school's essays are uniquely different, and require different perspectives and approaches that can only be gleaned from either visiting the school or talking to students or alums. In hindsight, I can say this with confidence because I had a 90% acceptance rate, and wasted months of life on extra essays. Like I said, this was a stupid and painful idea. Stick to no more than 4-5 schools.

*Note: There are some fantastic MBA consultants out there, but what I am saying is make sure that you vet them for your purposes. When in doubt, ask to see their acceptance letters*

Quick MBA App Gameplan: Score well on the GMAT. Do your own school research. Talk to the right people. Get strong recommendations that showcase unique skills and experiences not found in your resume/essays. Tell memorable stories and spend ample time editing and revising your essay with others, and you will do fine.

raudi77 · Answer

Should I consider doing my mba given i am 38. I am working hard towards a gmat. My goal is to join like-minded people and work on entrepreneurial ideas. What's your take at Wharton? Are there people like me? Will it suit me - I come from a highly technical computer engineering background.

far257 · Answer

Perhaps a bit of an unfair question, but what do you feel Wharton does better than some of its comparable programs like Booth and Columbia? I've talked to a lot of alumni from these three schools and I feel like they say the same stuff in different words.

On a related note, given you got into several other programs, what were the defining factors that ultimately drew you to Wharton?

On a related note, given you got into several other programs, what were the defining factors that ultimately drew you to Wharton?

tonebeeze · Answer

I received this PM last week:

"Dear Tonebeeze,

Thanks for your inspirational application advice. You speak to my heart – I was going to apply to 7 school as of two weeks ago but start feeling that it’s a bad idea. I also have spent way to much money on admission consultants already:)

As I am applying to Wharton I was very curious if and how your perception of the school changed when you matriculated. What you liked most and least about Wharton. I have talked to some Alumi that graduated a decade ago but I would love to know how would you describe the culture of Wharton today?

Thanks a ton in advance for your help!!"

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Thanks for the message.

To be quite honest, the more I spend time at Wharton the more I realize how much of an opportunity this place is. There is nothing that you can't do here, because all the resources are at your finger tips. Nobody will give you anything, however. You need to be proactive here. It is certainly as student-run school.

I think Wharton stands out when it comes to getting an elite business education and building a new career:

Education: It is known as the number one business training ground for a reason. But people don't realize that Wharton is the #1 undergraduate business school, #1 Executive MBA program, #1 Full-time MBA (or at least in the top 3 YoY), and #1 Faculty (weighted in terms of articles published in top academic journals). The curriculum is challenging and simulating, and will force you to adapt and learn new skills. You will truly develop a quantitative/data-driven lens with which to question and analyze problems. Whether its marketing, economics, mgmt, or finance, you will come out from the curriculum having been taught by leading professors/industry practitioners who will arm you with useful set of tools and frameworks to be a more effective business manager and leader. With the proliferation of big data, the necessity to be able to tackle and interpret data/numbers is key. A Wharton MBA will provide you with these skills. Not to say that we do leadership better than HBS or entrepreneurship better than Stanford, but I know for a fact that Wharton infuses quantitative analysis into its curriculum as well as any top school.

Professionally: Whether you want to transition to a role in consulting/finance/F500, the top companies pull a sizable portion of their candidates from our school. This is easy to verify or cross-reference by looking at the employment reports from the career management centers of the top 10 schools. Again, am I saying that coming here give you a better chance to be the next Zuckerberg? No. What I am saying is that all the top companies come to our campus to recruit. Thus, if you are hungry and qualified, coming here will increase your odds of getting the career that you want. Even if you are an entrepreneur, having the Wharton brand/network makes it easier to raise funds. Check out start-ups: Warby Parker, Omaze.com, and oh yeah...Tesla/SpaceX (Elon Musk is a Wharton alum).

Regarding "culture," I think each person will have their own unique opinion. The reality is at the top business schools, "diversity" (which includes the following: religion/sexual orientation/race/age) is really forced upon you whether you like it or not, so how a particular person reacts or fits into this melting pot, will go a long way in determining their opinion of the culture. Each person is different. I've enjoy the diversity. I think it creates a unique classroom environment, and provides you with a better global perspective.

All in all, Wharton has more amazing/interesting people than it does douche bags and stiffs. I've built life-long friendships, and the network has served me well professionally. From my perspective, the culture has been great. The main problem is that I don't have enough time to take advantage of everything. Time management is surely the hardest aspect of business school. I'm still trying to figure out how to go on the Antarctica trek this year....

tonebeeze · Answer

Don't be afraid to apply! I know a few +35 in my class, that are loving the ride. One of them worked at Google this past summer is really taking advantage of our great entrepreneurial opportunities on our SF campus. If you do a summer internship in Northern California after your first year, you can then complement that experience with the semester at SF. In doing so, you effectively have 6 months or so living in the entrepreneurial epicenter of SF/Silicon Valley. Outside of Stanford/Haas, very few of the top business schools afford this flexibility. We have an actual Wharton campus in SF, as opposed to other schools which simply do an exchange program. Wharton has its fair share of engineers and coders, so don't fret. You will fit right in because we know that you prefer to do problems set over essays...lol

tonebeeze · Answer

I'm not here to say why Wharton does this better than X or Y or Z. Each person will have their own opinion. That's why I titled my posted the way I did. But if you think about it, if each school did the same things equally, or as you put it, "say the same stuff in different words," then wouldn't their respective applicant/employer demand be equal? Just food for thought.

For the record. Booth and Columbia are fantastic schools. Elite level schools. If you are lucky enough to get into either one, you should probably go.

What factors drew me to Wharton? The quick and truthful answer: Biggest alumni network of any business school. Top 3 brand. Top finance education. Top 3 highest starting salary. No need to sugar-coat.

I knew the people were pretty much going to be the same within the top 5 schools. IMO, (generally speaking) anyone that gets into a top 5 school had the potential to get accepted to all top 5 schools, so I know I wasn't going to sacrifice on the caliber of student. Admission selection is an art that is about making a unique class, not just filling the cohort with a room full-of 760s...so maybe that year the 38 year old Tech Engineer or 23 year old entrepreneur slot was already taken at schools #1-4.

esoQsell · Answer

Have time,

I will come to look at this issue and look forward to!
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