What Else Is Wharton Doing with Its New Prompt?
Beyond serving up an exercise that seems sure to challenge participants in a number of different ways, Wharton is also doing something else with this prompt—something that sets it apart some from its “holy trinity” peers, Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
As a preamble to the prompt in the email sent last week to those invited to interview, Wharton offered the following:
“The diversity of interests and backgrounds of the Wharton MBA community is reflected in the variety of programs that we support. The African American MBA Association, Private Equity and Venture Capital Club, Wharton Women in Business, Entrepreneurship Club, and the Veteran’s Club are five of the more than one hundred student-run clubs here at Wharton. Each year, many of these clubs run conferences, providing unique and exclusive opportunities for students to engage with business and thought leaders around the world.”
Unlike prior years’ prompts, which talked in abstract terms about the “pillars” of the school or how it might use a fictitious donation, this year’s prompt really plays to one of Wharton’s greatest strengths—namely that its program boasts one of the most, if not the most wide-ranging number of student clubs.
By the sheer size of their student body, schools like HBS and Wharton leave others in the dust in terms of the number and diversity of their clubs and conferences. “Keep in mind, Wharton also tends to have a slightly more international—and arguably more diverse—student profile than that other ‘big’ U.S. school,” Richmond points out.
Although INSEAD has an even more diverse class and even more students, it also has a one-year MBA program, which really restricts its ability to have as robust a campus clubs experience.
Admissions as a Marketing Tool
“In short, part of the purpose of this TBD is to sell students on the amazing opportunities that await them at Wharton,” Richmond says. Using part of the admissions process to specifically market its program to the applicant pool sets it apart from, say, HBS or Stanford, he adds. “It is certainly something that is done by other schools—like Duke’s Fuqua School or Columbia Business School—but not historically by the ‘trinity’ (H/S/W),” he says.
Wharton will continue to offer applicants a 10-minute, one-on-one interview with a member of the school’s admissions team following the TBD. The school describes that portion as “an opportunity for you to further converse with a member of the admissions team regarding your candidacy. While we will have questions for you during this time, we also realize that there are specific aspects that you may wish to highlight, such as your reflections on the team-based discussion, aspects of your candidacy that you feel are of particular importance, or updates on your professional or personal endeavors. This time will also allow for you to ask any questions that you may have regarding the program or next steps in the process.”
So, what’s the best way to approach this one-to-one portion? “Be prepared to provide feedback on your experience with the TBD, but also be ready for a brief, blind interview,” Brown advises. In terms what TBD feedback to provide, he recommends highlighting your own role and why you took that role. “Keep positive if possible, whether you were supporting someone else’s idea or leading your own.”
So, there you have it. After you’ve carefully considered the insights offered above, then maybe you can embrace DeVecchis’ well-intentioned “Relax and be yourself!”
Good luck! And remember to share your experiences with fellow applicants (and learn from those of others) as part of the Clear Admit Wharton Interview Archive.
