UPenn / Wharton MBA News

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Published: March 10, 2013

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On campus

We were told to prepare 3 ideas in 3 different topics for a team-based discussion on campus. When we started, we all gave pitches for our ideas in a topic selected by the students in the room. These students then told us to have a discussion to come up with an idea to present to them at the end. We vetted out our ideas by establishing criterion of which idea would be best. In fact, we didnt use one idea, but fused several ideas to eventually come to a consensus on an idea. Then we separated the idea into categories Read more

Published: March 7, 2013

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / A student / On Philly campus

We had the team-based interview, where 5 other students brought in ideas for the scenario of having a $1M grant from Wharton. We were chosen to talk about social innovation. We started discussing our different ideas and then talked about which criteria were the most important to make the highest impact. Some ideas were discarded completely, whereas other ideas were synthesized as we continued our discussion. Some students kept the conversation from moving by insisting on their idea before others. We finally agreed on an idea and prepared a presentation, but we ran out of time before we could present. Read more

Published: March 4, 2013

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year student/ On-campus

The team-based discussion included six interviewees and two admissions fellows. The fellows took notes during the entire session. First, they read the prompt and said they would only interject with timing updates – they also let us decide who would pitch first. We went around the table (not necessarily in order) and each gave an idea. I was lucky to have a great group, which led to a really good discussion. After the team-based discussion, we were called back into the room for the one-on-one. The admissions fellow said that it was a blind interview – they are not given Read more

Published: February 11, 2013

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second Year / On-Campus

After my group interview, I had a 1-1 interview with a second year student lasting about 10-15 minutes. The whole interview process felt very rushed as the interviewer kept looking at the clock to gauge how much time was left in our interview. I was asked the following questions with no opportunity to really talk about my background: 1. How do you think the group interview went? 2. Tell me about a time you had to convince someone at work 3. What do you want to do at Wharton? 4. What questions do you have for me? Read more

Published: December 16, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round I/Second-year student/on-campus

This was a team-based discussion interview. After I signed up for a date on the website, I received an email with two interview prompts. On the day of the interview one of them was chosen. We went around the room every applicant sharing their ideas about the question and then we had a discussion. Towards the end we needed to summarize our discussion. The other applicants were overall friendly. After this each of us spent 10-15 minutes with one of the second-year students who were observing us. I was aksed the following questions: 1) How do you think the Read more

Published: November 25, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second-year student / On-campus

Overall the interview was very laid back and conversational, with fairly standard MBA interview questions. Only a few questions were actually asked, the rest of our time was spent discussing my interviewer’s background, thoughts on the program, best experiences in the program, etc. Questions were: 1. How did you feel the Team-Based Discussion went? 2. Was your behavior in the Team-Based Discussion representative of the way you typically act in group settings? 3. Tell me about a time when you worked in a group in which everyone did not agree and how did your team resolve the situation? Read more

Published: November 20, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / Webex

My interview was with an adcom member via Webex (like Skype). The interviewer was very friendly and made the atmosphere relaxed and casual. He made it clear up front that the interview was blind. After that we went right into the following questions: 1. Walk me through your resume. 2. Tell me about a time you lead a team and someone was less motivated. 3. Tell me about a time you managed up. 4. Tell me about a time you persuaded someone/the team to do something. 5. Why now? Why Wharton? 6. Do you have Read more

Published: August 27, 2012

Admissions Director Q&A: Ankur Kumar of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

~A CLEAR ADMIT EXCLUSIVE~ Ankur Kumar, a Wharton alumna, joined the school’s admissions team three and a half years ago. In 2010 she was promoted to run admissions for the MBA program. Kumar, who received her B.S. in finance from Wharton and her B.A. in economics from the College of Arts and Sciences, worked in investment banking and finance before returning to Wharton to pursue her MBA in strategic management. Upon graduation, she went into management consulting. Asked to leave management consulting to join the Wharton admissions team, Kumar jumped at the opportunity to shape the program and have an impact. “For me, this transition was really a chance to leverage the skills I enjoyed about finance and consulting and bring them to a program I feel very strongly about and that is personal to me,” she told us. In particular, her time as a Wharton student helped her appreciate the importance of having a diverse class of students who come from all over the world and bring with them a range of ways of thinking about business, she says. This is something she has pledged to keep top of mind as she brings together Wharton’s future classes. Read more

Published: July 29, 2012

Clear Admit Featured in Financial Times Article on Changing MBA Admissions

Clear Admit’s own Graham Richmond was featured as part of an article this week in the Financial Times about changes taking place this admissions season at several top business schools. The article, entitled “The Creative Route to an MBA,” highlighted the shift at several top MBA programs toward requiring fewer essays from applicants, among other changes. Several top schools, including Harvard Business School (HBS), Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, will require applicants to submit fewer essays as part of the application process than in years past. Clear Admit’s Richmond told the FT that he believes this is part of a trend by top programs to shift emphasis away from the essays and toward the interview portion of the application process. Read more

Published: March 27, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-campus Hub

Had a brief five minute chat about the adcom member and his background and a little bit about the process. Then we jumped into questions Walk me through your resume (I wove in a bit of why MBA here) Tell me about a time when you managed a team and one person was less motivated Tell me about a time when you managed someone senior to you Tell me about a time when you participated in a successful negotiation Why do you want an MBA now? (I spoke a bit more about why MBA here) Why Wharton specifically? Do you Read more

Published: March 13, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-campus Hub

I was the first interview of the day, in an Asia Hub location. We started with some very friendly chit chat about the city and the admissions committee member’s travels and experiences, for about 5 minutes before jumping into the interview. First, he outlined the structure of the interview and gave his brief background, noting that the interview is blind, i.e. he had not reviewed by application unless incidentally during the initial filtering. He then asked the following: Walk me through your resume Tell me about a time when you managed a team and one person was less motivated Tell Read more

Published: March 5, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / AdCom / Off-Campus

I had a phone interview with an AdCom member. She was very friendly and made me feel comfortable. She described the process and told me that a phone interview is equal to an in-person interview. Then she asked me if I had any question about the process. The interview was straight-forward. 4 behavioral questions + traditional questions. The questions were (in order) Walk me through your resume Describe a time when you led a team and it failed Describe a time when you managed someone more senior to you Describe a time when you managed someone with less experience than Read more

Published: March 5, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-campus

The interview was very friendly and conversational, as others have reported. He started by introducing his background and the blind interview format. Questions (in order) were: Walk me through your resume Talk about a time when I had to work with people who were less focused. Talk about a time when I had to manage someone senior to me. Talk about a time when I was successful in participating in a negotiation. Why now? Why an MBA? In relation to what you want to do in your career. Do you have any questions for me? Total time was 30 minutes. Read more

Published: March 4, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Student / On Campus

I did my interview on campus on Tuesday. I was able to do the campus tour and class visit on Monday – it was very enjoyable. The students and staff were very welcoming, and I got to confirm a lot of the reasons for which I chose to apply to the school. The interviewer was friendly – she started with an introduction about herself. She then asked me to walk her through the professional section of my resume. I just gave a little background to explain why I chose to work in that field and then went into the details Read more

Published: February 28, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-Campus

Hub interview on February 27th, 2012 in Dubai She met me in the waiting area and walked me to the conference room. Very friendly and relaxed. Started of by introducing herself and explaining the format for the interview. Asked if I had any questions, and then we started. Listed the questions below. There were follow-up questions for the behavioral questions. Tell me about a time you’ve had to convince a team of doing something different and they didn’t necessarily agree? Tell me about a time when you’ve had to convince a group of people and it didn’t work out? Tell Read more

Published: February 19, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-campus

3 behavoiral questions first A time when you solved a conflict in your team A time when you managed someone senior A time when you convinced someone Your examples are mostly in cross cultural context, what are the differences between business culture in some of the countries you had interactions with. Walk through your resume Challanges when starting school again What are the things you look at when choosing B-school Why MBA, taking two years off to go back to school What do you do outside of your professional life Do you have any questions. Read more

Published: February 19, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / 2nd-year students / On-campus

I had both my Wharton and Lauder interviews today on campus. First, I attended a Lauder class and met a few other Lauder students in my desired track, which was great. The Lauder interview was with a 2nd-year student in the same track and with some common background elements. The interview was relaxed and unstructured, but we did touch on the following questions: Resume walkthrough Specific follow-up questions about my work experience Why Wharton? Why Lauder? Why Wharton + Lauder and not just Wharton? Post-MBA goals? Long term goals? Specific follow-up questions about my goals Questions on a related subject Read more

Published: February 14, 2012

Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year Student / On-Campus

The interviewer was a second year student (male) who had worked at an investment bank prior to Wharton. The 3 behavioral questions were: Describe a time you led a team and it failed Describe a time when you managed someone senior to you Tell me about a time you persuaded someone to change their mind Read more

Published: June 6, 2011

Harvard Business School, U Penn’s Wharton School Travel the Globe to Meet Prospective Applicants

Admissions staff from top schools like Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania are circling the globe in the weeks ahead to meet prospective applicants in the countries where they live. Next week, HBS will host MBA Admissions events in Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai* and Beijing. South American events, in Peru and Argentina, are scheduled for later in the summer, in July. These outreach events are designed to give prospective applicants an opportunity to meet representatives from the HBS community and learn more about the MBA program and the admissions process. Interested participants are asked to register online to attend upcoming events. For a full schedule, click here. Read more

Published: January 16, 2011

Clear Admit Career Services Director Q&A: J.J. Cutler of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

~ A CLEAR ADMIT EXCLUSIVE ~ Next up in our Career Services Director Q&A Series, we turn to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Here we reconnected with J.J. Cutler, who we first interviewed for our Admissions Director Q&A Series in February 2009. Since that interview, Cutler has been appointed deputy vice dean of admissions, financial aid and career management for Wharton, with direct oversight of the MBA Career Management Center. So it made sense to speak to him again in his new role for this series. A lifelong Philadelphia resident, Cutler has deep ties to the University of Pennsylvania, where he got both his undergraduate degree and his MBA. After receiving his MBA in 1997 from Wharton, he worked for a number of years in healthcare consumer goods and marketing, including time at ARAMARK as senior VP of marketing, seven years at Johnson & Johnson and most recently as the president of Lindi Skin, a start-up offering skin care products specifically designed for people with cancer. Read more

UPenn / Wharton

CLASS SIZE: 866

Women: 47%

MEAN GMAT: 732

MEAN GPA: 3.7

Livewire Decisionwire Interview Reports Essay Topic Analysis MBA Admissions Deadlines View Full Profile

MBA Applywire

December 25, 2024 2:16pm ET

Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley, Michigan / Ross, UNC Kenan-Flagler

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Strategy consulting

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Commercial Banking Companies: Bain , BCG , Deloitte , Ernst & Young , KPMG , McKinsey , PWC , Bank of America , Capital One , Citibank , PNC Bank , Wells Fargo

GRE: 323

GPA: 3.48

Years of Work Experience: 6

December 25, 2024 10:52am ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Columbia, Cornell / Johnson, Duke / Fuqua, Indian School of Business, Indiana / Kelley, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Supply Chain Management

Post-MBA Target Industry: Other

GMAT: 655

GPA: 3.3

Years of Work Experience: 4.5

Location: India

Post MBA Location: USA

Notes:

Extensive Supply chain experience across Telecom and Aviation industries. Currently working with United Airlines in Supply Chain. Lots of international exposure and experience.

December 25, 2024 7:51am ET

Applying: Duke / Fuqua, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Indian Chartered Accountant, Completed Undergrad and Grad in commernce (A and A+ grade)Fund Controlling - PE(Goldman Sachs) and IIF(JP Morgan)

Post-MBA Target Industry: Asset Management, inc. HF Companies: Blackrock , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Asset Management

GRE: 320

GPA: A+

Years of Work Experience: 5.5

Location: India

Post MBA Location: US, UK

Notes:

I got waiver from Darden and applying to fuqua with GRE score. Planning to apply to only two schools in current round 2.
Post MBA goal is to transition career from accounting based role to front end asset management roles.

December 23, 2024 7:48am ET

Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Georgia Tech / Scheller, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Vanderbilt / Owen

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Sports

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Family Business, Other Companies: Accenture , Deloitte

GMAT: 655

GPA: 3.89

Years of Work Experience: 3

Location: South

Notes:

NCAA DI Athlete
Selected for the industry's inaugural women's leadership academy
Variety of volunteer work in and out of my work industry

December 23, 2024 12:19am ET

Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Construction & RE (2nd Gen Entrepreneur)

Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Asset Management, inc. HF, Family Business Companies: Citibank , Credit Suisse , Morgan Stanley

GRE: 326

GPA: 3.80

Years of Work Experience: 5

View or Submit Entries

MBA LiveWire

December 30, 2024 12:21pm ET

Interview Invite to Dartmouth / Tuck

Round: Round 2

Received via email on November 19, 2024

GPA: 3.6

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Finance

Application Location: Houston

Note:

Applied just after R1 (guaranteed interview window for R2)- my GMAT waiver was not approved in time for R1.
30M Indian national working in O&G trading. Mechanical Engineering undergrad in India(4.0 equivalent GPA) and Master of Science degree from Duke University (3.6 GPA).
Chose to do the in-person interview at Tuck. Tuck is the only school I applied to this year and excited/nervous on how things will go. Hoping the waiver won't significantly ding my candidacy as I am from an ORM group.

December 30, 2024 9:55am ET

Accepted to MIT Sloan

Round: Round 1

Received via phone on December 11, 2024

GPA: 3.6

GMAT: 760

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Healthcare

December 30, 2024 9:52am ET

Accepted to U. Chicago Booth

Round: Round 1

Received via portal on December 04, 2024