I had my interview with a Wharton alumni (class of 2004), and wanted to share my perspective. I had a somewhat unique situation, as it turns out one of my good friends from college is also friends with the guy who would up as my interviewer…so there was a little prep/massaging done prior to my entering the room. Regardless, I think my experience makes it clear that the interview follows a distinctive format.
First thing the guy said was “I don’t want this to be incredibly formal if you don’t.” So I just nodded my head and said, “Sounds good to me.” First point of relief during the interview. The next few questions were very basic:
- Tell me about your background.
- Tell me about your current role and challenges you face.
- Tell me how you fit into the overall org. structure of your company.
- Tell me why you are pursuing an MBA, and why now.
- Tell me what schools you are applying to, and why Wharton.
- Tell me why you chose the schools you did.
- Do you have any questions for me?
There were a few random exchanges in there, but if you can carry a conversation and answer the questions above, you should do fine in the Wharton interview. Feedback I received from other friends at Wharton is that the interview is a reality check for the admissions committee. They see your stats on paper, but they really want to know who you are, if you were embellishing your story, and if you are personable. Some of the categories they are looking at are how compelling your story is, whether your voice is confident, and whether you can logically tie together the pieces of your resume – really focus on why you did things, not just the fact that you did them.
The interview was completely blind (except that I had a little angel whispering in my guy’s ear). He hadn’t seem my application, and only saw my resume when I forwarded it to him last week. I do think the Wharton alumni interview is not intended to scare you or put you on the defensive. It’s a chance for you to tell your story to one more person who can be an advocate for you in the process. I don’t get the sense that it alone can make you a Wharton admit, but if you absolutely bomb it you could run into problems.
I think I did well in the interview, and touched on all the critical pieces that I went in trying to hit. Hopefully it will reflect on the report that the guy submits, and I hope I’m not one of those “dead meat” interviews that people claim take place.
The most interesting part of the interview was when I asked his viewpoint on how a change in the grade non-disclosure policy might affect the culture at Wharton. He gave an unequivocal “definitely will change” opinion. His feeling is that the culture at Wharton is collaborative and competitive to a healthy degree. If you add in grade disclosure, the dynamic of learning teams, cohorts, and recruitment would certainly change and become much more cutthroat. He really stressed the helpfulness of others in his class, and felt that would be dimished if you are competing with that same person for a job when grades are a larger part of the equation. The policy still stands, and it’s not really a differentiator in my decision if it does change at Wharton, but interesting to hear people’s thoughts.
