At Wharton, It's Know Thyself

flyingty

Q: Wharton's first admissions deadline was Oct. 16. What can you tell us about the volume of applications so far, and the quality? Will admissions competition in 2004 be as fierce as it was in 2003?
A: Round-one applications were down a bit but the quality of applications is very strong. As for competition, it's a little too early to tell, but I think it's a great year to apply.

Q: How many interview invitations has Wharton extended to first-round applicants, and how many will your office extend in the weeks ahead?
A: Great question. We expect to interview approximately 50% of the round-one applicants. I expect approximately 200 interview invitations to be released in the next week.

Q: What are the most successful themes that applicants use to position themselves -- for instance: leadership and teamwork?
A: For me, the most important quality or factor in the application is the person's awareness of who they are, where they've been, what they've learned, and where they're going. Leadership and teamwork are part of how we evaluate an individual. But nothing can replace an individual's self-awareness and their ability to articulate to others how they fit.

Q: Why do people say it's very hard to get financial aid at top MBA schools? Are there a lot of restrictions as to who will be eligible for aid?
A: At Wharton, we're more interested in providing access to all of our students, so financing options become more about packaging than addressing small needs.

Let me try to explain this. We recognize that most students have short-term financing needs. They have made fairly good money before the MBA and will make extremely good money after. Therefore, we feel that offering financing options is a better use of our funds. For students with what I would term extreme financial hardship, we will assist by providing some need-based grants. In addition, Wharton provides merit-based fellowships to approximately 15% of the class -- these are based on leadership, teamwork, community contributions, and general accomplishments, as stated in the application -- and will be given at the time of admission.

Q: Is it possible to get admitted to Wharton if one has a sub-3.0 undergraduate grade-point average (GPA)? How strong would one's work experience and GMAT score need to be to offset average undergraduate performance? How important are recommendations?
A: Yes, it is possible to get admitted to Wharton with a sub-3.0 GPA. We will need to know, however, what happened. What caused the lower grades and were there any lessons learned? It would be helpful for us to see a strong GMAT and strong professional experience.

Recommendations are very important to us because at the time an application is submitted, they're the only external evidence of your experience and contributions. So it's important for you to choose people who know you well in a supervisory capacity and can speak in some detail about examples of your contributions.

Q: How specific do you want applicants to be in their personal statements about their career goals?
A: It all comes down to building a case statement. Why do you want to spend $100,000-plus and lose two years of income for an education? The "whys" become all important. If you don't have a credible case, it makes you less compelling. Does that mean you need to have exact, specific career goals? Not necessarily. But you do need clear plans for what you want to do with the MBA and why you think it makes sense for you at this point in your career.

Q: Speaking of being less compelling, you gave the nod to 16% of the 7,000-plus applicants in 2003. What were the other 84% of applicants lacking?
A: It's rather difficult to answer, but let me try. First of all, not many candidates have done very well on their self-assessment, meaning they haven't done it at all. Understanding where you've been, what you've learned, how that has shaped you and your choices, and an awareness of where you are now and want to go next is, to me, the most critical component. The "hows," "whys," and motivations are much more important than what you've accomplished. So applicants who are clear about where they're going and why are fewer than those who aren't.

Then it comes down to the hard choice of crafting a class and getting to know an individual's passions, communication ability, drive, and all of those intangibles we get to know through the interviews and continued interaction with applicants. This is the hardest part of my job -- turning down terrific candidates who would be great at Wharton, but who I don't have room for in terms of putting together an interesting, intellectual, and diverse (in terms of industry, function, perspectives, etc.) class, that makes a class a terrific learning experience.

Q: Are there opportunities for entrepreneurs to get hands-on experience, either by starting or helping with a start-up?
A: Yes. The MBA program is a professional degree that we hope will provide students with lots of hands-on experience. Particularly for entrepreneurs, we want you to have the ability to interact with other entrepreneurs or venture capitalists so that you can learn from them. This can be done a number of ways, including through the Small Business Development Center, our visiting entrepreneur program, and interacting with a lot of alumni who are entrepreneurs.

Q: How many current students at Wharton came from non-profit work backgrounds, and how many plan to continue in the non-profit sector?
A: This is a little bit more difficult to answer because so many people who come from traditional or non-traditional backgrounds often switch careers as part of their MBA plans. Increasingly, we have been reaching out to the non-profit and government sector, and have been drawing many, many students into the MBA program. In fact, more than one-third of our total students participate in our social impact management initiative.

Who will actually start in a non-profit after graduation varies from year to year. But those with long-term plans to pursue government and non-profit careers are a growing group among our MBAs.

Lots of students will take a first job in order to help pay off their education debt and will perhaps change jobs later, once they've had the chance to pay down that debt. That's just a fact.

flyingty

Q: How relevant is volunteer experience when evaluating a candidate?
A: It's very important. There are three pillars that I look to evaluate in an application. The first, of course, is professional development. The second is what you do for your own personal enrichment and development. And then finally, blending those two successes to give back to the community. Therefore, community involvement or service is incredibly important. This is an important indication of leadership. Leaders aren't only dedicated to their own personal success and their company's success, but should be committed to making a positive impact on the community around them. Therefore, I'm looking to see what a student has done in terms of giving back to the community.
Q: Here are two related questions: Community service might not be a prevalent concept in other countries, where perhaps too much emphasis is placed on education and work. Would you rate community service based on where a candidate is from? And due to extensive travel or work pressures, it is often not possible to be deeply involved in community service, though a desire to do so may exist. Does an absence of community service in an applicant's record exclude him from admission?
A: Community service is important. However, we do recognize that people are busy and that it might be considered unusual in places around the world. However, I'm still looking for people who have a commitment and a history. Community service could be as simple as picking up trash in a neighborhood, helping out a neighbor, or something more formal through an organization. That candidates are involved, and looking outside themselves to give, is important.

Q: Here's an interesting twist on a common question: "I'm a prospective international student and an entrepreneur. How should I approach my recommendations?" Also, some people say that the recommendation has to come from a well-known person. What is your view?
A: For the international student, this is always a challenge for entrepreneurs. I would encourage that student to be creative in selecting recommenders who can speak to his or her professional development without it being a mom, a dad, a spouse. This might be a vendor, a client, a lawyer, etc. The challenge will be, however, to find either someone who speaks English well enough to write in detail or to rewrite the recommender questions in the native language, so that they can respond effectively and then have the reference translated and sent to the school.

As for whether a recommender should be an important person or a highly titled person, that has no bearing. We're looking for people who know you well and are in a supervisory position over you -- that's most important.

Q: Is it a big negative if an applicant can't get a recommendation from his or her current supervisor? Some applicants hesitate to inform their employers about their MBA plans before they're accepted.
A: No, it's not a negative at all. We certainly understand that type of situation. I would only ask that you help to explain your choice of recommenders in an optional essay. That way, we won't guess as to why a current supervisor was not included.

Q: When evaluating international candidates, what do you like to see in candidates who have professional experience in the U.S., vs. those who have only worked in their home countries?
A: This is a good question for all applicants. Professional development can be limited by location and opportunity. While we love to see applicants have the opportunity to work in environments beyond their native country or region, it's not always possible. What is great to see is that a student has had a chance to impact a business -- to see it grow and develop.

Q: Wharton is known for its strength in finance. What would you say to an applicant who isn't interested in pursuing finance?
A: Wharton may be known as a finance school to folks who do not know us well, but we are so much more than that. As one of the largest MBA programs in the world, we have great riches and resources and majors in many, many fields: marketing, real estate, health care, strategic management, and so on. When you attend Wharton, not only do you have a strong finance program, but strengths across all departments and majors. Remember, we're a general management school with a focus on majors in year two.

Q: While we're on the topic of other Wharton specialties, one audience member asks: "Where do the grads from the health-care track end up working? Some other schools have health-care tracks, but they all go into pharmaceutical companies and marketing."
A: I wish June Kinney, who manages our health-care MBA majors, were here. Our health-care folks go in so many different directions, from running hospitals and insurance agencies to biotech and pharmaceuticals, and even to health-care consulting. It's really up to the student where to go rather than the school, as we have alumni in so many places around the world working in this sector.

Q: The workforce is getting older, and many baby boomers aren't interested in retirement. To what extent is age a factor in admissions decisions, assuming all other requirements are present?
A: I don't like to talk about the age factor, because I believe it is irrelevant in admissions. However, I do have major questions about an individual's return on investment. The more experience you have, the higher the cost to attend a two-year program, with lost income and the investment. I'm looking to see if an individual has fully assessed what they will lose in terms in of income, what they will invest in terms of cost, and what the return will be after the MBA. Beyond that, the age factor is irrelevant.

Q: What would you list as the three big specific "dont's" in writing application essays?
A: One, don't write what you think we want to hear. Two, answer the questions. Three, write more than accomplishments -- let us know the "whys," the "hows," and your motivations.

Q: If it's not possible for an applicant to visit your campus before submitting an application, what is the best way for him to show Wharton that he's done his homework and that Wharton is his top choice?
A: Your essays will help us know how much work you've done. Most students can't visit the campuses of all the schools to which they apply. But what becomes critical is knowing the types of learning environments you need to be successful, articulating that in your essays, and [telling us] why you've decided to apply to the school. Fit becomes key. So whether you chat on bulletin boards, talk to alumni of the schools, or view their Web sites, knowing how your needs fit with what a school offers will help us know if we fit you.

Q: We've had plenty of GMAT questions today, and here are two: "I own a small software company and have been trying to get myself to come home at the end of the day and study algebra for the GMAT. How important is the GMAT score?" And, "What is the minimum GMAT score acceptable for admittance?"
A: So many people focus on the GMAT and I must say that for me, it's more of a hurdle to get over than a defining or distinctive characteristic in the application.

Let me give you a couple pieces of advice. We're looking for students who can handle the academic rigor of our program. The way we determine that is to look at your undergraduate record and the GMAT. You'll notice that we have a large range of scores in our matriculated class. This year, the 80th percentile [of GMAT scores] was 640 to 760. Anywhere in that range is fine. What's important is that that score fairly represents your ability. If there were a minimum, anything below a 600 GMAT would make me question one's academic ability and success at Wharton and their ability to get as much out of the experience as one could.

Lastly, we hope all students have some quantitative experience. So we'll look at the transcripts for evidence of that, or at the GMAT. But it's our job to help you build those skills during your MBA experience. You just need to have basic fundamentals at the point of matriculating. Those are basic statistics, algebra, and so forth. Remember, you get to use a calculator!

flyingty

Q: Do you receive many applications from military officers? How are they viewed, given that they don't have a business background?
A: Yes, we do receive lots of applications from the military. The challenge for our military officers is always where they're going and why. The MBA isn't a great place to shop for a career, but it's a great place to develop a path to a career that one has already considered and knows something about.
Q: How do graduate school grades compare with undergraduate grades? Does a good post-grad transcript help average undergrad grades?
A: We look at all academic history and recognize that some undergraduate records are not as good as others. A graduate degree gives us additional information about a student's intellectual curiosity and commitment to educational advancement. It helps us, but it's not what I would consider a plus factor over those who do not have a graduate degree. It helps us get to know you, the applicant, better as an individual.

Q: How are designations, such as the CFA, viewed by the admissions committee? Do they make up for a lack of college coursework in finance?
A: Yes, they're helpful. The CFA, CPA, and other designations provide us with additional information that's very helpful. They demonstrate a candidate's commitment to professional and personal development, and demonstrate a commitment to continuing to develop their quantitative or finance skills.

Q: How much weight does the interview hold in the application process? Is the performance in the interview a make-or-break situation, or is it evaluated in the context of the overall application?
A: We do not assign any specific weight to the interview. We're more of a touchy-feely kind of place. The interview provides us with an additional perspective that is taken back and put back into the entire file for an additional evaluation. So it's not the make-or-break, but a valuable piece of information that along with the application evaluation helps us make that final decision.

Q: Do you have any scholarships for international or minority students?
A: Wharton has a number of merit-based fellowships that are open to all candidates regardless of ethnicity or citizenship. They are based on leadership, accomplishments, community involvement, etc., as demonstrated in the application at the time of admission. About 15% of our students will receive a merit-based fellowship.

Q: Your office placed 517 people on its wait-list in 2003, ultimately giving the nod to 111 people. What should an applicant do if they are placed on Wharton's wait-list? What's the best strategy?
A: Ah, the wait-list strategy! There really is no best strategy beyond following instructions and believing that you want to attend that institution. The wait-list is really an administrative tool at Wharton -- one that we use to help us get a better look at a larger portion of the pool before final decisions are made. Everyone we put on the wait-list we would love to have, but ultimately, my job is to craft a class, not admit a class.

Q: Will the admissions committee look at a re-applicant's previous application along with the new application?
A: We refer to the first application, but rely principally on the re-application for all of the critical information. We may check the prior application for data points, areas of improvement, choice of recommenders, and perhaps look back at our comments from your initial application.

Q: When will you tell round-one applicants if they've got a seat in Wharton's class of 2006? How will you notify them?
A: Our round one release date is Dec. 23. We let all our students know our final decision via our online system, and of course, many phone calls for those who are admitted.

Q: Would you wrap up our conversation today with a few final tips for applicants? A: First of all, thank you so much to the audience members for logging in today. Your interest in learning more about the different schools and processes is a great thing.
A: My final tip would be to make sure -- before you do and write any applications -- that you know yourself, and that you have completed a thorough self-assessment that includes personal, professional, and community development. Make sure that you know and understand what your learning needs will be (i.e., small school, case study method, general management). And make sure you select schools carefully; [select] ones that best fit your needs. My hope is that every student who wishes to get an MBA and to impact our world positively can do so.

My job is to help you understand that process, whether at Wharton or any other school, and help you find the school that best fits your needs and will help you thrive as a future business leader. Good luck to you in your MBA pursuit and feel free to e-mail me with any other questions you might have. I'm always happy to help.

sdyx0

Thank you. Is this the B-School insider from Businessweek.com?

thinkpador

thanks for sharing!