A Talk with Wharton's Admissions Director
An Excerpt from the Q&A:
Q: How important is the interview?
Martinelli: It's another point of information for Wharton evaluating the student, [and for] the student evaluating the school. It's not the tilt point that either admits or denies a candidate, but it helps us...make the best final decision. It will not completely destroy or be a slam dunk in the overall application. So many people are so afraid of it being the key event.
Q: This reader asks, "I am applying for entry in fall 2005, and I have decided to have my first child in the spring of 2005. I will be very pregnant if and when I am interviewed. Will that hurt my chances?"
Martinelli: Absolutely not. Everyone applies to the program trying to juggle many different priorities. It's just that one of her priorities will be a little more visually apparent at that time. She should be ready to talk about it if someone questions her timing. Child-care facilities are available to students and staff of the University of Pennsylvania.
For the full version of this Q&A
Comments from Student 1:I found out I got an interview with Wharton via email. Their email had a link to their electronic interview sign-up system. Everything was scheduled electronically. I would advise people to sign up as soon as possible so you can choose your preferred date and time. Applicants moved fast and spots filled up very quickly.
I chose to interview at the school since I had never been to Philadelphia. Though, I've heard from many that whether you go to the school or choose to have an alumni interview you in your own town, doesn't affect your chances of getting in. Unlike other schools where I felt I was one of few interviewing, at Wharton I felt the competition. All of us were sitting in the same lobby waiting for our interviewers to call us into small interview rooms. As I sat in the lobby and chatted with the fifteen other friendly faces, I remember thinking, "I bet our odds are one out of fifteen."
If you do visit the school, I would recommend you do your interview after you take advantage of all their campus offerings. Wharton does student-led tours of the school and lunch with students. You are always around students so you get an opportunity to ask a lot of questions. All this really helps when the interviewer asks, "Why Wharton?" And they will definitely ask.
My interviewer was by a second year student and lasted thirty minutes. At first, I was relieved it was a student because I thought it would be more of a casual conversation. But this was not the case. It was very formal. I did not get the sense that they were just trying to get to know me as a person to see if I would "fit" into the Wharton culture.
Like other schools I interviewed with, I was surprised at how unfamiliar the interviewer was with my application. She only had my resume. Since I was a nontraditional student, a good part of my interview was spent explaining the same question I had in my essays—"Why an MBA?" I think most nontraditional students should expect this of interviews when their interviewer only has access to their resume. It is definitely worth your time to call the school beforehand to find out how much information the interviewer will have. It makes a huge difference in the types of questions you will be asked. If they only have your resume, you can rely on a lot of your answers to your essay questions as answers to your interview questions. On the other hand, if they have read through your whole application, their questions will be much more specific, and they will expect new information rather than a regurgitation of your application.
Just as they do in their essays, at the end of the interview, Wharton gives you an opportunity to explain any of your weaknesses by asking "Is there anything else you would like to address?" It is good opportunity to explain anything you think they may see as a weakness. By bringing your awareness to it and spinning it in a positive way before they spin it in negative way, you become a stronger candidate.
Comments from Student 2:Scheduling/Location of the interview: Interview is by invitation only. Supposedly, a relatively significant number of applicants, up to 40%, are invited to interview. If invited, you will receive an e-mail from the MBA admissions office within a few weeks of submitting the application. You have the option of scheduling an on-campus interview in Philadelphia, or an alumni interview at most major metropolitan locations worldwide. Personally, I went from New York to Philadelphia for an on-campus interview. Whatever you choose, the mechanism of scheduling the interview is through Wharton's admissions website.
Preparedness of Interviewer: The interview is based on the resume that you bring; the interviewer does not view your application.
Interviewer University affiliation: Interview was by a second-year student on the Admissions Committee.
Atmosphere: Honestly, the general atmosphere was tense, at least initially. It was "professional," in the sense that it lacked the intimacy and "warmth" of my interviews at Tuck, MIT, Yale, NYU, and UCLA. Though others probably had different experiences, the cool, detached professionalism of my interview helped to assess my inter-personal skills, as well as my ability to perform under pressure. In other words, the detached professionalism seemed deliberate. Nevertheless, despite a difficult beginning, I eventually developed some intimacy with my interviewer, and we ended on a cordial, personal note.
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