| 1.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year Student / On-Campus Apr 18, 2014
I arrived about 15 minutes early and chatted with some of the other interviewees. Everyone was very nice and friendly. We were called into three different rooms in groups of 5 or so, and my group was called last.
We were read the prompt, told our time constraint, and then asked to start. Everyone shared their idea, and then I summarized the key deliverables we were trying to work towards and offered to play the role of timekeeper and offered a general structure for how the time should go. We settled very quickly on our topic, and then spent some time discussing the method of delivery. I think that we did a really good job of incorporating each other’s ideas, and building off everyone. My key role was to try and place some of the more divergent ideas into a larger framework, ask clarifying questions, and then synthesize. At the end, we decided to present and split up sections of the presentation amongst ourselves. We then asked the students to stand on one side of the room, who had previously been sitting behind us in opposite corners of the room, and we stood on the other side.
Afterwards, we had an individual interview where we were asked to reflect on our experience. For five minutes, the interviewer asked me questions such as -
- Did your behavior reflect how you normally are?
- What is something that your group could have done better?
- What do you want to say to the admissions committee based on this experience?
Do you have any updates to your application?
And then we spent an additional five minutes on any questions I had.
Overall, a very interesting and positive experience. I’m not sure how it would be for someone who was less comfortable jumping into the fray, and I think its also highly dependent on group composition.
2.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
Mar 12, 2014
My interview was in London with a team of 5 others. I got there 45 minutes early and was the first to arrive. Gradually other team members arrived and we got along talking really well, laughing and getting to know each other. I noticed when the ADCOM member came in–I don’t think others did. She dressed casually and hung back from us for about 10 minutes, most likely eavesdropping on our conversation. I had met her twice on her trips to my country, but instead of going to introduce myself I rather focused on making sure my name came up a few times and was noticeably conversational.
The TBD (Team Based Discussion) commenced, and it was quite obvious from the get-go how everyone had prepared for this. There were 3 guys and 2 ladies: 2 from investment banking, 2 from consulting and 1 from IT. The IT guy who is a project manager got off the block quickest and tried to ensure that we followed a structured approach to the discussion. We had nametags so didn’t need to write names down. The first person didn’t really follow the 1-minute requirement, probably spoke for 3 minutes and her topic wasn’t clear either. After the first round, I felt my topic was the clearest and had the strongest base to be built up on but I didn’t overly push it. Instead as the discussion progressed, I reiterated why my topic was sound but also made sure I reminded the group what our objectives were – to pick a lifelong learning topic and method of delivery, as well as one we felt stood a strong chance of being taken along by the school going forward. Eventually as time went by very quickly and my team appeared to be going all over the place, I had to pick up the marker and summarize on the board what we were discussing. The objective was to get everyone quickly focused on the objectives and channel everyone’s thoughts in this line. This was necessary because the group needed someone to stand up and take control of the discussion, which I did.
Eventually we agreed on a topic (not a great one: a mode of delivery and content for the Wharton MBA grads for the lifelong learning programme). I made the presentation on behalf of the group at the end – sort of by default because I had championed the summarization at the end.
The 1:1 interview went quite well and quickly. The first question on how I thought the TBD could be discussed was quite tough as I didn’t really have a response and was quiet for a bit. Eventually I answered from the view point of the challenges I expected to face and how they either had been solved or not. Other questions focused on the TBD and my role in it, how it fits with my on-the-job experiences and more questions about the TBD experience and what the ADCOM member noticed during her observations. Then I had time to ask questions which were more around how the admissions process had changed during her stay and also what it was like living in Philadelphia. We had a good chat and during this I also mentioned how well I know ex-Wharton MBA students and had visited the campus previously etc.
Overall I think one shouldn’t over-prepare for the TBD because it’s a team discussion and your topic won’t necessarily be chosen in the end. Also, focus on making contributions that add value to helping the team achieve the overall objective – eyes on the ball! I think the TBD is an enlightening process and the ADCOM does learn more about the candidate through this process, which the essays and everything else do not reflect. Go Wharton!
Now I wait and hope for the best.
3.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom + Second-year student / On-Campus
Mar 7, 2014
1. Healthcare portion
I interviewed for the health care major, which involves an interview with the director of the program. I already have a healthcare background so we just discussed my previous steps in more detail and my motivations going forward. It was a logical conversation. It wasn’t explicitly told to me, but I get the feeling that post-MBA job placement marketability is important to them (does your background/profile match with the type of jobs you’re trying to get?)
2. Non-healthcare portion (Team-based discussion)
The team-based discussion was pretty anticlimactic and still baffling to me on its utility. Two 2nd year students essentially just watch 4-6 of you talk about your ideas and see how you move the discussion along over 35 minutes to a final proposition. From my group, 2 of the 6 had long, complicated ideas that weren’t actually bad, but too much for the time limit we had. Most importantly, they wasted significant time on repeating things and slowing us down. It doesn’t take 2-3 minutes to get across that you agree on a minor point.
Of the 4 left over (which includes me), I’d say that each of us took charge at different points – I really liked the others simply because they were rational and didn’t waste their words. They also had simple and good ideas that were easier to come up with content for. Eventually, we had a vote and scrambled in the last 5 minutes to organize some nuts and bolts on one of those ideas. For our group, we weren’t overly polite with each other – many of us were worried about the time going by, so we cut each other off plenty of times. I’m not sure if they marked us down for that, but you could rationalize it either way I suppose. I will say that, while everyone was positive, we didn’t fall into the trap of burning 35 minutes of just complimenting each other’s ideas and trying to combine them all into one.
3. Aftermath interview
The 10-15 min conversation with one of the two observers after the team-based discussion was pretty basic. I was asked to assess the discussion, talk about whether that represents my behavior, and say who I would want and NOT want on my team. Also, I was asked if I wanted to reiterate any last points on my application for admissions. Then, I asked the interviewers about their Wharton experiences.
Comments: For the non-healthcare applicants, I felt that the team-based discussion was an odd way to select out the final class. I was surprised regular candidates who made the trip from out of town trip didn’t meet with an actual adult/AdCom member. I think over 90% of the “assessing” really comes from the observing, and the follow-up is just to answer any last questions you may have and understand if there was a very rare circumstance in which your behavior was not representative.
4.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub – Singapore
Mar 4, 2014
I arrived an hour early to avoid rush hour traffic. This gave me time to get settled and converse with all my group mates. It made me less nervous since I already knew everyone and their backgrounds before stepping into the room. The group session was a bit scattered, since everyone was very diplomatic but everyone wanted their own idea to move forward so ideas just kept multiplying. I and another group mate would occasionally moderate the session by summarizing and suggesting a process to move forward. Our proposal eventually came together, but I suggest that other groups don’t force their ideas forward or shy away from not using other ideas, but focus more on moving the group forward, which is best done by everyone eventually agreeing on one idea. I think it’s also best to always ensure the group is moving forward since your group’s performance is a reflection of your ability to work in a group.
The one-on-one component was a bit tough since there were no questions but just a 15 time limit to discuss whatever the candidate felt like discussing. I think it’s important to keep this conversational and avoid monologuing or rambling. It may also be important to integrate reflections on the tbd, resume/app updates, and why Wharton into the fifteen minutes and ask interesting questions about the school.
Also I believe the cocktails that the Adcom hosts is a great opportunity to redeem/reinforce your performance in the interview and to ensure you’re remembered.
5.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
Feb 24, 2014
I went to Shanghai for the interview. The first part was a group discussion lasting about 35min. The second part was one-on-one interview with the Adcom. My teammates were very nice, and we had a pretty nice team discussion. Everybody had a chance to talk, but there was one guy who was quite outspoken, taking the role as a leader. He tried to summarize what others had said and gave a 1min presentation at the end. I think the Adcom was quite impressed, and he was admitted.
The one-on-one interview was very short. The Adcom asked:
1) What did I think about the group discussion? 2) Did the discussion reflect my usual role on a team? 3) Go through my resume 4) Any question I’d like to ask? My advice would be to speak up more during the team discussion and try to be a team facilitator.
6.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / On-Campus
Feb 11, 2014
My biggest takeaway from the interview experience is that Wharton really cares about your ability to interact with your peers.
I arrived about 20 minutes early and had the chance to meet most of my group members prior to the beginning of our group-based discussion. I also had the opportunity to meet many other applicants as I waited for my group to be called in for our discussion.
Once we were in our discussion room our administrators (two current students) introduced themselves, and then our group went around the table providing similar introductions. Next, the administrators gave us guidance that we would have roughly 45 minutes to complete our discussion and provide a recommendation. The administrators said nothing else until we were finished as a group.
I expected that each applicant would have a strict 60 second time limit to introduce their idea and that the administrators would monitor this limit. My experience was very different. I went last, but all 5 applicants that went before had a very specific plan for their idea and took closer to 2-3 minutes to articulate their idea. I stuck to the 60 second introduction I had prepared, and from that point on, we all dove into our discussion.
All of the group members were very polite, and we quickly settled on the idea that seemed the easiest to work on given our time limit. I could definitely tell the members in the group who wanted to push their thoughts/ideas more than others. One or two seemed content to simply ask questions and only interjected their own thoughts once or twice. One of us acted as the team scribe, and before we knew it, the 45 minutes was up and we presented our ideas.
After the group discussion ended, we filed out of the room and awaited our turn for the one-on-one interview with one of our group administrators. All group members agreed that our group portion went well.
The one-on-one interview felt just as unstructured as the group portion. My interviewer basically said “We’ve got about 10 to 15 minutes. What questions do you have about Wharton?” Moving forward, the discussion was completely led by me.
Looking back, I would encourage Wharton to have their administrators take more of a lead, both in monitoring the group discussion and in providing more perspective in the one-on-one interview.
7.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions Round 1 / 2nd year student / On-Campus
Feb 11, 2014
The interview was a 1-on-1 session with a second year student after the Team-Based Discussion. The interviewer took me to a small office and was pretty pleasant and informal. She had only my resume in hand, but had no prior information about me other than what had come out over the course of the Team-Based Discussion, where she had been a silent observer. I was asked a few questions, primarily about the team interview experience.
1) How did you think the Team-Based Discussion went, and did you feel your team accomplished the goal at hand? 2) What could you have done differently as a team, and what do you think worked well? 3) Was your behavior representative of the way you typically act in group settings? She then gave me a little blurb about how team-focused the Wharton curriculum and culture was, and gave me examples of her experiences so far.
I was also asked a few regular interview questions:
1) What specific quality or qualities do you hope to hone at Wharton? 2) Do you have any updates to your application?
The interview ended after I asked her a few questions I had prepped, and the whole thing lasted about 10 minutes. I would say the only thing that surprised me was how short the interview was, but it wasn’t too difficult to prepare for, as the questions were predominantly based around reflections on the Team-Based Discussion.
8.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / Off-campus Hub
Dec 23, 2013
The 1-to-1 portion of the Wharton interview was held in a meeting room of an office in a hub city. There was one admissions officer who conducted the interview. She was cordial but also hard to read.
The interview was rather surprising, with the admissions officer simply stating that she had not read my file and asking me to use the 15 minutes in whatever way I wanted. This did throw me for a bit. I ended up using the time to:
1. Describe my views of the TBD component.
2. Give a bit of background (essentially a “walk me through your resume” spiel)
3. Updated her on some recent developments in my career since submitting my interview
4. She asked why I was intending to do an MBA given a fairly strong career trajectory to date and clear expectation of greater responsibilities at work.
5. I spoke a bit about why Wharton and what I hoped to get out of the MBA.
6. Extracurriculars I hoped to do at Wharton
9.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
Dec 19, 2013
My interview took place in a quiet hotel area – I met the assistant dean of admissions at the Hilton in midtown New York. It was a blind interview, and she had my resume. She was prepared with a full sheet of questions, and she wrote down almost everything I was saying. The interview took about 30 minutes, as there were about 15 questions. What surprised me was that there were a lot of questions about times I had failed/times I had to overcome obstacles. I was more prepared to speak about my accomplishments so this took me by a bit of a surprise. Overall, it was a good and enlightened conversation and she asked good follow up questions to my answers. It seemed like the school genuinely wanted to know about me as a person and what made me different.
Here are the questions for your reference,:
1.Tell me something about your international experiences
2.Tell me about one time you had to overcome an obstacle working in a group and what you would do differently if you had to do it again
3.Tell me about how have you had to persuade others
4.Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned
5.What are the 3 top qualities you think a leader should have
6.What are 3 qualities you look for in a business school, especially our school
10.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
Dec 10, 2013
I arrived 15 minutes before the scheduled time and had a chat with other participants of the group discussions. We were 5 in total, all males.
Then, we were invited to another room by the adcom representative. After we took our seats she gave a guideline on the discussion format. She took notes and kept time.
Each one of the participants made a brief introduction of his idea. Next, we selected one common idea and elaborated on it. Quite quickly we came up with a constructive idea and added some solid layer of details. Then, one of the guys made the presentation to the adcom rep.
I believe we were very productive as some other groups couldn’t even define their key idea properly. My opinion is that we were lucky to have people with similar professional background (consultants and finance guys) and who are used to make presentations and structure data. Also, everyone was playing it safe and was extra polite, smiling and supporting.
One-on-one interview was blind and lasted about 10 minutes. I was asked to share my feedback on the group discussion and walk through my resume. Then, I asked 2 questions about the school.
Overall, in my opinion, every participant performed well and tried to add some value to the discussion.
11.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Group Interview with Second-Year student / On-Campus
Nov 21, 2013
I got there early and waited in the waiting room with the other interviewees for my time slot. There were 18 of us, and one student came out at a time to lead six of us back to the interview room for the team-based discussion.
I’m a military person, and in my group we had an aerospace engineer, a business development person for a construction company, two real estate investors, one consultant, and an accountant. The second-year students gave us 30 seconds to introduce ourselves, and then they read off the team-based discussion question (which we’d already been emailed, but just to make sure the playing field was level), said we should each take a minute to give our opening pitch, and then time started.
We each gave our one minute pitch, and then the discussion flowed naturally from there. A few of us tried to suggest that we find the “common themes” from all of our suggestions, which we did, and then went from there. Each person had about the same amount of speaking time, everyone was very supportive and friendly, almost too much so – you could have said anything, it felt like, and everyone would have said, “Yes, Great idea! I like that! Also, how about XYZ.” No tension, no dissension, just overwhelming positivity and support – which meant that the discussion went wherever the last person took it. So we ended with a pitch idea that we started to give before time ran out, but it was really an idea that was come up with by committee – very vanilla, very bland, very predictable, with none of the originality of anyone’s original answer, but it answered the question and we all contributed, so I guess that’s what you get.
Afterwards, we each had about 10 minutes one on one with a second year student who had been observing our group and that was more traditional interview format – how’d you find the team-based discussion and how would you change it, tell me about yourself, tell me about a time you faced a leadership challenge, what’s your elevator pitch, what clubs would you participate in here at Wharton, do you have any questions for me?
Overall, a friendly experience though very hard to tell how they differentiated between any of the applicants based on our TBD performance – I felt we all performed about equally.
12.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Group Interview with Second Year Student / On Campus
May 17, 2013
The first part of the interview was a group discussion in which candidates shared an investment idea for innovation, one of Wharton’s “pillars.” The interview was completely unstructured – the two second year students who act as moderators sit in the corners of the room and take notes. For approximately 40 minutes, we all discussed our ideas and molded/sculpted one of them into a presentable and workable investment opportunity. Everyone was cordial, respectful and open. Some of the candidates were less succinct but all in all, I felt that everyone was able to get their points across. Certainly not a format that lends itself well to candidates who are extremely shy but for those who aren’t afraid to speak up, it isn’t as frightening as other interview formats.
Once the group interview had concluded, each candidate was brought back in for a one on one in which one of the moderators, who had not reviewed my application in advance, asked me a few behavioral type questions.
1) Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your resume
2) What do you see yourself doing at Wharton
3) What do you want to do after achieving your MBA
4) Do you have any questions for me
13.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 / AdCom / Off-Campus Hub
Apr 2, 2013
I arrived a bit early in order to make sure that I had the directions for the location right, and thus was able to chat with my fellow team members before the discussion. All of them, even though slightly tense due to the occasion, were very nice and easy to talk to.
We were then asked to join the AdCom member in our conference room, where we were seated at a round table (we were able to choose our seat). The AdCom explained that she would not interfere and only notify us when we had (if I remember well) 15 minutes left and 7 minutes left. She let us know that the outcome of the discussion was not pre-determined in that some groups are even able to draft a presentation, while others merely discuss and come to a conclusion. She told us that our topic was “innovation”, and then she sat down at the back of the room.
I then suggested to quickly go around and introduce ourselves again, including our background, just to make sure everyone was on the same page. After, the group was hesitant as how to talk about the ideas, so I made a joke that I understand that noone really wants to go first, so I briefly explained my idea and then asked my teammate on my left to go ahead.
It seemed that pretty much everyone’s idea was geared toward a certain underlying theme, so after the last one presented his idea, I said that it seems that we could agree on this theme and asked if everyone agreed. Then we started to work out the details, and here the group stumbled a bit in my opinion as we had one team member who really tried to push his idea and always talked for a long time when he spoke up. The rest of the group was really polite and never interrupted him, but I know for a fact that other team members would have liked to weigh in a bit more, and I’m still not sure how exactly that could have been accomplished smoothly.
Nonetheless, we had some participants who, even though they remained rather observant than overly active, were able to add certain ideas and very important points when necessary (i.e. the fact that a part of our idea needed to be regulated – noone had really thought about that until that teammember came up with that point). Also, I was pretty sure that part of our idea was already covered by some club, but given that I didn’t really know all the clubs’ descriptions by heart and given that I didn’t want to throw anyone under the bus, I didn’t say anything and just noted that a certain part was already covered by one of Wharton’s initiatives, and then asked the participant who had come up with this idea if she was able to work out a particular facet that would differentiate our idea from the already existing initiative. We then wrapped up our idea, and we were not really sure whether we had to present that to the AdCom, but when we were finished she told us that this was not necessary and that the TBD was finished.
Then we had to wait until we were called for our 1-on-1s. Here, the interview was really very open. I was told that I could talk about whatever I want, for example my impression of the interview, any new developments since I submitted my application, or any questions that I had for her. I then chose to go exactly with this order, i.e. I first explained what I liked about the interview and what I wished had gone a bit better, then a brief update on any career developments, and then I even had a brief moment to ask her two questions.
Altogether, the interview was a LOT less stressful than I had expected, and the AdCom was extremely professional so that I really had no idea what impression I had made.
I eventually got admitted, and I’ve used Clear Admit’s interview counseling before the TBD in order to ease my tension (and it really helped!!).
14.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year / On-Campus
Mar 26, 2013
I didn’t like the new interview (team based interview) because many people didn’t participate fully. Also, many people came up with ideas that were out of this world. There were a lot of different opinions. However, in the end, we came to a solid conclusion. There was no feedback provided — whether that conclusion would hold good.
Interview was usual – Why Wharton? Why MBA? Why now? Goals? Questions? What do you do in free time?
15.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year student / On campus
Mar 26, 2013
Well I got dinged today  Really, really tough to swallow as Wharton was my first choice. I can’t help but wonder if it was the TBD that did me in. I did not purchase any prep package, but perhaps should have, as I may have done/said something “wrong.” If so, I really regret it and hope future candidates can learn from my experience since my group wasn’t what seemed to be the more typical super-friendly relaxed group. My topic was “innovation.” Here’s my experience:
Unlike the other groups I saw around me, mine was very tense. We spent a good 10 minutes going around the room explaining our ideas. I don’t think anyone understood most of them as they were so vague and broad. I actually thought for a second we were doing “social impact” because several of the ideas clearly fell under that umbrella. After the ideas, no one wanted to start the vetting process. Instead, we spent at least 5-10 minutes (overly) complimenting (random) parts of each others’ ideas, and one individual kept trying to combine everyone’s ideas into one. We were getting nowhere fast. So I tried to jump start the vetting. Only two ideas were actually focused on innovation but one of them was already being done through the school’s innovation initiative. I mentioned this, and since this idea was very broad, I asked the individual to elaborate on it because I was certain that there would be more details that we could take and build on. But he couldn’t. He stumbled and said, “I don’t know.” I was shocked and the room seemed to get even more tense. Dead silence. I immediately knew my comment may be perceived as an attempt to throw him under the bus, even though I was simply trying to direct the conversation into a more focused direction. Ugh…
Instead of keeping the conversation focused on innovation, it ended up being more of the same – talking more about social impact investments and trying to combine four ideas into one. I made one last attempt to recalibrate the topic. I mentioned how Dean Robertson talked about “innovation” in the context of programs/resources that help students to compete in times of rapid change due to globalization and advances in information technology. I thought the Dean was clearly stating that investing in innovation meant giving students some kind of an “edge” in the real world. People agreed, but then soon after ignored my comment. Rather than having a real dynamic conversation, people seemed to just be committed to their pre-planned strategy – defend their idea, overly compliment others’, and combine other ideas. At this point, we had only a couple minutes left and still 4-5 ideas. Guess what the final idea was? a combination of three ideas that had absolutely nothing to do with innovation – the vaguest idea I’ve ever heard.
Beyond having a logical, defensible idea, I didn’t really prepare for the TBD. My theory was that flexibility would work best in a dynamic conversation. So within my particular group, I thought my role was to keep the group focused, and that facts, literal interpretations, and logic would be appreciated by Wharton. In hindsight, I may have just come across as a jerk. Within this TBD framework, I’m not sure if it ever pays to be the odd man out, regardless of how logical it may seem (and especially with a tense group). Blending in is perhaps always the correct strategy. If I’m right on this assessment, then the TBD accomplishes exactly the opposite of what it intended to do.
16.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: R2 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
Mar 14, 2013
I signed up for a group discussion with 5 other applicants. We had a 35 min talk on how to spend $1M USD in Wharton’s Global Presence. We reached consensum and even got to present our results to the Adcom Rep.
Afterwards, my one-on-one interview was very casual an unstructured, the rep told me I had 10 minutes to talk about what I wanted, and so I started to give my Y MBA, Y Now and Y Wharton speech.
She then asked me about my hobbies and if i had any questions for her. The time went really fast!
I felt really confident and enjoyed the process -if that’s even possible.
17.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2/Adcom/Off campus (London)
Mar 12, 2013
It is useful to arrive a little early and get to know your fellow candidates. Goes without saying if there is a drinks reception prior to your scheduled interview, make sure you attend and speak to others about how theirs went. Get some paper and pen as there is often none in the venues. It will also be useful to have a watch to keep time. We were taken to a meeting room and sat round a table.
The Adcom member read the prompt and explained the rules, we were meant to discuss the prompt and make a presentation in the end. She then stepped back – we had to structure the proceedings right from the start. Our examiner kept time for us and let us know half way through and when we were left with a few mins at the end. Everyone was quite supportive in my team. We went round the table discussing our ideas and made a pitch. In the end, we were given 10 minutes each to discuss the following: - How did you feel the discussion went
- Do you normally interact in the way you did in the discussion
- Are there any updates to your application
- Do you have any questions
It was a blind interview and quite casual. I guess its an opportunity for the candidate to mention any additional points that would support the application
18.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / On campus
Mar 11, 2013
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 and assigned talking points to each student. We ran out of time shortly afterward.
19.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / A student / On Philly campus
Mar 8, 2013
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.
Then I talked individually to one of the student observers. She asked how i thought the process went, and then asked if I had any questions. Overall it was more casual.
20.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year student/ On-campus
Mar 5, 2013
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 any information about the applicants’ beforehand, other than the resume. The second-year gave me the opportunity to talk about the group discussion, updates to my application, highlights of my application, and ask her questions.
21.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second Year / On-Campus
Feb 12, 2013
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?
The interviewer took notes throughout and actually apologized for the brevity of the interview. We spent some time talking about the interviewer’s background and post-Wharton plans. Overall, the entire process was pretty dry but no surprises.
22.Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round I/Second-year student/on-campus
Dec 17, 2012
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 team-based interview went?
2) Was your behaviour typical of how you work in a team?
3) Do you want to highlight anything in your application?
4) Do you have any questions for me? | 
