MBA ADMISSIONS BLOG

Notes from the Director: Winding Down the Cycle

MBA Admissions Blog — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:23:00 GMT

Greetings from Philadelphia,

Spring is in the air here in Philadelphia, which means it’s time for Graduation and Reunion weekend. While bittersweet to send off our Class of 2012, I look forward to welcoming them to the alumni network when they graduate on Sunday. I’m excited to be co-chairing my 5 year Wharton MBA reunion and looking forward to seeing so many of my classmates back on campus.

As an update on our newest class of Wharton MBAs, on Tuesday we released decisions for all Round 3 candidates as well as for some of our candidates on the waitlist. For the candidates we admitted earlier this week, welcome and congratulations again! We look forward to seeing you at our open house in June. For those candidates offered a place on the summer waitlist, you will continue to receive regular email correspondence from us on next steps. For our candidates who were denied, I wanted to thank you for your tremendous efforts and time over the course of the cycle. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Should you be interested in reapplying please visit our website which has information on the reapplication process.

I also wanted to thank all of our Round 3 candidates who participated in our Team Based Discussion pilots a few weeks ago. It was exciting for us to see this experience in action; and to enable you to have an experience that highlights the collaborative nature of the Wharton culture. We thank you for your enthusiasm in the sessions and for your valuable feedback. We will continue to digest your input over the next few weeks and will certainly be in touch as we launch next the application for the Class of 2015 later this summer. Please keep an eye out for updates on our website from myself and our office over the coming months.

As we say good-bye to the Class of 2012 and begin to welcome the Class of 2014, we are also incredibly excited to start meeting the Class of 2015. Over the next few months, the Admissions team will begin to circle the globe to host our marketing events, which are a wonderful opportunity for you to get to learn more about the Wharton MBA, meet our alumni and chat with members of the Admissions team. Be sure to check out the dates and locations of our upcoming admissions events on our website to register for an event.

We look forward to seeing you around the globe or here on campus soon.

All the best,

Ankur Kumar

Learn about Lauder: Wharton-Lauder MBA Q&A

MBA Admissions Blog — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:36:00 GMT

Please join members of the Wharton-Lauder MBA Admissions Team to learn more about the Lauder Institute and what the MBA/MA Program has to offer. Lauder will be hosting an informational webinar and Q&A on Monday, May 14, 2012 at 1:30pm ET and all interested students are welcome to attend.

Wharton Admissions Summer Events Schedule

MBA Admissions Blog — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:27:00 GMT

We are excited to announce some of the locations that the Wharton Admissions Team will be traveling to this summer. We have begun posting some of our international events online; check the Admissions Events page and click on the International tab to see more details.

We will be adding more events soon, so keep checking back as our schedule expands.

Our presentations provide a wonderful opportunity for prospective students to learn more about the program and hear about local alumni’s experiences at the School and how the degree has impacted their lives.

We encourage you to browse the different events and register for one in your area – they are a fantastic way to learn more about the Wharton community!

We look forward to meeting you on the road,
Wharton MBA Admissions & Financial Aid

Campus Visit Program Update

MBA Admissions Blog — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:29:00 GMT

The Wharton Campus Visit Program will officially end on Friday, April 20th, 2012 . The office of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid will host presentations on the following Fridays:

Friday, April 27th
Friday, May 4th
Friday, May 11th
Friday, May 18th

The Campus Visit Program will officially begin again on Monday, September 24th, 2012 . For full information about program availability and details, please see the information located here.

Join Wharton MBA Students for a Live Video Chat on March 21st

MBA Admissions Blog — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:41:00 GMT

Please join current Wharton MBA students for a live video chat this Wednesday, March 21st. See further details and instructions below.

Description: Wednesday, March 21st, 12:00-1:30pm (EST). Live video chat featuring student representatives from a variety of social, professional and community service clubs. The chat will have both 1st and 2nd year MBA students, who will answer questions about recruitment (Consulting, Finance, Sales & Trading), social activities, leadership opportunities, as well as any queries you may have about student life in general.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/6rfu9yq

We look forward to meeting you online!

2nd Year Student Making Headlines as Company “Lokalty” Hits the Consumer Market

MBA Admissions Blog — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:54:00 GMT

Current Wharton MBA student, Balu Chandrasekaran, and his two colleagues recently launched their business, Lokalty, to the Philadelphia market. Lokalty’s mission is to connect customers with local businesses through a "frequent flier alliance" rewards program and targeted marketing, all delivered via web and mobile apps. For more information about Lokalty, check out recent coverage from Channel 6 Action News: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=8578098&pid=8569061.

Notes from the Director: Round 2 Interview Update and Round 3 Applications

MBA Admissions Blog — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:52:00 GMT

Dear Applicants,

Greetings from our new home in Vance Hall. We’re settling in nicely into our new space – and enjoying a quieter week on campus with our students away on spring break.

The Admissions Committee and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of you during the Round 2 interview process over the last few weeks. The team has just returned from conducting interviews in London, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Boston and San Francisco. Our interviews in Singapore, India, South Korea and Japan are still ongoing over the next two weeks as well. I’ve been enjoying seeing many of you on-campus; we’ll continue on-campus interviews through the week of March 12.

As a reminder, final decisions will go live on Friday, 30 March. Should we need any further information from you between now and then, we will certainly be in touch directly. We appreciate your patience and understanding over the next few weeks as we proceed with the final weeks of the round.

I also wanted to take this time to congratulate all of our Round 3 candidates on successfully completing step one of the application process. We look forward to reading your applications over the next few weeks and will release interview invitations on Thursday, 12 April. Should you have any questions around the application or interview process, please contact our office directly by phone at +1.215-898-6183 or via email at mba-admiss@wharton.upenn.edu.

On behalf of the Wharton MBA Admissions Office, we appreciate your interest in and enthusiasm for the program. We look forward to being in touch in a few short weeks.

All the best,

Ankur Kumar

Campus Visit Program Cancelled During Week of March 5th

MBA Admissions Blog — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:04:00 GMT

All,

Please note that our campus visit program will not be running during the week of March 5th, as students will be away for spring break. Please feel free to contact the MBA Admissions & Financial Aid Office if you have any questions during this time.

Best,
MBA Admissions and Financial Aid

Notes from the Director: Round 2 Interviews and International Loan Update

MBA Admissions Blog — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:59:00 GMT

Greetings All,

As we are in the peak of the Round 2 interview process, I wanted to update you on a couple of key items. We have enjoyed meeting many candidates, both overseas and in the US, at this point and we look forward to meeting more in the coming weeks.

On Thursday, 23 February we released more invitations to interview and we will continue to release up until next Tuesday, 28 February. With that said, we will also begin opening up more on-campus interview slots over the next two weeks, so please keep monitoring the system in order to schedule your interview. Again, we are happy to offer phone interviews to candidates who are unable to travel to campus at this time. Please contact our office directly at mbainterview@wharton.upenn.edu to inquire further about this option.

On a different note, I am pleased to announce that the Quorum Federal Credit Union has partnered with Wharton to provide a customized loan product for our international students that does not require a U.S. co-signer. The Quorum loan product will be available for incoming international students in the Class of 2014 starting in the Fall 2012 semester. Further information will be available on our website shortly; please contact the Wharton MBA Financial Aid Office for any additional questions at financialaid@wharton.upenn.edu or 215.898.8728.

As always, please contact our office directly or post on our S2S Discussion Board. If you have any questions – we are here to help!

All the best,

Ankur Kumar

Notes from the Director: Round 2 Interview Update

MBA Admissions Blog — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:48:00 GMT

Ankur Kumar, Admissions Director

Round 2 interviews are well underway and we look forward to meeting many of you, stateside and overseas. I am constantly inspired to see the unique talent and sheer motivation in our applicant pool. As our staff’s interview travel continues, the Admissions Committee and I look forward to engaging with you and hearing more of your stories.

We released more invitations to interview on Thursday, 16 February and we will continue to release up until Tuesday, 28 February. Again, if you have not received an invitation at this point, please do not be discouraged. Applications are not read in any particular order; interview invitations are extended as we complete each applications evaluation process. We have plenty of interview slots available on campus and we will continue to offer phone interviews for those with extenuating circumstances.

Our office will be open on Monday, 20 February for President’s Day and all campus visits and interviews will take place as scheduled. Please continue to follow our blog, as we will post further updates on office closings, interviews, Round 3 applications and our upcoming global events.

Should other questions arise, please continue to contact our office directly at mba-admiss@wharton.upenn.edu or post on our S2S Discussion Board and we will respond as soon as possible!

Sincerely,

Ankur Kumar

Notes from the Director: Round 2 On-Campus Interviews

MBA Admissions Blog — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:49:00 GMT

Greetings Round 2 Candidates,

Hello from the new MBA Admissions Office in Vance Hall! We have just begun our interview program, when we have the opportunity to meet many of you, in person, after reading your impressive applications. As my colleagues on the admissions committee will be speaking with some of you in various cities around the world, I will have the opportunity to interview candidates in Philadelphia-- and I couldn’t be more excited.

For those of you interviewing here in Philadelphia, this is a great opportunity for you to take part in our campus visit program while you’re here. Indeed, it’s a great time to see Wharton’s campus, as this is a busy time, all-around: current Wharton students are back into full swing after winter break; Round 1 admitted candidates have just wrapped up Winter Welcome Weekend; Round 2 candidates are in town for interviews; and prospective students are visiting to learn more about the School.

The visit program gives you the opportunity to sit in on a class, to speak with current students, to tour the campus and to gain further insight into the opportunities that the Wharton MBA offers through our information session. This is an excellent way to interact with the Wharton community and to get a feel for life on campus.

Whether you are in Philadelphia or overseas, I wish you the best of luck as we move through this phase in the process. Should you have any questions regarding your interview, please just contact our office at mbainterview@wharton.upenn.edu and a member of our Admissions team will work with you directly.

Sincerely,

Ankur Kumar

Notes from the Director: Looking Ahead to the Round 2 Interview Process

MBA Admissions Blog — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:19:00 GMT

Ankur Kumar, Admissions Director

Greetings Round 2 Candidates,

Happy 2012! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and that your new year is off to a great start.

Thank you for your application submissions on January 4; the Admissions team and I are enjoying reading your applications and getting to learn more about you. I know many of you are thinking ahead to the next steps in the process and wanted to give you some insight into our interview process.

We will begin to send out interview invitations on Thursday, January 26. Invitations will continue to go out through Tuesday, February 28. During these weeks, you will receive an email that will provide next step information regarding your status with Wharton. If you are invited to interview, you will be given instructions on next steps to set up your interview. If you are not invited to interview, your process with Wharton is closed for this application cycle.

As a reminder, interview invitations are not released in any particular order, as we don’t read your applications in any particular order either. Please don’t stress if you don’t receive your invite until the last day; it indicates nothing about your candidacy.

Wharton offers two types of interviews for invited candidates: on-campus and in-person interviews in various major city locations around the world. All interviews are conducted by Admissions Committee members or a member of a selective, trained group of 2nd year MBA students. Many candidates enjoy the opportunity to come to campus and take part in our campus visit program that allows you to sit in on classes, speak with students and tour Wharton’s beautiful campus.

Starting on Wednesday, February 1, we will begin hosting interviews on campus, which will continue through Friday, March 2. Major-city interviews will be held during the weeks of February 13 - March 16. You will receive information on each city’s availability within those weeks when you receive an update on your interview invitation status. Your VIP page will provide further information as to where and when you can schedule an interview. Spaces are first-come, first-serve and are limited in international locations, so be sure to schedule yourself as soon as possible.

Our international interview cities for Round 2 will be:

INTERNATIONAL
Beijing
Dubai
London
Mexico City
Mumbai
New Delhi
Sao Paulo
Seoul
Shanghai
Singapore
Tokyo

US
Boston
San Francisco

As we have mentioned before, we understand completely that there may be extenuating circumstances that hinder your ability to interview at a major city location or on campus. For those applicants, we offer phone interviews with a member of our admissions staff.

Please continue to check out our website for a few tips to keep in mind as you prepare for this phase of the admissions process. You are also always welcome to post your questions on our Student2Student Discussion Forum.

We look forward to reading your applications and wish you all the best with this next phase of the cycle.

Sincerely,

Ankur Kumar

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Closed

MBA Admissions Blog — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:53:00 GMT

Please note, the MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Office will be closed on Monday, January 16, 2012 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

We look forward to seeing you soon, as our campus visit program starts back up on Monday, January 30th. Please be sure to register online to full advantage of all that the visit program has to offer.

Round 2 Deadline Today 5 pm EST

MBA Admissions Blog — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:42:00 GMT

Please be aware that the Round 2 deadline for applying to the MBA Program at the Wharton School is 5 pm Eastern Standard Time today, Wednesday, January 04, 2012.

Please make sure your recommenders submit their letters of recommendation electronically by the deadline date. They should not send hard copy versions to the Wharton MBA Admissions Office.

Your application can be submitted prior to the submission of your recommendations. After you have submitted your application, you can still log in to your application account and track the submission of your recommendations.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Sincerely,
MBA Admissions Office
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Welcome Round 1 Admits; Looking Ahead

MBA Admissions Blog — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:07:00 GMT

We are proud to welcome our Round 1 admitted candidates! Decisions were released on Tuesday,December 20 and have been posted online. You can check your application status through your online account if you have not already done so. Thanks to all of our applicants for your interest in our program; we know from reading your applications that those of you who will not be joining us will go on to do very exceptional things.

Looking ahead, the MBA Admissions Office will be closed for Penn’s winter break from Friday, December 23, 2011 to Monday January 2, 2012. We wish you a very safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to gearing up for Round 2 applications in early January.

For Round 2 applicants and other prospectives interested in visiting Wharton in the new year: our Campus Visit Program, in which you can attend Wharton classes and meet with current Wharton students, will start again on January 30, 2012. Until then, we will host information sessions, only, for visitors on the following dates at 3:00 pm:

-Thursday, January 19th, 2012
-Friday, January 20th, 2012
-Monday, January 23rd, 2012
-Thursday, January 26th, 2012
-Friday, January 27th, 2012

You can register to visit us here. If you do visit, please remember: Wharton MBA Admissions has moved! We are now in Suite 111 of Vance Hall. Information for visitors can be found here.

Should you have any questions, please contact the MBA Admissions Office directly at 215-898-6183 when our office opens on Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

All the best,

The Wharton MBA Admissions & Financial Aid Team