Wharton interview questions & tips

From my old business school admissions files.

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Wharton interview tips (Do's and Don'ts)

Do's

Be self-confident and be yourself:
The best answer for how to prepare or do an interview comes from the adcom member of a b-school. She answered the question, “ Just recognize how great you are. Be self-confident, be yourself, and show him/her who you are.”

Answer in real, professional terms:
When you are asked about the hypothetical situation in terms of teamwork or leadership, try to speak in real, professional terms.

how an interviewer how well-informed you are of the school:
If you are interested in international perspective of the Wharton, tell him/her which programs or classes can help develop your career in detail. Do not forget How & Why

Imprint your strength into an interviewer:
If your strength is “passionate” (it is mine.  my nick name is “Walking Energizer!”), then show him/her your passion. What you are passionate for, What you have done for it, Why you are passionate for it, How it has changed your life, and How your passion is related to the decision to go to Wharton.

Big Smile & Positive thinking:
Never bother yourself with what you have already said during the interview. Even if you made a stupid mistake in your eye, the interviewer might think you are cool just because of it. Think positively.

Don’ts

Never pass the fine line between self-confidence and arrogance:
As you already know well, Wharton is looking for down-to-earth types of people. While you need to remember how great you are, you also need to keep in mind how great other peers are. It might not be anything wrong even if you are so confident of your accomplishment. However, do not overact to impress the interviewer.

Do not bring up GMAT unless asked:
Unless asked, you may not want to bring up GMAT. It wouldn’t matter whether your score is 800 or 600. 30 minutes are too short time even to articulate your passion and goal. You may not want waste your time talking about vague numbers. And then it may have a negative result.

Be ready but do not rehearse:
Unintentionally you might need to make up a story because of a lack of readiness. Study your resume enough. Think about your life-past and future. Be fully ready to answer any question. Sometimes we hear applicants were too nervous to remember the name of an author whose book they had read recently when asked. Check every stuff, which will be asked. However, Don’t rehearse the answer over and over. The interviewer can tell when people do this



Sample Wharton interview questions:

WORK EXPERIENCE/CAREER GOALS

Walk me through your post-undergraduate work experience and describe transitions you’ve made.

Tell me about the person with whom you have least enjoyed working. How did this relationship function?

What are some of the frustrations/rewards you've experienced as a manager?

What are your plans if you’re not accepted into an MBA program of your choice?

Of what accomplishment at work are you most proud?

Describe your ideal work environment.

How do you vent work-related stress?

How does your current job relate to your career goals, where does an MBA fit in?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years?

WHY MBA/WHY MBA NOW/WHY Wharton

Tell me about the decision to get here – to apply for an MBA.
Why now?

Why do you feel you are a good fit for the school and vice versa?
What kind of value do you can add to the Wharton?

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Describe a difficult team environment in which you have been involved and how you responded to it.

What role do you usually play in-group situations and give some examples?

What happens when you feel strongly about an idea that a majority of your group is against?

Tell me about a conflict you had with a co-worker. How was it resolved?

Tell me about specific situations in which you’ve had a leadership role.

How would others describe your leadership style? Would you agree with this assessment?

If you suddenly had an afternoon off, what would you do with it?

In what non-job related activities do you participate? Describe your involvement.

OTHERS

Is there anything else you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you?

Is there anything you would have liked me to ask you that I didn't?

What would you say is the greatest weakness in your application?

Should you apply to business school?

The other day, I was thinking about why I decided to go to the business school. Perhaps, I'll touch on that in another post, but I thought it would be interesting to list some of the important questions to consider before applying to business school.

If you are thinking about applying to MBA programs this fall, I'd encourage you to think through these questions:

1. What is the exact mechanism by which an MBA will improve your quality of life or career?
2. Do you envision your current job becoming your long-term career?
3. Are there gaping holes in your business knowledge that can be filled by book learning?
4. Can you afford business school right now?
5. What is the exact ROI you are forecasting from getting an MBA?
6. Does applying to school this year fit with your personal life right now?
7. Is this the year you can put together your best application?
8. What non-monetary benefits do you think spending time in business school will provide?
9. What are your alternatives to going to business school?
10. If you didn't get in to your top choice business schools, would you still get an MBA?
11. If you want to take a break from work, what other options can you pursue other than business school?

Stanford GSB Acceptance Phone Call

I guess it's the round 2 notification day for Stanford GSB. A neat thing about the school is the head of admissions calls informs you personally about your acceptance. For those of us that attend the school, the phone call is a long-cherished memory.

To all the applicants out there, good luck getting the phone call! And if you don't, may you receive many fat envelopes.

Business School Interview Questions & Tips

I was going through my old files and found tons of business school interview questions, tips, and pointers. Most of this stuff was passed around various email lists at Stanford GSB, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, and Columbia.

Anyhow, rather than keep this information locked up, I thought it'd post it here so anyone can use it to prepare for there interviews. I'll do it in a few posts which information about specific schools.

Here is a great compilation of generic business school questions you should be ready for in your interview:
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Discuss your career progression.

Give examples of how you have demonstrated leadership inside and outside the work environment.

What do you want to do (in regard to business function, industry, location)?

Why the MBA? Why now?

Describe an ethical dilemma faced at work?

Describe your career aspirations?

What would you do if not accepted?

What are your long- and short-term goals? Why?

Why are you applying to business school?

Why does this school appeal to you?

What is an activity you are involved in? Why is it important to you?

Talk about experiences you have had at work.

Why are you interested in a general MBA program?

Why did you choose your undergraduate major?

Discuss yourself.

What contributions would you make to a group?

Name three words or phrases to describe yourself to others.

What is most frustrating at work?

How would co-workers describe you?

Describe a typical work day.

Have you worked in a team environment? What were your contributions to the effort?

Discuss any experience you have had abroad.

How did you choose your job after college?

What do you do to relieve stress?

It's two years after graduation, what three words would your team members use to describe you?

Describe a situation where you brought an idea forward, and it failed.

How do you define success?

What would you do if a team member wasn't pulling his own weight?

Is there anything you would like to ask me/us?

Have you faced a situation at work where you had to convince your colleagues

describe your idea of a manager

What character will you chose that represents your long term professional goals?

Describe an interesting experience from work

How will you contribute to your class?

Tell me about a problem you faced at work and how you resolve it.

What has been difficult/challenging about working in teams?

What extra-curricula activities are you going to participate in?

Why this school? Why now?

How are you in a team setting?

Describe a time when you worked with a team and the team didn't see eye to I on an idea. What did you do to make it work? What didn't you do to make it work?

How I will use my current skill set in my next career after business school?

If someone approached me with an idea, would I take the risk of developing the idea if they would not?

What is something from your past that you wish you would have done differently and why? The experience can be from work, school, other activities, or from your personal life.

Who is a client you admire and why?

Since submitting your application, how have you continued to take leadership roles?

With all of your experience, why do you need an MBA?

What makes you think that you are prepared for the academic rigors of XXX?

Which of my skills would help me most in my post-MBA career.

Tell everything there is to know about yourself.

How do you see yourself in 10 years

What should I remember you?

Tell me about your past experiences, don't tell me about your accomplishments as your resume details those, but more your thought processes as you went through those experiences

If you are in a situation where a team member is not pulling their weight on the team what would you do?

Describe how you have dealt with a difficult person you had to work with