Wharton MBA Application Essay Topics for 2009-10

Wharton MBA Admissions Committee announced 2009-10 Application Essay Questions

The full application, which will include questions for recommenders and other application requirements, will be available on our website in August. Wharton MBA Admission Committee advices applicants that as you begin to think about your responses to these essay questions, remember that the Admissions Committee is interested in getting to know you on both a professional and personal level. Admission Committee encourages you to be introspective, candid, and succinct. Most importantly, it suggests that you be yourself.

Below are the essay questions for the Wharton MBA Class of 2012.

2009-2010 Questions – First-Time Applicants

Essay 1 – (750-1000 words)
As a leader in global business, Wharton is committed to sustaining “a truly global presence through its engagement in the world”. What goals are you committed to and why? How do you envision the Wharton MBA contributing to the attainment of those goals?

Essay 2 – (750-1000 words)
Tell us about a time when you had to adapt by accepting/understanding the perspective of people different from yourself.

Essay 3 – (500 words)
Describe a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself?

Essay 4 – (500 words) Choose one of the following:
a. Give us a specific example of a time when you solved a complex problem.
b. Tell us about something significant that you have done to improve yourself, in either your professional and/or personal endeavors.

Essay 5 (Optional) – (250 words)
If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application).

2009-2010 Questions – Re-Applicants

(Please note: re-applicant essays are for those who applied during the application cycle in 2007-08 or 2008-09 only. Reapplicants from 2006-07 or earlier are to complete the first-time applicant essays).

Re-Applicant Essay 1 – (1000 words)
As a leader in global business, Wharton is committed to sustaining “a truly global presence through its engagement in the world”. What goals are you committed to and why? How do you envision the Wharton MBA contributing to the attainment of those goals? How has your candidacy improved since the last time you applied?

Re-Applicant Essay 2 – (500 words)
Describe a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself?

Re-Applicant Essay 3 – (500 words) Choose one of the following:
a. Give us a specific example of a time when you solved a complex problem.
b. Tell us about something significant that you have done to improve yourself, in either your professional and/or personal endeavors.

Re-Applicant Essay 4 (Optional) – (250 words)
If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application).

For Wharton Application Deadlines click here

Link: Wharton MBA Admissions Committee Announces 2009-10 Application Essay Questions

Wharton Application Deadlines for 2009-10

The following are the deadlines for the MBA Class of 2012 entering in the fall of 2010:

Round 1
Application deadline: October 01, 2009
Decision Release Date: December 18, 2009

Round 2
Application deadline: January 05, 2010
Decision Release Date: March 26, 2010

Round 3
Application deadline: March 09, 2010
Decision Release Date: May 14, 2010

Note: The Wharton MBA application and essay questions will be released sometime around mid-July.

For Wharton MBA Application Essay Topics 2009-10 click here

Link: Wharton MBA Application Deadlines Announced

Wharton Round 3 Mid-Release Decisions Posted

Wharton MBA Admissions & Financial Aid Team informed on April 9th that all Round 3 mid-release decisions have been posted (i.e., all applicants for this round have either received an invitation to interview or a deny without interview decision).

All those who applied to the Wharton MBA Program in Round 3 may check their online status using the logon and password they used to create their application.

For those who are invited to interview, the last day to complete an interview is Thursday, 23 April, 2009.

The final release date for decisions for all interviewed candidates is Thursday, 14 May, 2009. At that time, interviewees will receive one of three decisions: admit, deny, or waitlist.

Wharton Announces International Student Loan Program Without Co-Signers

Wharton School announced the launch of a custom loan program with Digital Federal Credit Union that will cover tuition and living expenses for the international students. The loan terms are attractive in the current market environment: an interest rate of Prime plus 3% (with the opportunity to reduce the interest rate by 25bp if borrowers arrange for automatic repayments) and no origination fee. In order to provide these rates, Wharton will share some of the potential default risk.

According to the school this program will also be available to current first-year international students for their second year of study.

To read in detail click on the link below:
Wharton School Announces Launch of Custom Loan Program for International MBA Students

Wharton: Waitlist Procedures for Round 2

Wharton MBA Admissions Committee in its blog post informed its waitlisted candidates about Wharton's waitlist procedures.

According to Wharton's MBA Admissions Office:

• * "We will retain your name on the waitlist for consideration at the end of the next round unless you request your application be withdrawn. If you would like to withdraw, please e-mail mba.admissions@wharton.upenn.edu, using the subject header: "Waitlist Remove."
• * All waitlist candidates who do not ask to be removed from the list will be reconsidered for admission on an ongoing basis with decisions being released every Monday beginning Monday 6 April, 2009 and ending no later than Monday 27 July, 2009. Decisions include: admit waitlist, and deny waitlist. No change in your letter means you are still on the waitlist.
• * In the spirit of fairness and equity, we will not accept additional materials for inclusion in your application. In this same spirit, we do not offer another interview.
• * There is no point person in the office for the waitlist. All waitlist decisions are handled by the Admissions Committee.
• * Feedback to candidates is not offered to candidates while they are on the waitlist.
• * There is no rank order to the waitlist.
• * The chances of being admitted off the waitlist are hard to predict since much depends on the strength of the pool in subsequent rounds. Historically, the admit rate has varied from year to year and has very little correlation with the number of candidates placed on the waitlist."

Link: Advice for Waitlisted Candidates

Wharton: Round 2 Admit Decisions Released

Admission decisions for Round 2 Wharton MBA applicants who were interviewed have now been released!

You may check your decision status by logging on to your online application.

"Whether you were admitted, waitlisted or denied, please read your decision letter carefully, as there is important information included in each letter", advised the Wharton MBA Admissions & Financial Aid Team

All the best to everyone!

Wharton: Round 2 Admissions Decision

All Round 2 applicants who were invited for interviews will receive their admissions decision tomorrow i.e on 26 march 09

You can check your decision status through your online application. You can also contact all new admits via telephone or e-mail.

All the best to everyone!

The Wharton MBA Waitlist

Wharton MBA Admissions Committee in its blog post advised and informed its waitlisted candidates about Wharton's waitlist policies.

The committee said,"While we can appreciate how challenging it can be to be waitlisted, please keep in mind that being waitlisted should serve as an affirmation of your accomplishment and achievement in a competitive applicant pool! We thank you for your interest, and ask that you please adhere to our waitlist policies."

They informed," At Wharton, there is no need to:

• * spend countless hours developing creative ways to keep in touch and “win us over.”
• * expend additional time and resources submitting additional recommendations and other materials. These are unlikely to change your eventual decision, which is made across multiple criteria.
• * or fear that those who lobby lavishly and loudest will receive preference.

All waitlist candidates are given equal consideration – equity and fairness rule the day."

Below is the copy of email sent to all Round 1 waitlist candidates.

______________________________________________________________________

Dear Waitlist Candidate:

As a waitlist candidate, you may have some questions about the admissions process going forward. Below is some information about waitlist procedures that will be helpful to you: We will retain your name on the waitlist for consideration at the end of the next round unless you request your application be withdrawn. If you would like to withdraw, please e-mail mba.admissions at wharton.upenn.edu, using the subject header: “Waitlist Remove.”

All waitlist candidates who do not ask to be removed from the list will be reconsidered for admission in Round 3 and notified of the Admissions Committee decision by 5pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) of the Round 3 decision release date of Thursday, May 14, 2009.

Decisions include: admit waitlist, waitlist continue, and deny waitlist. In the spirit of fairness and equity, we will not accept additional materials for inclusion in your application. In this same spirit, we do not offer another interview.

There is no point person in the office for the waitlist. All waitlist decisions are handled by the Admissions Committee.

Feedback to candidates is not offered to candidates while they are on the waitlist.

There is no rank order to the waitlist.

The chances of being admitted off the waitlist are not predictable since much depends on the strength of the pool in subsequent rounds. Historically, the admit rate has varied from year to year and has very little correlation with the number of candidates placed on the waitlist.

Thank you in advance for honoring these guidelines.

We sincerely appreciate your interest in the Wharton School.
______________________________________________________________________
According to the post the dates will change following School's Round 2 decision release

Link: The Wharton MBA Waitlist: A Time for Inactivity & Repose

Next Steps Outlined for Round 3 Wharton MBA Applicants

Wharton MBA Admissions Committee in its blog post outlined the next steps for Round 3 Wharton MBA Applicants.

The deadline for Round 3 applications was last week, 5 March 09, at 5pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).

According to the blog post," If you submitted your application by the deadline, you should have received an email from our office outlining the next steps in your application process. If not (sadly, quite a few emails get firewalled), a copy of the letter follows."

Below is the copy of letter from Wharton outlining the next steps in the application process
______________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for submitting your application for Round Three.

The following will provide you with information concerning the processing of application materials, timeline for the release of interview invitations, and final decision releases. If your online account reads “Complete - Round Three,” your application has all the required materials, has been processed by the Operations Team, and has been forwarded to the Committee for review.

If your online account reads “Received,” then the Operations Team needs to process your online application submission and any materials submitted by hard copy. After your materials have been processed (assuming they arrived before the Round Three deadline), your online account will be changed to “Complete for Round Three” and your file will be forwarded to the Committee for review. Due to the high number of candidates who submitted their application during the past few days (more than 60% of candidates applying for Round Three submitted their application within 24 hours of the deadline), it will take the Operations Team approximately a week to complete the processing of all materials. Therefore, please allow the Operations Team until Thursday, March 12th before inquiring about the completeness of your application.

Candidates who applied by hard-copy will receive information by e-mail about how to access their online account when the processing of their application is complete. All applications submitted by hard-copy will be processed by Thursday, March 12th.

The Admissions Committee will begin to release interview invitations on Monday, March 30th and will continue to release invitations on a daily basis until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, April 9th. Due to the nature and complexity associated with the admissions process there is no particular order in which invitations are released. Also on April 9th, the Committee will release all final admissions decisions to candidates that are not being invited for an interview and therefore no longer being considered for admission.

If you are invited for an interview, you will need to complete your interview by Thursday, April 23rd. Interviews will be available on campus with second-year Wharton MBA Students who are full members of the Admissions Committee, and off campus with alumni. All interview options are equally considered within the admissions process. Candidates who are offered an interview will receive their final admissions decision by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, May 14th.

Thank you again for applying to Wharton. We look forward to reading your application.

Sincerely,

Wharton MBA Admissions Committee

______________________________________________________________________________

Source: Next Steps for Round 3 Wharton MBA Applicants

Wharton Updates on Loans for International Students

Thomas S. Robertson, Dean, The Wharton School and Anjani Jain, Vice Dean, Director of Wharton Graduate Division in their blog post informed that they don’t yet have a final agreement on international student loan programs, but they've made good progress since January. "Though we may eventually end up with more than one program, we are currently in the final stages of discussions with a new lender and expect to announce this program in about a week. Once finalized, this program will allow us to start disbursing loans in time for the arrival of new Lauder students. We are encouraged by the terms of the loan program currently under discussion and believe that we will have a good option to offer to students who are not US citizens or permanent residents." they informed in their blog post.

They also reported that they expect to have more information in a couple of weeks about updated programs for US citizens/permanent residents (and those with US/PR co-signors) for the next academic year.

Link: Loans for International Students

Wharton: Round 2 On-Campus Admissions Interview Openings

The post on Wharton's MBA Blog informed that Wharton recently had a few additional time slots open up in their on-campus interview schedule.

According to a post on Wharton’s MBA Blog, “If you are still interested in coming to Philadelphia for an interview, we have added times on 06 March 2009, 09 March 2009 and 11 March 2009."

Link: http://adcomblog.wharton.upenn.edu/

Wharton: Admissions Presentation in Dubai

According to a post on Wharton's MBA Blog, "MBA Admissions will be hosting a special admissions reception during the Global Alumni Forum in Dubai on 11 March 2009".

The blog further advises aspirants that this would be a wonderful opportunity to meet Wharton's new Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid, J.J. Cutler.

For more information and to register, visit:
http://register.applyyourself.com/?id=upenn-gsb&pid=1584&eID=21658&rid=1.

Wharton: Round 2 Mid-Release Decisions Posted

Wharton's MBA Admissions & Financial Aid Team informed on Wharton Admissions Blog that All Round 2 mid-release decisions have now been posted that is the applicants for Round 2 should have either received an invitation to interview or a deny without interview decision. All round 2 applicants may check their online account using the logon and password they used to create their application.

They further informed that for all those who are invited to interview, the last day to complete an interview is Thursday, 12 March, 2009.

MBA Admissions & Financial Aid Team reported in its blog post,"Interviews will be available on campus with second-year Wharton MBA Students who are full members of the Admissions Committee, off campus with alumni, and off campus in various “Hubs” around the world by Admissions staff members. All interview options have equal weight within the admissions process"

They further informed that Candidates who are offered an interview will receive their final admissions decision by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, 26 March 2009.

Wharton: Round 2 Interview Invitations

The Wharton MBA Program is in its final days of releasing Round 2 interview invitations.

According to a post on Wharton’s MBA Blog, “The Admissions Committee has already begun releasing interview invitations and will continue to do so daily until 5:00pm EST on Thursday, 19 February 09. Due to the nature and complexity of the admissions process, there is no particular order in which invitations are released. Complete details on how, when, and where to schedule an interview will be provided at the time of invitation. Candidates who are not invited to interview and are no longer being considered for admission will receive a “Deny” decision on 19 February 09."

The blog also informs about the added new HUB Interview Locations. It states,"The AdCom has added HUB Interview dates in two new locations: Dubai and San Francisco. Members of the AdCom will also be traveling to Paris, London, Mumbai, New Delhi, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo to interview perspective candidates”.

All the best to all the B-School Aspirants out there.

Wharton: Student Loan Update

Peter Degnan, Senior Associate Dean, The Wharton School and Anjani Jain, Vice Dean, Director of Wharton Graduate Division in their blog post said that though the matter was still under discussion, they wanted to give applicants an update on the current status of student loan programs.

They reported,"The turmoil in the capital markets has had a significant effect on the availability and cost of funding for graduate education, especially for international students. As you know, the main provider of loans to international students at all major US b-schools, Citibank, decided last fall to stop lending altogether to international students (and also terminated its custom-priced programs for domestic students at major universities). Many other lenders have also stopped lending to international students without a domestic co-signer. This problem is affecting all graduate programs at UPenn and all graduate programs across the country".

They stated,"This issue has engaged University administration at the highest levels. The University issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to identify alternative loan providers and has been reviewing a number of options with the goal of keeping adequate loan financing available to all students, and to international students without domestic co-signers".

They further reported, "Though we don’t yet have a program to announce, we wanted to let you know that we are in active discussions with several lenders. We are pursuing any and all funding options for international students, and Wharton hopes to announce a new loan program towards the end of February. The new loan product will not require a domestic co-signer, but is likely to have significantly higher interest rates and origination fees than the discontinued Citibank product. In addition, there will be a risk-sharing arrangement with the University whereby Wharton will be financially responsible for a percentage of loan defaults. The increased costs of loan financing to all MBA students and potentially to Wharton are an unfortunate necessity given the current market conditions. It is our hope that the loan pricing will improve over time.

We have also been in discussions with some overseas financial institutions to explore loan programs for students from their respective regions, but it is premature to say whether these discussions will result in special loan programs for Wharton students and under what pricing/repayment conditions."

With respect to loans to domestic students and the ones with domestic co-signers, they said,"Citibank and other private lenders have indicated their interest in continuing to offer loan programs. We do not know their pricing parameters yet, but it is likely that their interest rates, too, will be substantially higher than in the past. It behooves all our students to explore all possible funding options for the coming academic year".

To read in detail click on the link below:
Positive Progress: The Current Status of Student Loan Programs for Wharton MBA's

Penn Grad to Offer Dual Degree

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and School of Arts and Sciences have launched a joint MBA/master of environmental studies (MES) degree

Details: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=1493

Wharton released its deadline and essays for class of 2011

Wharton Fall 2009 Admission: Application Deadlines

Round 1: Thursday, 9 October, 2008
Round 2: Thursday, 8 January, 2009
Round 3: Thursday, 5 March, 2009

Wharton Fall 2009 Admission: Application Essay Questions

First-Time Applicant Questions

1. Describe your career progress to date and your future short-term and long-term career goals. How do you expect an MBA from Wharton to help you achieve these goals, and why is now the best time for you to join our program? (1,000 words)

2. Describe a setback or a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself? (500 words)

3. Where in your background would we find evidence of your leadership capacity and/or potential? (500 words)

4. Please respond to one (1) of the following questions:

a. Describe an experience you have had innovating or initiating, your lessons learned, the results and impact of your efforts. (500 words)

b. Is there anything about your background or experience that you feel you have not had the opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee in your application? If yes, please explain. (500 words)

OPTIONAL: If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, TOEFL waiver request, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application). (250 words, maximum)

Re-applicant Questions (for candidates who have applied for admission for Fall 2008 or 2007 only)

1. Describe your career progress to date and your future short-term and long-term career goals. How do you expect an MBA from Wharton to help you achieve these goals, and why is now the best time for you to join our program? How has your candidacy improved since the last time you applied? (1,000 words)

2. Describe an experience you have had innovating or initiating, your lessons learned, the results and impact of your efforts. (500 words)

3. Please respond to one (1) of the following questions:

a. Where in your background would we find evidence of your leadership capacity and/or potential? (500 words)

b. Is there anything about your background or experience that you feel you have not had the opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee in your application? If yes, please explain. (500 words)

OPTIONAL: If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, TOEFL waiver request, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in your application). (250 words, maximum)