Interviews
We offer interviews by invitation, based upon a full review of your application.
As someone selected to interview from a tremendously accomplished group of individuals around the world, you should feel excited to communicate your background, your interests, your plans, and your decision to pursue an MBA at Wharton.
The interview will be a 30-minute conversation, which will be used to assess your communication skills and your thought process in certain situations. Your interviewer will ask you a series of questions that will allow you to elaborate on specific events in your life, or situations that you have encountered, which will help to illustrate how you make decisions or function in team settings.
All applicants will have the option of interviewing on Wharton’s campus or with an admissions staff member in one of our selected major cities around the world. While there are two options and no one way is preferred over another, we do encourage invited candidates to interview on campus whenever possible to get a sense of our community and culture.
Below are a few key tips to help you prepare for this phase of the admissions process:
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Purpose – While the admissions interview is not the only decisive factor in your admissions decision, you should treat this like a formal interview and a time for you to elaborate on details that may not have come across on paper.
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Structure – All interviews are conducted blind, which reduces bias as your interviewer will have no preconceived ideas of your ability or personality based on your written application.
Interviews will be conversational and include behavioral questions. Behavioral interviews focus on your actions and responses to specific situations in your personal or professional life. The goal of this structure is to evaluate your thought process and see how you react to certain situations – which will enable us to determine whether or not Wharton is the right fit for you.
• General Tips – While we schedule a 30-minute interview, the actual time may vary a bit. The exact length of the interview is not an indicator of how the interview went.
Do not expect the interviewer to give you feedback – literally or figuratively.
We hope all interviews are conducted in a friendly manner, however don’t forget that the interview is not a popularity contest. The interviewer is assessing your fit for the Wharton MBA program, so make sure the goal is to impress the interviewer with your substantive answers, not determine whether you and the interviewer would become good friends.
Lauder applicants
If you are invited to interview, you will complete two interviews, one with the Lauder program and one with the MBA program. The Lauder interview will focus on your international interests and experience, personal qualities, general fit for Lauder, and ability to start and manage the two programs beginning in late April.
Health Care Management applicants
If you are invited to interview, you will complete two interviews, one with the Health Care Management (HCM) program and one with the MBA program. The HCM interview will focus on your interest in, and experience with, health care, as well as your personal qualities and general fit for HCM.
