Wharton MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumni

I am a R1 applicant. I recently had an interview with an alumnus in the SF Bay area. I really enjoyed the whole experience. I did notice that on some of the message boards there is an ongoing debate over alum vs. On campus interview. Based on my own experience and experiences of my friends who have attend on-campus interview, I strongly recommend alum interviews, for the following reasons a) Alum interviews are casual and you get the time and opportunity to tell your story. On the other hand, the on-campus interviews I have heard are more formal with a very standard format. One could potentially get nervous in such structured setting. If you prefer the casual/relaxed interview format – alum interviews are for you. b) I am an applicant with significant (6+ years) of experience and I found that the alum interviewer understood my career decisions/achievement better than a second year student would have (who might be a person with far less experience than me). c) The alum in this particular case had a similar background (pre-MBA) and is pursuing a career that I intend to pursue post-MBA – so we really hit it off during the interview. I believe, there is a strong probability of such a thing happening during an alum interview – google the interviewer before you choose the interviewer. About the interview: My interview mostly revolved around my career choices, Why Wharton, my post-MBA plans and other usual stuff. That’s all for now, I will keep you guys updated on my application outcome. Updated: I got admitted to Wharton.