Get the inside scoop on jobs and careers with Vault career guides. The Wharton School Buzz Book is your complete resource to jobs, careers, interviews and recruiting.
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The Wharton School Buzz Book Get the inside scoop on jobs and careers with Vault career guides. The Wharton School Buzz Book is your complete resource to jobs, careers, interviews and recruiting. |
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The Wharton School Buzz Book Welcome to the first edition of Vault's The Wharton School Buzz Book. In this new and unique guide, we publish extended excerpts and sample admissions essays from surveys of students and alumni from Wharton to bring you the inside scoop on its MBA program. The survey comments cover the following areas:
The guide is intended to serve as a complement to other references to business schools currently available that utilize school-reported data. Unlike those guides, Vault's Buzz Books (which also include the Business School Buzz Book , Law School Buzz Book and College Buzz Book) are composed almost entirely of information provided directly to Vault from students and alumni.
We received comments from Wharton, which we have included comments next to appropriate survey sections, offset with a different font and indented to be easily recognizable as school-provided comments. Corrections within the body of the comments are enclosed in brackets. Wharton also provided separate narratives that have included them at the end of each chapter, under the heading "The School Says."
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Status: Current student, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 9/2002-Submit Date
Survey Submitted: November 2003
It's my opinion that Wharton prizes well-rounded applicants. Many people focus on GPA and GMAT, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. What they truly look for are people who will improve the student body and who will be successful. My advice would be: (1) have a clear vision of why you want a Wharton MBA; (2) effectively communicate this vision; and (3) be able to demonstrate that no matter what position you have held, you have been successful and will continue to be successful after obtaining your Wharton MBA.
Academics: Students Speak
Status: Current student, Executive MBA
Dates of Enrollment: 1/2003-Submit Date
Survey Submitted: November 2005
Classes are unparalleled. The program is rigorous and you will come out learning a lot more than you thought possible. The program is also the best-rounded of the top business schools--you will get a solid understanding of all elements of business. No other B-school is as quantitative and you really do take a deep dive into companies and the base theories behind their operations. It is not cases only, which in some subjects can be surface level, like in finance/accounting. That being said, there is no shortage of cases, you will just also go deeper. Best said: you will have a hard-core understanding of business if you go to Wharton, and others will recognize that. Professors are experts in their fields.
Employment Prospects: Students Speak
Status: Alumnus/a, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 8/2001-7/2003
Survey Submitted: October 2004
Wharton will open doors for you. People who wouldn't have looked at you twice invite you to an interview. It's is an awesome marketing tool to have for someone who is conducting a nontraditional job search. Alumni are very helpful and it's a great network. I really don't know what to say, it is outstanding in every category
I used the alumni network for an independent job search in London and landed 15 interviews before scoring a position with a leading medical device company.
Jobs are all over. The big surprise was how entrepreneurial the school had become. During my first week at Wharton, I met a French guy who wanted to build a wave machine as an alternative energy source. Sure, there are some crackpot ideas in the entrepreneurship club, but some of those ideas will turn into realities for students.
Employment Prospects: The School Says
Career development
Whether your interests lie in marketing, finance or nonprofit management, Wharton's combination of coursework, student conferences and professional clubs creates many opportunities in which you can explore career choices. The school's collaborative culture, emphasis on leadership and encouragement of risk-taking all contribute to an environment in which students can identify and cultivate short- and long-term professional goals. According to Peter Degnan, Wharton's Director of Career Management, a successful career is a marathon and not a sprint. Wharton's MBA Career Management Services will help you identify opportunities, schedule and prepare for interviews, and learn more about various industries.
Connections and networking
During the two-year program, student clubs and conferences create opportunities to meet professionals and connect with classmates who may become both colleagues and close friends. From even before classes start, Wharton's network of over 80,000 alumni is an invaluable resource comprised of a deep community of peers, alumni, faculty and business professionals.
Quality of Life: Students Speak
Status: Current student, Executive MBA
Dates of Enrollment: 1/2003-Submit Date
Survey Submitted: November 2005
Quality of life is really fantastic. Campus is Ivy League and beautiful. The school has recently done a major upgrade to the surrounding area, making it clean and safe on and around campus. (I was super surprised as I had heard that it was in the city and not so safe at night. This is not the case at all now. My wife and I are out until midnight all the time.)
Status: Alumnus/a, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 8/1997-5/1999
Survey Submitted: April 2004
Quality of life is very high. Philly is very fun, combining a good size city with moderate cost. Most MBAs live in Center City. Campus is very traditional and the surrounding area has improved significantly over the past couple of years. The new Huntsman Hall building is supposed to be the best MBA facility, period. West Philly is gentrifying and crime is declining, I would think.
Social Life: Students Speak
Status: Current student, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 8/2004-Submit Date
Survey Submitted: October 2004
Wharton is so big and diverse that there is something for everyone. If you want to go to clubs all night, you'll find many who do, too. If you want to join others for quiet dinner parties one a week, you will find others. Wine gatherers, classic music-goers, meditators, avid sports fans and runners, whatever your interests are, just ask around and you'll find others.
Status: Alumnus/a, full-time
Dates of Enrollment: 8/1994-5/1996
Survey Submitted: October 2003
I ended up marrying a classmate, an unintended but spectacular outcome!
