"
Getting the MBA Edge - Wharton 2011/12 - Preview Guide" ends by saying that innovation in future Wharton application format and style is a clear opportunity given the mission of the school - well, some of that innovation was revealed today by Ankur Kumar, the newly promoted Director of Admisssions.
If you read today's
WSJ you saw an article about innovative Admissions practices, and this bomb-shell was buried halfway through...
"Admissions officers say they are looking for more authenticity and honesty, since essays can be carefully crafted, often with help from a professional M.B.A. admissions consultant.
Beginning this winter, the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School will invite a random sampling of M.B.A. applicants to participate in a staff-moderated on-campus group discussion with fellow applicants. They will be encouraged to discuss and debate current topics in business, as chosen by the school...
...Ankur Kumar, director of M.B.A. admissions and financial aid at Wharton, said the purpose is to give applicants "a chance to demonstrate, not just talk about" their critical thinking skills and intellectual curiosity.
Though this year's discussions won't count toward the admission decision, if the pilot goes well, the exercise could show up as a regular component of future Wharton applications, alongside transcript, test scores and recommendations"
This is no less than a ground breaking change in the way that candidates are evaluated - essentially you are going to be observed on how you actually interact with other applicants, in a real life discussion. It stands to reason that the moderator will also be observing and (likely) evaluating the conduct of the people in the room to see if they have the qualities of a good Wharton MBA.
The MBA application in America (though you see some examples of group work in European schools) has, up to now, been an interaction between a single person and the Admissions committee. Anybody can be on their best behavior in an interview, but what is going to happen when you are in a room full of equally competitive and motivated people interviewing for a degree that will change their life forever, and you may be evaluated on (gasp!) how you actually listen and work with others.
Applicants out there who are prepared to plow over anyone in their way to an MBA are thinking: "That is just crazy talk! Thanks alot, Wharton, for breaking my carefully scripted and planned image of chosen recommenders, consultant polished essays, and carefully chosen background items and forcing me to actually be myself."
Is it possible that these interactions will tell the committee more about a person than an individual interview ever would? From the Director's comments above, it seems like this interaction may actually have a chance of replacing an individual interview?
In "
Getting the MBA Edge - Wharton 2011/12 - Preview Guide" we discussed the shift of Wharton towards behavioral interviewing, and the qualities they may be looking for with last year's questions - odds are that this group discussion may be a better way of evaluating those key qualities...
No matter how you slice it - Wharton is thinking outside of the box here, and trying a totally new way of making applicants work together, and this better reflects what actually happens in MBA, in business leadership, and ... to some degree ... in life.
