Doris Huang, a senior consultant with MBA admissions consulting firm MBA Exchange, says part of Wharton’s appeal is its offer of “that stamp of approval from an institution that’s been around for a really long time, that has produced some really outstanding alumni, and that also has incredible faculty who do the most cutting edge research.”

So, how do you get into Wharton’s full-time MBA program? What attributes is Wharton looking for in a student? And what’s the deal with the team-based discussion, Wharton’s group-style interview? Read on to find out. 

1. Know your numbers 

As you’d expect from one of the world’s top business schools, academics matter at Wharton. In the application cycle for the class of 2025, Wharton fielded 6,194 applicants to its full-time MBA program, accepting 874. The average student had five years of work experience, a 728 GMAT score and an average undergraduate GPA of 3.6.

As some countries and institutions don’t use a 4.0 grading system, Huang says that GPA scores of candidates can vary, but, ideally, they should have graduated in the top 10% of their class.

“Those numbers are just the beginning,” says Huang, who got her MBA at Wharton. “I’ve seen folks with fairly low GMAT scores get in and people with perfect GMAT scores not get in.”

While overall GMAT scores matter, Scott Edinburgh, founder of MBA admissions consulting firm Personal MBA Coach, says that Wharton is especially interested in how applicants scored on the quantitative section of the test.

2. Get vetted 

As part of the application, Wharton asks for “two letters of recommendations from individuals who are well acquainted with your performance in a work setting, preferably from a current or former supervisor.” Recommenders are asked to choose two characteristics from a list of ten that best describe the candidate they are recommending. They are also asked to answer two free-form questions that illustrate why candidates will find success in the classroom and in their careers.

Huang says the letters can “add that extra cherry on top” to an application when a boss brags about how you stand out against other employees. Edinburgh advises that applicants ask their recommenders to give specific examples that help illustrate why they’ll be successful.

3. It’s not (only) about you

Applicants are required to answer two essay questions: how Wharton will help them achieve their goals and how they plan to contribute to the Wharton community.

Huang says the essays are the “most important” part of the application because candidates can control the narrative. “It’s your chance to dive deeper and shed more light and more details on some aspect of your application that, maybe, is harder to convey in your GPA and your recommendation letters,” she says. 

Don’t think of the essays as a prose version of your resume, but as a complement to the rest of your application. The first essay is a straightforward look at your personal story, growth and development. “Wharton likes to talk about the path that you’re on,” says Edinburgh, who also earned his MBA at Wharton. “Where are you on this path? Where is the path leading to, and where is Wharton on that path?”

While personal, don’t make the first essay a tearjerker. “It’s not fluffy,” Huang explains. “It needs to be kind of hardnose, but oftentimes the best essays that I’ve seen have some personal story in it.”

With the second question, Wharton wants to see that you’ve researched the school and can explain specifically why it’s where you want to go. Maybe you’re interested in its retail institute. Maybe you’ve reached out to your local Wharton Club in the past. Maybe you once grabbed coffee with a Wharton grad and it made an impression. This is the place to explore that.

“All of these schools have big egos, and they all want to think that they’re every applicant’s No. 1 choice,” Huang says. 

Applicants that Edinburgh has worked with discussed how their love of food and rugby would connect them to the Wharton community. “Essay two is a chance to show them something they wouldn’t have seen otherwise,” Edinburgh says. “This is your chance to tell them something that you’ve done that’s ideally going to have some community impact helping others.”

There are two additional essay questions: a mandatory essay for people who are reapplying and an optional essay to add supplementary information. The reapplication essay is supposed to show how an applicant has grown since their previous attempt.

“Approaching it with honesty is really the way to go,” Edinburgh says. “Try not to write a story. Be upfront: Why are you here again? What didn’t you think went well last time? Has anything changed?”

The optional essay is where applicants can explain things that might otherwise negatively impact their application, like a gap in a resume, how a health challenge led to a low GPA or how a tough personal situation impacted their studies.

“The vast majority of our clients did not write anything for the optional essay,” Edinburgh says.

4. Be a team player 

A unique feature of Wharton’s MBA admissions process is the team-based discussion. This part of the process takes place after applicants have cleared the first round of the admissions process. Several weeks before this group interview takes place, applicants are given a prompt or problem to solve and asked to prepare a one-minute presentation. 

On the interview day, four to six applicants are grouped together, then given 30 minutes to discuss how to collectively solve the problem. At the end of the session, one applicant will give the group’s final solution.

In this discussion, Wharton is looking for candidates who have the ability to work well with others and react in real-time to new ideas and personalities.

“It’s a very strange concept to be in a room with people you’re technically competing with and trying to play nice, but also show what you’re capable of and make an impression,” Huang says. “If you come across as overly aggressive or as overly talkative or putting down other people’s ideas, being really critical, that’s not good.”

Pushing for your solution to the problem isn’t the point.

“Don’t worry about how strong your idea is. That’s not what’s most important,” Edinburgh says. “They want to know that you will work well on a team.”

Following the group interview, each candidate will get a 10 to 15 minute one-on-one interview with an admissions officer.

5. Make the rounds 

Wharton accepts students in three application rounds: September, January and April. 

“Rounds one and two are typically a lot better than round three,” Edinburgh says. “We’ve seen more success in round one than round two.”

Some applicants wait until round two so they can complete a big project at their current job and discuss it in their application. 

“We almost never advise clients to apply in round three because a lot of the spots in the classroom have already been taken by then,” Huang says. “The only people who ever really have a shot in round three are people with special circumstances” like those returning from a military deployment.

The takeaway 

Boasting prestige, strong curriculum, an extensive alumni network and a median starting base salary of $175,000 for MBA graduates, Wharton has many perks for those who attend. While grades and test scores are important when applying, letters of recommendation, essays and the ability to be a team player are also crucial to getting in. Unless you have an extenuating circumstance, apply in round one or two.

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