The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School Admissions Committee this morning hosted an online chat directed toward applicants who are applying for a second time for admission to Wharton’s MBA program.
Judith Silverman Hodara, senior associate director and interim co-director of admissions, fielded questions from more than a dozen inquisitive reapplicants during the hour-long chat. Queries covered topics ranging from how a reapplicant is viewed relative to a first-timer to whether answering the same essays used in prior applications is advisable to how to choose your recommenders the second time around.
Hodara’s answers centered around one central theme, namely that the admissions committee wants to see that a reapplicant has thought about the ways in which he or she is different this time around. They want you to demonstrate – through essays, subsequent job growth, etc. – that you are a stronger candidate who will contribute to the Wharton community, she said.
As to recommendations, Hodara said, it is up to you whether to ask new people to submit recommendations or to ask earlier recommenders to update their submissions. If someone new will shed additional light on your application, then ask him or her. But if an earlier recommender can speak to ways you have grown or improved, then he or she would make a good choice as well.
The prior application of a reapplicant is considered by the admissions committee if it was submitted within the past two years. If you applied three or more years ago, though, you are not considered a reapplicant, Hodara wrote, and your prior application will not be reviewed.
In the case of reapplicants, while earlier applications are consulted, much more weight is given to the new application than the earlier one. You can choose to submit answers to the same essay questions you have addressed in earlier applications, but the content should be different, Hodara advised. “I would not resubmit the same answers,” she wrote.
Hodara strongly recommended using the optional essays as a place to explain any changes in your candidacy. If you have decided to change concentrations, for example, elaborate on why.
At the conclusion of the chat, Hodara invited anyone with additional questions about the reapplication process to submit them to her via email at judiths@wharton.upenn.edu.
Two additional online chats addressing reapplicants’ questions have been scheduled for later this summer. They will take place on Tuesday, July 29th, at 5 p.m. ET and Monday, August 4th, at 5 p.m. ET. To learn more, click here.
