vivian_hsu：刚才在搜wharton interview时发现这样一个面试问题：What do you think the Admission committee should be concerned about your application? 该怎么理解比较好呢？是说弱点吗？感觉be concerned about是很比弱点还要negative的表达方法？

Cova：比如说：GPA/GMAT不够高，工作经验不够，EC不够多，leadership 经验不明显，之前的工作经验和career goal有gap (如career switcher)，等等。

除非lz以上都没有问题了……那最concern的就是太perfect/overqualified/你被HBS/Stanford要了会不会去沃顿了……

jelt2359：“除非lz以上都没有问题了……那最concern的就是太perfect/overqualified/你被HBS/Stanford要了会不会去沃顿了……” I know you meant this as a joke, but I can assure you that in no way does that enter our considerations. If on the other hand you think you have no problems... then perhaps you're not really as self-aware as you think. So try harder. :)

Cova：嗯，自然是joke, 一般M7都不会考虑over-qualified的问题吧，也就是特别强的candidate就照单全收了。但每年都有进了A家不进B家的牛人，是不是每个学校偏好的criteria还不一样呢？Jason来讲讲除了我说的那几项，还有什么admission criteria吧。

jelt2359：Of course. That's why fit is important. But also some people simply 'screw up' their essays or interviews for different schools. Which, BTW, should tell you that it makes no sense to say that 'xyz school is the best'. Students there may simply have been lucky.

Anyway, the admission criteria for Wharton is clear. How to get there is perhaps less so.

http://www.accepted.com/chat/Transcripts/2009/mba08262009_wharton.aspx

"a good fit for Wharton would be as follows: We look for people who are intellectually curious, who ask "why" a lot, who want to make a positive change, who like to work with other people, who like tackling complex difficult problems, who see the current economic "crisis" as an opportunity, who wants to be "in the game" as opposed to "watching the game," who will make Wharton and their classmates better, and who ultimately will make the world better."

source: JJ culter.

Since one of the most difficult problems anyone can deal with is to be honest to yourself (eg. Interviewer: "why do you want banking?" You: "I want banking because..." Interviewer: watch your body language to see if you're bullshitting), that's why they ask these questions.

There are literally a million ways to try to see if someone has this "Wharton mindset". Look at your leadership style. Look at the way you carry yourself in the interview. Look at the way you answer questions, and whether I think you're being evasive or honest. See if you're merely confident, or instead cocky and arrogant. And so on.

Don't forget that a lot of communication is non-verbal. You may have a 'perfect answer', but it is my experience that a lot of people with 'perfect answers' (including 'perfect essays' or 'perfect interview qns') get dinged, because those answers were 'perfectly crafted' for them by alumni, friends, consultants. When they say it, they simply lack the honesty and passion to make those answers genuine.

Why do I bring this in? Well, for a question like this, it is just as important to think about "how you're saying something", and what that says about you. And well, unless you're really a fantastic speaker who can convince the adcom (who have interviewed thousands) that your 'perfect answer' is genuine.... Otherwise, go for a true answer. What is your true weakness? Perhaps you're too lazy sometimes? Perhaps you like to 'watch the game' rather than 'be in the game' (despite what Cutler says)?

The point is, the fact that you can recognise this... gives you a chance to start improving on it. And that's what they want to see.