Advice for the Wharton 2022-2023 TBD Prompt + 5 Tips for Your Pitch

Wharton interview invites are out, and the prompt is a great one. Now is time to start preparing for your Team Based Discussion.

Last year, 90% of our clients who participated in our Wharton Interview Prep sessions were admitted. Fortuna’s series of mock sessions are underway and spaces are limited, so sign up today to secure your place. Your preparation can make all the difference.

The Wharton interview is distinctive among the M7 interview landscape for its Team Based Discussion, and this year continues with Covid Protocols and preparing to collaborate with your unknown teammates in a virtual format over Zoom.

This approach means briefing yourself on what’s expected for your virtual Team Based Discussion (TBD) and setting yourself up for success. This dynamic, relational experience is about much more than delivering a strong pitch – Wharton’s admission committee wants to observe how you approach a challenge, present yourself, cohesively work towards solutions in a small group context and think on your feet. While you won’t know how the discussion will play out until you get into the virtual interview room, you can do a lot to prepare for a successful TBD starting now.

Having spent a decade at the helm of Wharton’s MBA admissions, as well as running my Fortuna Admissions clients through the paces to prepare each season, I’ve become practiced at guiding candidates to bring their best to the table.

Based on the recent experiences of our clients and insights from my Fortuna colleagues, I’m offering our team’s top tips for delivering your standout pitch, along with what success looks like, and how to optimize your performance on video.

What is Wharton Looking For?

The Wharton TBD reflects the Learning Teams model at the heart of the Wharton experience, which lauds a real-world approach that hinges on “persuasive rather than positional leadership.” Think of this as your opportunity to showcase your professional presence and what you would bring to your future study group at Wharton.

The virtual format includes five or six candidates (also the sweet spot for Wharton’s Learning Teams). Your discussion will have a prompt and an end goal (see below), and the group will work collectively to propose a tangible outcome. Each team member will share their ideas/reflections on the prompt in 1 minute or less before moving into the group discussion. After this round of brief introductions, your team has a little less than 30 minutes to generate a subject and presentation model that is ultimately shared with the admissions committee observer. Following the TBD, there will be a one-on-one interview with an admission representative, lasting 10 minutes. Be prepared to speak to why MBA/why Wharton. The time goes very quickly – in fact, that’s the comment we hear most from our clients!

Everyone receives the same question and will be participating from remote locations on video. No one is at an advantage – it’s a question that’s designed to exhibit team building and is not about demonstrating specific knowledge of a subject area.

Tackling the 2022-2023 TBD Prompt

In offering this prompt, Wharton was soliciting a strong and well thought out deliverable, as well as the self-awareness necessary to engage with others in a give-and-take around a virtual conference table to reach the final presentation.

5 Top Tips for the Wharton Virtual TBD

Present your own ideas with precision and care, as well as keen situational awareness. After initiating the conversation, the observer takes a back seat; expect to be assessed on how well you listen to others and facilitate the group’s dialogue. Here are the Fortuna team’s top tips for creating your pitch:

Tip 1: Put your self-intro into a relevant context.

When developing your one-minute pitch for the Wharton TBD, consider introducing yourself briefly in the context of why your idea is resonant with you. This way, you’re not only giving your team a sense of your background but also what it is that compels you to that particular area of interest.

Tip 2: Have a deeper level of info at the ready. 

As mentioned above, have your idea fleshed out with sufficient detail so that, if it is selected by your teammates, you’re poised to be the “go-to” person with an additional layer of information. If your idea is chosen, you can anticipate your teammates looking to you for an additional layer of guidance, so be prepared to offer the “next level” of detail in the discussion.

Tip 3: Notice content and process.

This means giving considered attention not just to what you’re saying but how you’re saying it – Wharton really cares how you present yourself and engage with the team. Especially on video, you’ll want to bring extra awareness to your posture, gestures, eye contact and that of others; it’s harder to read non-verbal cues over video, and there might be a time lag that’s not present in person. Your ability to share the stage with your colleagues is incredibly important. The ease in which you can pass the conversation from one to the next can be really impactful. Look for ways to “toss the ball” back to your teammates to exhibit your ability to draw out the best thinking in others and engage the entire group.

Check out Fortuna’s video strategy session on the Wharton TBD with Michel Belden and Caroline Diarte Edwards, above.

Tip 4: Create the conditions to shine on video. 

Turn off your email, WhatsApp, or other notifications and DEFINITELY silence your cell phone – anything that might chirp or ding (note that tablets, cell phones, and use of internet browsers are not allowed during the Zoom). Flawless internet connectivity should go without saying, so be sure to test your connection in advance. Like preparations for any virtual MBA interview (see my related article), make sure the space behind your camera is clear and uncluttered, that your lighting is positioned on your face, and that your sound quality is excellent. As mentioned above, eye contact is very important – while it is tempting to look at yourself on your screen, be mindful to engage the interviewer by looking up at the camera instead. To that end, consider a lavalier mic instead of a headset so you don’t have wires extending from your head.

As Wharton suggests, enter the waiting room 10 minutes early – you may have the opportunity to chat and connect with other participants before go time. Zoom will also give you the benefit of seeing everyone’s names; you may wish to jot them down along with the basics of their plan. If you end up being the “note-taker” for your group throughout the sessions, don’t forget to verbally contribute just as much, if not more, than you are taking the time to annotate the proceedings.

Tip 5: Prepare thoughtful questions for your one-on-one

After the completion of your TBD, the facilitator will announce the order of one-on-one interviews and then move all group members to the waiting room. The facilitator will invite one person back into the meeting at a time, and each of you will have about 10 minutes. Be prepared to speak to ‘Why Wharton’ (this is almost always asked). This is also your opportunity to highlight specific aspects of your candidacy you want to convey, and to ask thoughtful questions that demonstrate your knowledge of the program. Once you have completed the one-on-one interview, you can leave the Zoom meeting.

Wharton TBD: What Success Looks Like 

I get this anxious question a lot: How much does it matter if my idea is chosen? While running with your idea can have its advantages, it’s far more important to showcase your collaborative leadership: the ability to help facilitate a discussion among people who have never met toward a greater end goal and advance an idea in a compelling way within a limited timeframe.

Reflect on the following tactics as you prepare for the Wharton virtual TBD and move through your own “pitch” experience:

• After each team member has introduced themselves and offered a quick pitch, how might you help facilitate discussion to arrive at a consensus?
• How can you support your teammates and collaborate – even if you have to abandon your own idea – versus solely promoting your own ideas?
• What leadership behaviors will draw out your other team members? How are you able to enhance the discussion by encouraging others to voice their opinions?
• How might you reflect on the discussion taking place while helping advance the deliverables to support the group’s final presentation to the adcom in the room?

Finally, remember that Wharton’s VTBD is an opportunity to bring your unique candidacy to life from a place of authenticity.

This means embracing your own style, whether you’re a quiet consensus-builder, extroverted idea person, or on-the-spot synthesizer. (Check out this illuminating related article by Fortuna’s Michael Malone and Brittany Maschal on the 7 Typical Types in a Wharton TBD and how to respond.) Wharton isn’t looking to fill its cohort with one kind of personality type, so don’t try to be someone you’re not. Self and situational awareness can be expressed across the continuum of passionate thinkers and doers, so stay curious and enjoy yourself.

Let’s Get You In.

Last year, 90% of our clients who participated in our Wharton Interview Prep sessions were admitted. Fortuna’s series of mock sessions with a former Wharton Admissions gatekeeper begin Oct. 28 and spaces are limited, so sign up today to secure your place. Your preparation can make all the difference.

Our free consultations are consistently rated as the best in the industry. To learn more about Fortuna and assess your chances of admission to a top business school, request a free consultation.

Updated February, 2022

More tips and advice on applying to Wharton

• Wharton MBA Application: Tips from a Former Admissions Director
• What New Wharton Dean Erika James Means for the Wharton MBA
• What is Wharton Looking For? Key Criteria & Qualities of the Ideal Candidate (video)
• Personal MBA Experience: Insider Advice on the Wharton Business School (video)

Fortuna Admissions Director Judith Silverman Hodara is former acting director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School. For a candid assessment of your chances of admission success at a top MBA program, sign up for a free consultation.