I’ve been curious about this one…
I have a somewhat substantial OPIM-related background (work experience in a Business Intelligence department), so I wrote my ‘Why Wharton/Penn?’ essay primarily on OPIM/BEPP opportunities.
Does Wharton truly care about the concentration that you apply with? I’ve heard a few people state that they try to diversify the class by not accepting too many potential future finance majors, but I’m not sure how true that is. Thoughts?
I doubt opting for another concentration besides Finance provides any advantage in the application.Consider it from an AdCom’s point of view. When you are reading an application, you simply glance over the subtle elements in order to focus on the more important components. Your essays, academic record, EC, and letters of recommendation are the meat of you application. Students can easily change their concentrations to align with their interests.
I suppose it’s not an important factor, but from what I’ve been told, don’t colleges also look more closely at applicants of different backgrounds if the rest of the applicant pool appears to look the same? (Hence, colleges accepting an otherwise hookless applicant because the orchestra cannot find an English Horn player?)
I doubt it truly makes that much of a difference, but I still find the question somewhat interesting…
Well the example of the “English Horn” player is likely to play out (if at all) this way: the exceptional English Horn player submits a formal fine arts supplement to Penn. That supplement is reviewed by the music department. They realize that this person is indeed exceptional and advise admissions accordingly. It’s not all that different from the basketball coach evaluating potential freshmen in the field and advocating for the one or two he likes most. To the extent that your recommendations and essays validate the depth of your knowledge and interest in one or another area of concentration at Wharton it might make a difference. The catch is that there isn’t the equivalent of a Penn music expert or coach who’s involved in vetting your claims. Add to that the high probability that the typical new freshman is either unsure of his major or changes it at least once during his college career.