MBA applications soar

The number of applications for Wharton's Masters of Business Administration program is up 62.4 percent from last year at this time. As of this month, the Wharton MBA Admissions office has received 2,135 applications -- up from the 1,315 they received by last January. The MBA program has a rolling admissions process. Admissions officers began reviewing applicant files in November. The deadline for all applications is April 10, and the reviewing process continues through May. Sam Lundquist, director of MBA admissions, said he expects the overall application rate to increase by 20 percent. "I tend to think that it will flatten out towards the end," Lundquist said. "Conceivably, we'll end up with over 6,200 applicants this year." Last year, 5,019 applied for 750 places. Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick called the dramatic increase in applicants "very encouraging." Lundquist attributed the influx of applicants to an article in the October 1994 issue of Business Week that ranked the Wharton MBA program number one in the country --ahead of Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and Harvard's Graduate School of Business Administration. "Business Week without a doubt is one of the most influential magazines in the business world," Lundquist said. "Recent applicants have seen those rankings and are motivated to apply to Wharton." An article in the same issue explained the advantages and benefits of a having an MBA in today's business world. This accounted for an overall flooding of MBA applications across the country, according to Lundquist. On each application, applicants are are asked where they received information about Wharton's MBA program. Business Week is one of the sources usually cited, he added. Lundquist said the increase can also be attributed to a world-wide recruitment effort. Recruiters have traveled to 12 different countries in pursuit of international students. In addition, the MBA Admissions office has been more aggressive in encouraging candidates to apply early. "Since Wharton is a rolling admission process, it is to the applicant's advantage if they are an earlier applicant," Lundquist said. "Their chances of getting in are increased." National trends have seen the number of people applying to MBA programs decreasing. In the past three years, less people are taking the Graduate Management Admission Test. But, top schools such as Wharton are seeing a steady increase in their applicant pool. "A smaller number of the world population seems to be interested in the business schools in general," Lundquist said. "But, more of the applicants are limiting their choices to top schools since they are taking in to account the prestige factor."