Wharton pre-frosh now 'E-talk' over the Internet

Does everyone at Wharton wear a business suit? That's just one of the questions posted on "E-talk," a World Wide Web site and on-line bulletin board officially unveiled last week and geared towards newly admitted Wharton School students. The on-line information site connects future freshmen with each other as well as a network of current students and professional advisors who can answer their questions, according to Wharton Director of Student Services and Administrative Affairs Suzanne Kauffman DePuyt. "The students we admit have lots of wonderful choices," Kauffman DePuyt said. "We want to provide them with as much information as possible to make those decisions." So far, almost 300 messages from all over the United States and more than 36 countries around the world have been posted on the site. Wharton sophomore Paul Sethi, a member of the Wharton Ambassador organization that helps moderate on-line discussions, said the Internet is the easiest way to communicate information about Wharton to admitted students. "People would rather e-mail their questions than call the admissions office," Sethi said. In addition to sites linking the prospective freshmen to various academic resources on-line, "E-talk" boasts three themed message boards which allow student to ask "nuts and bolts" questions about Wharton academic programs, student life and the Philadelphia community. Students admitted to Wharton's three joint degree programs can also visit a bulletin board labeled the "Best of Both Worlds," where current students working toward two diplomas can respond to questions. And a message board titled "The Global Village" allows current foreign students to address concerns international students might have. The questions range from Advanced Placement credits to alcohol policies, from selecting college houses to beating the Wharton curve. One chain-smoking "pre-frosh" even inquired about the price of cigarettes in Philadelphia. And then there are the traditional stereotypes. "A lot of people seem to think that Wharton students are a bunch of self-centered, arrogant, egotistical stiffs," Sethi said. "Someone also thought that all Wharton students walk around all day in business suits and carry briefcases and laptops like in a corporation." However, Sethi said all questions -- serious and silly -- get honest responses. "We try to address [prospective students] with true, real-world responses about Wharton student life and classes from a student perspective," he explained. "Since we have been there, who better than us to tell them what Wharton is like?" Both the professional and student moderators say the "E-talk" questions often express more of the students' excitement than their concerns. Sara Tadikamalla, a prospective Wharton freshman from Pittsburgh, agreed. "Although the advice seemed trustworthy, I was more excited about the idea that I was talking to people I would be going to school with in less than six months," she said.