#177 How I Got into the Wharton MBA / MA Lauder Joint Degree Program with Hunter Dong

The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Hunter Dong shares his best application tips for getting into the Wharton MBA / MA Lauder Joint Degree in International Studies program. How did Hunter pull together his diverse work experience working for the Hinrich Foundation in the Philippines, his family business in pharmaceutical packaging and IBM as a Data Scientist to make an ultimately winning case to Wharton and Columbia? Hunter walks us through his entire preparation process, from initial school research to the final team-based discussion interview. Don't miss this episode packed with clear, practical advice from a just admitted applicant.

Questions

• Hunter's work experience and reasons for pursuing an MBA/MA in International Studies (2:25)
• Hunter's positioning strategy (9:10)
• How Hunter focused on students and professors as sources of information to craft his application (15:00)
• Hunter's advice for Wharton's team-based discussion (TBD) interview (19:25)
• Hunter's essay timeline and editing process (29:45)
• Lauder application tips (35:40)
• Preparing a "briefing guide" to recommenders (42:23)
• How Hunter demonstrated leadership qualities to adcoms (45:20)
• Why Hunter chose to attend the Wharton / Lauder program (47:30)

About Hunter

Hunter Dong will be starting his joint MBA/MA degree at Wharton and Lauder this Summer. He previously worked as a Senior Consultant and Data Scientist at IBM. Hunter got his B.S in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University.

Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/how-i-got-into-the-wharton-mba-lauder-hunter-dong

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