Recruiting Policies

The goal of these recruiting policies is to provide all employers with a level playing field and a fair process that takes into consideration the needs and requirements of Wharton MBA students. We believe that our combination of student and employer policies enables employers to develop valuable long-term relationships with Wharton and provides students the maximum number of career opportunities.

Please note that these policies apply to any organization recruiting a Wharton MBA student, regardless if the company is active in on-campus recruiting or not.

Policies Regarding Student Commitments

Mandatory Academic Commitments

Students may not miss class or academic commitments for full-time or internship interviews, recruiting events, or travel related to those activities. Employers cannot require a student, as a condition of his or her employment candidacy, to interview at a time that conflicts with his or her individual academic schedule. An employer’s inflexibility on this issue will be considered a violation of Wharton’s recruiting policies.

To avoid class conflicts, MBA Career Management recommends that all first-year interviews outside of the Focused Recruiting Period take place on Fridays and Saturdays or on weekday afternoons/evenings from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm in Philadelphia.

Grade Disclosure

In the recruiting process, employers may encounter students who refer to the Wharton Graduate Association’s Grade Non-Disclosure referendum. Please reach out to the Wharton Graduate Association for more information. Our students are committed to providing a positive learning environment for everyone and so they choose to keep grades separate from the recruiting process.

Wharton students are not required to disclose their grades to a prospective employer. However, it is the individual right of the student to disclose any aspect of their own academic performance to prospective employers, or any other interested parties. Such disclosure is a legal right, and it is Wharton’s policy to protect this right.

Students Reneging on Accepted Offers

Once a student has accepted (verbal or written, including email) an offer from any company, s/he is expected to uphold the integrity of the Wharton brand by honoring the commitment. Reneging on an accepted offer is a serious action and therefore considered a violation of Wharton’s recruiting policies. Penalties are imposed on students to uphold the integrity of the policies and to create accountability for a student’s individual choices that may have negative impact on the broader Wharton community.

If an MBA student is planning on reneging on an accepted offer, s/he is required to schedule a meeting immediately with a member of the MBA Career Management advising staff to discuss his/her intended actions. Each renege situation will be carefully reviewed by the MBA Career Management Office. Depending on the circumstances and the student’s management of the situation, any of the penalties outlined below may be imposed. Students who fail to consult with the MBA Career Management Office before reneging on an offer will face the maximum penalties outlined below and may have their case referred to the Ethics Committee for further review and consideration.

Potential Penalties for Students

Mandatory meeting with the Director of MBA Career Management, Vice Dean or Dean to explain the reasons for their actions and steps taken to manage the situation.
Mandatory in-person or virtual meeting with the company, as well as a letter copying MBA Career Management, apologizing and explaining the reasons for their actions.
Monetary fine up to $20,000. The monetary fine will be billed to the student’s account prior to the end of the academic year and could result in the withholding of the student’s physical diploma and academic transcript if unpaid.
Notation on academic transcript of a recruiting violation.
Immediate and permanent suspension from CareerPath, including loss of access to on campus recruiting and the use of MBA Career Management services. They will receive email notification regarding CareerPath termination.
Loss of all Wharton MBACM alumni career management privileges for a period of up to five years, including access to the Alumni Job Board, Alumni Resume Book, Alumni Advising and online resources.

Policies Regarding Employer Commitments

International Employers

International offices of U.S. domestic firms, as well as all international companies, will be held to the same recruiting schedule and requirements placed on U.S. offices/U.S. firms, barring exceptions pre-approved by MBA Career Management.

Number of Permitted Recruiting Events

Wharton’s goal is to ensure that firms meet and learn about our students through a sufficient number of recruiting events. However, we are mindful of the time commitments and demands on our students. For the 2024-2025 academic year, companies may host up to two recruiting events per class through MBA Career Management – one large event and one small event. Examples include:

Large event – Employer Information Session, Panel
Small event – Coffee Chats, Small Group Sessions, Virtual Day on the Job.

Employers may host additional recruiting events, but firms cannot require students to attend more than two firm-sponsored events. This policy does not include student-requested informational interviews or student-coordinated events such as panels or conferences.

Timing of Recruiting Events

Employers should not host company events during August Pre-Term, Reading Days, final exams or recruiting black-out periods. These dates are clearly marked with an “X” on our Recruiting Calendar. View Recruiting Calendar

Rescinded Offers and Delayed Starts

Rescinded Offers

Once an offer (verbal or written, including email) is made to a student, it cannot be withdrawn without being considered a violation of Wharton’s Recruiting Policies. Any company considering rescinding an offer to a student should contact MBA Career Management staff as soon as possible.

Delayed Start Dates

Delayed start dates will not be considered ‘de facto rescinded offers’ for a period of up to four months from the original start date for full-time positions (or, if no start date was given, for up to eight months from the date of graduation); subsequently, they will be treated as rescinded offers.

Pre-MBA Fellowships/Internships

Wharton welcomes firms to campus when summer internship recruiting begins in the fall. View Recruiting Calendar

Prior to the summer internship recruiting period, MBA Career Management will not endorse any recruiting events, including pre-matriculation events. Students and companies that enter into contract made prior to the start of the MBA program do so at their own risk, and Wharton will not enforce recruiting policies on those arrangements. Once a student matriculates at Wharton, no offers, including fellowship offers, may be made prior to the Earliest Offer Date.

Enforcement of Wharton’s Recruiting Policies

Wharton’s recruiting policies were developed in the best interests of our students, faculty, and corporate partners. These policies apply to any organization recruiting a Wharton MBA student, regardless if the company is active in on-campus/virtual recruiting or not. Firms will be held accountable for the actions of their representatives, across all global offices. As a result, we recommend that these policies be communicated to recruiters, interviewers, and hiring managers.

The intention of these policies is to create an environment where students are able to make educated, purposeful decisions and create an equitable recruiting landscape for all employers. Failure to abide by these policies may necessitate sanctions for the violating company.

The goal of Wharton’s recruiting policies is to provide all employers with an equitable process that considers the needs of Wharton MBA students. We believe that our combination of student and employer policies enables employers to develop strong institutional relationships with Wharton, while still providing students with the maximum number of career opportunities.

Violations of Wharton’s recruiting policies will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Wharton reserves the right to modify its recruiting policies throughout the year and considers the following examples to be policy infractions:

Internship recruiting event held prior to the start of the first-year recruiting period, unless previously approved by MBACM
Internship interview and/or offer initiated by the firm before the start of the first-year Focused Recruiting Period, unless previously approved by MBACM
An offer (verbal or written) that is rescinded or withdrawn prior to, or after, the student accepts or declines
An offer that is not accompanied by a reasonable amount of time to make a decision as specified by the Earliest Decision Date(s) (i.e., “exploding offer”)
A significant change to an agreed-upon offer, such as the starting date, salary, function, location or duration of an internship

Wharton students are permitted to report non-compliance of recruiting policies to the MBA Career Management (MBACM) office. MBACM staff will then investigate the matter and communicate directly with the employer. In the case that a matter is not resolved, any of the following corrective actions may be taken:

Communication from the school to the senior management of the company, informing them of the policy infraction
Inclusion for up to three years on student-facing website of Employer Recruiting Violations, describing the infraction
Giving less priority to the company’s recruiting dates globally vs. competitors in the following year
Restriction of the company’s access to students which may include: panel/industry discussions, corporate presentations, club events, or other recruiting activities
Exclusion of the company from on-campus/virtual recruiting activities

Just as we expect our employers to adhere to stated policies, we also expect our students to represent Wharton in a professional and appropriate manner. If you feel that a student is behaving unprofessionally, please contact your Relationship Manager.

Policies Regarding First-Year (Internship) Recruiting

First-Year Recruiting Events Timeline

First-year targeted, single-firm Recruiting Events and Employer Information Sessions (EISs) may begin on Monday, October 14, 2024. Please also note that companies may not request first-year student resumes until the first year Resume Book is released to employers October 14, 2024.

Events targeted toward first-year students and held in Quarter 1 (from Monday, August 26, 2024, through Friday, October 11, 2024) must be multi-firm Educational Events, not Recruiting Events (see definitions below).

Employers should not host company or club events during August Pre-Term, Reading Days, final exams or recruiting black-out periods. These dates are clearly marked with an “X” on our Recruiting Calendar. View Recruiting Calendar

Educational Events – Student club-sponsored events such as themed speaker series, panels, and conferences that highlight industry trends, corporate best practices, and/or marketplace forecasts. Student club leaders may invite corporate representatives to participate in educational events, though events must retain a multi-firm, non-evaluative format, and may not involve the presence of recruiters.
Recruiting Events – Employer-sponsored sessions including, but not limited to, on-campus, off-campus and virtual employer events, open and closed events, general and targeted coffee chats/meetings, phone calls, video-conferences, emails (except for general notifications of upcoming events/presentations), prospective candidate dinners (including small, targeted dinners), lunches, breakfasts, and/or any other employer-MBA evaluative engagement.

First-Year Interview Policies and Timing

Interview Timing

Note for 2024-25 Recruiting: The On-Campus Recruiting Suite is open to employers should you wish to host your interviews in-person. All guests must comply with the University’s visitor guidelines.
The Focused Recruiting Period (FRP) runs Friday, January 3- Friday, January 10, 2025.
- After FRP, interviews must not conflict with a class or academic commitments Monday through Thursday and the occasional Friday.
- Internship offers may be made anytime after the Focused Recruiting Period begins.

Second Round Interviews

Note for 2024-25 Recruiting: The On-Campus Recruiting Suite is open to employers should you wish to host your interviews in-person. All guests must comply with the University’s visitor guidelines.
To facilitate second-round interview scheduling and to minimize conflicts,
- students should be offered multiple timeslots for second rounds scheduled during FRP.
- students should be offered more than one date option for second rounds after FRP.

No recruiting events (e.g., private events or dinners, including virtual) can take place during the Focused Recruiting Period (between Friday, January 3, 2025 and Friday, January 10, 2025, at 5:00 pm EST).

First-Year Earliest Decision Dates

Earliest Decision Date: Friday, January 31, 2025, at 5:00 pm EST (at the earliest; see further details below)

For offers received before Friday, February 21, 2025: First-years must be given until the First-Year MBA Earliest Decision Day listed above or three weeks from the date of the written offer, whichever is later, to make a decision. Students cannot be required to indicate acceptance of an offer until a written communication (e.g., mailed letter, fax or e-mail) is received.

For offers received on or after Friday, February 21, 2025: Students must be given a minimum of 2 weeks from the date of the written offer to make a decision. Students cannot be required to indicate acceptance of an offer until a written communication (e.g., mailed letter or email) is received.

Exploding First-Year Offer Policies
If an employer’s offer decision date does not align with the timelines
above, students are expected to work in good faith with the employer to request that they extend the period accordingly. For reference, employers can access our policies here. Students are required to seek advice and support from the MBACM industry team to prepare for these conversations, or to seek more active involvement as needed. If an employer refuses to abide by Wharton’s Earliest Decision Dates, the student will not be penalized if they renege on an accepted offer within three weeks of receiving the offer or up until February 21, whichever is later. Reneges occurring after this point will be considered a
violation of student recruiting policies and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and assessed for the appropriate penalty

Please note the enforcement of Wharton’s recruiting policies.

Policies Regarding Second-Year (Full-Time) Recruiting

Second-Year On-Campus Interview Timeline

Full-time on-campus interviewing begins Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Interviews will continue throughout the academic year and must not conflict with class or academic commitments.

Students should be offered more than one date option to aid scheduling and minimize conflicts.

Second-Year Earliest Decision Dates

Earliest Decision Date for Offers Extended after Summer Internship OR during Full-Time Recruiting: Friday, November 1, 2024, at 5:00 pm EST

For offers received before Friday, February 21, 2025: Second-years must be given until the Second-Year MBA Earliest Decision Day listed above, or three weeks from the date of the written offer, whichever is later, to respond to offers of employment. Students cannot be required to indicate acceptance of an offer until a written communication (e.g. mailed letter, fax or e-mail) is received.

Please note the enforcement of Wharton’s recruiting policies.

Exploding Second-Year Offer Policies

If an employer’s offer decision date does not align with the timelines above, students are expected to work in good faith with the employer to request that they extend the period accordingly. For reference, employers can access our policies here. Students are required to seek advice and support from the MBACM industry team to prepare for these conversations, or to seek more active involvement as needed. If an employer refuses to abide by Wharton’s Earliest Decision Dates, the student may not be penalized. However, reneges occurring after the appropriate offer timeline (November 1 or three weeks if before February 21, 2025, two weeks if after February 21, 2025) will be considered a violation of student recruiting policies and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and assessed for the appropriate penalty.

A note about pre-MBA offers: Offers made to students by their pre-MBA employers or sponsoring employers, or offers made to students before they begin the MBA program, are not subject to these offer policies. However, students are encouraged to discuss questions about pre-MBA offers with MBA Career Management.

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