Erika James, Newly-appointed Wharton Dean, Already Rejected From 6 Wharton Clubs
Photos (with edits) from the Office of University Communications and The Wharton School
February 26, 2020 at 3:43 pm
Despite not having moved to Philadelphia yet to begin her tenure at The Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, newly-appointed Wharton Dean Erika James has already begun to face the vigorous competition of the country’s top business school. UTB inside sources report that James has already been rejected by six Wharton clubs.
Following the grueling process of filling out repetitive Google forms and re-writing the same 250-word essay, James has faced a similar fate to countless applicants before her: cold rejection.
When asked about the decision regarding James’ club membership application, the Secretary VP of External Social Chair Operations of the Wharton Undergraduate Stock Consulting and Synergy Financing Club stated, “It was a very competitive application pool this year. We need to know that our applicants can successfully meet the primary requirements of this club: placing the club’s name on their LinkedIn profile and sharing Facebook events. Unfortunately, Erika James has neither a LinkedIn nor a Facebook account.”
“Her professional resume was okay, I guess”, said the President of the Wharton Committee for Managerial Finance Data Trading Initiatives. “The academic stuff she did recently was pretty cool, but she wasn’t friends with anyone on our board. I think that really hurt her credibility.”
Following the one club interview that she did receive, James was left feeling distraught and overwhelmed. “The questions about introductory finance and accounting really stumped me,” she said. “Those Wharton juniors must be such geniuses!” James was not accepted to the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh round of the application process.
It’s clear that the skills one develops as a world-renowned academic and business school Dean are not useful for more serious responsibilities, like reserving Huntsman rooms for occasional GBMs and spamming Listservs.
Moving forward, James fears that without admission to any of these prestigious clubs, she will never be able to receive that coveted Goldman Sachs internship. We wish the best for James, and lament her now-ruined career prospects.