A New Hybrid at Wharton

This fall, the school is introducing a program which combines business and science classes, says the director of undergrad admissions

Undergraduates at the Wharton School and the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania who are interested in managerial positions in the science or biotechnology fields can sign on for a new major in the fall of 2006. Students in the Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management will either pursue a BS in economics or a BA with a science major.

Regardless of which degree they choose, students with this major will all face a common core curriculum, internships in both science and business, and an upper-level science research project. "Students will understand the future of business in the health-care industry," says Lee Stetson, dean of undergraduate admissions. "The LSM program gives students a good background in both the management and life-sciences areas." So far, 174 high school seniors have applied for 25 slots.

Stetson has been the dean of undergraduate admissions at Penn for almost 28 years. Before that, he was director of admissions at the University of Delaware, where he had graduated with degrees in business with a concentration in marketing and economics. During his 11 years at Delaware, he received his Master's in counseling and administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

Stetson recently spoke with BusinessWeek intern Helena Oh. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation:

What's the acceptance rate of freshmen to the undergraduate business program?

Eight or 9%. And at the Wharton school, the total number of applications was 4,038 in 2005, which is an 18% increase over the year before.

Can university students easily transfer to Wharton if they had applied to a different school for their first year?

Yes, but they need to establish themselves academically and do well to be considered. We have a stable number of internal transfers because 17-year-olds don't always know what to do with the rest of their lives.

What type of student is a good fit for the program?

Students who do well at Wharton are highly motivated academically, intellectually inquisitive, and interested in many facets of the business community. Many are doing research in an economic area and are already thinking about how they can get involved in world enterprise. Students are also really spending more time giving back to the community and reaching out.

What are the common mistakes students make when applying, and how can they be avoided?

Sometimes students tend to have too narrow a focus. At the undergraduate level, we like to see students with many interests, unless they have developed a particular talent in the performing arts or something similar. Sometimes students also make the mistake of writing to us about going to Penn without much enthusiasm. It shows they haven't done their homework.

How is Wharton's undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Science in Economics, different from a Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) at another university?

Students need to determine their own priorities as to whether they want a liberal arts education or a business curriculum. We offer both, and we have a strong core in the arts and sciences, so it's a broader-based degree than a BBA would be.

How important are the math scores on standardized tests?

Wharton students need to have facility in mathematics. There has been an increasing emphasis on the quantitative side over the years, especially on calculus. We don't find many students from schools that don't offer calculus. If that's the case, we recommend students take a course at a local college.

Should students also take the SAT II subject tests?

We require students to take two SAT II exams. They don't have to be in math. But most students are aware that they need a good math background, so they often take a math-based SAT II test.

Do you have test-score cutoffs?

No.