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The No. 1-ranked Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia houses an undergraduate business program known for many things, including 125 years of history, state-of-the-art facilities, a curriculum steeped in both theory and practice, and a top-notch faculty. But one thing truly sets Wharton apart from other undergraduate business programs: "It's the caliber of the students," says Tiffany Fujioka, associate director of the undergraduate division.
It's no surprise that the students are quite impressive, able to focus on their studies and future, while still enjoying themselves. It's not an easy balance, but most are able to pull it off with little effort. "'Work hard, play hard,' that's the Wharton motto," says Danielle Qi, a Wharton senior pursuing a dual degree in marketing and history. Spending the day on campus, you'll see that, despite the difficult level of their work, Wharton undergrads are typical college students.
As 9 a.m. approaches, signs of life begin to pick up outside of Huntsman Hall, the bulky, 10-story building that serves as the home of the Wharton School. At the rear of the building on Locust Walk, students sit at the outdoor patio area, sipping coffee as they browse through the day's Daily Pennsylvanian. Inside, small conference rooms that line the walls of the first few floors are already in use. In one, a student looks over his notes from the past day. Next door, three students crowd around a laptop as they plan a presentation for that afternoon.
FORAGING FOR FOOD. Farther down the hall, in Room 150, Professor Nicholas Souleles is preparing to teach Finance 101 to a class of sophomores. Students filter in wearing the typical uniform of T-shirt and jeans. The room is set up in a half-circle, with three rows of tables surrounding the center where an overhead projector sits. As they find their seats, Souleles greets each student by name and chats with a few of them about what they have been up to.
When class begins, Souleles dives into the topic at hand -- exchange rates -- and develops examples involving foreign currencies. Periodically, he shoots questions at particular students. Each time, he's quickly greeted by the answer he's looking for.
As classes let out around noon, the areas around Huntsman begin to crowd with students looking for lunch. Some choose to grab a quick bite at one of two Au Bon Pain locations in the building, and others venture to the row of food carts on Spruce Street that sell everything from hot dogs to cheese steaks. Still others cross the 38th Street bridge and head to the 1920 Commons, the closest dining hall to Huntsman. On a nice day, many students will find a spot on the grass to people-watch on the Locust Walk, the main drag for foot traffic on campus.
A CLUB OF HER OWN. Wharton students learn early on about the power lunch. Qi, for example, is involved with a number of clubs both in and out of the Wharton community, and uses her lunch time to catch up with other members. "It's a very meet-you-for-lunch culture," she says. It isn't rare for a Wharton student to join a handful of clubs both inside and outside of the school -- and some even take it a step further.
When Ebele Mora, a senior business major with dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, enrolled at Penn, she was excited to get involved. But the run-of-the-mill accounting and finance clubs didn't appeal to her. Instead of staying on the sidelines, she and a classmate decided to start a club focused on something that interested them: fashion design.
Four years later, as they get ready to graduate, their club, called DZine 2 Show, is still going strong. At the end of the year, she will hand the reins over to a new leadership team. "We're leaving it in capable hands," she says. "I'm excited to come back to see what they do."
As afternoon classes begin and the corridors of Huntsman empty out, Chris Hogg heads for the gym. A senior a few weeks from graduation, Hogg's class load isn't as heavy as in previous semesters. In the afternoons, as other students head back to the classroom, he likes to work out at the gym -- that is, if he isn't working on a project or meeting with one of his class groups.
GROUP-THINK. At Wharton, group work plays a major role in the curriculum. This collaborative environment is developed as early as the students' first semester on campus when they take "Leadership and Communication in Groups," otherwise known as Management 100. The course combines various leadership and management principles with project management and group dynamics -- all centered on a field project. The course, in which students are arranged into groups of 10, serves as the perfect introduction to what they can expect in their four years at Wharton.
The focus on teamwork helps to dispel the perception that Wharton is ultra-competitive. "When you're forced to work in groups, you're not going to be cutthroat with your own teammates," Hogg says. "It becomes more of a collaborative atmosphere."
As the afternoon fades into evening, the classrooms in Huntsman begin to empty, but the study rooms and common areas remain crowded and will stay that way long into the night. Most Wharton students keep a busy schedule, and it's easier for them to remain on campus all day instead of going back and forth from their apartment or dorm rooms to Huntsman multiple times. Qi says it isn't rare for her to be on campus until 10 p.m. But no matter what the hour there are always people around. "Huntsman Hall is a great community-builder," she says. "Everyone's in one building sharing study space."
LIVING FOR THURSDAY. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are all about the grind -- classes, exams, projects, club meetings -- but when Thursday rolls around, things change. Because there are no Wharton lectures on Fridays, students consider Thursday night the start of the weekend -- and good times. For Hogg, Smokey Joe's (or "Smokes," in Penn-speak) on nearby 40th Street is a Thursday night hangout.
Believe it or not, weekend afternoons (outside of football season) are reserved for studying, with many Wharton students holing up in the library until dinnertime. At night, it's off to a house party or a campus event with the larger Penn community. Some of the more adventurous students might even catch a cab into the city to go to one of the popular downtown dance clubs. Come Monday, the cycle begins again -- and will probably continue for at least another 125 years.
Gloeckler is a staff editor for BusinessWeek in New York.
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