UNDERGRADUATE Profiles Publish Date 2/26/09

University of Pennsylvania

The Wharton School

Getting In

PROGRAM BASICS

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

G95 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street
Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19104-6340

Private Institution

Web site

http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/undergrad/

Program e-mail address:

undergradinfo@wharton.upenn.edu

Program telephone number:

(215) 898-7608

AACSB accredited:

Yes

Year in which the undergraduate business program was founded:

1881

Length of entire institution:

Four Year

Business program length:

Four Year

Degrees offered:

Degree/Program Name:
Bachelor of Science in Economics

PROGRAM COSTS

Annual Tuition (Resident):

$ 33,608

Annual Tuition (Non-Resident)

$ 33,608

Required fees

$ 3,918

Books:

$ 1,050

Room and board:

$ 10,622

ENROLLMENT

Full-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

2,528

Part-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

Distance undergraduate business student enrollment:

Total College enrollment for 2008-09:

19,018

ADMISSIONS

Interviews for entire college:

Not required

Additional application requirements for entire college:

http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/testing.php

Upcoming application deadlines for entire college:

Semester: fall 2009
Deadline: 01-01-2009

Freshmen admitted into business program:

Yes

Are the freshman admits to the business program required to complete pre-business courses before beginning upper-lever courses in the junior year?

Freshmen admitted by:

Complete an application, apart from the university application

Internal transfers handled by:

Separate application

Minimum requirements for business program:

Entrance exam requirement other than SAT/ACT for business program:

Interview to enter business program:

Not required

Additional application requirements for freshman admits:

The Wharton School requires that applicants have taken Calculus in High School.

Minimum college GPA for internal business program transfers:

3.4

Additional requirements for internal transfers:

Information can be found at: http://undergrad.wharton.upenn.edu/academic_options/internal_transfers.cfm

Total number of full-time applications for entire college:

22,935

International applicants, entire college, 2008-09:

17 %

Female applicants, entire college, 2008-09:

49 %

Selectivity--applicants admitted to undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

17 %

Yield -- applicants enrolled in undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

63 %

Relative Importance of Application Elements:

Secondary School Record:

Important

Class Rank:

Considered

Talent/Ability:

Considered

Interview:

Considered

Extracurricular Activities:

Important

Volunteer Work:

Considered

Character/Personal Abilities:

Very Important

Application Essay:

Important

Work Experience:

Important

SAT/ACT Scores:

Important

Recommendations:

Very Important

High School GPA:

Important

Admissions program managed by:

The university admissions office

CLASS PROFILE

Class Profile:

Female: 39 %
International : 19 %

Entering students by age:

Mean: 19
Median: 19

Citizenship of Entering Students

U.S.: 81 %
Canada: 3 %
Other countries: 16 %
Unknown: 0 %

Percentage of US citizens in entering class who are:

African American: 11 %
Asian American: 23 %
Hispanic or Latino American: 10 %
Multiethnic/Multiracial : 0 %
Native American: 0 %
White (Non-Hispanic): 35 %
Chose not to report: 22 %
Other: 0 %

Entering students from the following region:

Northeast: 31 %
Mid-Atlantic: 18 %
South: 12 %
Southwest: 7 %
Midwest : 13 %
West: 18 %
Possessions and territories: 1 %

SAT Scores for full-time entering business students on 1600 scale:

Mean: 1440
Median: 1460

From: N/A To: N/A

ACT Scores for full-time entering business students:

Mean: 32
Median: 32

From: N/A To: N/A

FINANCIAL AID

Financial aid handled by:

Central financial aid office at the university

Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students in previous academic year:

$ 18,734,089

Institutional scholarship money to be distributed to undergraduate business students in current academic year:

$ 20,212,208

Scholarships awarded to students in the business program based on:

Financial need

Scholarship consideration process:

As part of the admissions application

Other scholarship considerations:

FAFSA, CSS/Profile, Insitutional Application, Tax Returns and W-2s

Students receiving institutional scholarships for 2008-09 academic year:

37 %

Undergraduate business students with full-tuition scholarships 2008-09:

15 %

Percentage of institutional scholarship money distributed to business students based on merit, 2008-09 year:

100 %

Percentage of institutional scholarship money distributed to business students based on need, 2008-09:

0 %

School offers guaranteed loans:

Financial aid web site

http://sfs.upenn.edu

Academics & Lifestyle

PROGRAM BASICS

Business students who graduate within 6 years:

97 %

Freshman retention rate:

99 %

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Credit hours required for graduation:

Degree: BS
Hours: 148

Other degree requirements:

Students are required to take classes in both Business and the Arts & Sciences throughout their four years. More information can be found at http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/undergrad/subPage.cfm?pageID=2

ACADEMICS

Average class size in required business courses:

Average class size in business electives:

Class size:

Classes with fewer than 20 students: 34 %
Classes with 21 to 50 students: 44 %
Classes with more than 50 students: 22 %

CURRICULUM

Number of elective courses available in business program:

114

Electives added current year:

The Economic and Financial Crisis: Causes Consequences and Policy Options
Foundations of Teamwork and Leadership
Contagious: How Products Ideasand Behaviors Catch On
Social Impact of Marketing
Sports Law

Year of the last major change to the business program's core curriculum:

2007

Leading areas of study:

Finance

General Management

Health Care Administration

International Business

Marketing

Special programs for business students:

Wharton offers students interdisciplinary academic opportunities to earn more than one degree, a minor, and study abroad in more than twenty partner business schools around the world. All students are also placed in one of nine cohorts. Cohorts provide a sense of community and affinity within Wharton and provide students with shared learning experiences.

Business program offers work study or co-op opportunities:

Yes

Opportunities are available on and off campus; many focus on service to the community.

Business program offers study abroad opportunities:

Yes

Study abroad program description:

Students can study at partner business schools around the world. For more information: http://undergrad.wharton.upenn.edu/studyabroad/. Students can also study in University of Pennsylvania approved sites - for more information: http://sa.oip.upenn.edu/

Volunteer work and community service opportunities:

Yes

Volunteer opportunities description:

There are several Wharton clubs that focus primarily on community service. These include the Social Impact Consulting Group, which helps students understand social responsibility by providing valuable consulting work in the local Philadelphia non-profits and socially responsible organizations, and the Penn International Business Volunteers, which organizes work with non-profits and microfinance institutions in developing countries. Civic center info at: http://www.upenn.edu/csd/

Business clubs and extracurricular activities:

undergradwhartonupennedu/wharton_life/student_orgscfm
wwwvpulupennedu/osl

FACULTY

Faculty:

Full-time faculty : 232
Adjuncts and visiting faculty: 192
Permanent/tenured professors: 141
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are women: 14
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are underrepresented minorities: 3

Prominent faculty:

Jeremy Siegel
Mauro Guillen
Richard Herring

STUDENT LIFE

Largest on-campus organizations for business students:

Wharton Women
Black Wharton
MUSE (The Marketing Undergraduate Student Establishment)
Wharton China Business Society
Wharton Management Club

Freshmen are required to live on campus:

Yes

Business students are grouped in learning communities:

TECHNOLOGY

Wireless network available:

Yes

Technological improvements made in the last three years:

Wharton's technology advisory board brings Undergraduate and MBA students together with senior administrators to shape the direction of information technology across the School. Student involvement has lead to recent enhancements to Wharton's award winning 'SPIKE' student intranet, which includes social networking features to help students interact online. Experiential learning simulations are used throughout the curriculum. For additional information see: http://technology.wharton.upenn.edu/

Trading laboratory available:

Yes

COMMENTS

Please consider numbering the questions for easier collaboration.

Alumni Affairs & Careers

ALUMNI

Total living alumni:

35,625

Percent of alumni who gave, 2007-08 academic year:

24 %

Mean alumni gift 2007-08:

$ 0

Median alumni gift, 2007-08:

$ 0

Single donation in excess of $10 million in 2007-08?

Prominent alumni:

Name: Michael Nutter
Title: Mayor, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Name: Gary G. Gensler
Title: Nominee, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Corporation
Name: Jon Huntsman, Sr.
Title: Chairman and CEO, Huntsman Corporation

CAREER SERVICES

Percent of 2008 graduates who provided employment information:

86 %

Seeking full-time employment in business: 94 %
Not Seeking full-time employment in business: 6 %

Number of companies recruiting undergraduate students on campus in previous academic year:

413

Companies that posted full-time job offers/positions on school job boards, previous academic year:

2,921

Other activities and services provided for business majors:

Career counseling, resume and cover letter critiques, mock interviews, extensive career library and web page resources, Career Discovery Seminar including standardized assessment (Myers-Briggs and Strong Interest Inventory), various workshops and panels, graduate school application advising, job listings, career fairs, alumni networking database, lifelong career advising services for alumni.

Job offer results, 2008 graduates:

Received first job offer by graduation: 92 %
Received first job offer in three months following graduation: 2 %
Received first job offer more than 3 months after graduation: 0 %
Did not report having received a job offer: 6 %
Accepted first job offer by graduation: 92 %
Accepted first job offer in three months following graduation: 2 %
Accepted first job offer more than 3 months after graduation: 0 %
Did not report having accepted a job offer: 6 %

Top hiring firms:

Goldman Sachs Group
Lehman Bros.
Citigroup Inc.
Merrill Lynch
Credit Suisse Group
Deutsche Bank AG
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
UBS
McKinsey & Company
Boston Consulting Group
Morgan Stanley
Bain & Company
Deloitte Touche Tomatsu
Oliver Wyman

The Blackstone Group

Graduate compensation:

Mean base salary: $ 61,001
Median base salary: $ 61,000
Mean signing bonus: $ 9,287
Median signing bonus: $ 10,000

Grads accepted jobs in following functional areas:

Consulting: 18 %
Finance/Accounting: 68 %
General Management: 1 %
Human Resources: 0 %
Management Information Systems: 1 %
Marketing/Sales: 7 %
Operations/Production: 1 %
Logistics/Transportation: 0 %
Other: 5 %

Grads accepted jobs in following industries:

Accounting: 1 %
Consumer Products/Retail: 4 %
Consulting Services: 19 %
Financial Services: 64 %
Government/Education: 1 %
Pharma/Biotech/Health: 1 %
Manufacturing: 1 %
Media/Entertainment: 0 %
Petroleum/Energy: 1 %
Real Estate: 5 %
Sports/Leisure: 0 %
Technology/Science: 3 %
Non-Profit: 0 %
Transportation: 0 %
Utilities: 0 %
Other: 3 %

Percentage of job acceptances, US and Canada:

US: 100 %
Canada: 0 %

Grads accepted jobs in the following US regions:

Northeast: 67 %
Mid-Atlantic: 10 %
Midwest: 5 %
South: 2 %
Southwest: 2 %
West: 13 %

Number of companies recruiting interns on-campus, 2007-08 academic year:

158

Internship postings on job boards, previous academic year:

973

Top internship recruiters, 2007-08:

Goldman Sachs Group
Lehman Bros.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Credit Suisse Group
Morgan Stanley
Oliver Wyman
UBS
Merrill Lynch
Citigroup Inc.
Deutsche Bank AG
Bain & Company
Microsoft

The Blackstone Group
Lazard Freres
Moelis & Co.

Percentage of internships that were paid, previous academic year

96 %

Mean internship compensation per week:

$ 1,029

Median internship compensation per week:

$ 1,125

Average internship, in weeks:

Graduate Comments

There has not been as much formal advising from the Wharton program as I would have expected from a school of this caliber. I think they've done more to create different levels of advisors (from upperclassmen to staff) since my freshman year, but I have technically never had an advisor assigned to me. In some ways, this has forced me to learn how to network with MBAs and reach out to alumni myself, which have been tremendously helpful in terms of career guidance, advice, and friendship.

Wharton students are ahead of the curve immediately out of school. Our school is too intense though. It really wears on the students. I am appreciative of the education but can't wait to get out and relax a bit.

Wharton's job placement and recruiting are easily the best of any school I have heard of. Even in a terrible job market, Wharton students were getting multiple offers from top firms in a variety of industries.

When I look back at Wharton as a senior who has recently secured a job, I do not think it was worth the money. I have incurred a massive debt load and burdened my parents severely, and although I think I am graduating with the top undergraduate business degree in the country I probably could have been almost as well off but have saved a lot of money and classroom agony by going to a cheaper/less intense school.

I am confident that when I graduate in May that I am more than prepared to make an impact, both in my job and as a global citizen. Wharton has connected me with so many people and ideas that I would have never dreamed of four years ago at my rural high school. I am thankful for the friendships, lessons, and experiences that I have gained here.

My impression has been that, generally, you don't learn anything in undergraduate business school that will help you materially once you start working. Anything you need to know, you will be taught at your job. Wharton, however, is an exception to this rule.

Wharton is internationally recognized for their Finance department and outstanding reputation in job placement. Yet, what makes Wharton unique is the support staff and social capital created through the student body's constant interaction in teams. Wharton's advisors are available seemingly 24/7 with their help on courses, extra programs, etc.

It is the most practical business education available for an undergraduate in terms of intensity, pace, and the work we are asked to complete. As a finance major, we are trained to be investment bankers - late nights working in small groups, highly competitive. We build financial models using excel and are expected to be up to date on financial news and markets.

I am continually impressed with the diversity of thought, background, and experience that my peers bring to class and team projects. I feel at home here, and while there are always days when classes/exams are tough and it's really stressful, I would say without a doubt that coming to this school and being in this program has been the best decision I've ever made.

The emphasis on real world application makes Wharton unique... it's not just theories! There are so many opportunities to apply what you're learning in class to the real world. I completed a consulting project for Nike as part of my consumer behavior class. I took the Wharton Field Challenge and worked with the United Nations.

It's competitive, but it's healthy competition so if you have to make sure you're keeping up with everyone else. The mindset that you're in once you enter the Huntsman building is very distinct. You walk a little faster, you work a little harder, more finance speak comes out. It usually fosters lots of interesting discussions and there is always group work so it prepares you extremely well for the work force.

Career Services brings in the top names in consulting and financial services, with the knowledge that a handful of Penn kids will get offers every fall. Few other schools can stay that those firms even come to their campuses, nonetheless hire repeatedly.

I have gone to many of my teachers for help and they have always met with me and offered supplement problems or study techniques. Also, upperclassmen interact with MBAs on a daily basis.

Wharton's emphasis on team-building and cooperation has ensured that I will succeed in my first job better than if I had attended a school where individual achievement is rewarded above all else.

The Wharton brand is extremely valuable, even outside the alumnae network. While traveling around South America or even while working in New York City, the Wharton brand has provided me with great esteem in the eyes of the people I encounter. I believe that weighs more, in a lot of instances, than the education itself.