The Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania

Overview

Wharton was established in 1881 as the country’s first business school. Wharton has 280 standing associate members that educate students within the 11 departments and 20 research centers that can be found at Wharton.

Class Profile

The 2006 class of 1,219 MBA students that was accepted into Wharton was selected from a total of 5,622 applicants. 67 percent of the class is male while 33 percent are female. 27 percent of the Wharton class are of a Unites States minority and 99 percent of all students have full time work experience with the average age of students being 28. The classes GMAT scores ranged from 670 to 760 with an average score of 716. The average GPA is 3.5.

Costs

Tuition and fees were approximately $39,835 for the 2004-2005 year and the total cost for first year students is an estimated $64,442. Room and board cost an estimated $14,200 per year while books and supplies cost approximately $5,900.

Applying

Prospective students must have completed an undergraduate program at an accredited United States college or an equivalent in another country. Prospective students must submit their GMAT scores and complete the Wharton application that requires the completion of essays along with two recommendations. There are three time periods during which prospective students can apply. It is recommended that the early time periods be used because by the third round of selecting, much of the class will have already been chosen. This results in the third period for application being the most competitive and highly selective.

Student Life

There are many clubs and organization in which Wharton students can join and participate. Organizations such as student government and other social, professional, and international clubs are available. There are 16 intramural clubs including basketball, crew/rowing, golf, outdoor club, roadrunners, men’s and women’s rugby, sailing, men’s and women’s soccer, squash, surf, tennis, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, and ice hockey. Professional clubs include the automotive club, biotech club, consulting club, education industry club, energy club, entrepreneurship club, finance club, general management club, health care club, microfinance club, operations management club, technology club, Texas club, veterans club, and west coast club.