When the Alumni of Wharton are CEOs of SpaceX, Pfizer, Boeing, Oracle, PepsiCo, and leading global change makers, the Business School doesn’t need any new introduction. Ranked #2 by the Financial Times in 2021, Wharton full-time MBA is a 20-month program at the University of Pennsylvania that includes a 3.5-month summer internship with hubs in San Francisco and Beijing.
Table of Contents
- Cost of Wharton Full-Time MBA
- Class Profile - Wharton MBA (2022)
- Application to Wharton Full-Time MBA - Requirements
- The Wharton MBA Full-time Course Curriculum
- Wharton MBA Joint Degree Programs – Schedule
- Salary, Industry and Function Analysis of Wharton MBA Class of 2020
- Wharton MBA 5-year Placement Trends (2016-2020)
- Wharton Post-MBA Location - Salary and Preference (2020-21)
Cost of Wharton Full-Time MBA
The total cost of the Wharton MBA program for a single student is $228,864 that includes tuition fees, housing, meals, health insurance, and books.
Students looking for financial aid have multiple options to choose from as Wharton offers ten scholarships in various categories to deserving candidates split over the four semesters.
Class Profile - Wharton MBA (2022)
Wharton MBA Class Size and Acceptance Rate: The class of 2022 enrolled 916 students out of 7158 applicants, an acceptance rate of 12.7% that saw a decline from the previous year’s 14.5%.
Wharton MBA Diversity: 41% of the class is females, 19% international students, and 6% being represented by the LGBTQ+ community, with students coming from 70 countries.
Wharton MBA Work Experience: The average work experience of the applicants was 5 years, but the number of years of experience ranged from 0-14 yrs. hinting at the acceptance of exceptional candidates regardless of their experience falling out of the median.
Wharton Pre-MBA Industry: 24% of the class had previous experience in Consulting, 32% in Finance, 10% in Technology, and the rest are from govt/non-profit, energy, healthcare, CPG/Retail, and media.
Wharton MBA GMAT/GRE: While there is no minimum GMAT/GRE requirement for application at Wharton, the MBA class of 2022 had an average GMAT of 722. GRE verbal and Quant score stood at 161, and the average score for writing at 4.7. The average GPA of the class was 3.6, and 38% of the class had undergraduate in humanities, 34% in Business, and 28% in STEM.
Application to Wharton Full-Time MBA - Requirements
The Wharton MBA program has three application deadlines in a year with 3 key dates for each round - application deadline, interview, and the decision date. The round 1, round 2, and round 3 applications happen in the month of September, January, and March.
International students are advised to apply in rounds 1 and 2 to avoid any visa delays. The interview invites are sent by email on the notified date, along with the invitation link to schedule the interview. Read the interview guide for Wharton Interview preparation.
Wharton Class (Schedule): The year 1 class begins in early August to May, with the summer spent in internship followed by year two from early September to May.
The application for Wharton MBA should consist of the candidate’s background information, GMAT or GRE, and TOEFL scorecard along with the transcripts and a $275 non-refundable application fee. The candidate should also submit a well-written resume, three tightly worded essays (two mandatory and one optional), along with two letters of Recommendation.
Wharton MBA Essays: The 500-word essay 1 must cleverly highlight the future professional goals the candidate wishes to pursue on completing the Wharton MBA program and a 400-word essay 2 on how the candidate plans to make a specific, meaningful contribution to the Wharton community keeping in mind self’s personal, professional and/or academic achievements.
Wharton MBA Recommendation Letter: In addition to the essays, the two Letters of Recommendation must hold the candidate worthy of the Wharton brand. The recommender must choose 3 positive characteristics out of 10 to describe the candidate and answer two questions in 300 words each on ‘Why the candidate’s presence will add value to the Wharton Community?’ and ‘Why the candidate will find success throughout their career?’
The Wharton MBA Full-time Course Curriculum
Wharton MBA allows students to declare a major, with some courses even allowing students to declare a double major. There are 19 majors to choose from for the two-year MBA program, with nearly 50% of the currents MBA students choosing to double major. Subjects to major are:
• Accounting
• Business Analytics*
• Business Economics and Public Policy*
• Business, Energy, Environment and Sustainability*
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Finance
• Healthcare Management
• Individualized MBA Major
• International Business
• Management
• Marketing
• Marketing & Operations (Joint Major)
• Multinational Management
• Operations, Information, and Decisions*
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Quantitative Finance*
• Real Estate
• Statistics*
• Strategic Management
Six of these majors (marked in *) called the STEM majors is of great benefit to the international students as it allows them to obtain a STEM OPT extension that qualifies them for a 36-month work extension compared to 12-month for a non-STEM major.
Wharton encourages students to experience cross-functional expertise by offering nearly 200 electives across 10 academic departments, with some of the electives also counted towards the major.
The 20-month Program with the required curriculum credit unit (CU) for completion is
| Total Credit Units (CU) | 19.0 CU |
|---|---|
| Core Curriculum | 9.5 CU |
| Major | Typically, 5.0 CU, including a maximum of 1.0 from the Core. Choice provided for 18 majors and dual major option. |
| Electives | 4.5 CU |
| Global Experience | Dual degree, Global Modular Course, Global Immersion Program, Exchange Programs, San Francisco (one semester by application), Wharton other school partnership programs, Treks, Conferences, Clubs. |
For those who are committed to gain in-depth interdisciplinary expertise beyond the majors, the three joint degrees fill the need:
• MBA/MA (Lauder joint degree in International Studies combining foreign language skills from Uni of Penn school of arts and science with international business)
• MBA/JD (a 3-year program allowing students to earn law degree Uni. Of Penn law school along with Wharton MBA) and
• MBA in Healthcare management.
Final year undergrad and masters’ students can defer MBA admissions through The Moelis Advance Access Program.
Out of 916 enrolled students of 2022, 80 students opted for Lauder, 76 in healthcare management, 17 in JD/MBA, and 2 in Moelis Program, showing an increased interest in students pursuing a joint degree.
There are only two application rounds in the month of September and January for joint degree applicants.
Wharton MBA Joint Degree Programs – Schedule
| Programs | Schools | Degrees Conferred | Class Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| MBA/MA Lauder Joint Degree in International Studies | The Wharton School and Penn School of Arts and Sciences | MBA/MA in International Studies | 24 months, begins in May with immersion |
| Joint MBA/JD Degree | The Wharton School and Penn Law | MBA/JD | 3 years, begins in Law School |
| MBA in Health Care Management | The Wharton School | MBA | 22 months |
| Joint Dental MBA with Wharton and Penn Dental | The Wharton School and Penn Dental Medicine | MBA/DMD | 5.5 years, 4 years Dental & 3 semesters MBA |
| Joint Design MBA with Wharton and Penn Stuart Weitzman School of Design | The Wharton School and Penn Stuart Weitzman School of Design | MBA/MArch • MBA/MLA • MBA/MCP • MBA/MH • MUSA | • 3 years • 4 years • 3 years • 3 years • 2 years |
| Dual Degree Wharton/Education | The Wharton School and Penn Graduate School of Education | MBA/MSEd in Education Policy • MBA/MSEd in Education Entrepreneurship | • 13 months, begins in July with immersion bootcamp between years 1 and 2 of MBA program. • Concurrent |
| Wharton MBA for Engineering | The Wharton School and Penn School of Engineering and Applied Science | • MBA/MSE • MBA/MCIT • MBA/MIPD • DATS | • Varies, 4 to 6 semesters |
| Environmental MBA with Wharton and Penn SAS | The Wharton School and Penn School of Arts and Sciences MBA/MES | MBA/MES | Concurrent, 3 years or less |
| Dual MBA and Medicine | The Wharton School and Penn Medicine | MBA/MD | Varies |
| Dual degree Wharton MBA and Nursing | The Wharton School and Penn Nursing | • MBA/MSN • MBA/PhD | Varies |
| Dual degree Wharton MBA and Social Work | The Wharton School and Penn School of Social Policy and Practice | MBA/MSW | Concurrent |
| Wharton/Veterinary Medicine | The Wharton School and Penn Veterinary Medicine | • MBA/VMD • MBA/MS | Varies |
Wharton also partners with peer schools to offer
- A 3-year MBA/MA dual degree from Wharton and the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., to prepare future leaders by exposing them to both business and international politics and economics.
- A 3-year MBA/MPA and MBA/MPP from Wharton and Harvard Kennedy School for candidates interested in areas of public policy and public administration enriching students in areas of business, government, and policy.
Salary, Industry and Function Analysis of Wharton MBA Class of 2020
The median salary of the class of 2020 was $150,000, with legal services bagging the highest median salary at $190,000, whereas social impact was lowest at $89,250. Fintech saw an increase in industry placement from 1% to 2.1 % in 2020, with a median salary of $140,000. Manufacturing, Insurance/diversified services, energy, travel & hospitality, and future mobility had the least hiring by industry with % acceptance below 1.4%. The internship interest in these areas also stood at less than 1.8% in the year 2019 for the MBA class of 2020.
| Industry | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 24.40%, $165,000 | 25.10%, $165,000 |
| Consumer Products | 2.20%, $125,000 | 3.40%, $117,500 |
| Financial Services | 36.00%, $150,000 | 35.80%, $150,000 |
| Hedge Funds/Other Investments | 3.20%, $150,000 | 2.40%, $150,000 |
| Insurance & Diversified Services | 1.40%, $125,000 | 1.80%, $125,000 |
| Investment Banking/Brokerage | 12.30%, $150,000 | 11.80%, $150,000 |
| Investment Management | 4.50%, $150,000 | 4.60%, $142,500 |
| Private Equity/Buyouts/Other | 11.80%, $170,000 | 11.00%, $167,500 |
| Venture Capital | 3.00%, $171,500 | 4.20%, $150,000 |
| FinTech | 2.10%, $140,000 | 1.00% |
| Health Care | 6.70%, $140,000 | 4.30%, $137,500 |
| Legal & Professional Services | 1.80%, $190,000 | 1.90%, $190,000 |
| Manufacturing | 0.80% | 2.40%, $125,000 |
| Media, Entertainment & Sports | 1.40%, $159,000 | 1.00% |
| Real Estate | 2.90%, $120,000 | 3.20%, $127,500 |
| Retail | 3.20%, $140,000 | 3.00%, $120,000 |
| Social Impact | 1.80%, $89,250 | 1.40%, $115,000 |
| Technology | 16.30%, $140,000 | 14.90%, $135,000 |
Wharton MBA 5-year Placement Trends (2016-2020)
Consumer products (7.4% to 2.2%) and the manufacturing sector (1.7% to 0.8%) witnessed a steady decline in offers. Maximum acceptance was seen in Financial Services, especially in private equity, with a 61.6% increase in 5 years. Despite the school’s insistence that it is not a Finance school, candidates from other industries look up to Wharton’s legacy in Finance to upscale their profile and gain some serious advantage with the legendary professors and faculty network.
Hiring continued to be strong in Consulting/Strategy (31.4%, $165,000) followed by private equity (14.7%, $170,000) and Investment Banking (10.3%, $150,000). The least preferred functions were Human capital, Innovation, and Design, IT Management System, Merchandising/Buying/Planning, Sales and trading, Sustainability, and research, with the percentage of offers accepted at less than 0.5.
| Function | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics/Data Science | 1.40%, $125,000 | 1.40%, $140,000 |
| Business Development | 3.70%, $140,000 | 3.70%, $136,000 |
| Consulting/Strategy | 31.20%, $165,000 | 32.20%, $152,500 |
| Corporate Finance (Analysis/Treasury) | 2.50%, $122,500 | 1.60%, $130,000 |
| General/Project Mgmt/Mgmt Development | 4.80%, $135,000 | 5.60%, $125,000 |
| Investment Banking | 10.10%, $150,000 | 10.90%, $150,000 |
| Investment Management/Portfolio Mgmt | 5.80%, $150,000 | 9.10%, $150,000 |
| Legal Services | 1.90%, $190,000 | 1.80%, $190,000 |
| Operations/Production Management/Supply Chain | 4.40%, $132,500 | 3.00%, $130,000 |
| Private Equity/Venture Capital | 14.40%, $170,000 | 13.30%, $165,000 |
| Product/Brand Marketing | 2.50%, $140,000 | 4.00%, $124,200 |
| Product Management | 6.20%, $138,690 | 6.40%, $139,000 |
| Real Estate | 2.20%, $130,000 | 2.70%, $130,000 |
| Restructuring | 1.40%, $150,000 | 0.30% |
| Sales | 0.50%, $151,000 | 0.50% |
| Other | 4.40%, $140,000 | 1.60%, $146,000 |
A 5-year comparison based on function shows a decline in business development (6.4% to 3.7%), Product marketing (6.1% to 2.5%), and Investment Management roles (11.10% to 5.80%).
High demand is seen for Private equity and Product Management roles with an increase of 50% and 264% in the 5-years.
Wharton Post-MBA Location - Salary and Preference (2020-21)
86.6% of the class of 2020 chose the US to be their preferred location, and 13.4% chose international destinations. The Middle East ($130109) and Asia ($124,744) offered the highest compensations, while California and Southwest USA offered candidates $165,000, with other US locations offering around $150,000.
In the US, New York City (31.50%) recruited the maximum students followed by San Francisco (13.4%) while for international hiring candidates chose China (3.10%) and Europe (3.40%) equally followed by UK (2.80%) and Latin America (2.10%).
Reference
Related Services