Founded in 1881, Wharton prides itself at being the first business school in the US. It consistently ranks among the top 5 business schools in the world, claiming the top spot in the Financial Times 2022 ranking. The school’s MBA program is also one of the largest with some 900 students, second only to HBS domestically. The Wharton campus is located in Philadelphia, which ensures students arrive with an exploratory attitude, while at the same time allows them to enjoy the amenities of a big city. Wharton is known for its collaborative approach, as seen in its unique Team-Based Discussion method of interviewing, which enables prospective students to experience the Wharton MBA almost immediately.
In line with the school’s stellar rankings, its MBA class of 2023 marked the highest median GMAT score of any school ever recorded, 740. Furthermore, it had the largest female representation with 52%. From an academic standpoint, Wharton is commonly referred to as the best finance program in the world. A narrow view does the school no justice, though; US News & World Report ranks Wharton among the top three schools in the US in five different categories, and top 10 in five more. For example, the school is making strides on entrepreneurship, having recently inaugurated Tangen Hall, one of the largest student entrepreneurship hubs in the world. Budding techies can also spend a semester in Wharton’s San Francisco campus. Overall, students can customize their MBA program by choosing from 18 concentrations and 200 electives.
Upon graduation, Wharton MBAs enter a community of 100,000 alumni, the second largest among all business schools. The most popular employment sector of the class of 2021 was finance at 35%, followed by consulting with 27% and TMT with 20%. In terms of geographic distribution, 48% of graduates took jobs in the Northeast, followed by 26% in the West. Notable Wharton alumni include John Scully (Former CEO of Pepsi, MBA 1963), Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Bestselling Author, MBA 1983), Ruth Porat (CFO of Alphabet, MBA 1987), and Sundar Pichai (CEO of Alphabet, MBA 2002).
Small Town
Large City
100
1,000
Flexible
Structured
30%
90%
10,000
110,000
680
740
Top 25
Top 5
$100,000
$175,000
