The Wharton School

In many ways, the Wharton School Graduate Division at the University of Pennsylvania is the Lexus of business programs. It's big, it's expensive, its name impresses people, and it offers many, many options. With across-the-board departmental strength, several top-flight nontraditional business disciplines, and the university resources to support a hand-crafted curriculum, a Wharton MBA can be tailored to suit the needs of just about any business students.
Wharton built its reputation as a premier finance program, and finance continues to hold a prominent place hear, so much so that students complain: "The reputation in finance is so strong that people forget that Wharton is also very good at marketing and operations." Accounting, general management, and business law are also reportedly strong, as are health care, real estate, and non-profit. Several students single out entrepreneurial studies; wrote one, "The Entrepreneurial Center is fantastic, a real standout. Wharton's greatest strength, though, is its excellence in so many departments." Global perspectives are emphasized throughout the program by an international student body, international courses, two international joint-degree programs, and a global immersion program in China, the ASEAN countries, and Latin America.

First year at Wharton flies by due to a quarterly Academic calendar (second year reverts to the more traditional semester system). The schedule, while intense, allows students to cover a great deal of material in a relatively short period, a necessity given that the curriculum here is "very thorough." First-year students are divided into five-member teams to tackle foundation projects during the first two quarters and a Field Application Project during the second half of the year. Notes one students, "The first year is very demanding and stressful. As a result, life becomes less enjoyable for a while. Second year, fortunately, is more relaxed." Another points out that "Teamwork is key. If you have a team that works well together, your life is about 1,000 times easier." All second-year students must complete at least one major in one of more than two dozen fields; students may also design their own majors. In a change from previous surveys, students give professors high praise for teaching ability, reporting that "professors take teaching very seriously,' although several warm that "you've got to watch out for the new hires." Writes one students, "The professors rock! When I was ill last term, my profs offered me extra help, on their own time, to help me catch up." Students are similarly pleased with the administration, describing it as "very receptive to student concerns."