How Hard Is It To Get Into Wharton Business School? (Explained!)

Getting into Wharton business school is no joke at all. With the most recent MBA applicants’ acceptance rate of 19.2%, gaining admission into this coveted program is no cakewalk. Although Wharton School’s recent acceptance rate for MBA applicants is higher than the 12% of Harvard Business School acceptance rate, one still has a lot to do before being accepted into the school.

Key Takeaways

• Wharton Business School is one of the oldest and one of the prestigious business schools in the USA
• The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has more than ninety thousand strong alumni communities all around the world
• You will be surprised to know that about 98.5% of Wharton MBA graduates have to start annual salaries that range between $122,000 and $150,000
• It takes two years to complete a full-time MBA program from Wharton Business School

Overview of Wharton Business School

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1881, which makes it one of the oldest business schools in the entire world. The business and leadership skills that their students acquire during their time in school exemplify the value of getting an MBA from Wharton. You should not be surprised that the Wharton MBA program attracts some of the most ambitious, career-driven MBA applicants with its rigorous courses in disciplines like economics, finance, and healthcare administration. 

This school has produced about ninety thousand strong alumni communities all around the world. Wharton MBA School can claim so much achievement and success for its class program through the experiences of its alumni. It is an institution that keeps bringing to get her leading influencers and minds across varied industries. 

According to recent data, about 98.5% of Wharton MBA graduates have to start annual salaries that range between $122,000 and $150,000. With this stat, you should expect thousands of applicants to compete for a limited available slot. This will certainly make the process of getting into Wharton highly competitive and quite daunting. But don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place to know your chance and possibly how to get into Wharton MBA. 

Read on as we run through how to go about the application process and secure a place at the Wharton school. Wharton MBA graduates enjoy professional success and achievement in the United States and other parts of the world. Out of the recent MBA graduates, 12.3% are getting ready to work outside the US. Getting an MBA from Wharton allows you to further your education by selecting from twelve joint degree programs. We’ve listed three of Wharton’s fully interpreted, interdisciplinary MBA degrees. 

1. The MBA in Healthcare Management 

2. The Carey MBA/JD program 

3. The Lauder MBA/MA Joint Degree in International Studies 

There are also about nineteen different majors and almost 200 elective courses which include STEM Certified Majors like Quantitative Finance and Business Analytics. There are three credit categories in the curriculum for a sum of 19 credit units (CU). The electives requirements are 4.5 CU, core requirements as 9.5 CU, and las, the major-specific requirements are 5.0 CU. If you’re lucky enough to get into Wharton with extraordinary performance, you’ll be considered for the broad variety of fellowship opportunities. 

The Wharton Fellowship Program is open for newly admitted students with unique character, outstanding academic performance, and background. Besides, alumni and students enjoy the abundant resources of Wharton. The MBA Career Management team of the Wharton School offers additional resources for career exploration like:

1. Career treks 

2. Recruiting events 

3. Detailed information on careers in various industries 

4. Individual career advising 

5. Research tools exclusive to Wharton 

6. Lifelong career support as alumni 

7. Programs and workshops

The Table Below Contains The Duration And Work Experience Required For A Full-time MBA, Executive MBA, Part-time MBA, And Online MBA In Wharton Business School. 

	Full-Time MBA	Executive MBA	Part-time MBA	Online MBA
Duration	It takes two solid years to complete a full-time MBA program. However, accelerated MBA programs can take just 12-18 months.	Executive MBA (sometimes called EMBA) programs take one to two years to complete	Part-time MBA programs tend to take two to five years to complete	Online MBA programs can take two years or more depending on the number of classes taken per semester.
Average work experience	Applicants interested in full-time MBA programs usually have 3-6 years of work experience.	EMBA programs are best suited for professionals with more than 8 years of work experience, including some managerial experience on their resume.	Part-time MBA programs are ideal for working professionals, usually with more than 6 years of experience, who are planning to work and study at a time.	Online MBA programs are ideal for applicants who prefer to learn at any remote location or preferably from home. It is almost similar to a part-time MBA program.  Aspiring students abnormally have more than 3 years of work experience.

Details of Wharton Business School

As we said earlier, the Wharton Business School is one of the oldest business schools in the entire world with an executive education program, an undergraduate program, a Ph.D. program, a full-time MBA program, and an executive MBA program. Furthermore, the business school has four core principles and they include Global Opportunities, a Culture of Engagement, Largest Global Network, and Innovative Leadership Learning. The best thing to do when applying is to notify how each of these pillars pertains to you.

Wharton Business School GMAT Ranges 

The Wharton GMAT score ranges from 620 to 790, with a score mean of 732 and a median of 730. As an applicant, you should aim at scoring around the median to be on the safer side. 

Wharton Business School Average GPA 

For the most recent admitted students, Wharton business school accepts an average GPA of 3.6 out of 4.0. You need to understand that GPA alone isn’t the sole indicator of academic strength even though it is quite important for the admission process. All you need to do is work on the other side of your application process to balance out your GPA that’s less than the required average. You have to be confident in applying so that the admission committee would know that you’re academically capable of anything that you’ll be facing in Wharton. 

Applying To Wharton 

The business school made it clear that there are no typical Wharton students. All their students are well-rounded, ambitious, and passionate people who excel as leaders and thrive in team environments. There are entrepreneurs, valedictorians, musicians, yearbook and newspaper editors, class governors, pageant queens, star athletes, debate champions, and artists who are all making the most of their gifts, talents, and skills at Wharton business school. Getting into Wharton might involves different paths but the most important paths involve a clearly expressed passion for the world of business, fantastic academic credentials, and a history of demonstrated leadership. 

Cost Of The MBA Program 

	First Year	Second Year
Tuition	$76,000	$74,500
General Fee	$3,552	$3,552
Clinical Fee	$648	$648
Course Materials Fee	$1,030	$1,030

Cost Of The Lauder Program

	First Year (10 months)	Second Year (9 months)
Tuition	$76,000	$74,500
General Fee	$3,552	$3,552
Clinical Fee	$648	$648
Course Materials Fee	$1,030	$1,030
Pre-Term Fee	$7,000	–
Lauder Program Fee	$16,200	$16,200
Housing	$15,100	$13,592
Dining	$7,570	$6,812
Transportation	$1,070	$964
Books and Supplies	$1,494	$1,494
Personal Expenses	$4,700	$4,230
Health Insurance	$3,584	$3,584
Total	$149,296	$122,754

What GPA Do You Need To Get Into Wharton MBA? 

The average GPA required for getting into Wharton School is 3.6 out of 4.0. The GPA of an aspiring student is quite important but not the only indicator of academic capability. 

Is Wharton School Of Business Prestigious? 

Yes! If you’re talking about one of the world’s top institutions for business education, the Wharton School of Business should be on the top five list. According to the U.S. News & World ranking in 2014/15 and 2017/18, the undergraduate program in Wharton is ranked first in the U.S, the MBA program was ranked first as well, and the executive MBA program also came first. That’s to tell you that the business school is prestigious and recognized worldwide.

Who Gets Into Wharton School?

We can only answer this question by analyzing the demographics of current Wharton undergraduate students. Geographically, the totality of the business school is comprised of a huge number of students from the following states 

1. 18% are Pennsylvania

2. 16% are from New York

3. 12% are from New Jersey

4. 10% are from California

5. 6% are from Florida

6. 5% are from Massachusetts

In terms of ethnic identity, a large number of students from different races include; 

1. 39% are White

2. 22% are Asian American

3. 10% are Hispanic

4. 8% are African American

5. 13% are International

6. 2% are unknown

The international students of current undergraduates in the Wharton School came from the following countries:

1. 11% from Africa and the Middle East

2. 46% from Asia

3. 5% from Australia and the Pacific

4. 17% from Canada and Mexico

5. 5% from the Central/South American/Caribbean

6. 16% from Europe 

The gender analysis of current undergraduates in the Wharton School include;

1. 47% of men

2. 53% of women

Final Verdict 

Over the recent years, Wharton has been consistently ranked among the top MBA programs in the entire world. So, as an applicant, you should expect the admission process to be highly competitive. This guide helps you in different areas of the admission process. 

References:

1. https://fortune.com/education/business/articles/2021/05/14/how-to-get-into-wharton/
2. https://menlocoaching.com/top-mba-programs/upenn-wharton/acceptance-rate/

Last Updated on November 5, 2022 by Magalie D.