Wharton - Mythbusters

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>Now I am confused, why exactly are we arguing over the fact that its only a business degree from wharton, its a business school, so obviously people will receive one degree, and again their specific pursuit can be different. I fail to see how it is a negative for someone interested in business to only be able to get one degree in business.</p>

<p>Yes at HYPSM it is easier to switch majors, but that isn’t a product of Wharton, that is how Penn is set up. It is also difficult at Penn to go from CAS to SEAS. So the actual structures of the university account for the feasibility of changing majors, something that you can’t really fault Wharton for. And even if we follow your argument that switching from Wharton is much harder, it actually isn’t. I have repeatedly read that the only really hard transfer at Penn is going into Wharton, not out. If you are in Wharton, you can pretty much go to the other schools at will. And of course there is the possibility of a dual degree, and again from what I have read, this is much easier at Penn than HYPSM. </p>

<p>Maybe this argument has gone on too long, but I am starting to lose sight of what exactly is being argued. So let me summarize my position.</p>

<p>Whartonites are people with passion for business, just as engineers are people with a passion for building something. One person enjoys constructing a diversified portfolio, the other wants to build a bridge, but both are doing something they want to do. Does money play a role, yeah, it definitely does, but is it all important, no. For you to assume that all Whartonites are simply there for the money is ludicrous, business is a field of study. Even Zuckerberg had money on his mind, if he was truly all about the social revolution, he would only try to make profits for covering overhead costs, I highly doubt that’s what he is up to. Again, money is not an all powerful motivator.</p>

<p>I guess since you haven’t mentioned it anymore, you have realized that business is a difficult field, or at least on par with any other field, so that argument wins out, I don’t see you countering your sufficient and necessary claim. </p>

<p>As to the whole Whartonites not pursuing other possibilites, its a moot point, you can’t prove that all wharton kids are finance geeks, and while we have put forth examples that certain kids definitely do not only pursue finance, they are as you stated cases, not generalizations. Although I would tend to lean more towards the fact that a majority of Wharton students do explore liberal arts. </p>

<p>I want to go back and address your claim about 17 year olds not knowing what to do with their lives. You use Google, Yahoo, Facebook and other companies to say that HYPSM is superior, but those people who founded those companies, knew what their field of interest was since they were teenagers, therefore countering your own statement. Sure most of us here are in our late teens, that doesn’t mean we are totally incapable of knowing our interests and having a passion for a specific thing.</p>

<p>Overall, I don’t really see the reason for your distaste of Wharton, is it the best school in the world, no, is it a school on the level of HYPSM, most definitely. I think you need to just come to terms with the fact that some people find business interesting, I know I do, and also that people are a lot deeper than monetary gain.</p>

82

<p>Ezbreezy, you brought up some good points initially, points that I think we’ve addressed, but now I see little value in continuing this debate. You’re just reiterating the same arguments and that does not help anyone. If you read through the early myths, some of your concerns were already addressed. I think this will probably be the last time I respond to you, unless you come up with something new and interesting. </p>

<ol>
<li>You suggested that a Whartonite has to transfer out of Wharton if they decide they want to pursue a different subject, like the sciences. </li>
</ol>

<p>This is not true, and it reflects your limited knowledge of Wharton and Penn in general, you’re argument may apply to some school that I do not know about - but Wharton is not it.The fact of the matter is that double majoring is very common at Wharton, people pick up minors and majors from the college in varied fields, from political science to physics. Penn makes it ridiculously easy to do so, anyone who want to do it can. Most Whartonites I know plan to at least get a minor in a liberal arts subject in addition to their Wharton degree and their is no application process to do so. Even if you meant that if someone decided that they no longer wanted to study business at all and study something else instead, then obviously they would transfer out of Wharton. But that is very easy to do. I believe all you have to do is have a GPA higher than a 3.0. Most transfers try to enter Wharton not leave it, so leaving Wharton is fairly simple, but this happens very rarely because most students know that they can easily double major in the college and find one out of 20 different concentrations in Wharton that interests them. So a lack of flexibility is a total non-issue. </p>

<ol>
<li>You state that there is little difference between Wharton concentrations. </li>
</ol>

<p>Coming from someone who has never studied business or, I bet, even read a single prospectus of Wharton’s different concentrations or even know what the different concentrations are, that’s rich. The fact of the matter is the concentrations are very varied as Wikiman touched on. Finance and legal studies have very little to do with each other. What you’re saying is as ignorant as me dismissing both biology and chemistry since it is just a science degree after all. The fact of the matter is though they share similarities, they are very different and interesting fields in their own right. Being good at one does not mean you will be good at the other. </p>

<ol>
<li>You asked me to provide proof that Whartonites enter different career fields and graduate programs, look at Myth 1, it talks about that.</li>
</ol>

<p>Read that myth carefully. You can see a list of some of the graduate programs Whartonites entered in a single year listed there with the different fields they entered as well. I know that only 30% of Whartonites ever get MBAs, that’s not a surprise considering that we sit in with the MBAs in many of our classes and learn the same material. Furthermore, Whartonites find that they can advance the career ladder just as efficiently as their counterparts with MBAs can because their degree is respected as such. </p>

<p>If Whartonites do return for their MBAs, very few go to Wharton, most go to HBS, Stanford etc to take advantage of the very different teaching styles on offer their. Only a Wharton undergraduate can experience both the Wharton and HBS method of business education while also receiving a liberal arts education. As for particular figures, most Whartonites join the workforce after graduation, but some do go onto non-business graduate programs like Yale Law and Harvard Med as I illustrated in myth one.</p>

<ol>
<li>You asked my to provide you with examples of Whartonites that achieved prominence in fields unrelated to business.</li>
</ol>

<p>Sure thing. You assert that Brennan is not representative of your average Whartonite, you’re wrong. Yes, most Whartonites go into finance - it is a business school surprise surprise, but those that do not are equally successful in whatever field they choose to pursue. I left off all entrepreneurs as I felt that struck too close to business even if what they did was not directly related to it, like Annenberg and Paley (the founder of CBS). </p>

<p>I already discussed Jon Huntsman that you chose to ignore. He is the current ambassador to China, former governor of Utah, and a potential 2012 presidential candidate. </p>

<p>David Vise, Pulitzer-prize winner, Washington Post
Elon Musk, the creator of the first commercially available and viable electric car.
Garrett Reisman, Astronaut, NASA
Mortimer Zuckerman, Editor-in-Chief, U.S. News and World Report
Frances Perkins, Architect of Social Security System
Jay Livingston, Oscar winning composer
Wendy Finerman, Oscar-winning film producer (Forrest Gump in 1994)
John W. Murphy, US Congressman from Pennsylvania
Lawrence Lessig, Founder and Director of Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Cenk Uygur - Founder of the Young Turks, writer for the huffington post
Boediono, former Governor of Bank Indonesia, The Central Bank of Indonesia, current Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia
Aaron Karo, Author and Comedian - Comedy Central
Tim Legler - NBA analyst for ESPN</p>

<p>I think that proves you wrong on that count. With that, I wish you the best of luck. Be open to anything and everything, we should all challenge what we believe in and be courageous enough to change our beliefs when necessary. It was fun debating with you, but I think I’ve pretty much exhausted most of what I wanted to say, this debate has gone on for a long time already. I just hope prospective students find it useful.</p>

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<p>Boediono and Legler (the NBA player) are grad students so they don’t count. All the other alums I listed and undergraduates I believe.</p>

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<p>If you have a myth that you’ve heard about Wharton, feel free to post it here and we’ll address it. </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone applying this year, I hope to see you all here.</p>

85

<p>I have a questions: How well does Wharton recruit and accept URM? Is there a lot of diversity in Wharton?</p>

<p>I’ve always wanted to know and I think others may be curious as well.</p>

86

<p>In my three years at Penn, I can attest that, IMHO, the undergrad Whartonites are pretty obnoxious in general. Some are great (as I’m sure the OP is), but many have an unjustifiably high opinion of themselves and tend to look down on other programs at Penn. Bottom line: there are arrogant people everywhere, but Wharton attracts them in droves. As much as I’m sure the OP is a well-rounded, exceptional person, two of my best friends here (both Wharton) hate it and their peers with a passion. I suppose it just depends on the person - Wharton is definitely not a good fit for everyone.</p>

87

<p>I’ve heard that internationals tend to not fit in well in Wharton and Penn in general. I already have my doubts about this claim, but I’d like to see it addressed. Thanks. :)</p>

88

<p>Myth 13: International Students do not fit in well at Wharton, there are few international students at Wharton, there are few minorities at Wharton. Minorities do not get along with everyone else.</p>

<hr>

<p>As both a minority and an international (I’m American too / triple citizenship)that has lived / has roots in every continent except South America, I can say that is blatantly false. Wharton prides itself on recruiting international students, it is a business school of course they would. They want to have kids who will go onto run businesses all over the world, that is where all the growth is. In my immediate group of friends I have a few Americans, but also a Brazilian, a Mexican, a Palestinian, a Kuwaiti, a Spaniard, a Bostwanan, and a Frenchman. Wharton is extremely international, more so than may ivies I have visited. In fact, I would say being international is a plus, a lot of people love talking to me about my background and life story, there is genuine interest in other cultures here. A number of people, especially Huntsman kids, can speak 3 or more languages. I speak 3 languages and have found people to speak them all with, even though one of them is rather esoteric. At the MBA level, Wharton is the most international program in America and possibly the world. So that is totally false, the exact opposite is true. </p>

<p>As for problems racially? Totally false. As i just illustrated I have friends from many different races and get along well with all of them. I have never felt or seen discrimination here. People do tend to join groups such as African dance that may be predominantly black and therefore have more black friends through that group for instance, but in most such groups I have always noticed at least a couple of people from other races and everyone gets along. It is 2011, this should really not be much of a surprise. There are also plenty of minorities on campus, it is not an issue whatsoever.</p>

89

<p>wayward_trojan, I’m sorry that you had a bad experience with Whartonites. You are totally entitled to your views and you are speaking from you personal experiences. I strongly disagree with you on your point, but different people see the world differently so I suppose I’ll just have to live with that. </p>

<p>I do think that Wharton students tend to take pride in being here, they do tend to think that Wharton as an institution is better than all of HYPSM and are proud that they turned those places down in many cases. Some do tend to let that get to their heads and internally express that same attitude that they express to HYPSM towards Penn’s college, but I would say the vast majority, if they do do that, would only do it their heads.They would not talk about it, or lord it over other Penn students.</p>

<p>In the same way that Penn students would not lord their self perception as being better than Penn Nursing students over Nursing students. Are these perceptions warranted? I don’t think so. As you said, different people have different needs, Wharton is not the best fit for everyone. So I would say that this train of thought is unjustified. Most Whartonites I know do not discuss that though, they see Penn as an invaluable resource to them, and as our school as it is inextricably bound to us. </p>

<p>I’ve got friends in most schools at Penn, in no way do I think I am superior to them. In fact, in many fields such as the sciences (xept bio, that’s my baby), I am sure Penn / engineering kids would run circles around me. For me to assume that I am smater/more driven because of the school i am in is a very childish notion; the minority of Wharton kids that have that attitude coming in quickly grow out of it. Nobody wants to hire an arrogant kid. In fact, the girl I am trying, unsuccessfully, to date is in the college, I’m pretty sure it would not go down well with her if I felt I was superior to her just because of the school I am in. Many Whartonites feel the same way I think.</p>

90

<p>Myth 14: Does Wharton accept IB Students? </p>

<p>Based on the recent Wharton’15 list, I couldn’t find any IB student was accepted by Wharton. Almost all the students accepted by Wharton are AP students. Does this mean Wharton prefer AP students to IB students?</p>

91

<p>Yes, Wharton accepts IB students / A level students and many other students. The CC list has very few Whartonites and is not representative of Wharton in the least - it is a skewed sample. I did the IB myself for a year but left to do APs, I was predicted a 41 out of 42, 44 out of 45. Most kids I know here were in a similar range I assume - the ones I know for sure got 45s. Same thing for A levels and a bunch of other tests.</p>

<p>Don’t let that discourage you, just apply. I know a few that got in with scores below that, Wharton looks at the whole picture.</p>

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<p>There is no preference for AP students over IB students and vice versa. In fact, having a very high IB score can offset a lower SAT score because they understand that you’re an international. But to be competitive, you should really be acing both. Do your best, apply, and everything else will sort itself out. </p>

<p>You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so definitely apply, you never know who’ll get in.</p>

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<p>RE: International Students, that’s deeeefinitely not true. Penn is almost overrun by international students, and I love it. You will have at least one, if not more, in every one of your classes and they tend to excel (especially those Brazilians.)</p>

<p>There is a very strong international community here at Penn, and they’re both welcomed and loved.</p>

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<p>Wharton also seems to be stressing entrepreneurship recently. I think there is a 95% that I will not pursue a career in finance period. Entrepreneurship, particularly in Africa, interests me a hell of a lot more and Wharton provides fantastic opportunities in that regard.</p>

95

<p>Good luck to the class to 2015 ! see you on campus.</p>

96

<p>My S was only offered Calc A/B and he got in ED.</p>

97

<p>" In Europe. Where people ask you where Pennsylvania is. And why you’re going to Penn State. My point: the people who count will know."</p>

<p>I love this…we live about a our west of Boston and we get the same reaction…most people want to know why he would be going to Penn State when Massachusetts has perfectly good state schools. Depending on the people we are talking with I often start off with…“He’s going to UPenn…the unknown Ivy”…which is a ridiculous statement…but it’s often the only way to get people to understand where he’s going. lol</p>

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<p>If anyone has question / myths they’d like addressed i’d be happy to respond.</p>

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<p>D got accepted to Wharton 2015, and is excited. She’s already made several friends over facebook. At first, I was kind of disappointed since I expected her to go to HYP (not S or M). I’m a college professor myself, but didn’t know much about Wharton or Penn.</p>

<p>This post helps me greatly, and I really appreciate OP’s effort. He/she is a real Whartonite. I don’t understand why outsiders criticize OP. Regardless of the accuracy of the analyses, I’m glad to see a person who is proud of his institution and wants to let others know about his/her opinions.</p>

<p>Outsiders! Please go to your CC and post something like this to help apllicants or newcomers understand where they’re going instead of picking on this helpful person. Recruitiers will love this guy more than you guys because he/she demonstrates great team spirit. I like Wharton more than ever because of OP. I know you will have a great career!</p>

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<p>I feel like everyone would be better off if they just relaxed a little bit. Everyone has different values in life in terms of what they find important and what they want out of life, and if someone wants to go to Wharton for status and money, than more power to them. Disagreeing with another being’s lifestyle choice does not make it wrong; it just makes it wrong for you. If you don’t like wharton, don’t go there. But don’t hold a prejudice/rumor/myth against everyone who goes there, because you’ll miss out on getting to know some genuinely fantastic people. </p>

<p>That being said, whoever created this thread went way overboard. I was tempted to just respond, tl; dr. :)</p>