UPenn / Wharton MBA News
Get the latest MBA news from UPenn / Wharton.
Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Percentage of Female MBA Students
Over the past decade, the percentage of female MBA students has been on the rise across leading business schools. USC Marshall was the first leading business school to achieve gender parity while others have achieved or continue to strive for that benchmark. The Forté Foundation has also consistently reported that women are either gaining or holding their ground on b-school campuses. Look at the chart below to see the percentage of female MBA students at leading business schools around the globe. Business School % Women Arizona State University
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Early & Round 1 MBA Deadlines 2022-2023
To help you stay organized, we’ve compiled a chart of the earliest deadlines, including Early Action and Round 1, of the top business schools in one place. For schools that have announced their essay topic(s), you’ll find links to our corresponding Essay Topic Analysis in the “Essay(s) Released” column. We will continue to update this table as more Round 1 MBA deadlines and essay topics are announced. Deadlines are for Round 1 (unless otherwise noted). Last updated: August 16, 2022 School Deadline Decision Essay(s) Released? Application Live? Oxford / Saïd 8/31/2022 10/26/2022
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Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Class Size of Top U.S. MBA Programs
Business schools come in all shapes and sizes and the class size of top MBA programs can be a factor in considering fit. From networking to a tight-knit culture to campus opportunities, class size can reveal much about an MBA program. No matter which program you choose, the top MBA programs strive to ensure relationship building during full-time b-school life. Some larger programs, such as Harvard Business School and CBS, mainly break the student body down into cohorts/sections/clusters of dozens of students. Other U.S. business schools, like Wharton, also have Learning Teams, groups of 5-6 students who
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Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Average GRE Scores by Top U.S. Business Schools
Average GRE scores by business school can provide applicants with a sense of the rigor of the MBA program, expectations of the adcom and general competitiveness of the applicant pool. While the GMAT used to be the only accepted admissions exam at leading MBA programs, many have opened up to other options, including the GRE. The GRE consists of a 60-minute Analytical Writing section, which includes two essays that applicants have 30 minutes each to complete. An additional Verbal Reasoning section also features two 30-minute sections of 20 questions each. Another two sections are devoted to Quantitative
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Key Takeaways from The Economist 2022 Best Full-time MBA Ranking
Harvard Business School tops The Economist’s 2022 full-time MBA ranking, as more business schools elected to participate again. As many may recall, most of the top U.S. MBA programs abstained from last year’s Economist ranking due to the pandemic. This resulted in a top-10 that was half European MBA programs and half American MBA programs. Last year, IESE and HEC landed in the #1 and #2 spots, respectively. Meanwhile, the highest ranking U.S. programs taking part last year were Michigan Ross (#3), NYU Stern (#4), U. Washington Foster (#8), CMU Tepper (#9), U. Minnesota Carlson
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Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Average GMAT Scores at Top U.S. MBA Programs
If you completed the new GMAT Focus edition, now simply referred to as the GMAT, with a score ending in a 5, please refer to Coming to Grips with the New GMAT Scores. The analysis below refers to the traditional GMAT test. See where your GMAT score lands among the top U.S. MBA programs, as we report the average GMAT scores in the chart below. If you have yet to take the GMAT, you can also get a sense of what score you need to target. Business school admissions use the GMAT score as a sign of applicants’ academic
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What Are M7 Business Schools?
In U.S. graduate management education, the M7 business schools are considered to be the seven best in the space. They offer elite MBA programs and are known for their highly selective admissions processes—it’s no wonder the “M” stands for “magnificent.” Which Business Schools Comprise the M7? The schools that make up the M7 include: Columbia Business School (CBS) Harvard Business School (HBS) MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan) Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern Kellogg) Stanford University Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB)
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MBA Essay Insight Webinar Series Summer 2022
We’re sure you’ve already heard that the application essays are a crucial component of the MBA application. So how can you ace this part of the admissions process without the use of sample essays? Get essay tips straight from admissions representatives at leading business schools during our upcoming MBA Essay Insight Webinar Series! Dates: July 13, July 20, July 27 & August 3. Time: 12 pm-1 pm Panel & 1 pm-1:30 pm Breakout Q&A with Individual Schools (all times Eastern) Each session will start with a 60-minute roundtable panel,
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Wharton MBA/Lauder MA International Studies Joint Degree Program Webinar – Video Recap
Interested in joint degree MBA/MA Programs? This Lauder Institute MBA webinar is for you! The Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies in partnership with The Wharton School provides a dual MBA/MA program with a global focus. The Lauder Institute allows students to earn an MBA from The Wharton School, in addition to a MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences. Lauder coursework is grounded in the social sciences and humanities disciplines. Through in-class and field-based learning, students acquire a foundation in the geographic, historical, social, political, economic,
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Real Humans of Amazon: Vienna Chen, Wharton MBA ’20, Senior Product Manager Technical
What do you when you want to move from finance to tech? Pursue an MBA, of course! In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, Vienna Chen, a senior product manager technical at Amazon Web Services, talks about how the Wharton MBA program prepared her for her career change. Vienna Chen, Wharton MBA ’20, Senior Product Manager Technical at Amazon Web Services Age: 32 Hometown: Houston Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Pennsylvania, Life Science and Management Dual Degree Program: Finance, Biology Graduate Business School, Graduation
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Published: April 12, 2022
Upcoming Virtual Event Series: MBA Application Overview
You’ve got your grades and (maybe) your test scores. You’ve put in the time and effort at work, and have accomplishments and skills to show for it. You’re also active and involved in your community. You have the raw materials. So how do you put them together into a compelling MBA application? Join us for our MBA Application Overview Event Series to get answers to just that question! We’re hosting four events – on consecutive Wednesdays in May – May 4th, May 11th, May 18th & May 25th, all @ 12pm ET – each with representatives from up to five
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Real Humans of Bank of America: Brendan Crowley, Wharton MBA ’20, Investment Banking Associate
The MBA is a popular bridge to careers in finance and Brendan Crowley, Wharton MBA ’20, sheds light on how Wharton was uniquely supportive in changing his career trajectory. In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, Brendan explains how the Wharton MBA helped him pursue a role at Bank of America (BofA), the second-largest banking institution in the U.S., offers insights into his internship there and gives advice for current MBA students. Brendan Crowley, Wharton MBA ’20, Mergers & Acquisitions at Bank of America Age: 34 Hometown: Wooster, Ohio Undergraduate Institution
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Published: March 28, 2022
U.S. News 2023 Full-Time MBA Ranking: Wharton & Chicago Booth Share Top Spot
The 2023 U.S. News Best Graduate Programs Rankings rolled out today and we’re taking a closer look at the full-time MBA program list. Chicago Booth and The Wharton School share the top spot, surpassing last year’s #1, Stanford GSB, which now ranks third along with Northwestern Kellogg. On Wharton and Booth landing in the top slot, Clear Admit Co-founder Graham Richmond notes, “This is likely due to these programs’ impressive statistics on both sides of the equation: incoming stats (GPA, GMAT, acceptance rate) and outgoing
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Published: March 20, 2022
Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: U.S. Graduates Pursuing Post-MBA Careers in Tech
Post-MBA careers in tech are a very popular option for MBA graduates, whether they choose to join a large company like Google, Amazon, or Microsoft, or jump into a role with a small venture-backed tech start-up. In fact, tech, along with consulting and financial services, are three of the most popular industries for Class of 2021 MBA graduates. In this installment of Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes, we take a closer look at technology industry placements across leading U.S. business schools. Class of 2021 Post-MBA Career Placement in the Technology
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Published: March 15, 2022
Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: Graduates Pursuing Entrepreneurship
As we noted in Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: Graduates Seeking Employment, many young professionals are interested in pursuing an MBA degree as a way to advance their professional career. In most cases, this involves MBA graduates seeking to land a high paying job post-MBA. But what about the MBA graduates who are not seeking employment? In particular, how about the MBA graduates pursuing entrepreneurship? MBA Graduates Pursuing Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business Many MBA students consider becoming an entrepreneur and MBA programs offer a nice array of entrepreneurial programs to cater to
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Published: March 13, 2022
Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: U.S. Job Placement in the Management Consulting Industry
For many years, MBA graduates have sought to work at leading management consulting firms for the opportunity to provide important strategic advice to business leaders operating large companies. Jobs at leading strategy consulting firms, such as McKinsey, Bain and BCG, are particularly coveted by MBA graduates. In this installment of Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes, we take a closer look at the management consulting industry job placement across leading business schools. Class of 2021 MBA Job Placement in the Management Consulting Industry Here is a chart showing the percent total of Class of
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Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: U.S. Job Placement in the Finance Industry
For many years, MBA graduates have been drawn to careers in the finance industry due to high compensation and the chance to work on high profile deals at an investment bank or invest in the next billion dollar company at a venture capital or private equity firm. In this installment of Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes, we take a closer look at the finance industry placement across leading business schools. Key categories include sell-side investment banking jobs, buy-side jobs in investment management, private equity (PE) & venture capital (VC) as well as other finance industry
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UPenn Wharton Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
I completed the Wharton Team-Based Discussion (TBD) and 1:1 interview recently, with two second-year MBA students as observers for the TBD, then the 1:1 with one of the two students. Most people (6 candidates total) joined about 10 minutes early and introduced themselves, and made some small talk. After the 10 min mark ended, the two MBA students introduced themselves, and then asked us to share our name, current company, and intended major at Wharton. They then quickly explained the TBD instructions and process (35 minutes to come to a conclusion answering the prompt, including the 60 second pitches and
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UPenn Wharton Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Team based discussion followed by a 10 minute interview with two questions: Why the MBA and Why Wharton? Team-Based Discussion Before the TBD started, we had about 10 minutes of small talk/introductions. My slot was for 5:15 pm. Once it started, the moderators (two second-year students) read out the instructions and acted as observers for the rest of the discussion. They also stated that we would be given a visual indication when we had 10 mins and 5 mins left. We had 35 minutes for the entire conversation including the presentation. Initially, I was concerned as everyone seemed very talkative with some
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Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: Graduates Seeking Employment
Since one of the benefits of going to business school is to help young professionals advance in their career, many MBA applicants (and current MBA students) are interested in seeing the employment outcomes for recent graduates. In response, business schools survey their MBA graduates and issue employment reports which highlight successful MBA job placement outcomes by region, industry and function. It is important to keep in mind that a lot of the information prominently displayed in the MBA employment reports is gathered from the subset of
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Top MBA Career Placement Outcomes: Trends by U.S. Region
In this edition of our Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes series, we take a closer look at trends regarding which U.S. regions dominated post-MBA employment for Class of 2021 MBA graduates. You can also review our first piece, which broke down schools by region and their regional placement. For our analysis, we used the statistics in the official employment reports from 27 full-time MBA programs* based in the United States. In particular, we focused on MBA graduates of these 27 MBA programs who are seeking employment, received
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Published: February 27, 2022
Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: U.S. Region
In this edition of our Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes series, we review the data to see to what extent Class of 2021 graduates from leading full-time U.S. MBA programs accepted jobs in their school’s same region. For this analysis, we reviewed the employment reports from 27 full-time MBA programs* based in the U.S. This analysis is focused on graduates of full-time U.S.-based MBA programs who were seeking employment, received an offer, and accepted an offer within three months of graduation. Next, we looked at what region these MBA graduates
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Published: February 24, 2022
Fridays from the Frontline: Finding Community and a Career Through Wharton’s Real Estate Program
In this edition of Fridays from the Frontline, gain in-depth firsthand insight into the Wharton MBA and its real estate program from current student, Nicolle Lee. Nicolle digs into how Wharton, its offerings, community and more have prepared her for a successful career in the field. Finding Community and a Career Through Wharton’s Real Estate Program By Nicolle Lee, Wharton MBA ’22 When I applied to Wharton nearly two years ago, I applied as a real estate major with the intention of pursuing a career in real estate investment banking. Professionally, I had over
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Published: February 22, 2022
Real Humans of MBA Students: The Wharton School MBA Class of 2023
MBA students from The Wharton School join us for another edition of Real Humans: MBA Students to share their insights into admissions, the program and more. 897 enrolled in the Wharton MBA Class of 2023. Fifty-two percent are women and 36 percent are international, representing 83 countries. Thirty-seven percent of the class identifies as U.S. minorities, which includes students of African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic American, Native American and multiethnic backgrounds. During their undergraduate years, the largest portion of the class, 39 percent, majored in the humanities, while another 33 percent had a STEM background. Business
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Published: February 15, 2022
The Financial Times 2022 Global MBA Ranking: Wharton Returns on Top
The Financial Times (FT) released its rankings of the 100 best MBA programs for 2022. While COVID kept several schools on the bench last year, a total of 151 schools participated in the 2022 edition. “It’s important to remember that COVID took a toll on the rankings last year, but several programs seem to be making a comeback,” says Graham Richmond, Co-founder of Clear Admit. “For instance, six schools in this year’s top 20 were not a part of last year’s ranking due to COVID abstentions. Wharton even storms back to grab
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