No school inspires more myths that Wharton. Think of it as the MBA Rorschach. For the general public, Wharton conjures images of privileged bankers downing Cognacs and savoring Montecristos. Indeed, Wharton is America’s oldest business school, with roots stretching back to the 19th century. Even more, it has set the bar for finance education for generations.
It is elite…but is it really elitist?
Among MBA candidates, Wharton is hardly old money rife with cutthroats and controllers, let alone legacies and ladies-in-waiting. For them, Wharton is energy personified – a playground for the curious, creative, passionate, and prolific. It is the place to test imaginations and lay foundations. This cultural underpinning explains why Wharton has evolved as market drivers have shifted from profit to product to customer to purpose. In the process, it has emerged as a powerhouse in the areas that attract MBAs most: analytics, entrepreneurship, innovation, and social impact.
FAR MORE THAN A FINANCE SCHOOL
Indeed, Wharton stuns most visitors due to its stunning size and scope. The full-time MBA program alone encompasses over 1,730 students – not to mention 240 faculty members. However, the size is obscured by something more profound: across-the-board excellence. Ranked as the top business school for research in the world by The Financial Times, Wharton also earns plaudits from rival schools as perhaps the most complete American MBA program. According to a 2018 U.S. News survey of leading MBA administrators and faculty, the program ranked first in finance and finished among the top six graduate business programs in accounting, entrepreneurship, information systems, international business, marketing, management, and operations. On top of that, Wharton boasts the world’s premier executive MBA and undergraduate business programs – with the latter including over 2,500 business majors.
The Wharton School has poured significant resources into entrepreneurship recently. Courtesy photo
In a 2018 interview with Poets&Quants, Dean Geoffrey Garrett notes that the program’s scale enables it to “do almost everything a business school could do, which is not true of any of our competitors.” However, Wharton’s advantage, in recent years, has been where they devote their resources – walking the fine line between reinforcing the school’s overall excellence while beefing up its intellectual capital and resources in strategic growth areas.
“It’s great that Wharton is the finance school, but Wharton is so much more,” Garrett tells P&Q. “How we deliver on that and what we focus on is important. First, with finance, we want to make it forward-looking, not back-looking, so we want to lead not only in private equity and hedge funds but also in fintech, cryptocurrency, and blockchain…What’s distinctive about Wharton is that it is a pretty technical and analytical place so Wharton should be known as the analytics school, too. We are not only analytical in finance, we are analytical throughout.”
A WIDE RANGE OF EXPERIENCE
The other distinction is perhaps the people. Wharton doesn’t draw the blue bloods and corporate careerists. These days, you’ll find classes populated by students with the most diverse backgrounds imaginable. Take last year’s class, for example. Here, you’ll find everyone from a U.S. Justice Department analyst to a TOPGUN-trained U.S. Navy pilot to an associate who helped manage Sean Combs’ portfolio. This year’s class, says Daniel M. Rooney, is equally distinct.
“The diversity of Wharton’s student profile was extremely attractive to me. I feel that rather than specializing in a specific field, it encompasses a dynamic range of experienced individuals that I look forward to learning from and collaborating with. I believe exposure to this multitude of expertise will only give me a leg up when re-entering the workforce.”
Rooney certainly fits the Wharton profile – which prizes an eclectic mix of academically fierce striving, a modesty-driven instinct to collaborate, and a deep engagement to the world around them. Before joining Wharton, Rooney studied history at Dartmouth College before working in scouting and coaching with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He wasn’t the only member of the Class of 2020 who made the big leagues. Alongside Rooney, you’ll find Cooney – as in former MLB pitcher Tim Cooney, who boasts a 1-0 record in the bigs. For Cooney, who spent four years riding buses in the minors, the payoff paled in comparison to what he learned along the way.
“My biggest accomplishment was making it to the major leagues in 2015 with the St. Louis Cardinals, he shares. “Pitching in the major leagues was something I dreamed of as a 5 year- old, so actually achieving that goal was surreal. My first game was against the Phillies, the team I grew up cheering for, and I even got to pitch against some players that I idolized as a kid. The grind of climbing the minor league ladder made this accomplishment even more special for me, as it gave me the assurance that I could handle adversity in the future and motivated me to do great things in the future.”
The “WHAT GIRL” EARNS RESPECT
Wharton students gathered in a classroom.
Think petroleum engineering is a man’s game. Meet Julia Stock, who worked as a petroleum engineer before moving onto McKinsey. However, that obscures the best parts of her story: “Professional ballet dancer, turned petroleum engineer, turned businesswoman. I’m a poet and a quant.” Stock wasn’t the only Wharton woman to make her name in this oil industry. Logan Piper served as a reservoir and production engineer at Chevron – paying her dues along the way as an intern in Louisiana.
“As a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed sorority girl, I was immediately out of place in the male-only oil field setting,” she recalls. “I was labeled the “what” girl due to the high volume of questions I asked—the operator of my field made a “what” label for my hard hat just for good measure. After weeks of waking up at 4:00 a.m. and doing the lowliest tasks to win over my counterpart, he finally acknowledged my growth and invited me to his son’s birthday in Gueydan, LA, where we shot clay pigeons in the backyard and had gumbo with three generations of his family! This intern experience taught me the importance of building relationships, especially with people from different backgrounds.”
Kaila Squires would certainly fit in the quant quadrant. An “energetic world-traveler, fitness enthusiast and food connoisseur,” she was the senior manufacturing operations manager for General Electric’s renewable energy division. So too would Thurgood Powell, a proud Pomona College grad whose efforts led to PIMCO expanding the risk factors used to rate municipal bonds. Julio A. Cabral-Corrada is another can-do quant. After the Cornell-trained banker completed a stint at Morgan Stanley, he moved on to Stone Lion Capital where he was promoted to the firm’s investment vice president. In the process, he was able to fulfill his personal mission to “positively transform communities and people around me.”
“I was proud to be able to help my native Puerto Rico through my job at Stone Lion by investing significant capital, and also at times intermediating for a consensual positive resolution between our government and the largest investors in the world, in our historic $70 billion debt renegotiation.
NO FEAR: A CLASS OF HIKERS, DIVERS AND BUNGEE JUMPERS
Like Wharton contingents before, the Class of 2020 also features a strong military presence. Richard A. Rasco, for one, spent 14 years in the U.S. Navy, where he rose to the level of a SEAL team executive officer. In contrast, Brittany Fearnside is U.S. Army, where she held leadership roles in information operations, psychological operations, and engineering. However it was her role as a cultural support team leader in Afghanistan that left the deep impression with her.
“I was fortunate to be on the forefront of advancing women’s roles within the Special Operations community, responsible for engaging the female and adolescent population during sensitive missions. We were proving that a woman’s presence, even in the most austere of situations, can have an incredibly constructive impact on mission success given the cultural sensitivities of the areas we were operating in. I found myself in a role that not only challenged the status quo, but positively influenced perceptions, both within the units we were assigned to and the people we interacted with, in a way that led to lasting change.”
There is another quality that Wharton taps in the students they select: a sense of adventure. The Class of 2020 possesses this virtue in spades. Katharina Schwarz, who studied government at Harvard, has dived in the Icelandic Silfra, the fissure between the North American and Eurasian plates. Squires completed the world’s highest bungee jump – 773 feet – in China. Fearnside walked the 500 mile version of the Camino Frances, a Spain-to-France pathway that was first immortalized in the 12th century. Think that’s long? Dheeraj Chowdary Nekkanti drove his Royal Enfield motorcycle 20,000 kilometers across India.
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School
APPLICATIONS DOWN BUT QUALITY IMPROVES
Then again, how is this for an Africa travel story? “During my travels, I was once charged at by a wild mountain gorilla when I was doing gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park in DRC (Congo),” relays Sylvie Shi, a Canadian investment banker. “I survived and later self-invited to his home under a large tree to hang out with 11 other gorilla family members.”
That’s not the only great cocktail story that the Class of 2020 can whip out. When Rooney met his hero, Arnold Palmer, he “fell flat on my face” – an event that Rooney jokes left a “memorable impression” with Palmer. Piper actually has an outfit named after her with a fire retardant clothing brand. At the same time, Powell has placed first in three Pennsylvania state judo championships. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Cabral-Corrada wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. His volunteer team delivered over 5 million pounds of relief supplies on the island.
By the numbers, the Class of 2020 was a close facsimile to the previous year. One difference, however, was the number of applications, which fell from 6,692 to 6,245. Overall, this decline had little discernable impact on the class. In the end, Wharton enrolled 862 full-time MBAs during the 2017-2018 cycle, just two members short of the 2019 Class. At the same time, the school’s acceptance rate rose a nominal 1.4% to 20.6%. By the same token, Wharton admitted two more students than the year previous. Translation: 67% of applicants who received an acceptance ultimately joined the class.
SO-CALLED FINANCE SCHOOL IS A HAVEN FOR LIBERAL ARTS MAJORS
Average GMAT represented a slight uptick from the previous class, with scores rising from 730 to 732. However, average GPA held steady at 3.6. The percentage of female students fell a point to 43%, while the number of international students increased two points. Minority students, which Wharton defines as African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, Native-American, and Hawai’ian, again accounted for 33% of the class. In the biggest divergence, the number of countries featured in the class jumped from 65 to 80.
While Wharton is regaled for its finance chops, the school’s 2020 class profile reveals a secret. Nearly half of the class hails from the liberal arts! This year, 45% of the class holds undergraduate degrees in humanities-related fields. This number equates to a 4% improvement over the previous year. With every rise comes a fall – and STEM took the brunt of it. Two years ago, the percentage of STEM students rose four points. This year, it dropped three points to a return-to-normal 29%. Business-related majors hold the remaining 26% of class seats.
The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School
In terms of industry experience, the Class of 2020 is rich with experience in a variety of industries. Like previous classes, consultants account for the largest block of students at 27%. In fact, consulting is only one of three segments that reaches double digits, with private equity and venture capital (13%) and technology (10%) also achieving that mark. The rest of the class is comprised of students with backgrounds in investment banking (9%), nonprofit and government (9%), diversified financial services (8%), healthcare (5%), and investment management (5%).
NEW ACADEMIC BUILDING COMING IN 2020
What’s new at the Wharton School? For starters, the program is in a building mode. Currently, the Wharton Academic Research Building is under construction along Spruce Street. Four stories high and covering 65,000 square feet, the $75 million dollar project will include 15 conference rooms, 45 group study rooms, and 48 workstations. Slated to open in 2020, this space is part of a larger plan, writes Blair Mannix, the school’s interim director of admissions, in a statement to P&Q.
“The Wharton School is currently in the process of building two new buildings as part of our physical plant. One will serve as the center for academic research and will reside in the heart of the University of Pennsylvania campus. We are also proud to report that we are opening an additional building as a home for continual Wharton innovation.”
Mannix also calls attention to Wharton’s Business Analytics major, which she calls the “fastest growing major at Wharton.” In fact, Eric Bradlow, the school’s faculty director and co-founder of Wharton’s Customer Analytics Initiative, notes that analytics has become one of the program’s pillars, thanks to Dean Garrett “pushing all the chips behind [it].” In a 2018 interview with P&Q, Bradlow outlines Wharton’s vision for analytics, which is to put it “on the Mount Rushmore with finance and entrepreneurship and marketing.”
Wharton’s Blair Godfrey Mannix
ANALYTICS TAKING CENTER STAGE
The school is off to a fast start in analytics and big data, thanks to the University of Pennsylvania’s statistics department being embedded in the Wharton School. Capitalizing on this advantage, Wharton has developed 30-40 new analytics courses and now employs 50 professors in the field…and all for very good reason. “My students tell me that when they go for job interviews at McKinsey or Amazon, they ask about an experience at Wharton that has shaped how they think about things,” Bradlow explains. “Increasingly, it’s an experience in smartly using data. There will be a cement ceiling sitting on top of you if you don’t have an understanding of data analytics today.”
Tim Cooney has witnessed the value of data-driven decision-making first-hand. “I saw the analytics revolution in MLB unfold during my career, so it was very obvious to me how data and analytics can completely change an industry. I wanted a school that placed an emphasis on data and that would provide me ample opportunities to learn more and learn ways to apply it in the future.”
That’s one reason why Wharton formed its People Analytics Center, which Mannix calls a “world-class facility that brings together some of the first practitioners in people analytics” – a strain that uses data sets and tools to make better decisions both in hiring talent and maximizing the value of existing staff. In addition, Wharton is investing heavily inbBlockchain, a platform-driven online ledger. This summer, the program joined The Ripple Project, a $50 million dollar venture focused on research and innovation in the discipline. Like analytics, blockchain has stirred the imaginations of the Wharton student community.
“Student interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies at Wharton is overwhelming,” says Kevin Werbach, associate professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton in a 2018 interview with P&Q. “The Penn Blockchain Club has nearly 400 members, including a large Wharton contingent. I constantly had students approaching me last year asking about how to learn more about the area, or seeking feedback on projects they were already developing. Technology and entrepreneurship are already among the fastest growing areas of interest for our MBAs. Wharton’s strength in finance and our growing focus on analytics make blockchain a natural fit for our students.”
WHARTON DOUBLES NUMBER OF SEATS FOR STUDENTS WHO WANT TO STUDY IN SAN FRANCISCO
Entrepreneurship is also rapidly growing in popularity at Wharton, according to Dean Garrett. He notes that Wharton now offers a 2nd semester for full-time MBA candidates on its San Francisco campus, effectively doubling the number of students who can complete Bay Area coursework and internships to 140. Such efforts position Wharton MBAs for jobs in the exploding Bay Area sector says Nekkanti, who ranks landing a West Coast internship among her biggest first year goals.
“Wharton was my top choice from day one. It’s the only school that offers the opportunity to spend a semester at the San Francisco campus, giving students a unique East Coast cum West Coast experience. Given my entrepreneurial goals, this opportunity is essential to my b-school experience as it would expand the exposure I would get to the startup scene in the US.”
View from Wharton’s San Francisco campus.
Expanding the use of the San Francisco campus offers other benefits too. Already ranked 3rd for the highest-funded venture capital backed startups over the past five years, Wharton’s expansion better enables students to tap into the school’s deep-rooted and deep-pocketed alumni base. That said, Dean Garrett cautions students not to narrowly define entrepreneurship as simply launching a business. The Wharton experience, he says, show entrepreneurship to be something far wider.
“We know that Wharton graduates have become entrepreneurs, but not often in fields that people think about in entrepreneurship,” he tells P&Q. “If you think about the growth of private equity or hedge funds, very often those industries were created by Wharton people who used to work in big banks and then struck out on their own to create their own firms. I call that entrepreneurship. We tend to think that financial entrepreneurship is some kind of oxymoron but it isn’t. And then if you look in Silicon Valley, there are a lot of Wharton people there. The CEOs of Google, LinkedIn, Oracle are all Wharton alums. Business schools are places where you need to turn ideas into outcomes, and you need a lot of skills to turn the best ideas into really good outcomes. Wharton is a good place to do that. It means that the joiners, not the founder but the next five or fifty employees are absolutely catalytic for the firm. Well, Wharton is really good at that, too.”
DOUBLING DOWN ON EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Beyond analytics and entrepreneurship, Wharton is also increasingly emphasizing hands-on learning. The program is already well-known for its storied Field Application Project (FAP), where 4-6 member teams complete 200-300 consulting projects for clients to sharpen their research, strategic planning, and presentation skills. Such exercises, however, are being increasingly infused throughout Wharton’s courses, says Dean Garrett.
“I think we are at the beginning stages of a process where there will be more learning by doing than learning by studying,” he maintains. “All of the stuff that used to be non-core is becoming more core. I think it’s what our students want. They want to learn some core skills, but they absolutely want to apply them.”
To do that, they need a community that supports them. That’s exactly what Logan Piper, who is transitioning from engineering to finance, enjoyed early on in the recruiting process. Along with intensive alumni guidance, Piper found her peers to be very similar to alumni: authentic, engaging, and generous. “When I attended Winter Welcome Weekend with my future peers, I was further impressed by the number of highly accomplished yet approachable members of the class of 2020. I met all four of my current roommates during the weekend! I found that Wharton was a place that would prepare me for the next step in my career, challenge me socially, and allow me to be an integral member of a community that lasts a lifetime.”
862 STUDENTS…862 GOALS
Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett
The resources…the innovations…the people…the opportunities: That’s all ahead for the Class of 2020. That doesn’t even include the payout, with Wharton grads averaging $209,501 in starting pay – second-best among full-time MBA programs. As the class looks to the next nine months, the journey takes center stage.
Richard Rasco, for example, intends to build his skills in financial technology, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Tim Cooney also plans to take the road that veers from the comfortable, joining clubs and participating in activities that are “unfamiliar” to him. At the same time, Kaila Squires is committed to pursuing her passions even further as a Wharton student. “I want to work to empower local Philadelphia youth in achieving educational success—continuing work similar to what I achieved during my time with Junior Achievement—and also support my spiritual growth within a local Christian community.”
Sylvie Shi, however, plans to take advantage of everything that Wharton has to offer. Her goals? “Having made a group of diversified, interesting and intelligent friends and colleagues; having a good understanding of future global trends and the ability to utilize data in predicting future directions; gaining a heightened sense of cultural and international awareness from peers and professors; and finally, hopefully having learned something more about myself. It’s always a self-learning and improvement process.”
What led these professionals to enter business schools? Which programs did they also consider? What strategies did they use to choose their MBA program? What was the major event that defined them? Find the answers to these questions and many more in the in-depth profiles of these incoming MBA candidates.
DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2020: PROFILES IN COURAGE
| Student | Hometown | Alma Mater | Employer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julio A. Cabral-Corrada | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Cornell University | Stone Lion Capitalo |
| Dheeraj Chowdary Nekkanti | Hyderabad, India | Indian Institute of Technology Madras | ITC Limited |
| Tim Cooney | Collegeville, PA | Wake Forest University | Cleveland Indians |
| Brittany Fearnside | Niskayuna, New York | U.S. Military Academy | U.S. Army |
| Logan Piper | Houston, TX | University of Oklahoma | Chevron Corporation |
| Thurgood Powell | Harrisburg, PA | Pomona College | PIMCO |
| Richard A. Rasco | Miami, FL | U.S. Naval Academy | U.S. Navy SEALS |
| Daniel M. Rooney | Pittsburgh, PA | Dartmouth College | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Katharina Schwarz | Salzburg, Austria | Harvard University | Salzburg Global Seminar |
| Sylvie Shi | Toronto, Canada | York University | Ernst & Young |
| Julia Stock | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | UFRJ (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro | McKinsey & Company |
| Kaila Squires | Queens, NY | Cornell University | General Electric |
Julio A. Cabral-Corrada
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“An ordinary man with an extraordinary dedication to positively transform communities and people around me.”
Hometown: San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Fun Fact About Yourself: I am extremely grateful to be part of the volunteer team of young professionals across the states, Puerto Rico Rising, that rolled up their sleeves and tirelessly delivered over 5 million pounds of relief supplies to over 200,000 fellow Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane María—in partnership and with ground help of the local government, FEMA, private organizations and other non-profit groups. On the lighter side, I should admit that even though I definitely don’t have the best musical or movement skills, you could certainly catch me at a Latin concert shamelessly singing and dancing ‘Despacito’.
Undergraduate School and Major: Cornell University and London School of Economics, Business & Government.
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
– Morgan Stanley – Institutional Analyst.
– Stone Lion Capital – Investment Associate, Investment Vice President.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:
In general, I would say my biggest accomplishment has been working hard (at times 90-100 hours a week) and always doing so with integrity and character, whether in small office tasks or while traveling across Latin America. More specifically, I was proud to be able to help my native Puerto Rico through my job at Stone Lion by investing significant capital, and also at times intermediating for a consensual positive resolution between our government and the largest investors in the world, in our historic $70 billion debt renegotiation.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Through intellectual curiosity and perseverance, you can achieve good GPA and GMAT scores. However, not everyone can have your essay, because we are all diverse and unique in our own respective ways. I would encourage you to add some focus to your essay; craft your authentic story about who you are, how are you a different and why a partnership with Wharton now will help you have a positive impact as a leader in your organization, industry, or country.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? At the end of the day, I chose Wharton based on same reason I make other decisions: the personal qualities of the people I meet. Wharton’s historical prestige and the fellowship I received were key consideration factors, but ultimately people are the essence of any institution. You have to choose the one team you feel is best aligned with your values.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? I aim to make genuine and lifelong friendships in which I can share positive energy and also grow and learn. Also, if I may, I want to develop concrete initiatives in which Wharton and Latino communities across the United States – including my native Puerto Rico – can mutually help each other. In addition, I want to to keep my faith as the base for everything I do.
Dheeraj Chowdary Nekkanti
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“I’m an engineer at heart, always looking to figure out how things work at a fundamental level.”
Hometown: Hyderabad, India
Fun Fact About Yourself: I love motorcycling, and I’ve traveled over 20,000km and visited 35 towns across India on my Royal Enfield. My goal for 2020 is to have traveled the same distance in the US as well!
Undergraduate School and Major: Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Mechanical Engineering
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Gozefo.com, Founding Member; ITC Limited, Assistant Technical Manager
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Having worked as an operations manager at a consumer goods company, I found myself out of my depth while trying to scale Gozefo’s revenues in the company’s early stages. Performance marketing, our biggest growth channel, was outsourced to an unreasonably expensive marketing agency. As we tried to grow, we found costs to be unsustainably high. I decided to move the function in-house and hired a team of digital marketers. I spent several tireless weeks learning marketing and networking with marketing experts, while recruiting and onboarding the new team at the same time. We built a deep understanding of our consumer and revised our approach to cut costs significantly and pave the way for sustainable growth.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? I cannot emphasize this enough: start early. It helps immensely to finish your GMAT by March-April and start your application journey as early as May. It gives you time to network, attend events, visit schools and meet other applicants. It’s important to allow yourself enough time to get a deeper sense of the unique culture of each school, so that you can choose the ones that best fit you as a person.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Wharton was my top choice from day one. It’s the only school that offers the opportunity to spend a semester at the San Francisco campus, giving students a unique East Coast cum West Coast experience. Given my entrepreneurial goals, this opportunity is essential to my b-school experience as it would expand the exposure I would get to the startup scene in the US.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? I have three goals for my first year of business school: 1. Make great friends from across the world. Eat, drink and travel with them. 2. Secure an internship on the West Coast. 3. As a former theatre actor/director, I’d love to act in/direct the Wharton Follies.
Tim Cooney
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Former professional athlete. Constantly seeking to learn and aspiring to make an impact in business.”
Hometown: Collegeville, PA
Fun Fact About Yourself: My little league baseball team made it to the Little League World Series and played on ESPN when I was 12 years old. When we lost our final game my teammates and I all cried on national TV.
Undergraduate School and Major: Wake Forest University, Finance
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
St. Louis Cardinals, Baseball Player
Cleveland Indians, Baseball Player
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment was making it to the major leagues in 2015 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Pitching in the major leagues was something I dreamed of as a 5 yea- old, so actually achieving that goal was surreal. My first game was against the Phillies, the team I grew up cheering for, and I even got to pitch against some players that I idolized as a kid.
The grind of climbing the minor league ladder made this accomplishment even more special for me, as it gave me the assurance that I could handle adversity in the future and motivated me to do great things in the future.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? The biggest piece of advice I can give is to spend a significant amount of time reflecting on your past experiences and decide exactly how to portray your best self to the admissions team. Spending time brainstorming, instead of immediately jumping into writing, can help you prioritize which traits and stories that you consider most important, but also can help you identify other valuable experiences which you may have not thought of immediately.
I also recommend speaking to alumni from each school before you apply. I found this to be the best way to learn about each school and the MBA experience overall. I was able to get a good feel for which schools I would be a good fit at before even visiting the campus, just by speaking with alumni that I reached out to.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? One of the most attractive things to me about Wharton was the flexible curriculum and the focus on data-driven decision making. I saw the analytics revolution in MLB unfold during my career, so it was very obvious to me how data and analytics can completely change an industry. I wanted a school that placed an emphasis on data and that would provide me ample opportunities to learn more and learn ways to apply it in the future.
I also look at the MBA as a long term investment, and I think that the sheer size and scope of Wharton’s alumni base will be something I will be able to leverage throughout my career. Several Wharton alumni with similar backgrounds to me have already helped provide me with career guidance and mentorship and I intend to take advantage of this going forward.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Success to me would involve several things. First, I will have found an internship that I am really excited about. This will be my first corporate experience, and I want to find something where I can learn a lot, that challenges me to grow, and is something that I could see myself doing for a career.
Personally, I will have pushed myself outside of my comfort zone. I hope to have made lasting relationships and learned from a diverse set of classmates who I would have never met outside of Wharton. I also will have joined in different groups andclubs that are unfamiliar to me and will force me to try new things.
Brittany Fearnside
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Passionate, service-oriented Army veteran and insatiable collector of experiences, hungry for the next adventure.”
Hometown: Niskayuna, New York
Fun Fact About Yourself: I recently completed the Camino Frances, walking 500 miles across France and Spain and meeting some incredible personalities along The Way.
Undergraduate School and Major: The United States Military Academy at West Point, Engineering Management
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: United States Army: Information Operations Manager, Psychological Operations Detachment Commander, Cultural Support Team Leader, Engineer Platoon Leader
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As a Cultural Support Team Leader in Afghanistan, I was fortunate to be on the forefront of advancing women’s roles within the Special Operations Community, responsible for engaging the female and adolescent population during sensitive missions. We were proving that a woman’s presence, even in the most austere of situations, can have an incredibly constructive impact on mission success given the cultural sensitivities of the areas we were operating in. I found myself in a role that not only challenged the status quo, but positively influenced perceptions, both within the units we were assigned to and the people we interacted with, in a way that led to lasting change.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? It takes a village to get into business school; do not be afraid to ask for advice, support and mentorship. Through reaching out to former and current business school students, I was exposed to the organization Service to School, a non-profit that provides application assistance to service members and veterans. I was introduced to mentors who helped me through the process and truly took a vested interest in my success. Even more, they reminded me that there is no single piece that takes you out of the running. They told me the whole package matters and to be confident in your experiences. I credit my mentors directly with my success and I implore any aspiring business school students to find those resources that offer similar assistance.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?
I think any Veteran at Wharton will tell you that the support system from the Veterans Club is unlike anything they have ever experienced. Apart from Wharton’s academic prowess and incredible network, the Veterans Club absolutely solidified my confidence that I would have an unwavering community of support as I make the transition from Army Officer to full-time student and beyond.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Building lasting relationships with my classmates and learning from their experiences, taking an active and participatory role in some of incredible career and social clubs Wharton has to offer, and securing an internship with an organization whose culture and mission I believe in.
Logan Piper
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Good-humored, numbers-loving, fashionista, and college football fanatic.”
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Fun Fact About Yourself: One of my closest friends from Chevron founded HauteWork, the industry’s first women’s upscale FRC (Fire Retardant Clothing) brand and named “Logan” Lilac (also known as purple) after me.
Undergraduate School and Major: University of Oklahoma, Petroleum Engineering
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
Chevron Corporation, Reservoir Engineer
Chevron Corporation, Production Engineer
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment in my career so far was building mutual respect and personal relationships with the oil field personnel during my first summer internship in Eunice, Louisiana. As a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed sorority girl, I was immediately out of place in the male-only oil field setting. I was labeled the “what” girl due to the high volume of questions I asked—the operator of my field made a “what” label for my hard hat just for good measure. After weeks of waking up at 4:00am and doing the lowliest tasks to win over my counterpart, he finally acknowledged my growth and invited me to his son’s birthday in Gueydan, LA, where we shot clay pigeons in the backyard and had gumbo with three generations of his family! This intern experience taught me the importance of building relationships, especially with people from different backgrounds, a skill which has played a vital role in my career so far.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Be true to yourself and your aspirations and have a vision! Taking a step back from your professional and personal life to get a full-time MBA is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that requires a high level of self-awareness and drive. Connect with as many current students, alumni, and faculty members as possible from the schools that you are interested in. Additionally, connect with professionals who work or have worked in the roles and industries that you aspire to be in post-MBA. Having an educated, personalized vision of your career path will not only help you choose the right school, but will also translate into genuine essays and admission interviews.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?
As an engineer aspiring to pivot to finance, I was initially drawn to Wharton’s renowned finance curriculum and reputation. However, the key factor that led me to Wharton for a full-time MBA was the people I met throughout the admissions process. After receiving an invitation to interview at Wharton, I was overwhelmed with the amount of Wharton alumni, many of whom were friends of friends that I had never personally met, who were willing to share advice on navigating the process and reminisce on their fond MBA experiences. When I attended Winter Welcome Weekend with my future peers, I was further impressed by the number of highly accomplished yet approachable members of the class of 2020. I met all four of my current roommates during the weekend! I found that Wharton was a place that would prepare me for the next step in my career, challenge me socially, and allow me to be an integral member of a community that lasts a lifetime.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Success after my first year at Wharton would include taking full advantage of the professional and social opportunities inside and outside the classroom, forming lasting friendships with my peers of different backgrounds and nationalities, traveling the world, and landing a challenging internship in finance.
Thurgood Powell
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Blue-collar grit, white-collar experiences.”
Hometown: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve won three Pennsylvania State Judo Championships.
Undergraduate School and Major: Pomona College, Economics
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
PIMCO – Senior Associate
PIMCO – Associate
RBC Capital Markets – Investment Banking Analyst
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Before I joined PIMCO, the firm’s Client Solutions and Analytics group modeled the risk of tax-exempt United States infrastructure investments (municipal bonds) with only one risk factor. Having helped in executing over $3 billion in municipal bond underwritings as an Investment Banking Analyst, I knew there were many potential municipal risk factors depending on the type and mix of municipal investments in a portfolio. I expressed these concerns to my superiors and they greenlighted my efforts to coalesce the talents of multiple colleagues to revamp the firm’s municipal risk analytics. PIMCO can now evaluate client portfolios with a robust set of municipal risk factors, advancing PIMCO’s brand as a municipal bond thought leader.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Competitive business schools are like effective startup incubators. Both have limited spots and both decide admission to its community based on their determination of their ability to help you achieve your goals, plus their determination of what you can contribute to their community. Thus, it is critical to communicate in essays how your potential acceptance is mutually beneficial for both yourself and the school to which you seek admission.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I felt Wharton’s curriculum would be the best for augmenting my leadership and business acumen. Each class I attended throughout the admissions process was impactful. I was generally impressed with how succinctly professors combined quantitative and qualitative analysis to teach relevant concepts, and the rigor with which conclusions were formed.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Success? Top-of-mind is feeling as if I’m immersed within the Wharton community and have made meaningful friendships with classmates. I also hope to secure an internship I’m excited about, explore the great Philadelphia food scene, and take advantage of the many international trips facilitated by Wharton.
Richard A. Rasco
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Cuban American Navy SEAL that loves to learn and loves water sports.”
Hometown: Miami, FL
Fun Fact About Yourself: I tore my Achilles’ tendon doing American Gladiator style jousting over a pool in Mississippi and was back on my feet in under a year.
Undergraduate School and Major: United States Naval Academy, History Major
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: US Navy, 14 years, SEAL Team Executive Officer.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Last year, a good friend of mine presented my family and I with a flag he flew in an F/A-18 over Syria. I was honored and touched by the gesture. It meant a lot because it was a genuine gift from a peer that I respect and admire. In the past few years, I have come to value good relationships as much as I do results and accomplishments. The successes and outcomes born out of strong partnerships are just as rewarding as the last accolades or awards I received.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Applying to business school is much like dating: both sides have to be interested for it be a good relationship. Spend time researching schools to find one that matches your personality, character, and culture. GMAT, GPA, and work experience are important – but fit, for both you and for the school, is equally important.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The people at Wharton, both the students and the faculty, stand apart. They are energetic, infectious, and curious. Everyone at Wharton is impressive. However, they are humble and willing to share their knowledge and experiences.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? I am interested in financial technology, cyber security, and artificial intelligence, so success equals an internship that helps me better understand those fields. Success also means that I’ve built meaningful relationships with my peers and that I am doing well in my classes.
Daniel M. Rooney
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“I am a competitive, loyal, hard-working individual, who commits his efforts towards earned success.”
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Fun Fact About Yourself:
- I was born on Christmas Day at 12:25am.
- When I had the opportunity to meet one of my lifelong heroes, Arnold Palmer, I tripped and fell flat on my face as I went to shake his hand. He had quite a laugh, and let’s just say I made a memorable impression.
Undergraduate School and Major: Dartmouth College, History modified with Sociology.
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
National Football League: Junior Rotational Program (Public/Community Relations, Digital Media, Data Analytics).
Pittsburgh Steelers: Scouting / Coaching Assistant.
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest career accomplishment to this point has been achieving versatility in my field. I have experience working in and forming relationships across the corporate world of New York City to the football field in Pittsburgh, PA. I believe knowing the ins and outs of a business allows for more growth and opportunity down the road.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Prepare for your interviews as much as possible but always remain authentic. Positive human-to-human interaction is crucial when presenting yourself. Do not let that be your undoing.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The diversity of Wharton’s student profile was extremely attractive to me. I feel that rather than specializing in a specific field, it encompasses a dynamic range of experienced individuals that I look forward to learning from and collaborating with. I believe exposure to this multitude of expertise will only give me a leg up when re-entering the workforce.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? After one year, I hope to gain an enhanced breadth of knowledge from Wharton’s focus on management and leadership fundamentals. I also anticipate developing strong bonds with my fellow classmates, not just from a business standpoint, but also on a personal level, which I will carry with me into the future.
Katharina Schwarz
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Dedicated nomad passionate about securing basic human rights for all people, collecting knowledge… and coffee.”
Hometown: Salzburg, Austria
Fun Fact About Yourself: I dived at Silfra (Iceland) between the North American and Eurasian plates.
Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, Government
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Salzburg Global Seminar, Special Assistant to the President; Salzburg Global Seminar, Manager of Campaign Planning
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Working with Salzburg Global’s president and board to launch the quiet phase of the organization’s biggest capital campaign to date, positioning SGS for deeper, sustained engagement on some of the world’s most challenging issues
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Don’t be afraid to tap into your network, not just for recommendation letters but for advice about choosing the right school for you and making the most of these two years. A surprising number of people will want to help you (and I frequently found that they answered questions I didn’t even know I had!). Plus, it helps you identify those who can guide you during and after school, since admission to business school is only a step down a longer road.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Wharton offers a 3-year JD/MBA with Penn Law, which I wanted for the ability to speak both languages when dealing with complex global issues. Penn’s program is stellar—they select students with vastly different professional experiences, and invest in program integration to make 1+1 (degrees) equal to more than two. All of that made the choice an easy one!
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Having successfully balanced both degrees while exploring areas outside of my academic comfort zone at Wharton, and getting to know & travel with my classmates.
Sylvie Shi
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“May work in finance but always an artist at heart – painting and sketching are my H2O.”
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Fun Fact About Yourself: In my time living in Africa this past year, I traveled extensively to over seven different countries on the continent. During my travels, I was once charged at by a wild mountain gorilla when I was doing gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park in DRC (Congo). I survived and later self-invited to his home under a large tree to hang out with 11 other gorilla family members.
Undergraduate School and Major: Schulich School of Business, York University; iBBA
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: iFLY Ventures (pre-MBA intern); BlackIvy Group (Senior Investment Analyst); RBC (Investment Banking Analyst); EY (Associate)
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While living in Africa and working in private equity there, I met many bright entrepreneurs and was fascinated by their ideas to transform the continent. However, I realized that financial education, which is an integral part of the success equation, was lacking. With a local Ghanaian co-founder and through partnerships with local incubators, I started a non-profit which aims at improving the financial literacy in Accra, Ghana.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Be authentic—your experience is unique and defines who you are. Be proud of what you’ve accomplished and never compare your experience and yourself with others when you go through this process. Start the process early so you have ample time to reflect, think, and construct a representative picture of yourself. Try to identify your recommenders early so you can give them enough time and send them reminders throughout the process.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I’ve always wanted to hone my financial skillsets and fill my knowledge gaps in other areas to be a well-rounded leader. Wharton not only offers an extensive and high-quality network for my future professional development, but will also give me a set of tools to elevate my professional skillsets. I am also extremely excited for the Lauder program, which will help me to become a better global leader, especially in today’s fast changing global context. Through meeting other outstanding and like-minded individuals, I look forward to knowledge sharing and relationship building in the next two years.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Having made a group of diversified, interesting and intelligent friends and colleagues; having a good understanding of future global trends and the ability to utilize data in predicting future directions; gaining a heightened sense of cultural and international awareness from peers and professors; and finally, hopefully having learned something more about myself. It’s always a self-learning and improvement process.
Julia Stock
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Professional ballet dancer, turned petroleum engineer, turned businesswoman. I’m a poet and a quant.”
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fun Fact About Yourself: I trained at the Royal Ballet School in London and had the opportunity to dance at the Royal Opera House
Undergraduate School and Major: Petroleum Engineer – UFRJ (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), Master 2 in Materials Engineering – Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Lille
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Business analyst at McKinsey, strategy analyst at Vale, graduate engineer at SBM Offshore
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Leading an initiative to incorporate advanced analytics in the decision-making process of an agribusiness company. The team was composed of 11 people from 4 different business areas. It was very rewarding to see the amount of change we implemented in such a short period of time, and to experience first-hand the effects and challenges of this technology. The project won a prize from the Brazilian Institute of Supply Chain, which was really gratifying and exciting.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Know your story and focus on your strengths. Spend time understanding the talents that make you stand out. During the Team-Based Discussion, see your group members as allies. It’s a team effort and you have more chance to succeed by working together.
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The Lauder joint degree program. When choosing my MBA, I was looking for a way to deepen my knowledge of the African market, since it has amazing growth potential. My choice was spot on. Even before starting the MBA course, we participated in a summer immersion in which we met entrepreneurs, policy makers, politicians, PE and VC founders and even President Obama’s grandmother!
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Having a great group of friends and professional network within the Wharton community. Also, I want to get to know myself better and evolve as a leader by being exposed to diverse experiences.
Kaila Squires
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
“Energetic world-traveler, fitness enthusiast and food connoisseur with a passion for community service.”
Hometown: Queens, NY
Fun Fact About Yourself: During a 4-month work assignment in China, I visited Macau for my 24th birthday and decided to do the highest bungee jump in the world (773 ft). Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!
Undergraduate School and Major: Cornell University, Operations Research & Information Engineering
Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:
General Electric: Aviation – Financial Analyst
General Electric: Corporate Audit Staff- Senior Associate
General Electric: Renewable Energy – Senior Manufacturing Operations Manager
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I was once selected to speak in front of 500 co-workers at a ceremony in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. I presented about my volunteerism and reflected about its embodiment of the true essence of MLK. As I reminisce on this experience, I am reminded of the numerous letters I received from 3rd grade students that I taught through the Junior Achievement (JA) program. I also remember the bonds I formed with families in Séssene Ndiarao, a small Senegalese village where I helped build a school for local children. Being recognized for my commitment to service is significant for me because it reminds me of how much my life has been enriched by the people I’ve encountered while endeavoring to serve others. In the future, I hope to continue forming genuine connections with people from all walks of life.
Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Be authentic and own your story! Applying to business school is a very introspective and somewhat taxing experience. However, I truly believe that it is necessary for individuals to press pause and take an inventory on where they are and where they’d like to be in the future. It is imperative that people become comfortable and well-versed in vocalizing their “Why MBA?” story. A highly persuasive applicant exudes genuineness, passion and a solid pitch on why their target schools are a good fit. I suggest that everyone have a comprehensive 30-second pitch ready once they begin applying to MBA programs. Whether you’re meeting campus recruiters, current students or fellow applicants, being able to share your unique story can set you apart from other applicants, and will inevitably increase your confidence.
Oh, and study as hard as possible for the GMAT!
What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? From the moment I stepped on campus, I was immediately impressed by the people at Wharton. After interacting with the amazing professional staff and listening to engaging professors like Americus Reed, I knew Wharton would have the perfect environment where I could be stimulated intellectually and supported in my two-year growth journey. During a campus visit, I had the opportunity to attend my first Pub, which introduced me to the charismatic and infectious nature of Wharton students. This experience was both unexpected and comforting, as I began envisioning myself forming long-lasting relationships with such intelligent and humble people.
What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? For me, a successful first year would be three-fold, involving strides in my personal, professional and spiritual life. After my first year, I hope to have expanded my skill-set by tapping into the vast entrepreneurial resources at Wharton, whilst still remaining focused on securing a summer internship at a top management consulting firm. I also intend to build strong relationships with fellow classmates, especially those with different lived experiences and perspectives than my own. Finally, I want to work to empower local Philadelphia youth in achieving educational success—continuing work similar to what I achieved during my time with Junior Achievement—and also support my spiritual growth within a local Christian community.
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