This week, the Class of 2014 will wrap up its first quarter courses, completing an early milestone within what undoubtedly will be an exhilarating two years at Wharton. It seems like just the other day I was welcoming all 837 of them during our MBA Convocation. And before we know it they will be off on global treks, immersion programs and modular courses and pursuing summer internships in their chosen fields.
Like their predecessors who have inhabited Huntsman Hall, Vance Hall and Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall before them, the Class of 2014 is a dynamic and accomplished group. In speaking with my colleagues from across the MBA program, our faculty and of course, our students, it has been rewarding to see and hear about the impact this class has already begun to have on each other and Wharton.
The first-years kept busy during Pre-Term with activities like The Big Idea, but nothing compares to the pace of the regular school year.
In the Class of 2014, we have former White House staffers, professional athletes and Bollywood movie stars alongside military veterans, engineers, entrepreneurs, bankers and teachers—to name a few. For the unprecedented fourth year in a row, more than 40 percent of Wharton’s incoming class is made up of women; we have more women in our program than the entire student body at some business schools. And while we are yet to have our first student from Antarctica, the class of 2014 hails from more than 70 countries represented across six continents. Nearly 60 percent of our students have lived or worked outside of their home country, and nearly three-quarters speak a language other than their native tongue and/or English. The richness of their backgrounds (274 undergraduate institutions represented) as well as their experiences (nearly 70 have already founded or co-founded their own businesses prior to Wharton) has already provided for a lively and engaging environment on campus—both inside and outside the classroom.
A number of students in the Class of 2014 are currently blogging about their new life at Wharton in Philadelphia on our Student Diarist page and on the Wharton Blog Network. I encourage you to follow their journeys and relive the Wharton experience firsthand!
