“Wharton” is such a well-known name that many people assume it is the name of a university in the United States.
But Wharton is not actually a university.
Its full name is The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. It is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn), an Ivy League university located in Philadelphia.
Wharton was founded in 1881 and is recognized as the world’s first collegiate business school. Over time, the name “Wharton” has developed exceptionally strong brand recognition in the worlds of business, finance, and management.
That is why you may sometimes hear people simply say:
“He went to Wharton.”
rather than saying that he attended the University of Pennsylvania.
And this brings us to another common point of confusion that I often see among students:
Penn or UPenn refers to the University of Pennsylvania, a private university in Philadelphia and a member of the Ivy League. Wharton is part of this university.
Penn State, on the other hand, refers to The Pennsylvania State University, a separate public university with a completely different university system. Wharton is not part of Penn State.
So when a student says:
“I want to get into Wharton.”
at the undergraduate level, what they really mean is that they want to apply to the University of Pennsylvania and select Wharton as their undergraduate school.
What makes Wharton particularly interesting is that its reputation extends far beyond Finance.
Its undergraduate program leads to a Bachelor of Science in Economics (B.S. in Economics) and allows students to choose from a wide range of concentrations, including Finance, Marketing, Management, Business Analytics, Real Estate, and Artificial Intelligence for Business.
So while “Wharton” may technically be the name of a school within a university, in the global business world, its reputation has become so powerful that Wharton stands as a brand in its own right.
An easy way to remember it:
Wharton → School of Business
Penn / UPenn → University of Pennsylvania → Ivy League
Penn State → Pennsylvania State University → A completely different university
It may seem like a small distinction, but it is something every student planning to study in the United States should understand before beginning the university selection and application process.
Little Thinker Land by Kru Huang
