When I joined Wharton in 2006 as the Career Advisor for Investment Banking, the financial crisis hadn’t happened yet and consulting and finance was the name of the game for Wharton MBAs. While we all look fondly back on those simpler times, I am excited to be named the new Deputy Vice Dean of Wharton MBA Career Management, Admissions and Financial Aid as the school and students we admit explore new and diverse opportunities to impact the business world.
Some of you may have seen the recent article published in the Wall Street Journal, and I would like to use this as an opportunity to discuss just how far Wharton has come since the economic crisis in 2008. Wharton is stronger than ever – as those of you with sturdy investment portfolios know, you have to take calculated risks and diversify if you want to remain on solid ground in trying times. Over the past several years, our Wharton MBAs have always come out on top. Since 2008, we have seen students’ interest in both industries and companies expand and grow and Wharton has embraced this shift. While consulting and finance remain firm targets for many Wharton MBAs, we have seen student interest in technology, healthcare, energy, real estate, and entrepreneurial opportunities grow. Last year 97.8% of the Class of 2013 seeking full-time employment received an offer from companies such as Amazon, McKinsey, Google, General Mills, Box, Walt Disney, and Eli Lilly.
Students from around the world come to Wharton to learn how to become business leaders in every industry – from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. For a fifth year in a row, Wharton has more than 40% women in the class, a representation that has not yet been replicated in most elite business programs nor in our nation’s board rooms. The Class of 2015 hails from more than 70 countries and nearly half have an academic background in the liberal arts. We see great diversity in professional experience and in aspirations as well – entrepreneurial management is now our most popular intended major and over 70 students in the Class of 2015 founded or co-founded a business or had a significant role in a start-up before Wharton. Likewise, the top ten employers of incoming students now include Google and the IFC, a reflection of the value of a Wharton MBA from the technology and social impact industries.
I am proud of Wharton’s diversity – from the students that we admit, the range of classes they choose to take, the experiences they have both in the classroom and outside, the careers they embark upon, to how they find new and creative ways to impact and shape the face of business. Wharton’s diversity makes us strong and I look forward to what the future brings.
Maryellen Lamb
Deputy Vice Dean of Wharton MBA Career Management, Admissions and Financial Aid