Hello Class of 2017!

Welcome back! 

On Monday, January 18, the people of the United States will celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.. The University of Pennsylvania will close in observation of Martin Luther King Jr Day. Dr. King was a passionate civil rights leader who sacrificed all while fighting for the rights of black Americans. His legacy lives on in part through the deeds of those who engage in acts of community service on his eponymous holiday. The University will reopen on Tuesday, January 19.

January 14, 2016

All first-year students are required to take a .25CU speaking course during the spring semester. Students may choose between four courses:

• WHCP 612: Advanced Persuasion: Convincing Business Audiences
• WHCP 612: Advanced Persuasion: Crisis Communication
• WHCP 612: Advanced Persuasion: Fundamentals for Prospective Entrepreneurs
• WHCP 615: Communication Challenges for Entrepreneurs: “Pitching your Business”

Please note that in order to register for WHCP 615, students must have received pre-clearance per previous emails. 

Click here for a full description of each course.

All enrollments in sections of WHCP612 & 615 will be made final on Thursday, January 14. First year students will not be able to drop or change their sections of communications after Thursday, January 14. First year students who do not have a section of communications on January 14 will be assigned to a section of WHCP612 with capacity.

Review your waitlist requests. Waitlists for Q3 and spring semester courses will progress through Wednesday, January 20, 2016. Requests that are satisfied may result in your being dropped from a section in which you are enrolled.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

• Last day to drop, without penalty, Q3 or spring semester courses at capacity
• Last day to add Q3 or spring semester courses

Dropping a course at capacity after this date will warrant a "W" on your transcript for holding a seat that one of your classmates may have used.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

• Last day to change grading status (ex. pass/fail) on Q3 or spring semester courses

The Spring 2016 Core Exam Schedule is now posted under the SPIKE Exam Calendars. 

Welcome back to campus!  If you are interested in applying for Semester in San Francisco, the deadline to apply to Round 1 is Sunday, January 17th at 11:59pm EST. Slides from the information session and the application itself are posted to SPIKE under Quick Links: https://spike.wharton.upenn.edu/mbaprogram/index.cfm

Feel free to reach out Maria Halpern, Semester in San Francisco Program Director, with any questions or concerns. 

The MBA Program Office is looking for outgoing and motivated students with regional expertise to help lead the Spring GIP program as Student Coordinators. The East Asia GIP will travel to Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul. Interested students should email Christine Sweeney with their resume. Applications will be reviewing on a rolling basis.

• P3: Purpose, Passion and Principles  INFORMATION SESSIONS for the Spring semester will be held Tuesday, January 19th  12:00pm- 1:30pm JMHH F50 and Wednesday, January 20th 12:00pm- 1:30pm JMHH 370. Application for the Spring semester will open Tuesday, January 19th. Please contact Amanda Zimmerman with any questions.

• Nonprofit Board Fellow Program INFORMATION SESSIONS For First-Year MBAs will be held  Tuesday, January 19th  12:00pm- 1:00pm JMHH G55 and Wednesday, January 20th 12:00pm- 1:00pm SHDH 109. RSVP Here. Lunch will be served. Applications for the Nonprofit Board Fellow Program open Tuesday, January 19th and will close on February 1st at 5pm . Please contact Dan Kaufman or Gizelle Clemens with any questions.

• Authors@Wharton presents our first event of the Spring semester featuring Adam Grant Monday, February 1st  5:00pm- 6:00pm at the Penn Museum of Archaeology. Registration Required

Seats remain in the following course:

MKTG 893
Marketing in Emerging Economies: Understanding & Marketing to the Indian Consumer (0.5 cu) Syllabus
Professor Jagmohan Raju
Mumbai, India
March 7-9, 2016  

MKTG 893
Marketing in Emerging Economies: Understanding & Marketing to the Chinese Consumer (0.5 cu) Syllabus
Professor John Zhang
Beijing, China – Local Partner: Guanghua School of Management, Peking University 
March 7-9, 2016  

FNCE 896
Finance in Europe (0.5cu) Syllabus
Professors Bulent Gultekin, Joao Gomes & Bilge Yilmaz
London, United Kingdom
March 7-9, 2016

Interested? Please contact Paula Greenberg for more information.

The next Penn.Pay student bill will be available on Wednesday, January 20 and a late payment penalty of 1.5% will be assessed on any past due balance. 

If you haven’t borrowed a student loan for the current academic year or are borrowing student loans below your student budget, please note that the deadline to submit a loan application for the current academic year is Friday, April 1.

Please contact the Wharton MBA Financial Aid Office at 215-898-8728 or by email at financialaid@wharton.upenn.edu.

The MBA Office of Student Life would like to invite you to schedule a 1-on-1 meeting with your Cluster Student Life Advisor at some point in the coming days, weeks, or months. Our aim is to get to know you better and discuss some of your goals and how we can best support you during your time at Wharton.

If you would like to set up a meeting, please use the link below to access the Wharton Appointment Scheduler.

https://web.wharton.upenn.edu/scheduler/MBAStudentLife/