University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA · founded 1740 · 28,000 students · private research university · Ivy League

Known for: Penn is famous for the Wharton School, the world's first collegiate business school and consistently ranked as the top undergraduate business program, and for its emphasis on interdisciplinary education and pre-professional focus across all fields.

Rankings

U.S. News national: #6
QS World: #12
Times Higher Education: #16
ARWU Shanghai: #16
Forbes: #8

Top programmes

Business (Wharton)
Nursing
Engineering
Economics
Computer Science
Bioengineering

Notable alumni

Elon Musk — CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
Donald Trump — 45th President of the United States and real estate developer
Warren Buffett — Investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (Wharton undergraduate)
John Legend — Grammy and Academy Award-winning singer and songwriter
Kwame Nkrumah — First President and Prime Minister of Ghana
Noam Chomsky — Linguist and political philosopher
William Henry Harrison — 9th President of the United States
Candace Bergen — Emmy Award-winning actress

Traditions

Hey Day
Spring Fling
Toast Throw at football games
Ivy Stone ceremony
Penn Relays

If University of Pennsylvania were…

As a food: Omakase at Masa — Expensive, meticulously curated, and designed for people who know exactly what they want from the experience—prestige, connections, and a return on investment. It's indulgent but calculated, never apologizing for being t
As an athlete: LeBron James — Supremely talented and always thinking three moves ahead, blending individual excellence with team success. Built a business empire alongside athletic dominance, just as Penn students balance academics with entrepreneuri
As a person alive today: Elon Musk — Penn alum who embodies the school's entrepreneurial, risk-taking, move-fast-and-break-things ethos. Brilliant, ambitious, polarizing, and unapologetically focused on building empires and reshaping industries.
As a historical figure: Benjamin Franklin — The founder himself: pragmatic, entrepreneurial, intellectually curious but always asking 'what's the application?' Penn inherited his belief that education should create doers and builders, not just thinkers.
As a movie or TV show: Succession — Sharp, ambitious people maneuvering for power and legacy in a world of wealth and influence. The show's blend of intellect, ruthlessness, and social climbing mirrors Penn's pre-professional culture and Wharton's boardroo
As a US president: Donald Trump — Penn Wharton alum who embodies the brash, transactional, deal-making mentality the school is known for. Love him or hate him, he's the logical endpoint of an education that prizes ambition, branding, and winning above al
As a city: Hong Kong — East-meets-West energy, relentlessly capitalist, dense with ambition and deal-making. A global financial hub where people work brutally hard, network constantly, and everyone's angling for the next big opportunity.
As an element: Gold — Valuable, prestigious, and historically tied to wealth and power. Malleable enough to be shaped into many forms (liberal arts meets Wharton), but always retaining its core worth and luster in the market.
As a car: 2022 Porsche Taycan Turbo S — Wharton-bred acceleration meets Locust Walk ambition in electric Ivy form, where pre-professional networking happens at 0-60 in 2.6 seconds. Ben Franklin would appreciate the entrepreneurial horsepower and the Philadelph

Campus life

Penn's campus culture is notably pre-professional and social, with a strong emphasis on networking, career preparation, and work-hard-play-hard ethos. The vibrant Greek life involves about 30% of undergraduates, and the campus hosts numerous social events, performances, and speakers. Located in University City, Philadelphia, students enjoy both a cohesive campus community and easy access to the city's restaurants, museums, and professional opportunities.