Franchetti’s Facts | How to succeed in Penn’s fast paced business scene.
Photo Credit: Luke Baber
By Abraham Franchetti
Like most freshmen, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Wharton or how to best set myself up for success. Stumbling through the first few months eventually gave way to taking on leadership roles and gradually, the jump from mentee to mentor. A few years and countless “coffee chats” later, I’ve found the advice I received from friends and mentors freshman year helped enable me to grow as a student, leader and thinker. This list of tips, based on my experiences as a Negotiations teaching assistant, co-head of the Wharton Undergraduate Finance Club’s (WUFC) Investment Team, President of the Wharton Management Club, and private equity intern will hopefully help you in your freshman transition.
General:
1. Take a breather. If you’re already reading an article about succeeding at Penn in business you’re probably not relaxing enough. Remember to enjoy what you have left of high school to the fullest and celebrate how hard you’ve worked. This process isn’t easy but, cut yourself some slack – you’re already doing better than 90% of people your age.
2. Be excited. College is an exciting journey, and you should never let anxiety overwhelm your sense of adventure. On my first trip to Penn after committing, an alum on the train told me that New Student Orientation was “the best week of my [his] life” – I’m glad I didn’t take him at his word, but it was still fun.
3. Do something (anything) with your summer. Now that the hard work of getting into college is over, make sure you have fun over the summer. While you should relax, it’s always good to find a way to grow as a person or student, there are many great ways to do that. Just because you want a job in finance doesn’t mean you need to work in it over the summer, instead a variety of jobs or fun experiences can be enriching such as lifeguarding, travelling, or being a camp counselor.
4. Learn to love Penn State. A few Penn students struggle and react indignantly when a friend or stranger mixes Penn up with our more fun cousin. Frustration with this doesn’t reflect well and the common mix-up should be laughed off. While Penn’s branding may not be as strong as Harvard’s, the education is just as good, and there’s no shame in being mistaken for a Nittany Lion.
5. Make a LinkedIn. LinkedIn is like social media for the professional world, and having a profile is useful for showcasing your experiences and understanding peer’s paths. However, some people go overboard with posting or self-aggrandizing profiles, which you should avoid. Instead, a professional profile will make a good impression on recruiters, interviewers, and potential co-workers.
Academics:
6. When you select courses. Keep an eye out for classes that “double count” for your cross-cultural perspectives as well as general education requirements. For example, one of my personal favorites was CLST 101: Ancient Greece, taught by Professor McInerney. Take that time to explore new subjects, and if you are pursuing a minor in some fields, classes can end up triple counting.
7. Concentrations are undeclared. Although you may have indicated in your application you intend on concentrating in a certain subject, you’re not locked into that at all. On the contrary, you likely won’t take courses for it for at least a year, which leaves plenty of time to explore the breadth of Wharton’s departments before deciding what you want to concentrate in.
8. Advanced classes come later. Before you can take most of Wharton’s high-level finance classes, you’ll need to fulfill many prerequisites. Many students are frustrated that they can’t take concentration classes sooner, but the core curriculum is useful. Preparing right makes these classes worth the wait – you won’t be able to do well in Distressed Investing and Value Creation without knowledge of basic economics or accounting.
9. Plan for study abroad ahead of time. Studying abroad has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my time in college, and I strongly recommend it. However, the types of credit Wharton accepts is limited mostly to GenEds such as cross-cultural perspectives and liberal arts and Business Breadth classes. Therefore, if you want to study abroad you should ensure you complete core requirements early and leave enough GenEds for you to complete while at another university. Additionally, to study abroad at certain programs junior year you may need to apply as early as winter of sophomore year, so keep an eye on deadlines.
10. Keep a high GPA. As obvious as it sounds, maintaining a high GPA is important for opening future doors, whether that is for grad school, internships, or Penn programs. Fortunately, doing well in your classes comes with the side effect of learning skills essential for success in business.
Extracurriculars:
11. Expect clubs to be crazy. Much has been written regarding the selectivity of Penn and particularly Wharton clubs. Within their first weeks at Penn, students self-select into two fields, finance or consulting, and attempt to convince juniors and seniors that they have the potential to be the world’s next Goldman or McKinsey analyst. The result is that for the first time in their lives, many freshmen face complete rejection in a process that appears both random and deeply important. In truth, the randomness is mixed, and many students overestimate the importance of getting into the right team, particularly their freshman fall. Don’t let this discourage you, you’re definitely not alone in this.
12. Prepare for Interviews. You can prepare for club interviews the same way you should any other. Think about the best way to showcase your story, experiences, and goals. Prior experience in finance or consulting isn’t necessary, instead emphasize your research and oratory skills from classic activities like debate and model UN. At a fundamental level, interviewers in the business world aren’t looking for you to just have memorized a guide. Instead, seek to exhibit a genuine interest in subject matter as well as your analytical skills and strategic acumen. The single most important interview question will always be why you want to join an organization, yet too many students neglect it.
13. Learn to network. The importance of “networking” only grows as you progress in your career, but many students are intimidated or confused by what this means. Simply put, a good networker uses chats and calls for what they’re meant for: asking genuine questions about an organization or experience that only someone who has done it can answer. This will leave you more prepared to explain why you want to join, and leave a better impression. Many groups offer “coffee chats,” which strangely rarely involve coffee, to speak with a member and learn more. Not only will using networking for its intended purpose provide you with useful information, leaving a positive impression will increase the number of people who can pull for you to be accepted.
14. Take advantage of GBM programs. If you don’t get into your first-choice club teams in your first application cycle, you shouldn’t despair. Every Wharton club is required to have an open membership option. Some of them, such as the Wharton Investment and Trading Group’s (WITG) Accelerator and WUFC’s Case team are particularly strong in giving students a basic understanding of the very concepts more selective groups test on. Students conditioned for selectivity often underestimate these opportunities, furthering your chance to take an advantage and make an impression on potential mentors.
15. Avoid credentialism. There are several extracurricular groups that pride themselves on sending swaths of students to top firms and create an exclusive aura. However, it is important to remember that they are being hired on the basis of what they’ve learned, not whether they have the Wharton Undergraduate Consulting Club on their resume. During my time as a club leader, I’ve occasionally seen students commit more time to getting accepted to a group than they did participating – they didn’t get much out of it.
16. You get out what you put in. Just like any other experience, you get out what you put in. Being a member of WITG will not suddenly turn you into an investing guru, instead you should actively participate, make friends, and test your skills through competition to actually net a return on your time.
Career:
17. Choose your own path. So many students follow their peers into consulting and finance because of it’s overwhelming presence on campus. However, if you feel like another career is right for you, explore it and follow it instead. There are also a plethora of opportunities in either world from niche consulting shops to emerging fields in finance to explore.
18. Consulting or Finance? My advice: Don’t choose now. Take the time to explore which side and make sure you consider fields and opportunities beyond what half of Penn students end up going into.
19. Know your timelines. The recruiting timeline for high finance (Investment Banking, Private Equity, and Hedge Funds) in particular has been pushed extremely early, with junior summer internship applications opening sophomore fall. These junior summer internships are important for locking down a return offer for full time. Consulting recruits later, closer to early junior fall, but is still important to keep an eye on them consistently.
20. Find the right mentors. Having a good mentor can transform your life and career. I’m lucky to have met incredible people who taught me not just research or modelling, but the many intangibles that help you carve a niche at Penn. Mentors can be found anywhere there are upperclassmen, so don’t shy away from connections made in class, dining halls, the gym, or social organizations.
21. Don’t take anything too seriously. Far too many students at Penn spend the better part of their early years obsessed with landing a certain job, or “breaking into” their chosen field. Once they achieve this, they realize they’ve let the full breadth of college slip away. As a Penn student, opportunities will always be there, so make sure you don’t let ambition stop you from having fun or trying new things unrelated to achievement.
Miscellaneous:
22. MBA Café isn’t just for grown-ups. For whatever reason, the Pret on the second floor of Huntsman is in a location named MBA Café. It is also open to undergrads and is a sunny place to sit and eat or do work. Don’t shy away from it because of the name, take advantage of the space!
23. Take advantage of the Bloomberg Terminals. The Bloomberg Terminal is an all-in-one trading, research, and social program that costs thousands of dollars a year for access. Luckily, Penn has several at both Huntsman Hall and Lippincott Library. Don’t be intimidated by its unique keyboard, instead take the tutorial and dive into one of the most powerful finance tools on the planet.
24. Joe’s Café: Joe’s Café in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall is a lesser used dining hall with some solid options, and a nice sunny seating area. When Houston Hall is busy, you can get an iced coffee, egg and cheese sandwich, and a snack all for a meal swipe (you’ll have excess meal swipes if you’re a freshman).
25. Find the free food. There are always so many speaking and recruiting events at Wharton that catering is plentiful. In exchange for listening to a firm discuss who they are and what they do, you can have a free plate of delicious staples like Hummus Grill. Who knows, you might even learn something too!
26. Join organizations beyond Wharton. Involvement in non-professional clubs or organizations that cater to other interests will give you the chance to meet new people and widen your horizons. Consider joining the Pennsylvania Post if you’re interested in journalism, tech, or operating a start-up.
27. Overbook GSRs with caution. If you find yourself in need of a group study room, but without an available reservation, overbooking someone is one way to get one. Simply log into the GSR computer and your MyWharton account 10 minutes after a 30 minute window has started, and follow the links to overbook. But, be warned, doing so will send an email to the original holder that you have taken their reservation!
28. Get to know your classmates. Seated beside you are a handpicked selection of some of America’s top minds, and you can learn as much from them as you can from class. At the start of freshman year, everyone is looking to make friends and is equally afraid of judgement. Don’t be shy, introduce yourself and make connections.
29. Follow your dreams. If at any point, you realize that a certain path or career simply isn’t right for you, switch to what is. The most important value from going to a school as broad and respected as Penn is how you wield that prestige to find happiness.
Abraham Franchetti is a junior in Wharton studying Finance with a minor in Classical Studies from Port Washington, NY. Abraham is also the Business Director for The Pennsylvania Post. His email is bramf@wharton.upenn.edu.
