Undergraduate · Penn Wharton
Penn asks every first-year applicant to choose one of its undergraduate schools as a home base, and Wharton is one of them. Penn publishes no A-level or IB grade requirements: it practises what it calls a Comprehensive Review Process. What it does say is where to put your preparation: strong mathematics, including calculus, for Wharton, and rigorous courses within what your school offers. This guide is read from Penn's 2026-27 pages and treated as evidence for the previous cycle, not as the 2028 requirement.
Official information · read 25 October 2026 for the 2026-27 season
Taken from Penn Admissions' Academics, International Applicants and Writing pages and read on 25 October 2026. They describe the 2026-27 season, so for a 2028-entry application every statement below is evidence for the previous cycle and may change; check Penn's pages for the 2028-entry details.
Penn asks applicants to choose one of its undergraduate schools or specialised programmes as their home base. Every Penn student gains a foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and can take classes in all four of Penn's schools.
For Wharton applicants, Penn would like to see an interest in business to fuel positive change, demonstrated leadership, and strong preparation in mathematics, including calculus.
Penn says it practises a Comprehensive Review Process and does not have explicit course requirements or minimum test score requirements for admittance. It generally likes to see that you are taking advantage of rigorous courses at your school and are prepared for the programme.
If final exam scores are not yet available, your school should provide predicted scores. External examinations such as the IB, Cambridge International AS and A Level grades and the Cambridge AICE Diploma can be submitted by your school or the testing agency. Transcripts do not need third-party evaluation and grades should not be recalculated.
The application includes a personal statement and Penn-specific short answers, including a prompt for the school you apply to.
Official sources
Read on 25 October 2026 on Penn Admissions' Academics, International Applicants and Writing pages, which describe the 2026-27 season. Penn's own Wharton pages, deadlines, SAT and ACT policy and financial aid were not read and are not stated.
Choosing a school
Penn says that when it looks at the Academics section of your application it is looking to see how your time in high school has prepared you for the school or programme to which you are applying. It asks whether you are taking advantage of the rigorous courses available at your school and whether your grades in core subject areas show that you are prepared for the specific academic programme. It also encourages applicants to take classes in core academic areas, English, social studies, mathematics, science and foreign language, throughout their high school years.
Wharton
For the Wharton School Penn says it would like to see an interest in business to fuel positive change to advance the world's economic and social well-being, demonstrated leadership, and strong preparation in mathematics, including calculus. For an A-level or IB student, the practical questions are whether Mathematics is among your subjects, how far your syllabus goes, and what leadership you can honestly evidence. The pages read for this guide do not describe the specific degree a Wharton student follows, so this guide does not.
Your qualifications
Penn's answer to the A-level and IB question is that it has no explicit course requirements or minimum test score requirements. If your final exam scores are not yet available, Penn says your school should provide predicted scores. It accepts external examinations such as the IB, Cambridge International AS and A Level grades and the Cambridge AICE Diploma, submitted by your school or the testing agency. Transcripts do not need to be evaluated by a third-party agency and grades, GPAs and test scores should not be recalculated.
Penn says its application process is the same for domestic and international applicants, and that it accepts the Common App, the Coalition Application and the QuestBridge Application.
Materials not originally in English need certified translations.
You are exempt if English is your native language or your primary language of instruction for at least three years by the time you enrol. Otherwise you submit TOEFL, IELTS Academic or Duolingo English Test scores.
Writing
Penn says the application includes a personal statement and Penn-specific short answers, including a prompt for the undergraduate school you apply to. Its Wharton prompt for the 2026-27 season asked applicants to discuss a current issue of importance to them and how they hope a Wharton education would help them explore it, in 50-200 words. Prompts change from year to year. Penn's test for a good answer is whether someone who knows you would recognise your writing without your name on it. That is a test that outside writing cannot pass.
Integrity
Avandy provides independent academic and admissions support and is not affiliated with Penn or Wharton. Support can help a student understand the requirements, plan subjects and prepare their own work. It cannot write, ghostwrite or alter any part of an application, and no outcome is promised.
Planning for 2028 entry
Penn's pages describe the 2026-27 season, so nothing on them is confirmed for 2028 entry. Use them to understand the structure of the review, then check Penn's own pages for the 2028-entry details.
These are Penn's wording for the 2026-27 season.
This guide has not read the deadlines, testing or financial aid pages. The 2026-27 prompt is an example of the type of question.
Check that Mathematics is part of your subject plan, work out what leadership you can evidence honestly, and ask your school how it will report predicted and final results.
Questions
Penn says it has no explicit course requirements or minimum test score requirements, and practises a Comprehensive Review Process.
Yes. If final exam scores are not yet available, Penn asks your school to provide predicted scores.
An interest in business to fuel positive change, demonstrated leadership, and strong preparation in mathematics, including calculus.
No. Penn says international transcripts do not need to be evaluated by a third party and grades should not be recalculated.
You are exempt if English is your native language or your primary language of instruction for at least three years by the time you enrol. Otherwise you submit TOEFL, IELTS Academic or Duolingo English Test scores.
They are Penn's wording for the 2026-27 season. Check Penn's pages again for the 2028-entry details.
Students and families
Tell us about the student's curriculum, their mathematics, the schools they are considering at Penn, and the intended year of entry. A senior adviser will review the academic profile before recommending how to plan.
