What is the average GPA for Wharton undergraduates?
Executive summary
Reported average undergraduate GPAs for Wharton students vary by program and source: Wharton’s MBA admit pools are commonly reported around 3.6–3.7 (several outlets cite 3.6–3.7 for MBA admits) while Wharton’s undergraduate site explains the school’s 4.0-based grading scale but does not publish an “average undergraduate GPA” for Wharton undergraduates (grading scale source: [1]; MBA averages: e.g., 3.6–3.7 from multiple outlets [2] [3] [4] [5]). Available sources do not give a single, official average GPA specifically for Wharton undergraduate students.
1. Why numbers diverge: different programs, different reporting
Many of the figures in circulation refer to Wharton’s MBA admissions class, not Wharton undergraduates; outlets report an average undergraduate GPA of admitted MBA students ranging from about 3.6 to 3.7 (examples: 3.6 cited by Stratus and Poets&Quants [3] [6]; 3.7 cited by Leland and older Clear Admit reporting [2] [5]). These MBA-class GPA numbers reflect the undergraduate GPAs of incoming MBA students, not the mean GPA of students currently enrolled in Wharton’s undergraduate degree program. The university’s undergraduate class‑profile page linked in the provided results does not list a single campuswide average GPA [7].
2. What the Wharton undergraduate site actually says
Wharton’s undergraduate internal site defines the grading scale (A+/A = 4.0 down to F = 0.0) and explains GPA calculation mechanics, but it does not publish an overall average GPA for the undergraduate student body in the provided snippet [1]. That means no official, school‑published average for Wharton undergrads appears in the supplied sources; any single “Wharton undergrad average GPA” figure in media or forums is not corroborated by the Wharton undergrad pages provided here [1] [7].
3. Third‑party estimates and their limits
Commercial guides and admissions blogs estimate averages—CampusReel once reported 3.15 (an outlier and likely incorrect for recent years) while multiple MBA‑focused sources place Wharton’s MBA admit undergraduate GPA near 3.6–3.7 [8] [3] [2] [4]. These estimates draw on class profiles, selective data subsets (for example, “of those graded on a 4.0 scale”), and sometimes older snapshots; Clear Admit explicitly notes averages “of those graded on a 4.0 scale” when reporting a 3.7 figure, which highlights how methodology alters the headline number [5].
4. What students and employers often mean in conversation
When people say “average GPA at Wharton,” they may mean three different things: the school’s grading distribution (how Wharton grades map to a 4.0 scale), the mean GPA of current undergraduate students, or the undergraduate GPA of incoming MBA students. The available sources clearly document Wharton’s grading scale (A = 4.0, A− = 3.7, etc.) but do not provide a validated mean for undergraduate students, while numerous admissions summaries provide a consistent MBA‑applicant mean around 3.6–3.7 [1] [3] [6] [2].
5. Practical takeaway for applicants and researchers
If you need an authoritative, current average undergraduate GPA for Wharton students, the supplied Wharton undergraduate pages do not include one [1] [7]. For MBA applicants, rely on Wharton’s official MBA class profile and reputable news outlets: multiple sources provided here report an average undergraduate GPA for MBA admits around 3.6–3.7 [3] [6] [2]. Be cautious with third‑party sites that give older or inconsistent figures (e.g., CampusReel’s 3.15) without clear methodology [8].
6. Where reporting shows hidden agendas or methodological traps
Commercial admissions sites and blogs have incentives to produce simple benchmarks—“average GPA is X”—which can compress nuance: sample restrictions (only 4.0‑scale schools), year‑to‑year cohort shifts, and conflation of undergraduate vs. MBA cohorts skew perception [5] [2] [3]. Rely on Wharton’s own published class profiles for MBA applicants and treat other figures as estimates unless the source discloses methodology [7] [5].
Limitations: the sources provided do not include a Wharton‑published average GPA for current undergraduate students; all assertions in this report use only the supplied sources and cite them directly (e.g., grading scale and lack of an explicit undergraduate average: [1]; MBA admit averages and third‑party estimates: [3] [6] [2] [8]).