Your first year at Wharton is filled with hundreds of opportunities to get involved with various extracurricular activities on and off campus.  Community service projects, professional conferences, sports clubs, consulting projects, themed parties, and trips around the world are just a sample of different options to participate in the Wharton experience.  Here's a brief chronicle of some of the events in the first year (use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the page):

 

August

September

October

October

October

October

November

December

December

January

February

March

April
 
         
 
  Learning Team Retreat - After attending 4 weeks of ‘pre-term’ classes in August, all 800 first year students attend a 2-day retreat where they discover who will be on their learning team for the upcoming year.  Over two days, the new learning teams participate in a variety of team-building events – one of which is creating a water balloon launcher from PVC pipe, a funnel, bungee cords, and tape.

Foam Party - the first major party after the Learning Team Retreat.  Find your new learning teammate in the foam pit with 100 other first years.  Make sure you are appropriately dressed!

Walnut Walk - a special ‘Wharton’ edition of a traditional pub crawl, where formal business wear is required above the waist and undergarments below the waist.  Wharton students begin their ‘crawl’ early at 7pm in different bars around Center City and by 2am congregate at a single bar.

Halloween Party - MBA students dress up in a variety of costumes and dance the night away. Beware of your learning teammate behind the mask!

The Wharton Wildmen - If you have never played ice hockey, this is your chance! The “D” team of the Wharton Wildmen features people who have never ice skated, much less played hockey. From October through April, the Wildmen hockey season promises to be one of the best experiences you can have.

Rainbow Pub - Watch your favorite professors dress up in drag during Rainbow Pub, a perennial highlight of the Wharton social calendar, organized by Out4Biz.

Cohort Athletics - Throughout the year, there are various athletic events (e.g., flag football, basketball, volleyball, soccer) that place one cohort against another.  It’s a great way to build camaraderie in your cohort!

Winter Ball - An annual black tie charity event to raise funds for the Wharton International Volunteer Project.

Global Consulting Practicum - Teams of 5-6 Wharton students serve as consultants for foreign companies looking to enter the U.S. market. During the winter break, teams traveled to Chile, Peru, India, and France to meet with clients.

Wharton Leadership Ventures - Wharton’s renowned Leadership Venture program takes students around the world twice a year (January and March) to learn about leadership in the most physically-demanding environments. This year, students traveled to Ecuador, Antarctica, Patagonia, and Kilimanjaro.

Wharton Follies - In one of Wharton's oldest traditions, MBA students poke fun at themselves in a fully-fledged musical production. This year's show, titled "Whatchu Talkin'bout Anjani?" featured special guest Donald Trump W'68 in a parody of his own show, The Apprentice.

Spring Break - A welcoming opportunity to escape the wintery East Coast. This year, hundreds of students flocked to various tropical destinations such as Cozumel in Mexico, Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.

Rebuilding Together - Each spring, students roll up their sleeves to take part in home revitalization projects and leave a lasting impact on neighboring communities. Rebuilding Together helps about 50 homeowners each year, primarily in North and West Philadelphia to help rebuild the city's most fragile neighborhoods.