At Wharton, China can't beat NYC

Wharton may pride itself on being an international institution, but its students seem to be marching to a different - and more local - drum.

About 20 percent of Wharton undergraduates spend a semester abroad each year, and the number of students that intern abroad has likewise diminished in recent years.

Fifty-eight percent of Wharton seniors interned in New York this past summer, but only 5 percent interned somewhere outside of the U.S. - a major drop from the 13.8 percent that interned abroad in 2003.

And these numbers, University officials say, are no accident.

Summer internships lead to offers of employment following graduation, and students may worry about missing an opportunity to work in New York, Barbara Hewitt, associate director of Wharton Career Services, said.

But giving in to those worries, she added, may come at a high cost.

"Employers want people who are interested and curious about the world," Hewitt said.

Anita Henderson, director of academic affairs and advising for the Wharton Undergraduate Division, agreed.

"When students come back from abroad, they're really transformed," she said. "They're more sophisticated, and their minds are just open to more possibilities."

Many Wharton students pointed out that, while it is logistically feasible to spend a semester or summer abroad and still receive class credit for Wharton, there are few options available - and, even then, the process is long and tedious.

Wharton freshman Casey Klyszeiko said that "studying abroad is hard" and noted that many students worry that they won't be able to finish their concentration requirements - which cannot be fulfilled abroad - if they study overseas.

Out of over 100 study abroad programs available to Penn students, only about 20 offer credits that can fulfill Wharton requirements.

Still, in spite of this overall trend, some Wharton students have spent time studying outside of Huntsman Hall - and are happy about it.

Wharton sophomore Jonathan Hefter, who interned in Israel this past summer, said that one of the major benefits of interning abroad was the ability to become heavily involved in his employer's operations because of the company's more informal environment.

"You get to do the stuff you'd have to be a junior to get close to in New York," he said.

Wharton junior Maria Seredina, who interned and spent a semester in Germany, echoed these sentiments.

"They assume you can do a lot, and they give you all the responsibility you can handle," she said.

In order to encourage more of its students to study abroad, Wharton is currently working on a number of initiatives to increase the number of students who go abroad.

For example, in recent years, Wharton has increased the number of abroad programs conducted in English - some of which will fulfill Wharton requirements - as well as created the Wharton International Program, which organizes short trips abroad during the summer.

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