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What are the fees at Wharton? Prof's tweet about rich students' ignorance shocks internet

Many social media users even took a dig at Wharton alumni by reminding them that Donald Trump had attended the school as well, graduating in 1968

A tweet by a professor from Wharton Business School has rattled the internet as people are criticizing the privileged 'rich kids' attending the premier institute. In her tweet, Legal Studies professor Nina Strohminger shared, "I asked Wharton students what they thought the average American worker makes per year and 25% of them thought it was over six figures. One of them thought it was $800k. Really not sure what to make of this (The real number is $45k)."

The shocking response from Wharton students has prompted the internet to dub the Ivy League business school as a 'bubble of billionaires' who have little idea about the real socio-economic condition of the country. The tweet sparked nationwide outrage, amid the rising concerns of unemployment and inflation. Many social media users even took a dig at Wharton alumni by reminding that Donald Trump had attended the school as well, graduating in 1968. 

Professor Strohminger, who teaches Legal Studies and Business Ethics at Wharton, later added academic papers relevant to the issue, where she cited how unaware most B-school students are about the rich-poor gap. 

"A lot of people want to conclude that this says something special about Wharton students— I’m not sure it does. People are notoriously bad at making this kind of estimate, thinking the gap between rich and poor is smaller than it is," she noted, adding, "This was indeed why I asked bschool students: I was curious if they were as biased as everyone else."

What are the fees at Wharton Business School?

The leading business school at the University of Pennsylvania charges a whopping amount of $115,464 in the first year of their prestigious MBA degree. According to the latest reports, the fee breakup shows $83,230 tuition fees $21,720 boarding fees, and only $3,874 health insurance. The rest of the fees include books, academic supplies, and other miscellaneous costs. In total, students have to dole out as much as $47,668 for undergraduate courses. Many students, both American and international, end up with a huge loan burden for attending Wharton. 

Following the backlash around the latest tweet, many noted personalities shared their opinion and did not hold back on joking about Wharton students. Writer Tony Posnanski sarcastically tweeted, "I asked Wharton students the prices of everyday things. Here is what they told me. Milk- $30 a gallon Bread- $80 a loaf Sleeping with a porn star- $130k Coffee- $120 a cup Eggs- $60 each Sugar- $120 per 8 ball."

"As a #Wharton grad (W'82, finance major) I'm sad to say that this doesn't surprise me one iota. At least during my time there, and things may have changed, there was a relentless focus on the bottom line, and zero encouragement in understanding the poor. A few years ago..," Wharton '82 grad and Jesuit priest James Martin tweeted. 

"Why i dropped out of wharton," Li Jin noted, while another user tweeted, "Wharton students: New requirement - Enter the real world and work at a minimum wage job for 1 month."

"So Wharton basically produces lots of idiots like Trump who just happen to be rich. Got it," remarked another user.